first let me say, i like your car. that's a '27 t body isn't? that is a vw-t right? i have built one myself and what i was wondering is, does it use the vw pan?
the front seems a little short from the pic.
if you are using the vw front beam, you should buy one of the extenders that are out there, to give it better proportions with the rear length. naturally it would require you to make a longer hood and sides, though.
i have a friend that has a '23 t body on his and it uses model t fenders. he has an old cushman scooter pick up box on it. it is all steel too. he also uses the vw pan. since his is a '23 t body the cowl is shorter, so the hood/sides are longer to give it better proportions.
to get to your question, what i would do is, cut the grille shell away from the hood and sides. form a 1.50 x 1/8 flat bar to the inside of the grille shell. weld the flat bar to the beam. attach the grille to this bar with pop rivets on the side. also make a small L shaped tab and attach this under where the radiator cap would go on the shell. use a piece of allthread rod and drill a hole in the firewall and install the rod to support the top of the shell. this may be overkill, but why not?
now just attach dzus plates on the side of the shell and on the firewall. 4 dzus buttons will hold the hood and sides on pretty well.
on my vw-t, i just used tabs and welded 1/4 nuts to them and attached those to the grille and firewall for the sides and lunch box snaps to hold the hood down. it never came off in the 5 years i drove it. the 1/4 bolts for the sides would come loose over time and if i had it to do over again, i would use dzus buttons. also my sides and top were made of aluminum.
you can see my vw-t in my builds. just search my name and that thread is on the 2 page. just click on the pic for a larger view. hope this will help.
