Strange 78 Lemans

[cadiac]

I spotted this car on craigslist and when I looked at it I had to buy it though I need a broken leg as bad as another car. White 2 dr, blue cloth interior, v6, auto, one left side mirror, "no radio" never had one but it has electric windows and manual locks. AC works, runs ok, they said it uses a little oil, not slobbering oil like the other v6's I've brought home. no damage, quarter size rust hole in left quarter and the rear frame horns are trash otherwise real clean and straight. A guy suggested it may have been ordered by a Mennonite -no radio, but power windows? another home for a Cad 500.

 

[Pontiacdaver]

That is one of the coolest things about the older cars, you could pretty much order a car the way you wanted. My 79 Grand Am was ordered with power glass sunroof, Rally RTS handling pkg., automatic temp control, bucket seats and many other options BUT a column shift, no console, and no gauges. We just bought an 85 Buick Skylark (the dreaded X body!), and it is as bare bones as it gets. No A/C, manual windows and locks, no tilt cruise, or rear defog, AM radio but the optional 2.8 V-6. The main reason we bought it is because it was a 1 family owned car and had 33K miles on it when we got it 2 months ago (it has 35K now).

 

[Ribbedroof]

"Back in the day", some people ordered them without radios because the OE radios were overpriced and not very high quality when compared to the available aftermarket offerings. Knew a couple people that did so.

However, it IS unusual to find one that is STILL radio delete.

 

[Kiko]

When I factory ordered my '83 GP in August 1982 (which I still have), I did the exact same thing -- "radio delete". Those radios were fairly low quality and you then had an antenna poking out the right front fender. I installed an aftermarket radio and an antenna in the rear fender, which I thought looked much better at the time (and was unique). I have since removed that antenna and patched the hole when I repainted the vehicle.

Lots more stories can be recalled over the 34 year history of the car...

 

[jeremyandthemonte]

I wish I could have ordered a car back then. Now when we ordered our new work trucks they wouldn't even let me order a radio delete