Heater controls weren't pretty either and the same process as above yielded similar results...
This was interesting - I was looking for a replacement trim panel for the radio because the one that I found in a box with the car was broken in a few places.
I knew the car was originally a radio-delete as per the build sheet but there was a radio installed at the dealership per the original purchaser's request. (Uncle Norm also told me he remembers installing it - more on that interesting story later!) The radio installed was a standard AM-only with no 8-track. I wanted to bring the car back to it's original radio-delete status but quickly realized that a non-rallye dash radio-delete panel was absolutely impossible to find! Ok - I'll put a radio in for now until one day I might find a delete panel. Not knowing enough yet about what I was looking for and comparing everything I was looking at to the broken one I had, I just couldn't seem to find the same looking part. Every one out there for sale had the cut out on the bottom for an 8-track. "These all must be incorrect for my car" I thought to myself so I emailed Tony D'Agostino to inquire about one with just an opening for a radio. His reply was that they all came with that cut out at the bottom. I insisted I had one without the cut out to which he insisted I send him a photo. I sent the photo feeling very proud that I was about to show Tony D'Agostino something he had never seen! He instantly replied and I got an education - this was, in fact, the radio-delete panel that had been very nicely cut at the dealership by Uncle Norm to accept the AM radio and therefore, there was no cut out like on all of the factory radio trim panels we all know. How cool! Who knew?! (Well of course Tony knew...) I am in the process of trying to restore this panel by plastic welding in a piece of scrap ribbed material from a spare non-rallye gauge surround I had. I am going to try to completely close off the opening and go back to assembly line radio-delete status. If that isn't possible, I will at least try to mend the panel so that the radio can be installed in it rather that the one I purchased. Not a priority but I will post the process when I get to it. In the mean time, I found a beautiful original, unrestored AM unit and have installed that for now...
As for the story about the radio install - I knew Uncle Norm had done the install at the dealership prior to delivery to the original purchaser. Upon reading a series of notes I found with information provided with the car by the person I purchased it from (3rd owner Pete), I discovered a major f-up that Uncle Norm made. I found a letter from Galien Govier to Pete answering some questions he had during the documentation process. One of the questions Pete had was why was the antenna in the front right fender of only his T/A? WTF! They're supposed to be in the right quarter! Galen's response mentioned that he had seen this before and was most likely a mistake made at the dealership when the optional radio was installed after-the-fact as the delete cars would either not have had a hole drilled in the right quarter or if there were a hole, it would have been plugged. I asked Uncle Norm about this and he confirmed cutting the hole in the right fender as he would have done to any other radio-delete Challenger back then. This was the only T/A this small dealership had ordered and no one knew the antenna was supposed to go in the back on the T/A! The right fender was replaced many years ago and the antenna hole cut into the right quarter as it is supposed to be. Just another cool story I have about my car from those directly involved back in the day...
This was missing and I wouldn't have known about it without the DW book. Found 1 at Carlisle...
That's the original antenna mount. They all came with a short enough section of wire to reach the radio when mounted to the right fender. The T/A's and AAR's got an extension which I was able to find with the correct 90 degree end at the radio from Byron Fettig. No repop parts involved...
