In the 80s, EVERY muscle car has its radio cut out.

[sugarwood]

Not the radio, but the metal panel itself.

In the 80s, it seemed like every 60s muscle car has its radio dash face plate cut out to make room for a bigger unit.
Yet, today, you never see this butchery, and every 60s muscle car again has an intact OEM radio face plate panel.

Did every car undergo a welding restoration?
Or did only the garage queens survive, and the only driver's quality muscle I saw in the 80s has all been driving into the ground long ago?

[nota]

or just rusted away
as none were galvanized

[masraum]

My suspicion is that most of the cars that were hacked were driven into the ground, but I'm sure some have been repaired.

[Nickshu]

Not all were integral to the dash sheet metal. Some used a removable section for the radio especially those that were sold CKD in other countries. Those like you show yes would require welding from a donor dash and/or fab of the metal to get back to stock.

I did my Corvair radio as factory stock with a restored original AM push button radio. Then I hide a Bose Bluetooth speaker under the dash and play music via my phone, sound quality is very good and I don't have to chop up my factory perfect restoration for modern audio stuff.

[Por_sha911]

Mecum calls them "Resto-mods"

I call them a darn shame.

[scottmandue]

I have seen a lot of old 60's-70's-80's cars where they leave leave the dash unmolested with the old AM radio in place and they put the fancy upgrade head unit in the glove box.

[BeyGon]

I didn't know there was anything related to a "muscle car" from the 80s.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by BeyGon

I didn't know there was anything related to a "muscle car" from the 80s.

I think what he was going for was that in the 1980s (I think he really meant the 90s) people started cutting the dashes of muscle cars from the 60s and 70s up to put more modern stereos in them.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by BeyGon

I didn't know there was anything related to a "muscle car" from the 80s.

But yeah, the only thing from the 80s that I can think of that might qualify as a muscle car would be the Buick Grand National or maybe the GNX. They were fast, but in stock form, I'm not sure they really qualify as a muscle car, but that's as close as the 80s came.

[BeyGon]

Originally Posted by masraum

But yeah, the only thing from the 80s that I can think of that might qualify as a muscle car would be the Buick Grand National or maybe the GNX. They were fast, but in stock form, I'm not sure they really qualify as a muscle car, but that's as close as the 80s came.

yeah, I forgot about those.

[Norm K]

Originally Posted by masraum

But yeah, the only thing from the 80s that I can think of that might qualify as a muscle car would be the Buick Grand National or maybe the GNX. They were fast, but in stock form, I'm not sure they really qualify as a muscle car, but that's as close as the 80s came.

And since they were almost immediately identified as future classic/collectible cars I'd wager most of them didn't have their dashes cut.

_

[sugarwood]

Yes, I meant that in 1986, people would butcher a 1965 Mustang to fit a Kenwood or Alpine stereo.
You'd cut out a big rectangle, and then just bolt a new faceplate with larger holes in it.
I have not seen this in forever, yet every single muscle car I saw at the time had this done.
Maybe I was only seeing the under $3000 drivers and none of the preserved garage queens.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Yes, I meant that in 1986, people would butcher a 1965 Mustang to fit a Kenwood or Alpine stereo.
You'd cut out a big rectangle, and then just bolt a new faceplate with larger holes in it.
I have not seen this in forever, yet every single muscle car I saw at the time had this done.
Maybe I was only seeing the under $3000 drivers and none of the preserved garage queens.

Bear in mind in the 80's 60-70 Camaro's and Mustang's could be had for around $1000.
No one imagined they would be pulling the kind of $$$ they are getting today.

[sugarwood]

Right, but how did they ALL get repaired??

[masraum]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Right, but how did they ALL get repaired??

Again, they probably mostly didn't. One of the reasons that they were so cheap was because there were so many of them. Most of those have gone to the big rust pile in the sky.

[Nostril Cheese]

They made stereos that fit those metal panels

[sugarwood]

So only the unmolested garage Queens survived...

[BeyGon]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

So only the unmolested garage Queens survived...

Probably, I have owned a lot of cars and never had one with the dash cut out. Like someone else posted, I put a new radio in the glove box and kept the stock ones. I don't even remember seeing one of my friends with a cut up dash.

For a few years now you could buy repro dashes for a lot of cars, that might be the reason too.

[scottmandue]

Don't want to be a nit picker but the dash in your OP looks more like a 60's car.
And I think if you are truly referencing 80's cars I think most of them had the generic single DIN that didn't require cutting up the dash.
However if you are referencing 60-70 muscle cars... back in the day glass packs were the preferred sound... IIRC the radical stereo mods came much later.

[sugarwood]

Scott, read post #12