68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

[Keith B.]

got into a debate yesterday about the rear deck panels of 68 cars. or any other years. when the rear deck panel was made was the hole already made for the antenna? or was the panel solid with no hole and in the body shop at St. Louis did a line worker drill the hole?

[Joe L.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

got into a debate yesterday about the rear deck panels of 68 cars. or any other years. when the rear deck panel was made was the hole already made for the antenna? or was the panel solid with no hole and in the body shop at St. Louis did a line worker drill the hole?

Keith-----


The hole was added at St. Louis. In fact, I believe instructions for doing so are included in UPC U69 of the AIM.

[Keith B.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

alright that is interesting the reason why the question was asked we had a local chapter meet where we were looking over a members newly bought 68 L88 with less then 4k miles. the owner has talked to the original owner who tried to order the car with a radio. but of coarse it did not come with one. but you can see were the hole in the rear deck was repaired. it looks to be a factory repair. on the underside of the car there is same style masking tape as used on the body mount shims to cover the hole to hold the filler to file the hole. since I don't know much about 68s I thought Id ask on here

[Joe L.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

alright that is interesting the reason why the question was asked we had a local chapter meet where we were looking over a members newly bought 68 L88 with less then 4k miles. the owner has talked to the original owner who tried to order the car with a radio. but of coarse it did not come with one. but you can see were the hole in the rear deck was repaired. it looks to be a factory repair. on the underside of the car there is same style masking tape as used on the body mount shims to cover the hole to hold the filler to file the hole. since I don't know much about 68s I thought Id ask on here

Keith-----

It could be a factory mistake that was corrected. Since the vast majority of cars had radios, I could see where this might happen. However, it would have had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the original owner tried to order the car with a radio. The fact that he made that statement makes me wonder if he was trying to offer an "explanation" for why the hole was there.

If the hole was a factory accident, it's a very unfortunate accident for the current owner. The presence or absence of that hole is one of the primary means of identifying real, original non-radio cars (like L-88). This is because "reversing" the hole is one of the most difficult, if not impossible, tasks faced by the fake-creator.

Does the owner have other irrefutable documentation as to the car's original equipment? If not, I doubt he'll do very well in judging. As far as L-88's and other rare options go, there are a LOT more fakes out there than there are original cars.

[Keith B.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

it is indeed a real car full of real paper work. there is no question in my mind its real.

[Joe L.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

it is indeed a real car full of real paper work. there is no question in my mind its real.

Keith------


Keep in mind that documentation is also faked these days. I've seen some that appeared very original in every way.

[John C.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

Kieth

Rick Bizzoco states the antenna holes were filled for cars not equipped with radios in his 1969 Stingray Guidebook. You can see a picture on page 61 in Dobbins 1968-1972 Factbook of what it looked like from below.

John

[Paul O.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

John

That was what I thought also the the hole was part of the mold and for a car with the radio not optioned it was filled before painting.

[Joe L.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

John

That was what I thought also the the hole was part of the mold and for a car with the radio not optioned it was filled before painting.

Paul-----


I just checked the AIM's. Through at least 1972 instructions for drilling the hole (actually 2 holes including the hole for the bezel anti-rotation pin) are contained in the U-69 section. Is it possible that St. Louis drilled the holes in all the panels and then filled them for non-radio cars? Yes, I suppose it's possible except for a few things:

1) Ever try to fill a hole in fiberglass panel in such a way no vestige of its former presence re-appears, sometimes in short order? Check out cars that once had luggage racks installed and subsequently had them removed and the holes filled. Many folks leave the luggage racks installed just so they don't have to deal with the problem of what usually occurs when the holes are filled;

2) I've seen non-radio cars with no hole ever drilled in the panel. Of course, this does not mean that every such car had a non-drilled panel but at least some did.

[John C.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

Joe

Here is another thread about antenna holes. Several people report 1968 and up cars having the hole plugged on non-radio cars.

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthread.php?75679-Radio-delete-antenna-hole

John

[Dick W.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

It has been my experience that real radio delete cars had the holes and were plugged. Believe they used the same material they used in the bonding seams, at least from the appearance of it.

[Bill W.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

My 65 no radio car had a hole drilled and a 70 style antenna installed . At least they drilled the hole in the wrong spot and there is no hole where the factory would have drilled . Also they mounted the radio and speakers on the rear jack cover and left the dash and speaker area untouched . I had a long talk with Phil Hawkins at Joplin , He said it did happen that holes were drilled when line workers didnt pay attention to the "build" sheets . Most no radio or unusual cars had a large X on the rear bulkhead , that told the line worker to check the build sheet because something was different than the normal build .(per Phil) . Dick is correct it is very hard to repair any hole and not have it show after a couple temp. changes.

[Jim W.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

I have the same issue with needing to fill the hole in my 64. Although it was drilled in the wrong place, in fact it is 2/3 the way into the bond strip at the rear bulkhead so I'm thinking the double thickness will help give the patch more "meat" to help prevent future depression. Am I on track with that logic. Also if detected, any judge should realize it was a non-radio car by the incorrect placement.corvette misc 172.jpg

[Joe L.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

All-----


One other thing: my recollection is very hazy on this because it's been over 35 years. However, vaguely, I recollect that when I had the antenna out before my car was re-painted, it appeared to me that the hole was drilled after the car was originally painted. As I vaguely recall, there were bare fiberglass "strands" visible which would have been covered if the hole had been present before painting.

[Paul D.]

Re: 68 non radio cars antenna hole questions

What about alarm switch holes? When I stripped my 71 for paint, I found a filled hole in the rear panel where the alarm switch would be. Car was a stripped down model (no options) and showed no other signs of alarm installation. Also, filler only was in the switch hole (circle with small notch at bottom) and no feathering out as you would expect from a body shop repair. Looked the same from the back side. I remember wondering why would they not just make panels solid instead of filling holes. The fill was so neat, it looked as if a plug had been glued in, but I am sure it was just filler as Dick said. I remember it was much darker than the rest of the glass, just like the seam filler. Chip.