> So my question is: Did dealerships punch the holes for the
> anntennea when a customer ordered a radio and speaker option
> or where the holes pre-punched? It would make sense to see a
> Triumph without a radio to have plugs covering the
> pre-punched holes in their cars if this was the case.
> Your thoughts please.
I can't claim this is definitive, but it appears to me that up until 1958-59,
there was no factory-supported program for dealers to
fit radios to the TR2-3, and very few cars seem to have been fitted with radios
when new. The old high voltage tube Radiomobile
200X was a monstrosity, with a separate chassis to carry the transformers and
power supply, and a control head that got mounted in
place of the glove box.
http://s258.photobucket.com/user/TR3driver/media/Radios/XAAmplifieronU-shapedbrackets.jpg.html
The cost was somewhat prohibitive as well, amounting to some 5% of the base
price of the car. A 1955 price list from Cal Sales (the
US west coast distributor for TR2-3) shows the radio as a factory-installed
option (only), for $75, which is roughly $660 in today's
money.
The speaker hole was pre-punched in the passenger side footwell (but covered by
carpet in cars without radios). But it does not
appear that the antenna hole was punched in cars without factory radios. No
doubt some cars did have radios added by the dealers,
but I don't think the factory was involved, and the dealers had to add the
antenna hole.
Then the hybrid radios became available, with 12 volt tubes and a transistor
for the speaker output, so the separate chassis could
be eliminated. A bracket was made available to mount both radio and speaker to
the gearbox tunnel, under the (optional) heater.
http://s258.photobucket.com/user/TR3driver/media/Radios/PYE_20radio_20oblique%20larger.jpg.html
The factory apparently contracted with several suppliers (eg Bendix and PYE) to
supply Triumph-branded radios, but some dealers also
installed radios with other brands (eg Motorola, Smiths and Blaupunkt) on them.
The pre-punched speaker hole was deleted on 6/4/59 according to a Smiths
Radiomobile installation note. The same note describes
adding the antenna hole, so I don't believe it was pre-punched on later cars
either.
Although I wonder if the speaker hole change wasn't actually when the body was
reworked at TS60001, which most sources give as
happening in Oct 59. Perhaps they were already working on the new body design
in April, but didn't actually produce a car with the
new body until October? Anyway, all of my pre-TS60K cars have had the speaker
hole (with no sign it was ever used until I did), but
I haven't owned a car produced between April & Oct of 59.
-- Randall
** triumphs@autox.team.net **
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