Radio Delete Cars

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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i am toying with the idea of making my car a radio delete car bcoz i experimented with making the bezel for a radio delete and i didnt think it would work but i am really into the idea now

Point and question : on a factory radio delete car ...what was in place of the speaker in the dash?

it dont seem right to just leave the speaker grille open ....it would seem to me that a filler plate would have been there to prevent sunlight and foreign objects from getting through the speaker grille.

anyone have a factory radio delete car that knows this ?

Plus if i go radio delete i was planning to weld the antenna hole shut on the fender when i get around to painting the car ......did the factory radio delete all have antenna plugs or is it possible that the fender that was knowingly going on a radio delete car was never drilled for the antenna?
 
On my 64 Belvedere radio delete car nothing is in the speaker grille area.Never gave it much thought.I like your idea.
 
My dad has a 1964 Fury that is radio delete, the speaker slots are in the dash but no speaker.
 
Had a '68 Dart radio delete once. Nothing under the speaker grille but air. There was a lot of things missing on that car though. Things like seam sealer, sound deadening, back seat, window regulators, heater, arm rests, etc.
 
RaniDart70 said:
i ....did the factory radio delete all have antenna plugs or is it possible that the fender that was knowingly going on a radio delete car was never drilled for the antenna?
Click to expand...

Antenna mounting was part of predelivery service at the dealership.
 
Hi Rani,
I will tell you about my '72 Plymouth Valiant. It is a factory radio delete and there is an empty space where the speaker should reside. On a nice sunny day I can see sunlight channel through and it lights up the area behind the heater control levers. So no speaker block off plate was used on my car.
It does have a plain black plastic radio block off plate where the radio would be.
The other interesting thing is the right fender was never made with an antenna hole. Just a smooth topped fender and probably fairly rare compared to the volume of A-body cars they made. Im sure ,though, if you would have walked into a municipal garage or a utilities company garage in the 70's these would have been the norm.
If you would like, I can take pics and share them!
 
Valleyant said:
Hi Rani,
I will tell you about my '72 Plymouth Valiant. It is a factory radio delete and there is an empty space where the speaker should reside. On a nice sunny day I can see sunlight channel through and it lights up the area behind the heater control levers. So no speaker block off plate was used on my car.
It does have a plain black plastic radio block off plate where the radio would be.
The other interesting thing is the right fender was never made with an antenna hole. Just a smooth topped fender and probably fairly rare compared to the volume of A-body cars they made. Im sure ,though, if you would have walked into a municipal garage or a utilities company garage in the 70's these would have been the norm.
If you would like, I can take pics and share them!
Click to expand...

Please ....i think i speak for a lot of ppl when i say we like pics ......plus thats a great historical footnote to have...thanks
 
73AbodEE said:
you could always fab up a catch-all and fasten it in place of the speaker
Click to expand...


i think i am bcoz for a lot reasons, i dont like the idea of the speaker grille just being open like that .....if the factory would have made a filler plate, you what i would be on the hunt for now:D
 
RaniDart70 said:
i think i am bcoz for a lot reasons, i dont like the idea of the speaker grille just being open like that .....if the factory would have made a filler plate, you what i would be on the hunt for now:D
Click to expand...
i would to, just to keep anything weird or damaging out from behind the dash. you could use the old speaker frame as foundation.
 
73AbodEE said:
i would to, just to keep anything weird or damaging out from behind the dash. you could use the old speaker frame as foundation.
Click to expand...


kinda makes you realize how cheap Chrysler was in putting these cars together ....they couldnt even put a filler plate ....and most dash frames i have seen didnt even get paint behind the dash frame. :blackeye:
 
My 67 Hemi Coronet R/T was a radio delete car, no speaker and no hole in the fender.
 
1971 Dster 340 no radio, there is nothing to block the speaker grill on the dash, it's opened as well. There is a plastic radio delete plate (Rally Dash) and not sure about the fender as the PO put an antenna on in the 70s'.
 
