[SLOSteve]

Hey guys out there with '67's and '68's with "original" factory am radios. Are the inner and outer knobs made of metal or plastic? I thought they were metal but someone told me the originals were chrome-plated plastic? Is this true? Thanks!

[Jay H 237]

All 4 (2 inner, 2 outer) are metal on my 68. I don't have a console either. There are different knobs for console equipped cars but I don't know what they are made of.



When I had the original AM radio gutted and converted to AM/FM the place rechromed my original knobs too, I paid extra, but it was a nice touch.

[SLOSteve]

Hey Jay, I'm thinkin' the '67's were metal too. I know all '65-'66 were metal for sure because I have both. I'm going to wait until I get a couple of '67 replies before I TEAR into the guy who sold me plastic for OEM's. I'm thinking I paid $30 for REPOPS.

Does anyone know if the '67-'68 Cougar radio knobs were metal????

[Joseph2097]

SLOSteve-
I just went out to my garage - the radio knobs on my 67 Coupe
are metal - I tested with a magnet but it did not stick - perhapps cast aluminum? There were three sets of numbers -
c72A7EE 1 ; UT10E , and near the Ford logo = 5
The innerknobs are also metal - but did not take them off.
Joe Z.

[SLOSteve]

Originally Posted by Joseph2097

SLOSteve-
I just went out to my garage - the radio knobs on my 67 Coupe
are metal - I tested with a magnet but it did not stick - perhapps cast aluminum? There were three sets of numbers -
c72A7EE 1 ; UT10E , and near the Ford logo = 5
The innerknobs are also metal - but did not take them off.
Joe Z.

Hey Joe,

Thanks for the info.

I found out that the knobs and bezels are made from pot metal. That's why you can't get a magnet to stick to it.

The '65/'66 radio knobs were also pot metal. In '68 they went to plastic.

I particularly like the chrome pushbuttons on the '67's. They add class to the dash (no rhyme intended)

Thanks again!
Steve

[The Greek]

While on the radio subject, I discovered something that may be of interest concerning the radio bezel. The design of the 67 bezel is different from the 68, the contours are different.

If you look in the repro catalogs 67 and 68 bezels are listed as being the same, but actually they have the contour of the 68 piece. So if you have a 67 and this is of concern to you, OEM is going to be your only source. The bezels I'm refering to is for the non-console units.

[SLOSteve]

I'm not noticing much of a difference in countour of the two bezels except for the part number cast into the back of each.

I don't have a '67 or '68 car to check for fit or I would but I do know that the bezels are sold interchangeably on Ebay. That's why it's always good to ask for the part number to be concours correct.

Each of the years' radio bodies fit both the '67 and '68 because the bodies are identical.

The distinct differences in the lenses for each year are that on the '67 the numbers on the tuning scale are noticeably larger than on the '68. The other important difference is that the '67 lens says F O R D on it and the '68 says P H I L C O.

Interchanging the two radios will work fit-wise but not be concours correct.

[The Greek]

I know that they both fit interchangeably, but when I refer to the contour, it's in the external edges. There is only a subtle difference and only noticable when placed side by side. This is how I noticed it. Also the part numbers C7 vs C8 on the OE pieces. What I find hard to understand is why Ford would go to the trouble of a redesign that is so subtle.

[SLOSteve]

I see what you're saying Chuck. I have the two side by side right now. I notice that the crease where the top and bottom meet in the front is smoother on the '67. On the '68 the crease is more pronounced.

One distinct similarity I notice on both though............the same amount of pitting on the bottoms.

[The Greek]

That's what I was talking about. I'd love to know why this is. It's just another Mustang "subtilty".

Like the 67 motor mounts are different dimensionally. Ford changed them for 67 and then went back to the same mount that they used in 66 for the 68 model year. I fought for hours trying to get my engine to sit correctly on my 67 until I discovered the "subtility". Most catalogs list all of the mounts to be the same 66,67,68.

I wonder if the GM guys go through this kind of stuff?