A few years back I purchased a used set of 2+2 fender louvers (mine were missing). I cleaned all the many layers of paint off with brake fluid and was going to paint them. But after I saw a few cars with the bare chrome louvers, I liked the look and decided to try it. On Sunday I finally got the courage to drill 16 holes in each front fender. I had gotten the drilling measurements with the louvers so just made up a template, taped it to the fender, and drilled the 16 small holes. Then I removed the template and drilled to size. Only a couple holes on each side needed to be slightly ovaled to straighten out a louver (same template). I really didn't want to remove the inner fender wells to attach the nuts to the louvers so I glued them on with silicone. The back two are accessible from the door side so nutted them. Only problem with bare chrome is the flaws show. Someone down the road got carried away with a sander on a few as you can see in the picture. So they will need to be replaced and there are a couple more with one stud. I know these are hard to come by but does anyone have a partial set. I'm thinking 4 for sure maybe 5. I'd best give the measurements before I loose them. OK, for the louvers: First hole is located 2.875" from the back of the fender to the center of the hole and 3.00" down from the horizontal body line to the center of the hole. The bottom hole is exactly 3.00" from the top center to center. Each successive set of holes is exactly 1.858" apart from each other center to center, for a total of 8 sets of holes that measure from first to last center to center of 13.00". This is exactly how it was written out for me.
-- Edited by JC2+2 on Tuesday 10th of September 2013 12:00:22 AM
-- Edited by JC2+2 on Tuesday 14th of June 2016 08:28:29 PM
I see no flaws...if anyone is looking that close...kick EM in the ass....!
-- Edited by rabbit64cs on Tuesday 10th of September 2013 08:27:50 AM
73SC said
Sep 10, 2013
They certainly look good and I am partial to the full chrome as well.
bferguson said
Sep 10, 2013
great job, well done - I know how hard it is to drill that first hole on a finished car, had the same dilemma mounting a right hand mirror on mine...
silicone is great, use it all the time!
Johnnee D said
Sep 10, 2013
C'est beau! Nice job! You must have been sweating before drilling the first hole! Love the result!
Captain Beaumont said
Sep 10, 2013
Good job looks awesome
Canadian Poncho said
Sep 10, 2013
I worked with a mechanic who bought a 69 Impala new with a 327. I believe the 350 replaced the 327 mid year in 69 for Chevy however Pontiac never had a 327 in '69
Janton said
Sep 10, 2013
Awesome job
Greaser said
Sep 10, 2013
Looks good....what's holding the louvers in place? Nuts or clips?
Must have been fun getting those on, how many did you drop behind the fender?
seventy2plus2 said
Sep 10, 2013
Lookin' good. They make the car, otherwise it's just a plain Parisienne.
I must admit however, you're braver than I am.
67Poncho said
Sep 10, 2013
Canadian Poncho wrote:
I worked with a mechanic who bought a 69 Impala new with a 327. I believe the 350 replaced the 327 mid year in 69 for Chevy however Pontiac never had a 327 in '69
Ummm, Todd? Derailing is not allowed unless you live in the Pembina Triangle District! (lol)
67Poncho said
Sep 10, 2013
Greaser wrote:
Looks good....what's holding the louvers in place? Nuts or clips?
Must have been fun getting those on, how many did you drop behind the fender?
"I really didn't want to remove the inner fender wells to attach the nuts to the louvers so I glued them on with silicone..."
Great job! I too like them paintless... When I was assembling my Rag, looooong before paint, I had them stripped and on the fenders!
The biggest decision I had to make was cutting the original hood in my '70 for the hood tach.... Not easy drilling a pilot hole and attacking the hood and decent paint with a jig saw! It took some mulling over to finally drill the hole........
jmont64 said
Sep 10, 2013
What a great addition there John. I like it. I'll bet you measured a few times before there was filings flying.
JC2+2 said
Sep 10, 2013
Thanks guys for all the compliments. You're right about that first hole being the hardest to drill. After that it's too late to turn back so give-er hell. This photo (prior to cleanup) is not as blurry and shows those bad ones more so - the rear two. But they will do until I find better. And Clint, you are so right about without them the car is just a regular Parisienne. Next, rocker chrome.
-- Edited by JC2+2 on Tuesday 10th of September 2013 10:07:19 PM
Nice job they flow the air over the sides of the car and help improve gas mileage
67BBSD said
Sep 11, 2013
looks good
67Poncho said
Sep 11, 2013
Carl Stevenson wrote:
67Poncho wrote:
Canadian Poncho wrote:
I worked with a mechanic who bought a 69 Impala new with a 327. I believe the 350 replaced the 327 mid year in 69 for Chevy however Pontiac never had a 327 in '69
Ummm, Todd? Derailing is not allowed unless you live in the Pembina Triangle District! (lol)
How does that old song go??? Something about "why is everybody always pickin' on me.....?"
But, that song also stated, " he's gonna get caught, just you wait and see..." but he never did, did he, Charlie Brown? Can't convict whom you can't catch!!!
As for the rust, I never did seal mine but when I had the car painted, all parts were painted first then assembled and painted again... Bare metal would definately want to turn brown!
-- Edited by 67Poncho on Wednesday 11th of September 2013 07:57:32 AM
Pontiacanada said
Sep 11, 2013
Here's a question.
You always see car guys/restorers drill (or cut or grind) into cars after the paint has been applied (on TV), but you never see or hear them talk about "sealing" the areas before applying the emblems, trim, etc.
I would think that water, then rust would love these freshly drilled holes, right?
4SPEED427 said
Sep 11, 2013
67Poncho wrote:
Canadian Poncho wrote:
I worked with a mechanic who bought a 69 Impala new with a 327. I believe the 350 replaced the 327 mid year in 69 for Chevy however Pontiac never had a 327 in '69
Ummm, Todd? Derailing is not allowed unless you live in the Pembina Triangle District! (lol)
How does that old song go??? Something about "why is everybody always pickin' on me.....?"
