Bar Exam

Here’s the uncut ’55 New Yorker bar. It’s obviously too wide for the opening. The Chrysler bar is eerily similar to a ’55 Oldsmobile bar, but with more peak (or prow) to the bar. Guildner planned on removing some of it during the modification.

First things first. Guildner marked the center on the bar and laid a piece of masking tape down to mark the cut line. He then lopped the bar in half on his chop saw.

Keeping the end of the bar a polite distance from the edge of the grille opening, Guildner noted and marked the new center on the bar. He held the bar at the desired angle in the opening and drew a cut line at the proper angle to allow for his desired amount of prow.

After cutting the excess from the first half, then marking and cutting the second half, Guildner held the bar in the opening to make sure the peak was sufficient. Guildner gave the bar a bit more prow than the sheetmetal on the nose of the car. This extra bit of prow visually separates it from the rest of the front sheetmetal, giving the nose of the car more visual depth. If everything were to line up perfectly, it would serve to visually flatten the front end, making it less interesting to look at.

Once he was satisfied with the cut angles and length of the bar, Guildner ground off some of the chrome to prepare the bar for welding. Light pressure is all that’s needed for this step. We’re only trying to strip the chrome, not alter the shape of the bar.

With clean steel exposed, Guildner aligned the ends and clamped the bar together, placed a couple of tack welds to hold it, then test-fit it again, making sure the width and angles were pleasing to the eye.

Once sure of his dimensions, Guildner welded the bar solid, inside and out. It’s always a good idea to only weld an inch or so at a time. Even though the bar is much thicker than sheetmetal, excessive heat can still cause warpage, so be nice to it.

With the welding finished, Guildner ground the welds down with a disc sander. Be very careful here to sand/grind the beads flush with the surface of the bar. The smoother you can make the welded area, the easier it will be for the guys at the chrome shop to polish the area prior to dipping. Extra care at this point will save you some money in the prep department.

With the bar welded and ground, it’s time to fabricate some mounting brackets. Guildner used some rolls of tape and scrap steel to mock the exact position of the bar in the opening, then figured out how he would mount it.

Starting with some scrap rod, Guildner bent up a U-shaped piece that he could easily manipulate to fit the bar.

Satisfied with the rod template, Guildner bent a couple of pieces of steel strap to match the shape of the rod.

Guildner then welded the bracket to the bar, leaving enough room to install the parking lamp assembly without it interfering with the bracket.

With the strap securely welded to the bar, Guildner ground the exposed welds and then went about mounting the bar.

The bracket is simple but effective and will bolt to a flat space outboard of the radiator. Guildner planned ahead and reinforced this area when modifying the grille opening in anticipation of mounting the bar here.

The bracket was drilled and the holes were transferred to the mounting surfaces, which were then also drilled. Guildner used nuts and bolts to mount the bar, as mere sheetmetal screws would eventually pull and tear at the mounting surface once the miles begin to accumulate.

Building a true custom involves making adjustments to the lines and features of the subject vehicle. It’s not about making changes merely for the sake of changing stuff, but to enhance and refine the line and shape of a stock vehicle. This not only alters the personality of the car, but also reflects the taste and personality of its owner. Scott Guildner has been making modifications to Jay Diola’s chopped ’49 Chevy coupe and invited us over for a little bar-and-grille treatment. Burgers and beers it wasn’t, but we did see some tasty mods take place as he modified a ’55 Chrysler New Yorker lower bar to fit the ’50 Merc grille shell he had recently installed. Take a peek.