Radio Delete?

[Ralph E.]

Did any C3 or later Corvettes come with the radio delete option?

[Joe L.]

Re: Radio Delete?

Ralph-----

For the most part, radios were never "deleted" from Corvettes; if you didn't ORDER and PAY for one, you didn't get one. In some cases, you couldn't order one (e.g. L-88, 1970-72 ZR-1)

In 1979 radios became standard in Corvettes. However, it was not until 1981 that a true "radio delete" could be ordered as a credit option. I believe that the "radio delete" option came about as a result of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requirements that folks could not be forced to, effectively, purchase a radio that they were going to replace with an aftermarket-available unit. That was never a problem when "no radio" was the standard condition and any radio was optional. But, once radios became "standard" and, presumably, included in the base price of the car, folks decided that customers should be able to "opt out".

[Ralph E.]

Re: Radio Delete?

Thanks Joe,
So a 1968 Corvette could be purchased without a radio. Very interesting. I've never seen one. Not that means anything.

[Mike E.]

Re: Radio Delete?

My 30,000 mile 71 LT-1 convertible is an original no-radio car--if you look in any production year in a source like the black book, etc., it will tell you how many cars were produced, and how many AM/FM radios were produced and how many AM/FM stereo radios were produced. Add those radio production numbers together, subtract from the total car production, and you know how many were produced without radios. In 1968, for example, that computes to 646 no-radio cars. Out of 28,566, that isn't very many, and out of the 646, probably most were ordered that way with the intent of either racing or buying an aftermarket radio and throwing it in.

[Ralph E.]

Re: Radio Delete?

Thanks Mike, I just checked the black book for other years. Amazing how few C3's were produced without radios. Even more amazing to me is that they were produced period.

[Clem Z.]

Re: Radio Delete?

if you got a 63 to 67 without a radio there was not even a hole in the dash for it. been there done that and had to cut the holes in my 65 396 and install a radio to sell it. what a PIA that was so i never order a corvette without a radio again.

[Tom B.]

Re: Radio Delete?

Interestingly enough in 1979 option U69 AM/FM radio became standard but there was no UL5 radio delete option. Then in 1980 UL5 returned as the radio delete option with a credit of $126.00. I say returned because 1972-1976 cars also used option UL5 for the non-radio cars and listed it as standard. So cars in these years with no-radio were standard but they still were given the UL5 option code to designate that. I wonder if that was done just to confirm to the assembly line that this car wasn't getting any radio?

I also wonder why they dropped UL5 in 1977 and 1978? Obviously in 1979 GM decided that everyone needed a radio but enough buyers must have disagreed that they brought back UL5 in 1980.

Tom

[Reba Whittington]

Re: Radio Delete?

I would imagine that most of those 646 were L88s and L89s since their total was 704.

[Clem Z.]

Re: Radio Delete?

you can bet that $120 of that $126 for the radio was GM profit so they made the radio standard.

[Joe L.]

Re: Radio Delete?

Tom-----

I can find no information that UL-5 radio delete was an RPO for 72-76. It certainly wasn't an ORDERABLE item. It MAY have been used as a PRODUCTION coding of some sort for cars that were ordered without radio.