1963 antenna hole mistery ?

[Sander B.]

i was ready to instal my antenna and was checking the AIM
i discovered my antenna hole is on a different place then expected

its more up to the front and ends up in the storage compartment
as you can see in the picture the body was stripped to bare fiberglass

and there was no sign of any hole or repair on the expected location
i am for 99.9 % sure the roof/rear deck has never been replaced
my vin is in the 11000 so the 2 color types of pannels used is normal

when checking some factory picture's in Noland Adams book
you can see when the body is glued together there is no Antenna hole yet,

next picture at prep for paint the hole is there.

did they drill the hole by hand with a hand drill
and a worker made a mistake on my body ?

any toughts? thanks Sander,

[Michael H.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

Sander,

Just a guess but, is it possible the radio was installed by the dealer instead of the factory? It was actually somewhat common for dealers to order cars (especially Corvettes) for inventory without radios. If a buyer wanted the radio option, the service department installed it. Many dealers kept the radios and installation packages in stock.
I've seen quite a few dealer installations that have the antenna mounted forward of the rear bulkhead instead of behind it. It would have been a much easier installation for the mechanic.
Check to see if your car has all of the ground straps in various locations that are normally installed at the factory. Chances are, one or more may be missing.

[Robert C.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

I don't think the factory made a mistake! Is it possible that the car was ordered without a radio.......
Then someone added one and the antenna later?

[Ray G.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

Hello;
Started working in a Chevrolet dealer service department July '63.
Helped w/new car setup when needed.
Our dealership installed as many options as possible and parts department stocked most option packages.
Is was common for customers to request options just before new car delivery.
Hope this helps.
Ray

[David C.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

All I can say is that body is looking pretty straight!

[Cecil L.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

According to Noland Adams on page 160 of Volume 2:

" All 1963 Corvette bodies had radio antenna holes. If a 63 Corvette was ordered without a radio, the hole was filled in. Owners of non-radio equipped cars discover the plugged holes when they strip the bodies for painting.
The first variation to 1963 Corvettes with radios involved the antenna mounting location. The first spot was too close to an interior panel, so the antenna was relocated. and there may have been more than one antenna mounting problem. For example, 30837S100770 reported three mounting holes, two of which were filled by the factory, with the antenna in the third."


This seems to eliminates the dealer installed reason for the hole location. I would think that it might have been necessary to relocate the hole when the U69 AM/FM option came out since I seem to recall that it used a different size grounding plane.

[Michael H.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

According to Noland Adams on page 160 of Volume 2:

" All 1963 Corvette bodies had radio antenna holes.

I don't think I completely agree with Nolands assumption. I know of one 63 coupe that never had a radio and never had the hole for the antenna. In fact, looking at the picture of Sanders car, I think I now know of two 63' that never had the antenna hole from the factory.
We know for sure that the hole in his car couldn't possibly have been drilled that far off from the correct location "by accident". The hole would have been drilled using some sort of template if done at St Louis.

Very early drawings in the 63 AIM do show that the dimension, or location, of the hole was changed but as I remember, that change occured on paper before SOP of the 63 model year.
I don't recall a change in antenna location during the year for the new AM-FM radio. (I'll look later) I know the AM-FM ground plane was larger than the AM but I'm pretty sure the extra length was added to the rear.

[Robert C.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

Noland ,bless him, has been wrong at times. The hole was always cut on later cars,67 and up, and then filled if no radio was ordered. Radio's , like AC ,in 63's were a bit more rare.I agree with Michael.

[Sander B.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

it's a pity i discovered this after the new paint , i cant do much abouth it anymore

atleast i know now what probably happened

i have the AM/FM radio and no ground plate was pressent but this could be because it might not fit ?

thanks
Sander

[Michael W.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

what will be the effect of this in a flight judging?

[Michael H.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

what will be the effect of this in a flight judging?

I'm not sure but I would guess full points for the antenna (if correct) but a deduction for installation.

[John H.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

The hole was always cut on later cars,67 and up, and then filled if no radio was ordered.

I'll have to disagree - the antenna hole was fixture-drilled in the Body Shop if the car order spec'd a radio (it was on the Body Shop Run Sheet by Body Shop Job Number), and if no radio was ordered, no hole was drilled. There's no way Engineering would approve "filling" a hole that size on a Class "A" surface.

[Cecil L.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

Now I have to wonder what else Noland had wrong.....like maybe all 63 cars had the clutch tower on the frame even if it was a powerglide?

Anyway, I think I found the answer to the antenna hole location. GM would have made a kit for dealer installed radios just like most other accessories especially since it involved cutting the center dash and adding all the radio associated paraphernalia. With that in mind I checked the 63 Accessories Manual and found out that there were two kits, one for the radio and one for the antenna. Both included templates for the cuts to the dash and the antenna location. The antenna template was located with the front edge 28" from the leading edge of the rear quarter at the peak/door intersection.The assembly manual uses the same reference for the antenna hole but the hole on the factory U65 was 41.6" from that reference and the U 69 was 41.8". The dealer installed antenna instructions clearly place the antenna inside the rear compartment just forward of the rear bulkhead on both the coupe and convertible. I would assume this was to make it easier for installation by dealer personnel by not having to remove the gas tank and or muffler to place the antenna in the factory location.JMHO

[Michael H.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

Now I have to wonder what else Noland had wrong.....like maybe all 63 cars had the clutch tower on the frame even if it was a powerglide?

With that in mind I checked the 63 Accessories Manual and found out that there were two kits, one for the radio and one for the antenna. Both included templates for the cuts to the dash and the antenna location. The antenna template was located with the front edge 28" from the leading edge of the rear quarter at the peak/door intersection.The assembly manual uses the same reference for the antenna hole but the hole on the factory U65 was 41.6" from that reference and the U 69 was 41.8".

Thanks Cecil, great info. Would it be possible to scan and post that sheet? That would be very interesting.

[Timothy B.]

Re: 1963 antenna hole mistery ?

This is a picture of a 63 Z-06 radio delete taken this spring. Mostly original paint without radio antenna hole.