Engine Deck Grill- CMC Speedster

My CMC has a cast aluminum grill which needs a bit more effort regarding sanding and polishing that I want to put into it. So I need some suggestions from the fellow Speedsterowners. Who sells a quality finished grill? I would like a chromed grill. Would a JPS,VS,IM, and any other OEM suppliers grill fit in a CMC engine deck? My CMC did not have the OEM rubber grill gasket. The previous owner used silicone caulk. Will the gasket fit? I am also looking for some very clean outer door handles.
Thanks,
Joe

Joe:

Like everything else in life, the answer is: "It depends".

I'm not sure of the exact dimensions of the CMC grill and/or how close it is to one from VS and others (Alan Merklin might know). I never got the grill delivered with the rest of the stuff from CMC.

I bought a grill from VS (the OEM chromed one from Tweeks/Midamerica at over $150 was a bit rich for my blood), and made the hole fit the VS version. I'm using a grill gasket from Tweeks (for a steel-bodied car) and it seems to fit OK with a little effort.
To hold everything in, I made small "L" brackets with 10-32 screws brazed onto one tab, and glassed that to the underside of the engine cover lining up with the edge of the hole, and then notched the side of the grill to accept the screws and used stop-nuts to hold it all together.

gn

Thanks for the quick reply Gordon . Did you have to grind the deck opening for the grill to fit? I took a measure of the CMC grill . It' 8.125" wide X 14.250" in length.

Joe:

Just ambled out and measured mine (VS grill) and the opening looks like 8-1/4" X 14-1/2" - a litle bigger than your grill.

I remember , now, that I cut the hole to the dimensions in the CMC manual, and then had to open it up all around with a small rasp in order for the VS version to fit, and then buzzed it a bit more to fit the gasket in there, too.

Hope this helps.......gn

I may have to go the polish route if the CMC is an oddball size.I don't want to grind the opening now with the finished paint job.I sent an email to JPS and Klasse356 regarding the engine grill size.
Update - Finished the left rear sheetmetal work. I have installed a removable guard over the remote oil filter.

I called VS about getting one of their luggage racks they asked me make of car - its CMC. They said I would have to also get their VS grill for the rack to fit (spacing on CMC is not wide enough to clear rack legs). They said I would have to enlarge the opening all around by 1/4" and rebond the inner linner to the outer. The CMC hibachi grill can be shined to a chrome like appearance using progressively finer (600-1500 grit) WD sand paper followed by buffing with jewlers rouge and then Mother's mag polish. It does take considerable elbow grease but suspect a wheel refinishing shop could buff it up quickly. I used no gasket - there was no room for one. I drilled 4 countersunk holes thru edge of gill thru fiberglass and used rounded over stainless steel machine screws.

The decklid on my CMC was molded to size with a nice interior lip (for bracing I guess). I was lacking the grill but had a VS grill which was indeed too large and I didn;t want to cut the opening. Street Beasts had grills in stock but had no interest in selling me one.
Finally found a list member willing to part with his.

Tony