For the 1969 grilles there are two designs, and "early" and a "late". The earlier ones are lighter and feature 3 colors. The later are darker and feature only 2 colors.
Early: "First Jobs - Shadow Silver" 9795115 Right, 9795116 Left
"Later Jobs - Oxford Grey" 546147 Right, 546148 Left
I have absolutely nothing to support it, but assume the later ones were cheaper to produce since they required only one masking (extra color) whereas the early ones featured 3 colors and probably cost a little more to make. I've also heard it conjectured that the revised grill was an attempt to improve the front end looks, but I actually prefer the early ones myself! My 2+2 should have the laters based on its build date but I might end up with earlier ones because I have one NOS side already (pictured). That's my 2+2 original below which would have been salvageable but for the fog light bracket they poked through the mesh (you can see if you look...).
-- Edited by davepl on Monday 23rd of April 2018 09:22:56 AM
That was a long time ago Randy, looked but couldn't find it,
But here's the picture of the 3 NOS styles that I had, the full silver one on the left had blacked out lamp bezels, but was otherwise all silver. Unusual?
Ive never seen the far left one on a car. Perhaps that one was just made defectively (missing the second shape of silver). I have a fall 1969 dated master parts catalog (with early 70 model year part numbers) and it only lists the two grille variations. Later catalogs only listed the later (darker) version and have a notation advising you to buy a pair if the existing grilles are the earlier version.
The 69 LeMans-Tempest grilles went through the same mid year change. Early ones had black around the bezels and two shades of silver-gray elsewhere. The later version was just two shades of gray with the darker gray also used for the headlight bezel area.
I read somewhere in a period magazine (but cant recall where) that they complained about the unattractive front end of the then new 69 pontiacs (nose was too big). Maybe Pontiac took this to heart and figured a darker grille would de emphasize the front end cheaper than rhinoplasty (nose job)?
My Dec 69 catalog lists just the two, and breaks them down as I noted. I feel like I've seen that greenish-silver type before though. Here's an NOS piece that's still for sale and that kind of looks like it, but I think it's just dusty!
I'm on the hunt for a good drivers side Parisienne grille insert (or bucket as you call it). To me, the headlight buckets are what the headlights sit in.
I'm wondering if the plain silver grille would have been used for the Strato Chief & Laurentian series? It would follow in the GM hierarchy as they do that kind of thing, adding a little bling to the higher series cars. In '69 they did that with the full-size Chevrolet grilles on Biscayne / Bel Air vs. Impala & Caprice.
Maybe not, as the designers may have been committed to a certain "look". I've got the 1970 Parts Book but not the 1969 to check.
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
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Interesting! Are they apparently identical though?
The Canadian part is identical other than the suffix on the part number and the "Made in Canada"
The funny part is the Pontiac emblem on the plastic grill does not fit into the holes that were re-enforced to receive the nuts on the steel grill.
I looked at where you put your emblem on the tribute car and moving the emblem more towards the centre creates a better line up with the prongs and the holes.
I wonder if there was a slightly different emblem for Grande Parisiennes
If you look closely to these two Grande Parisiennes you will see a twist in the nameplate. Both theses cars are in Ontario.