AMT '59 Ford: What the...?!

[Tom Geiger]

Just remembered something.... many fleet specials didn't have radios. First because it reduced the cost slightly, second because some companies didn't want workers distracted while driving. My Uncle Dan was a meter reader for PSE&G in NJ for 50 years. His last ride was a 1966 Valiant 100 2 door sedan with a 170 slant six and three speed on the column. No radio.

A buddy-0-mine bought a '66 Nova two door sedan from our local utility in our senior year of high school, 1976. It had been a meter readers car. Painted gold, dull like it had never been washed. They must've reset the entire fleet, because these were all over the place. Six cylinder car, powerglide, no radio, power steering or brakes. Bench seat and a huge dent in the passenger side door. So he got it for $75. We drew a radio on the plate and speakers in the back shelf. He thought this was funny. It was. The funnier part was that someone realized these Novas had fleet keys. So we'd be driving around and we'd see one parked in a shopping center. So we'd move it to the other side of a lot. We thought we were hilarious. Today we'd be charged with stealing the car!

Edited June 26, 2015 by Tom Geiger

[oldscool]

Sometimes carpet is not a good thing. If you have ever lived in area with a lot of dirt roads and dirt or gravel parking lots you will know how hard it is to keep carpet clean in cars. Dirty carpet equals stinky car.

[Jon Haigwood]

WOW!!! I just looked in my 66 Barracuda and there is a radio but there are NO CUP HOLDERS . How do they expect me to drive it ??

[Jon Haigwood]

I can remember something about the first Subaru's that came to the US having no front brakes. I believe that they were forced to stop selling them. I can remember 100's of them sitting in lots down by the docks. But they were only $1,300.

[unclescott58]

WOW!!! I just looked in my 66 Barracuda and there is a radio but there are NO CUP HOLDERS . How do they expect me to drive it ??

Open up your glove box. I don't know about the '66 Barracudas, but a lot of cars in the 50's and 60's had round indentations on the inside of glove box doors. Cup holders. Shallow cup holders that may not work very well. But, that's what they were meant to be. Cup holders. You were expected to use them when you were at a drive in or some other stationary stop. So you may still be okay.

Scott

[freakshow12]

I have an 85 Mercury capri ( think mustang) that is so oddly equipped that it's the only one known in the fox Capri registry. It's a bare bones GS model. It's has the 5.0/ 5 speed ( only available in Canada in the GS ) it has the red/ black carpet springtime special interior ( only availible for 3 months in 85) and it's radio delete car. 179 radio delete capris were built in 85 and 150 went to mclaren to become ASC coupes. That leaves 29 cars. Mine with all the oddball options is one of the rarest foxes ever built

[Snake45]

Open up your glove box. I don't know about the '66 Barracudas, but a lot of cars in the 50's and 60's had round indentations on the inside of glove box doors. Cup holders. Shallow cup holders that may not work very well. But, that's what they were meant to be. Cup holders. You were expected to use them when you were at a drive in or some other stationary stop. So you may still be okay.

Scott

Yup. I remember my folks' '59 Bel Air had those.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Sorry Steve, if you had 1958 Cadillac Series 62, the power seat, radio, and automatic dimmer were all options according to Cadillac. I have the dealer's Illustrated Guild for the 1958 Cadillacs. Below is the complete list of options for 1958 Series 62 coupes:

Cadillac Air Conditioner

Cadillac Air Suspension

Door Locks, Electric

Dor-Gards (Cadillac's spelling, not mine)

Eldorado Engine (3 dual-barrel carburators)

E-Z-Eye Tinted Glass

Fog Lamps (pair)

Front Seat Adjustment (6-way), power operated

Front Seat Back Lock, right side (coupe only)

Headlight Dimmer, automatic

Heater

License Frame

Radiator Grille, gold-finish

Radio

Remote-Control Trunk Lid Lock

Sabre-Spoke Wheels (set of five) in chrome finish

Vent Window Regulators, power operated

Window Lifts, power operated

Whitewall Tires, 8.20 x 15 (set of five)

The Electric Door Locks were new for '58. And the front seat back lock only appeared in '58, to reappear on Cadillac's, right and left, in 1966.

Standard equipment on a 1958 Cadillac Series 62 coupe included the following:

Air-Cleaner, dry-pack

Armrest, center-rear

Cadillac Power Brakes

Cadillac Power Steering

Cigarette Lighters, front (two)

Clock, electric

Hydra-Matic Transmission

Lights, front ash receivers

Lights, back-up (dual)

Light, courtesy or map (automatic)

Lights, directional signal

Light, glove box (automatic)

Light, luggage compartment (automatic)

Mirror, glare-proof, rear-view, flip type

Oil Filter

Outside Mirror, left-side, remote-control

Paint, two-tone

Parking Brake Warning Signal

Visor Vanity Mirror

Wheel Discs (set of four)

Windshield Washer and Coordinator

Wow! Interesting to see what they pointed out as standard equipment. Turn signals (some trucks would not get this as standard equipment until required by law in early-to-mid 60's). Day-night mirror. Windshield washers. A lot of things lesser car did not have. And were even optional on Cadillacs not that many years before.

It's amazing how much things have changed. That's why a model car from the 1950's, even a high buck convertible, without a radio doesn't bother me.

