Radio delete Grounding

[Mr 396]

Restoring a 69 that was apart with a radio delete plate. Would like to know if they were grounded the same as a radio equipped car. Grounded frame to body and valve covers to cowl? Cannot find in assembly manual.

[william]

Radio ground straps & capacitors are covered in section U63 pages A4-A7.

[bertfam]

Cars without a factory equipped radio would not have had the ground straps. However, since there weren't a lot of these (just over 10 percent in 1969), it wouldn't surprise me to find factory installed ground straps on a non-radio car anyway. It's like the 67-68 static suppressors in the front hubs. Almost every car that left the factory had them. Even cars without a factory installed radio!!

Ed

[william]

The holes in the firewall for the grounding strap fasteners were not drilled at the factory [UPC 0, page 9] unless the car was ordered with a radio. If you have the original protect-o-plate a '3' at position C17 indicates a factory-installed radio.

Another aspect to this is some dealers ordered cars for stock without a radio, later retrofitting a cheaper Motorola clone. They would have added the necessary grounding straps.

[Mr 396]

Thanks. I did not think that they would have the valve cover to firewall but thought that they may be grounded from body to frame.