radio delete panel

[Stephen B.]

Good evening. I have a 72 coupe for about 8 years now which has been off the the road about 15 years. I have it running after alot of work from the age of the car. I do have 2 build sheets, one for the gas tank and one was up behind the dash. This was a radio delete car, which is kind of strange. The question I have WHY are the radio delete panels SO expensive?????. I understand this was an L88 issue. The car did have a radio in it which have 71 knobs, so I presume the original customer had a radio dealer installed.

[Sal C.]

Re: radio delete panel

A) Corvettes not equipped with radios from he plant are not plentiful to begin with.
B) Those cars usually were ordered that way for 2 reasons. Car was to be used for racing. Or original owner planned to install their own radio'
C) Those that were raced most likely retain their original panels.
D} Those cars with radios that were added likely had their panels tossed in the trash by a dealer or on owner.

Reproduction delete plates are easily available and a lot less expensive than an original.

[James G.]

Re: radio delete panel

The original one in our other LT1 is not perfect so I was looking for a NOS one, after seeing the going prices I decided the original is close enough to PERFECT for me!

B)/(C) - the cars which were raced were typically the hi performance models, some not available with a radio - L88 ZL1 ZR1 ZR2 - some of the most valuable Corvettes ever built - thus the prices reflect the limited availability and the fact that very valuable cars are the ones which typically missing them.

[Patrick B.]

Re: radio delete panel

How much do people ask for a NOS radio delete plate?

[James G.]

Re: radio delete panel

I don't believe I have seen one under $900 in the last few years and IIRC $1200-$1500 is typical THESE are pre inflation... any of these numbers may seem like a bargain in 3 years.