It was right there all along....

[mbstude]

Thanks to a fellow forum member, I now have a fully restored, correct for '58, push button radio for Christine.

A while back I was asking for a radio faceplate, and came up empty. However, someone mentioned that their '58 had a faceplate behind the delete plate.

Well, it's as though the boys at Studebaker Corp. KNEW that someone would be installing a radio, 50+ years later...

Here's what was behind the dash.



And the delete plate.



And the faceplate.



Talk about "Advanced Thinking from Studebaker Corp!"

Matthew Burnette
Hazlehurst, GA

[lstude]

They didn't do that on our 58 Silver Hawk.

Leonard Shepherd

http://leonardshepherd.com/

[silverhawk]

Way to go! I am glad it worked out for you. I wonder what the logic was behind putting that without the radio?

Dylan Wills

'61 lark deluxe 4 door wagon

[mbstude]

I've never seen this done before either. Anyone else know of this being done on any other car?

Matthew Burnette
Hazlehurst, GA

[r1lark]

quote:Originally posted by mbstude

I've never seen this done before either. Anyone else know of this being done on any other car?

Matthew Burnette
Hazlehurst, GA

Have you ordered a copy of the Production Order? Maybe the car was originally built with a radio, and the customer didn't want it so the dealer removed it?? Just brainstorming here....

Paul
Winston-Salem, NC
Visit The NEW Studebaker Skytop Registry website at: www.studebakerskytop.com

[62SY4]

No I havent seen another like that, but it looks like the delete plate fits inside the radio plate, so that gives a nice 'finishing' detail I guess like a beaded panel.

Jon Krimm
1962 Lark Sedan

1961 Champ

[mbstude]

Ordering the build sheet is on the to-do list. And Jon, you're exactly right. It fits together perfectly.

Matthew Burnette
Hazlehurst, GA

[StudeRich]

Well at the very least, it was a great simple way to hold the block-off plate into the dash! [^]

[jclary]

Hey Matthew, As has been being discussed on the thread, "What is a Parts car?"... perhaps in another life somebody came by your car and decided it really was a "Parts" car... and made off with the radio! Who knows when the delete plate was added? Then again, maybe you are just "living right!" Now you have one more blessing to be thankful for.

John Clary
Greer, SC

I have only two limitations ...BRAINS & ENERGY
SDC member since 1975

[BobGlasscock]

The PO may tell the story. Maybe the car was going to have a dealer installed radio so the faceplate was included for convenience. Maybe, I dunno, I'm no expert.

'50 Champion, 1 family owner

[5859]

Mathew,I'm the one that mentioned it might be there, my 58 Commander sedan also had the faceplate behind the block off, I suspect they all were that way in the sedan series, it would make sense that the company may have anticipated selling a lot more cars with radios by the late 50s, but the good old Studebaker buyers just couldn't be bothered with such pricy, or distracting options. It could also have been for ease of dealer installations, but really who knows?

[Rerun]

Is it possible that the key here is the color?

Since the delete plate and radio bezel are painted to match the dash, rather than chrome or aluminum, it may have been the practice to include both stampings when the dash was painted. Adding a dealer installed radio would have otherwise required painting a bezel to suit the dash, or using a "universal" chrome bezel. It was probably cheaper to just include the two painted stampings.

Jim Bradley
Lewistown PA
'78 Avanti II

[jimmijim8]

Precisely James. Brillant deduction. jimmijim

[mbstude]

Jim, you're probably right with that theory.. I seriously doubt that the car had a radio, then was removed. There's no hole for an antennae, for example.

BTW, the radio is installed a lookin' good. [^]

Matthew Burnette
Hazlehurst, GA