I recently picked up a parts cab, and after running the VIN, it turns out it's a '66 Custom Cab, produced in the Ontario Assembly Plant. (was originally assumed to be a '65, strictly based on the grille) Truck has Multi character DSO#, so was a special order.

Well, this cab has no holes in dash for a radio, but has some kind of add-on pod under the dash with a radio in it, and the radio is a Pianola (which, after a wee bit of googling turns out is a Japanese manufactured brand).

This cab also has seat belts, and the floor mat was a Blue/Black (tiny) checker pattern (the only remnants left of the mat were the strip that was under the the aluminum trim on the two outside edges)

Anways, just curious if this is fairly common so see a dash that has never been drilled, or a complete oddity ??

**And just so you know, the cluster is already out, so I reached in from the cluster opening and ran my hand over the backside of the entire area where the radio would be, smooth as a baby's bottom, so no one has welded any previous holes shut....

James

 

Down here in the U.S. the AM radio was optional in all cases.

RADIO:
Opt. Manual AM radio and antenna.

The guy just posted pictures of his 1963 and it has no holes.

Very common.

There is a 1966 F100 Ranger in my area bought new from Bowen Scarff Ford in Kent, WA. (still in business). Black seats, emberglo brown exterior (non truck color). Never had a radio.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-for-sale.html

http://www.bowenscarff.com/


.

 

Since the radio was either a factory installed option or a dealer installed accessory, there will be no holes in the dash if no radio was installed.

If factory installed, the holes were punched out. If dealer installed, the holes were drilled. The punched out holes don't have burrs, but the drilled out holes will (on the back side).

1965/66 Custom Cabs came with colored floor mats with black flecks. Custom Cabs also came with R/L sill mouldings that retained the floor mat.

Several weeks after I bought my new 1965 F100 Standard Cab, I replaced the black floor mat with a blue Custom Cab floor mat and added the sill mouldings.

 

Chad: So does this mean that if truck was ordered with the optional radio, it was installed on assembly line, or were they dealer installed?

And if it was ordered with no radio, then the dash was left "as stamped"?

Hmmmm, funny, as didn't earlier years (53-56, 57-60) use a "Radio Delete Plate" ??

James

 

See NDs post just before your last one. He was reading your mind...

.

 

Bill: Looks like you were hitting SUBMIT, whilst I was still typing

 

1967/72's came with the hole in the dash whether a radio was installed or not. But if no radio was installed, a plate covered the hole.

1966 and earlier trucks that came without a radio have no holes in the dash. There was no delete plate available since there was no holes to cover up.

Look at this pic, see the three small holes in the dash? These are the radio holes used on US, some Canadian trucks with the "plain jane" AM non pushbutton radio.

The outer holes are for the radio shafts, the center hole is for the bulb for the dial.

The bezel (shown as + in pic) fit to the outside of the dash, the chassis that contained the shafts fit behind the dash.

But, if no radio was installed, then these three holes will not be present.

 

ND, quick question. What are 9C331 and 9700 on the dash *****.


Robert

 

The pic represents 1964/66 F100/1100 / 1964/69 N/NT500/1100 / 1967/69 F & T800/1000.

All these trucks use the same dash and similar cabs. The N/NT's doors are slightly different.

9700 is the choke cable which includes the ****. 9C331 is the fuel shut off cable (also includes the ****) for N600/700 diesels.

 

James, did your parts truck have the speaker grille openings or not? This pic is from a '65 Mercury M100 Custom Cab. It had the speaker grille holes but no radio was installed.




I wanted Al to cut the grille openings from my F100 parts truck into mine, but he said it would have been pretty difficult to keep the patch from warping.

 

Dan: I will have to verify this when I get back out to my friends acreage to continue the disassembly, but underneath the crappy aftermarket speaker that was on the dash, I believe there was a speaker grille like in the pic you posted.
I will get pics next time I go out, and email them to you.
** I have a hunch the padded dash may have covered the factory speaker grille, but again, I will need to confirm.

The odd thing is, the radio mounted in the under dash pod is a Pianola, which is made in Japan. I'm going to leave it with a friend with an electronics background to see if it's operable, or repairable, and if so, I may use it in the crewcab.

Oh, and Al was being cautious, but it is do-able, but I would be tig welding it, rather than migging it

James

 

There are lots of slicks hereabouts with no radio cut-out, but way more of them have a crudely-hacked rectangle framed by two misaligned holes. Mine was one of the latter. Lucky for me the push-button radio faceplate covers the damage.
Eric

 

My 64 also has no factory punched radio holes and none drilled either. This kind of threw me, and I still reach for the radio while driving around... Kind of nice being able to listen to the sound of the truck actually..

There is remaining wiring under the dash from some sort of rigged up unit, as well as an aftermarket antenna someone put in at some point, but no speakers or stereo remaining.


I would have tigged the grille patch in and made it smooth no problem, if the windshield was out..

 

I too, enjoy the 'pure' sound of my Slick truck too.

I frequently describe my ol' '65 F250 (with a 390V8 with headers & duals, T-18 granny 4-speed & 4.10 gears) as a ol' beast that is half truck and half tractor. The wind of the transmission gears and deep growl of the torquey BB ALWAYS puts a smile on my face!

Many of today's teenager's in today's vehicles miss out on this.....

BarnieTrk

 

My friend has a 1966 Mercury M350 and has no holes in the dash for a radio. On an interesting note he has no antennae either. When I drove a road trip in early September I came across a 65 or 66 that had no holes in the dash but had an antennae. No obvious evidence that the dash was ever welded up.