340wedge said:
1971 Dster 340 no radio, there is nothing to block the speaker grill on the dash, it's opened as well. There is a plastic radio delete plate (Rally Dash) and not sure about the fender as the PO put an antenna on in the 70s'.
Click to expand...


the little plate is the only thing i am not doing like the factory ...i plastic welded the radio opening shut.

everything else i was going to try to follow the factory.
 

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Had a '65 valiant that was radio delete. There was nothing in that car.

More recently, I made my Duster radio delete. Bought an Ebay repro delete plate for the radio opening in the dash, have a factory plug for the antenna hole in the fender.

I took the speaker out from under the grille but I made use of the speaker bracket. I formed a thin piece of sheet aluminum around it and made a mount for an MSD box. Works perfect, just the right size. Had to drill some extra holes but its just a speaker bracket.

Yeah, the box is mounted upside down but it's not exposed to the elements and it should get plenty of air flow around it, especially with no heater box.

But anyway, radio delete rules! I'm all for taking out the radio if you do it right. Conversely, it kinda drives me nuts when people hack up a good dash and door panels trying to 'retrofit' some crummy car stereo only to listen to the same dumb music they've always listened to.
 
rmchrgr said:
had a '65 valiant that was radio delete. There was nothing in that car.

More recently, i made my duster radio delete. Bought an ebay repro delete plate for the radio opening in the dash, have a factory plug for the antenna hole in the fender.

I took the speaker out from under the grille but i made use of the speaker bracket. I formed a thin piece of sheet aluminum around it and made a mount for an msd box. Works perfect, just the right size. Had to drill some extra holes but its just a speaker bracket.

Yeah, the box is mounted upside down but it's not exposed to the elements and it should get plenty of air flow around it, especially with no heater box.

But anyway, radio delete rules! I'm all for taking out the radio if you do it right. Conversely, it kinda drives me nuts when people hack up a good dash and door panels trying to 'retrofit' some crummy car stereo only to listen to the same dumb music they've always listened to.
Click to expand...

lmao
 
when i buy cars ....the first thing i always look at is the dash ...and usually i have been right in saying the nicer the dash is the nicer the car usually is overall..

hacked radio opening, wires hanging down, stupid car speakers hacked in, thin speaker wire running under the seats, aftermarket gauges everywhere missing or mismatched knobs, Taz or Tweety floor mats are a few of many things that scream "your buying this car from a complete idiot"

of my best cars i have ever bought.... had the factory radio in place, (even if it didnt work) original bezels, all the screws holding the bezels on. all the original knobs and a clean ashtray.......those are a few things that spelled out "this was a taken care of car OR this car was not drivien very much" either way .....Thats good.
 
RaniDart70 said:
the little plate is the only thing i am not doing like the factory ...i plastic welded the radio opening shut.

everything else i was going to try to follow the factory.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of questions?

What plastic welder are you using?

What did you use to get the woodgrain where you plastic welded in the insert where the radio opening was?
 
A couple of pics of my factory radio delete plate (excuse the smear on it, the po had something stuck on it!) and my factory fender plug. If you look closely just under the dash in the radio delete plate pic you can see the sun shining on the floor showing nothing under the speaker grill.
I agree with you Rani about looking at and under the dash. A real caution flag to me!
 

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holmes said:
A couple of pics of my factory radio delete plate (excuse the smear on it, the po had something stuck on it!) and my factory fender plug. If you look closely just under the dash in the radio delete plate pic you can see the sun shining on the floor showing nothing under the speaker grill.
I agree with you Rani about looking at and under the dash. A real caution flag to me!
Click to expand...

That plate looks identical to the one that was in my 71 d100, so dont over look trucks if you are looking for a plate.

My current 78 power wagon is a radio delete, no hole in fender.
Weird thing is it does not have a block off plate, it is actually molded into the plastic dash, I can take a picture if anybody is interested.
 
Here is a 73-76 A body Radio Delete plate for cars with deluxe dash which just doesnt have the radio holes molded into them
Been tryin to find one with no luck
 

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