radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

[Keith W.]

Looking at a 65 vette convertible - its radio delete what are the easy find to sort it out from a fake - is it just the earthing straps or are there other things to look for - As always any advice or help would be good - cheers keith

[Keith W.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

Yes I understand its not radio delete it was an option

[William C.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

No hole in the rear deck if not original radio car. No shielding or brackets for shielding, no hole in center console for radio.

[Mike E.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

I can't really understand why anyone would try fake a car that was not factory equipped with a radio on a 1965 car. It's not like a L-88 where that option was not available with a radio. To my knowledge all high performance engine options were available with or without a radio in 1965.

If the car has some racing heritage then there might be some justification. To me a no radio car is almost like a 3 speed car. Rare yes, more desirable, I'm not sure. In 1975 I ordered a new Trans Am without a radio. Not because I wanted to lighten up the car for some racing purposes. Because I was cheap and could install a better radio for less money.

Mike

[Bill W.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

My 65 hard top only car came without a radio . As Bill said you should not have holes in the rear deck or the dash , no ground straps no capacitors ,no speaker , or holes for the antenna switch .DSCN1154.jpgDSCN1158.jpgDSCN1160.jpgWires for the speaker and radio are there but taped to the loom . Also no shielding or braided wires if a big block . Im sure there are a few more things I cant think of . Mine was ordered to drag race when new. I dont see the car being worth more without a radio but I like it because its not the same as all the others .

[Wayne M.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

IMO, price was the main factor in deciding not to check the U69 option at $ 199.05. Heck, if you were buying a coupe, you could have ordered a 36.5 gallon tank and had enough change left over for a cool one ($1.05).

Another thing was that FM radio reception was not widely available by 1965 if you lived in the middle of the continent. An automotive parts chain could have sold you an AM/FM for $50.

Notice the BW photo of this, my first car (May 1968) '65 VIN 04835, an L79 with an 80 lb oil gauge. Another weird thing is that it had the upper (distrib/coil) shielding, which begs the question if this was to reduce RFI to others (cars/houses) or on the car on which it was installed. In the color photo you can see the aftermarket radio under the glove box.


65 L79_04835 (Custom).jpg

[Bill W.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

Wayne I always wondered about the RFI in non radio cars . I was told by the person that worked on my car when it was new that it did not come with shielding . But he thought it had braided wires .It was last driven in 1973 and still had braided wires on it in 1980 when I bought it. I need to check the dates . As for as money goes the original owner didnt buy anything not needed to race .

[Dino L.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

Check the accelerator lever, it has a hole that gets threaded when the braided ground strap is factory installed, the hole will lack evidence of threads, same on cross member to exhaust, look for any sighs of factory installed capacitors on coil, regulator gage cluster signal stat etc....

[Keith W.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

Thanks guys for all the info and photos - am now fully armed with my torch and mirror, to inspect appreciate the help as always Keith

[Gene M.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

Check the accelerator lever, it has a hole that gets threaded when the braided ground strap is factory installed, the hole will lack evidence of threads, same on cross member to exhaust, look for any sighs of factory installed capacitors on coil, regulator gage cluster signal stat etc....

Yes this is the way the AIM spells it out. But.....I know of no radio cars that still have the accelerator lever strap and the coil condenser. Not all was followed by GM workers as designed.

[Bill W.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

Gene the only thing I found on my car was a capacitor on the heater blower motor . I have no idea what it does . I do have side exhaust but there were never any grounds . St Louis car .

[John H.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

For many line operators, it was easier just to put radio stuff (grounds, capacitors, etc.) on every car than to check the broadcast sheet to see if that car took a radio or not, so it's not unusual to see a "mix" of stuff on a no-radio car.

[James W.]

Re: radio delete 1965 easy find org or fake

Wayne,

My late production (220xx) L79 equipped '65 coupe has an 80 lb oil pressure gauge. When did the change over occur? To my knowledge it's never been apart, we've owned the car since 1974.

James West