The Ford trucks I dabble in have a similar thing with the grille. There was black paint around the headlight bezels (somewhat worn off in this picture) and the upper and lower vertical bars giving the middle area sort of a floating effect. The reproductions and often the refinished grilles I see don't apply that paint and you lose the effect.
That's one of my 1966 F250 4x4 trucks. The 4x4s were still fairly rare - only 3,559 F250 stylesides built in this year. Air horns poking through the grille on the passenger side, just to keep other drivers honest! Hahaha.
Mr. Redi-Rad (Engine-Ear on this forum) showed up on the Ford truck forum the other day with a 2WD stepside so I'm not the only one who sways both ways.