Scott

It's been many years Scott & I guess I could have been mistaken, but when I bought the car, it came with the original sticker & I'm almost certain the only thing listed as an additional cost option was the heater & the power windows.

There could have been a few other small items, but I don't remember seeing anything about the dimmer, radio or seats.

But, I'm not certain.

Anyway, I still find it interesting that a heater was an option.

Steve

[Maindrian Pace]

I've owned several radio delete cars.

'78 ultra-plain jane Fairmont:

'65 Ranchero (still have it)

And my Comet wagon was one, but I added one to chrome up the dash a bit more.

A model radio delete car would be cool, and you wouldn't have to drill the fender for an antenna.

[my80malibu]

All those old movies I see these days the actors are singing while driving anyways,maybe that's why the radio was deleted.

[disabled modeler]

I once almost bought a 68 Biscayne 2door sedan with no options but had a 396ci,3 speed on the floor with bench seat and factory air...manual steering,and brakes no radio ether rubber floor cover.

[moparfarmer]

Uncle Scott 58..I bought a 1965 Dodge Coronet 2 dr sedan from a guy in Minneapolis..Had no passanger sunvisor,no armrests...Also had no back-up lights or w/washer..My 64 Fury convert had no power steering or w/washers but did come with a factory AM/FM radioI've since installed correct power steering and wheel...

[moparfarmer]

Addition to my comments, my 64 Plymouth has a bench seat and no seatbelts..Not even mounting brackets..US Mopars had belts and brackets in 1965 while Canadian produced didn't have them standard until 1966..

[Muncie]

In the 60's, Dad always ordered his cars - pretty basic stuff, but always with a radio. However, he never ordered the outside mirror. The mirrors were $7 from the Dodge factory, but only $3 at the local hardware store. It kind of bothered him when the federal safety regulations changed and he couldn't get a car without the mirror.

[jbwelda]

my dad was always a chevy man, generally station wagons. but his last few years he drove one of those big Buick Roadmaster wagons. Darn thing had a dashboard top surface you could play cards on. But the funniest thing was he didn't know what a cassette player was; he was putting spare coins into the slot on front. Then he couldn't figure how to get them back out. We were driving one day and he asked me, I about fell on the floor laughing when he explained what he was doing. had to show him a cassette tape!

I remember we had a 62 chevy wagon (belair?) and it was a big deal that it had a heater and radio in it. our previous (55 or 56 I forget) wagon had neither, but we lived in the tropics where it was warm and there were no radio stations mostly.

jb

[Sixties Sam]

I had a 62 Valiant that was originally owned by an elderly woman. She ordered it without a radio. She thought radios were too much of a distraction when driving. Maybe she didn't know they had an "off" switch?

Sam

[unclescott58]

I was just driving around this evening with my windows down and my radio off. Hard to hear the radio with the windows down and doing 65 mph anyhow. Sometimes I just like driving with no background noise. And if I have another person in the car with me, I'd rather hear what they have to say than listen to what's on the radio. I still like the art of conversation. Forced the kids I raised to talk when riding with me in the car. And I'm glad I did. I had fun watching and listening to them grow up.

Its funny, somebody mentioned about people sing in cars in old movies. And maybe that's the reason they didn't need a radio. As a kid our '61 Comet did not have a radio. And guess what? We sang in the car! Mainly my mom, sisters and I. Once in a while we could get dad to sing too. But it interesting, when he ordered the new '67 Comet, he ordered it with radio. Every time I see the movie a Christmas Story with the family singing in the car, and old man cringing, I wonder if that's what my dad was doing? And after 6 years without a radio he had had enough. I doubt it. But, I get a good laugh out of the thought. I'm sure the real reason he wanted a radio was so he could listen to the Twins games. And on long trips we still sang in car. Mainly Beetles tunes in the late 60's.

Scott

Edited June 28, 2015 by unclescott58

[59 Buick]

it wasn't much different in Australia. I have owned a couple of classic Holdens, a FB and an EK basically the same body with different trim, interior upholstery etc. the accessories were made available by the GMH owned National Automotive Service Company which outsourced manufacturing and distributed Holden approved accessories.

A sample of what was available for the EK is shown at http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/holden_EK_nasco_accessories.htm

My 59 Buick was supplied with the heater windshield washer and radio and I assume these were factory fitted, however it does have a warning light fitted to the handbrake that shows it is on, not sure if this is factory.

My 58 Chevrolet is an imported RHD body from Canada and is a Biscayne body style put together by Holden and had to have an amount of local content installed and this explains the leather upholstery. These cars tended to be a six cylinder, three on the tree model, it also has no heater, radio or other luxuries. Higher level Chevrolet models have been imported and I know of one imporeted Impala and two 1959 Cadillacs that are factory RHD fitted with the auto and V8.

Edited June 28, 2015 by 59 Buick

[thatz4u]

I had Fairmont wagon with radio delete & a plastic cover plate, I poped it out & the radio mounting holes were under it..I made use of them. :-)

It was a phone company fleet car in an earlier life, but it had power steering, inline 6 with an automatic trans, 260 a/c, carpet, & a cupholder that clipped on the door by the glass. I think it was optional