New LMC steel chrome grill shell

[Ronzi]

Well I got my truck painted and am in the process of putting it all back together. I got all new upper trim from Dennis Carpenter and was very pleased. I broke down and decided to buy LMC's new steel chrome shell and it arrived at my shop a few mins ago.
My 1st impression is very good. The finish is flawless and Id say it weighs about 4x as much as my old shell. I will be installing it after work and I hope it fits as good as it looks. I will post pics of it installed tomorrow and report if it bolted up easy......

 

[73F100Shortbed]

Subscribing to see it installed

 

[nobodyspecial]

I have always had good luck with LMC, not the junk people say it is.

 

[5.0]

Id say it weighs about 4x as much as my old shell.

Steel vs. aluminum?

Does it seem pretty thick and study?


.

 

[m78]

Get some pics of the backside as well.

 

[Alvin in AZ]

I have always had good luck with LMC, not the junk people say it is.

They were bad mouthing LMC over on FTE because LMC refused to advertise
on FTE is all. :/ DC's stuff is the same stuff as LMC's stuff. LOL

BTW, DC doesn't make anything (according to a guy named Bill that's been
there and given a tour of DC's operation.

Ok, so I said "they -might- make -one- thing so they can say what they say
about original Ford tooling?" but Bill says "no" ...DC don't own or operate any
tooling, period.

Just so happens the same suppliers to LMC -might have some original tooling-
is prob'ly the "catch" DC is using? ...was my guess. But the whole thing stinks
and haven't heard anything to believe the whole catch phrase is not a lie top
to bottom.

Using Ford part numbers for an obviously aftermarket made item? :/
Something ain't right there.

The grill-delay problem didn't have anything to do with getting the "special
aluminum sheeting" as DC said. :/ Bill claimed it was all BS and the problem
was entirely something (that I don't remember specifically) like... involving
contracts and pricing, not metal supply (as if they made it, see?).

YMMV on DC?

I got ripped off by DC one time and that was enough. LOL

If they had charged a decent price for the aftermarket stuff, it'd been no
problem but they lied to me, not telling me it was aftermarket and junky.

Alvin in AZ

 

[FordF-SuperDuty]

Dubscrided, this will be intresting.

 

[Alvin in AZ]

Get some pics of the backside as well.

x2

This is so the character count will be high enough.

 

[LEB Ben]

Interested in seeing this as well. I'd like to see 360* of pics.



As for the LMC vs. DC thing...LMC was notorious for bringing in china made cheap stuff and selling at full price. Strike One. Alvin you are right that DC doesn't have all the tooling on sight, but they do own the rights to that tooling, just because the parts are made in another shop doesn't mean it's not their stuff. They also have about 3 levels quality/markings. One is definitely parts made on Ford tooling and it's marked/labeled accordingly. Another is Ford licensed, essentially saying Ford approves of the quality and specs. Lastly, is the imported stuff, but that's marked and noted as well. So you know what you're getting. Yes DC does supply LMC, but it's hit or miss on whether the parts are good or blems. At least that's my take.

 

[Ronzi]

I installed the grill last night and it went on like butter. No fitmit issuses what so ever. I ordered all new grill hardware when I ordered the grill and I'll tell you it was the best 20 bucks Ive ever spent. With the new hardware everything was easy to line up and install. This grill was easier to install than the original one would have been but I believe the new hardware was a big part of that. Here are the promised pics.....

And yes I know my tires are on backwards. My painter didnt know any better when he put them back on after he painted it.

 

[Austin]

Looks nice! What was the price after shipping?

 

[LEB Ben]

Damn that doesn't look half bad. How's the quality and rigidity of the unit? Does it feel paper thin and bendable by hand? And how much did the shell run you?

 

[Ronzi]

The grill is 499.95
Hardware kit was 19.95
Shipping was 57.75 ... $20.00 of that was a oversize charge and I did have about 6 more items that was included in that shipping.
The only negative thing I can say about this grill is the price but after I got it on there Im glad I bought it. Time will tell if the chrome last or not but its supposedly got a 5 year waranty so we will see.
Also it is not thin at all. It seems super sturdy and is much heavier and thicker than the stock grill.

 

[Austin]

Sounds like my next 12 paychecks are already spent!

 

[Ronzi]

One thing that is kinda throwing me off a little the more I look at is it looks a little weird to me now cause the metal on the grill does not match the metal on the trim. Im not real sure I like it not matching. Its weird cause I didnt really notice that looking at the truck as much as I notice it now looking at the pics. What do you guys think?

 

[Austin]

Well, in my case, I am changing out the grille as well... But it definately doesn't match. I say go ahead and order the headlight bezels and a new grille, and you should be good to go!

 

[LEB Ben]

One thing that is kinda throwing me off a little the more I look at is it looks a little weird to me now cause the metal on the grill does not match the metal on the trim. Im not real sure I like it not matching. Its weird cause I didnt really notice that looking at the truck as much as I notice it now looking at the pics. What do you guys think?

Yeah, you can tell the difference. High polish chrome vs. old(er), aged, and cloudy anodizing. That's the main reason I opted not to put the body trim I had on my truck after it got done. I figured the dinginess would detract from the fresh truck and different trim pieces wouldn't match.

 

[smokey]

That looks good!

 

[Ronzi]

Yeah, you can tell the difference. High polish chrome vs. old(er), aged, and cloudy anodizing. That's the main reason I opted not to put the body trim I had on my truck after it got done. I figured the dinginess would detract from the fresh truck and different trim pieces wouldn't match.

The body trim is 3 days old now lol. I bought all that brand new from Dennis Carpenter. Its just not a chrome finish like the grill and I think the shinny grill makes the brand new trim look dingy. Oh well, after all the money Ive spent on this stuff it is staying on. We'll see if it grows on me.

 

[LEB Ben]

Oh yeah...I guess I forgot about that from your first post. But yeah, the chrome won't do the new trim justice. I have a set of chromed trim and when compared to the DC trim I have, the DC stuff looks like pewter paint almost.