'62 (C1) Wonderbar

[Christopher R.]

I'm about to send out my Wonderbar for rebuilding. Before I do this, I want to make sure I've got the one that's correct for my '62. My car was built in mid-December 1961 - s/n 4321. Does that qualify as "early"?

The radio's got the curved finger indentations. But the transformer that hangs off the radio is on the side, rather than the back. The JG says that early (up to s/n 3525) models had the transformer on the side. Do you think they were still on the side 796 cars later?

[Jack H.]

Re: '62 (C1) Wonderbar

JG text reads "as late as 3525" which tells me this is an observation of the NTL's staff and NOT a hard/fast rule. The change (moving xformer and multi-stage capacitor) from the side of the chassis to the rear was done to eliminate a potential interference fit against the cowl vent actuator. This was considered an 'improvement' and not a threat to life/limb/property as side mounted chassis' had been used for YEARS before and there was no across-the-board recall campaign.

Therefore, the new improved chassis would be 'phased in' on the assy line with the factory using up on-hand inventory of the prior design to thwart scrap cost. Cars would have gotten old vs. new style radios by random 'pull' from inventory until older units were used up.

Strange things happened in the factory like stockers moving inventory and 'discovering' an overlooked stache of this/that part hidden behind other parts, mis-binned items, and 'float' (items that had failed on a prior build being returned from their repair/warranty source at a later point in time and then joining a fresh production job).

What's 'right' will be a judgement call by those who do the interior honors on your car. If you believe the radio is original to the car, I'd 'go' with it and I, personally, would give the benefit of the doubt to the owner on this one....

[John M.]

Re: '62 (C1) Wonderbar

Jack,
You are absolutely correct about the clearance to the cowl vent hardware. Almost every 58-61 wonderbar I have worked on has at least a small groove cut into the corner of the capacitor by the bolts. A few have been damaged so bad as to make the Capacitor non-functional.

Regards, John McGraw

[Rob Edwards]

Re: '62 (C1) Wonderbar

For what it's worth, the wonderbar in our '62 (#7646) has the side mounted transformer as well, and I know the radio was in the car in 1970 (as far back as I've been able to talk directly to previous owners) but there's no way I can document that it's the original radio. Larry Pearson is the SoCal '61-62 guru and it took him about 3 seconds to point out it had the 'wrong' radio. Are there any date codes or mfg serial numbers that are helpful in this regard?