And by the way, those louvres look great!
BOPManiac said
Oct 31, 2013
Seems I remember having special clips (on a '67 Camaro) that inserted in from outside and into the hole - and the emblem stud was pushed into that special clip. Only required access from outside - NOT inside at all. Also remember that the emblem was then held off the surface of the sheet metal a tiny distance and was not up tight and flush with the painted surface and was a little loose. I also remember that the emblem eventually fell off - gone forever!!!! I don't know whether AUVECO still makes this clip or not. This clip is not perfect solution but, could be another option for you. Thanks!!! BOPManiac
NOS said
Oct 31, 2013
I believe those are called barrel clips. If the correct size is chosen they should work great
I thought I'd post an update. I acquired and replaced the blemished louvers. Then I figured I would remove the inner fender wells and install the nuts for them. Half way through removing one I realized the whole fender would have to come off. I wasn't going there so put it back together. While bending like a contortionist I was able to get the nuts on the first two louvers. So with the back two that's half of them. And that's good enough for me right now. I also edited the first post and added the measurements before I lost them.
-- Edited by JC2+2 on Tuesday 14th of June 2016 10:06:35 PM
A few years back I purchased a used set of 2+2 fender louvers (mine were missing). I cleaned all the many layers of paint off with brake fluid and was going to paint them. But after I saw a few cars with the bare chrome louvers, I liked the look and decided to try it. On Sunday I finally got the courage to drill 16 holes in each front fender. I had gotten the drilling measurements with the louvers so just made up a template, taped it to the fender, and drilled the 16 small holes. Then I removed the template and drilled to size. Only a couple holes on each side needed to be slightly ovaled to straighten out a louver (same template). I really didn't want to remove the inner fender wells to attach the nuts to the louvers so I glued them on with silicone. The back two are accessible from the door side so nutted them. Only problem with bare chrome is the flaws show. Someone down the road got carried away with a sander on a few as you can see in the picture. So they will need to be replaced and there are a couple more with one stud. I know these are hard to come by but does anyone have a partial set. I'm thinking 4 for sure maybe 5. I'd best give the measurements before I loose them. OK, for the louvers: First hole is located 2.875" from the back of the fender to the center of the hole and 3.00" down from the horizontal body line to the center of the hole. The bottom hole is exactly 3.00" from the top center to center. Each successive set of holes is exactly 1.858" apart from each other center to center, for a total of 8 sets of holes that measure from first to last center to center of 13.00". This is exactly how it was written out for me.
-- Edited by JC2+2 on Tuesday 10th of September 2013 12:00:22 AM
-- Edited by JC2+2 on Tuesday 14th of June 2016 08:28:29 PM
I see no flaws...if anyone is looking that close...kick EM in the ass....!
-- Edited by rabbit64cs on Tuesday 10th of September 2013 08:27:50 AM
They certainly look good and I am partial to the full chrome as well.
great job, well done - I know how hard it is to drill that first hole on a finished car, had the same dilemma mounting a right hand mirror on mine...
silicone is great, use it all the time!
Looks good....what's holding the louvers in place? Nuts or clips?
Must have been fun getting those on, how many did you drop behind the fender?
Lookin' good. They make the car, otherwise it's just a plain Parisienne.
I must admit however, you're braver than I am.
Ummm, Todd? Derailing is not allowed unless you live in the Pembina Triangle District! (lol)
"I really didn't want to remove the inner fender wells to attach the nuts to the louvers so I glued them on with silicone..."
Great job! I too like them paintless... When I was assembling my Rag, looooong before paint, I had them stripped and on the fenders!
The biggest decision I had to make was cutting the original hood in my '70 for the hood tach.... Not easy drilling a pilot hole and attacking the hood and decent paint with a jig saw! It took some mulling over to finally drill the hole........
Thanks guys for all the compliments. You're right about that first hole being the hardest to drill. After that it's too late to turn back so give-er hell. This photo (prior to cleanup) is not as blurry and shows those bad ones more so - the rear two. But they will do until I find better. And Clint, you are so right about without them the car is just a regular Parisienne. Next, rocker chrome.
-- Edited by JC2+2 on Tuesday 10th of September 2013 10:07:19 PM
Nice job
they flow the air over the sides of the car and help improve gas mileage
looks good
But, that song also stated, " he's gonna get caught, just you wait and see..." but he never did, did he, Charlie Brown? Can't convict whom you can't catch!!!
As for the rust, I never did seal mine but when I had the car painted, all parts were painted first then assembled and painted again... Bare metal would definately want to turn brown!
-- Edited by 67Poncho on Wednesday 11th of September 2013 07:57:32 AM
Here's a question.
You always see car guys/restorers drill (or cut or grind) into cars after the paint has been applied (on TV), but you never see or hear them talk about "sealing" the areas before applying the emblems, trim, etc.
I would think that water, then rust would love these freshly drilled holes, right?
How does that old song go??? Something about "why is everybody always pickin' on me.....?"
And by the way, those louvres look great!
I believe those are called barrel clips. If the correct size is chosen they should work great
Dale@NOS
I thought I'd post an update. I acquired and replaced the blemished louvers. Then I figured I would remove the inner fender wells and install the nuts for them. Half way through removing one I realized the whole fender would have to come off. I wasn't going there so put it back together. While bending like a contortionist I was able to get the nuts on the first two louvers. So with the back two that's half of them. And that's good enough for me right now. I also edited the first post and added the measurements before I lost them.
-- Edited by JC2+2 on Tuesday 14th of June 2016 10:06:35 PM