Factory Black Grill???

[Newman]

My father's Camaro is a one repaint survivor 6 cyl car. It's Dover white...If I'm not mistaken it should have a silver grill right? well it has a black grill so is there a way I could check to see if there is it could possibly be original? everything else on the car was/is so I just find it strange that it would have a black grill. Thanks!

[enio45]

Could it be possible that someone painted it black - it would look better with a white car - a black grill. Scratch the surface of it to see if its an off white plastic mold...if it is, then it was repainted. If its black plastic, then i could have been changed early on.....the over the counter replacements were black (not sure of the date when they switched over, but the parts book calls for it to be painted accordingly) .

[69L78]

When I bought my 29k original mile Z/28, it had a black grille and the second owner told me that a ringneck pheasant flew into his grille one day while driving and when he replaced it, he did not like the looks of the silver grille so he replaced it with a NOS black one.

[al8apex]

I had a 69 Camaro (non RS) in 1973 and it had a silver grille

the grille got a chunk knocked out of it from a roommate's haphazard use of a snow shovel (they are fragile when cold, it was my daily driver)

the dealer only had black ones then ... I was happy, it LOOKED way better than the silver grille IMHO

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

A 6 cyl. Camaro would have a silver grill.They were molded in white and then painted argent silver,but the black grills were molded in black.I have a white 69 myself,and think it looks better with the silver grill.If you want it to look more correct,then remove it and repaint argent silver or just leave the way it is.

[Newman]

Thanks that's what I thought, probably an early replacement, a girl owned it and probably wouldn't paint it black.

[Newman]

Found this today. It seems to back up the fact that my fathers car (as far as I can tell)may have came with a black grille. Does anybody have any other examples of variations from the factory "norm" ?

Ebay

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

It should have a silver grill,unless they had a shortage and installed black grills instead.That's the only answer i can come up with.

[Newman]

You're probably right, just funny that this is the second, unmolested, Dover White 69 with the black grill that I've come across. As you said, they could have ran out of silver grills that particular day on the assembly line or perhaps by my father's car and the one on the ebay link both just had replacements installed at some point over the last forty years.