63 Speaker mount in dash

[Todd L.]

Can anyone tell me what is supposed to go in this 3rd square hole in the speaker mount area? My speaker only had two carriage screws when I removed it, so I don't know what this extra hole is for. Thanks in advance. 20250716_162300.jpg

[Arland D.]

That hole is used to attach the defroster vent bracket.

[Todd L.]

Arland, the defroster brackets attach to the two holes on either side of the slot at the front window.

[Timothy B.]

Todd,

Going from memory the 1963 cars had the defroster duct attached on both ends like you mentioned plus a screw attachment down at the bottom to the crossbar. Later, the duct attached on both the ends plus a bracket that went to that small hole and no attachment at the lower crossbar.

If the dash is original to the car that change over with the square hole may be somewhere near your serial number build. It's more 63 stuff...

[Todd L.]

Thanks Timothy, that makes sense. It is the original dash and the duct has the tab that attaches to the Zbar, so must have been some crossover parts there.

[Arland D.]

Todd,

Are you sure this isn't the hole you are referring to?

[Todd L.]

Arland,

Yes, that is the hole, but my duct does not have that extra tab on it. This car has never had the dash and ductwork out of it, so it's odd that there is a hole there that was never used. Car was built in early December 1962.

[Terry M.]

Arland,

Yes, that is the hole, but my duct does not have that extra tab on it. This car has never had the dash and ductwork out of it, so it's odd that there is a hole there that was never used. Car was built in early December 1962.

Actually, this is an example of the need to "phase in" necessary parts before they are needed. The process engineers have to get the hole there before the tab was there. They want to "phase out" the old parts without the hole before the parts with the hole are needed. They want all those old parts out of the system before the new ductwork enters the system. If the tab was there without the hole to put the fastener in the ductwork would not be supported. This is a nice example of the work of Process Engineering a necessary, but often unrecognized part of automotive (and other systems) assembly.