Someone Found an Original Chrysler K-Car Grille Pattern at a Flea Market

Generally, most car companies keep a pretty tight hold over their production tooling and related equipment. However, decades after the K-Car helped save Chrysler, someone found what appears to be an original engineering pattern of a K-Car grille.

The piece in question appears to be a model or engineering pattern for a front grille, crafted in wood. In particular, it's what you would have seen on the 1985-1989 Dodge Aries when it got a refresh with the new crosshair grille design. The piece was discovered by one Robert Schoenlein, who purchased the item at a flea market in northern Michigan a couple of weeks ago, before posting it to Facebook.

Schoenlein notes that it's all crafted out of wood, and quite heavy. While he described it as a "designer's model" of the K-car grille, others suggested it could instead be a piece of production tooling. Some suggested it was a "positive" pattern that could be used for sand casting an aluminum copy. The item does bear some resemblance to sand casting patterns, particularly due to visible alignment features between its various segments.