I don't think it could be done and look right if tried in multiple pieces. What would need to be done would be to have it injection molded like the originals were made and then plated and the cost to do the mold would be very costly. To even try to keep it at a reasonable cost you would have to invest so much that you would either have so many made or the cost would be so much that it wouldn't be cost effective for anyone.

 

I do not know the current capabilities of 3-D printers in regards to a smooth finish, but I don't think it would be too difficult to design a 3-piece system with a combo of interlocking male/female parts that incorporated some tongue & groove - with all of the exposed junction seams being around the ridges on the bowtie.
I wouldn't worry so much about plating. It could be covered by chrome wrap or painted by the truck owner.

 

if could get finish good enough, this place could probably do the spear in 2 pieces split in center (then cover with bowtie). Being out of aluminum could be plated. Check specs for large format

Aluminum (AlSi10Mg) 3D Printing Service | Online Quoting

3D-printed aluminum offers high temperature and corrosion resistance and an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Get an instant quote today for your aluminum part.

www.protolabs.com

 

most consumer 3d printers are not large enough to do the job in 3 parts. I know the ones I own would not. Might be easier to find a fiberglass manufacturer to make a mold and then make parts. Cost of tooling (the mold) would be high. if enough people chipped in a crowdfund it could happen.

 

The size is the biggest limiting factor of the part. I had a spear that was broken and when I tried to glue it back together I found out they can be under tension in the way they are shaped so trying to make one in multiple pieces would again be very hard to do and get it to stay together and look right. There are a couple people who have worked on parts and 3d printing and I would imagine they have talked to someone with more knowledge then them selves and all got the same answer. I know I have spoken to some one about it and was told it would not be easy or cheap to even attempt it and would be cost prohibitive to do. So unless some company decides to take it on, the best option will probably stay with the none Bow Tie spear offered by Kaminari made in fiberglass. Just my opinion and what I have checked into on the spears

 

...the best option will probably stay with the none Bow Tie spear offered by Kaminari made in fiberglass. ...

That's what I'm looking for - a bow-tie-less spear.

 

Kaminari has them in fiberglass and they will need to be painted or chrome wrapped if you want it that way.

 

Here you go, Larry: Link to Kaminari Spear

 

Thanks John!

Just found it.

Do you know if it has the proper mounting stuff on the backside, or does it require 3rd-world engineering to mount?

 

Found it!

K016822 CHEVROLET SSR 2003-2006 CENTER MAIN GRILLE BAR NO BOW TIE FRP

K016822 2003-2006 SSR CENTER MAIN GRILLE BAR NO BOW TIE FRP, COMES IN UNFINISHED BLACK FIBERGLASS NEEDS TO BE PAINTED OR WRAPPED.

kaminari.com

 

Does the Kaminari fiberglass spear have the proper mounting fixtures on the backside to just "bolt on" ?

 

Yes they do. You will need to add your own Velcro on the ends to get it to adhere to the head lights

 

They have places to put the clips on just like the factory ones and the holes in the top to use the factory screws. There is room on the ends to put the Velcro style dual lock tape as well.

 

Thank you @Stlhotrod

 

All Fiberglass needs fitting to make it fit perfect to your truck. So there will be some sanding, and a lot of itching involved. Anyone who has worked with Fiberglass is smiling right about now at that comment.
How much work you put into the finish will be how nice it looks when it is done.
I have one I bought off a truck that was parted out and it fit up to my truck very nicely but I can't tell you how much work was done to it before I got it.

 

All Fiberglass needs fitting to make it fit perfect to your truck. ...

My concern, as I understand it, is that some folks (unnamed because I don't know them) have experienced a 1/4" gap between the headlights and the spear. That suggests the spear isn't "bent" quite enough at its center. Maybe a 1/4" isn't that big a gap, but maybe it is. It's hard to know sight unseen.

As for the sanding, I have no experience working with fiberglass, so... Experienced people can take care of that, but compensating for obvious gaps would seem to be another matter. Right?

 

Most stock spears when you remove them have a end gap till you get the ends pressed into the Dual Lock tape on the head lights. I know at least 1 of my trucks right now the head lights are not tight to the spear and I just haven't taken the time to correct it. There is some movement in the bracket behind the spear I think that gives a little play

 

I have a Kaminari on mine as a result of a accident that broke original. It took considerable work on smoothing out spear. My guy said from a dirty mold. When installed I had the gap on one side at headlight.

Has anybody priced getting a spear chrome wrapped?

 

What kind of gap??? Was one side shorter than the other?
One side thicker or thinner ( height ) than another?
Was it warped or twisted?
Any pics of how bad it fit when you first recieved it?

 

@Garris1 & @Chief Ten Beers - “I cannot get too excited”(TM) by a a gap between the headlight and the headlight. There are quite a few trucks where the factory spear doesn’t stick down to both headlights. In fact many original spear’s the duallock has deteriorated and come off one of the sides due to the double back tape that holds it to either the light or the spear. It’s not a huge deal. The bigger deal is when the dual lock on the A-pillars comes loose due to the deterioration and the A-pillar comes loose rolling down the road.

I have one of those trucks where the spear doesn’t like to be stuck down to both lights. I’ve swapped different spears on and nope, it does the same thing. The truck has never been wrecked, nor is front bent, nor is a headlight set back in the fender too far, etc. It happens.

The fix on an aftermarket spear would be more trimming on the backside to get the end to sit closer to the headlights. A little shaving towards the middle where the mounts on goes a very long way at the ends.

 

I have a stainless steel fabricator working on reproducing the spear. Once I see the final product and cost, I will share it. It won't be fast.

 

If you remember the TV show that did the brown SSR on it and caused all the commotion. They tried to build a billet spear and it weighed too much. So then they tried another version out of lighter gauge material flat stock and welded it. The problem they had was after they welded it together the welds did not match the base material and it stuck out like a sore thumb. I don't recall what the ended up doing for the final part they put on the truck but they spent a lot of time and effort trying different ideas. I do know there was no spear off the truck in the take off parts I bought from it. The hood emblem was there but it was broken and they sand blasted the finish off it. I did not buy it and left it.

 

We looked at it in Detroit.

One thought was to make it in 2 pieces and join it behind the Chevy badge. We will see what he comes up with.

 

@Dr.V, thank you, Van! If the part can be successfully produced in two pieces that could be assembled by the customer it would be a huge help toward a reasonable shipping cost.

 

I happen to know someone that started working on this a while back. There is currently one being fabricated in steel to assess the feasibility before moving on to other material.

 

What about carbon fiber? I don't know much about carbo fiber, but might be worth looking into.