I had a little time to spare yesterday afternoon, so I did a few things to the '64. The bashed up grille always bothered me, and a I had a spare aluminum grille that I picked up for cheap because it was dented pretty badly. I worked out the majority of the dents (not as easy as it seems) and decided to bolt it up to see how it looked. I also bolted on my spare bumper, which is in better shape than the original. I even did a little CLR work behind the grille to get the surface rust off.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
In this picture, you can see just how mangled the grille surround is. The previous owner had a motorcycle rack or possibly a spare tire holder mounted up front. Over a long period of time, it started tearing the sheetmetal, including the core support. I have an extra grille support that's cherry, but I may be committed to fixing the original one because I'll never be able to match the patina. When I fix the passenger fender, I'll yank the grille surround at the same time and stitch it all back together.