C2 - Why does speaker grill not sit flush?

[tigernut]

Just curious as to why the speaker grill wasn't designed to sit flush with the fiberglass dash? Was it intentional (if so why) or just a bad design?

Searched and didn't find an answer already.

Doug

[BarryK]

Doug, I remember this question being asked before and I also remember during my search for a car last year that this was an area I noticed a lot on various cars that the speaker grill didn't always fit that well on cars I looked at.

i seem to recall JohnZ or maybe it was someone else saying that a poor fit is pretty normal. They just didn't sit very flush on these cars even when they were brand new on the showroom floor. The quality of the fit seemed to vary somewhat from car to car with some being pretty bad and noticable while others weren't all that bad.

[JohnZ]

Good question - they never fit properly from the beginning, and someone apparently decided it wasn't worth the expenditure to make a new die-cast mold to contour it so it would fit better.

[67HEAVEN]

Originally Posted by JohnZ

Good question - they never fit properly from the beginning, and someone apparently decided it wasn't worth the expenditure to make a new die-cast mold to contour it so it would fit better.

I think many of us old 60's buyers will confess to being only mildly interested in fit and finish. In my case, I was interested in but three things: 1. Horsepower/torque; 2. Handling; and 3. Stunningly beautiful body.

In the context of the times, most N.A. cars were "hammered" together, with mass-production in mind. Fit and finish were somewhere in the future.

[tigernut]

Originally Posted by 67HEAVEN

In the context of the times, most N.A. cars were "hammered" together, with mass-production in mind. Fit and finish were somewhere in the future.

You mean quality at the General has improved since the 60's? At least they don't claim the motto "Quality is Job 1".

[Ken Anderson]

In 62, when the 12/12 warranty came out, fit & finish were on the minds of about 30% of the people who bought a Chevy at the dealership I worked at. They would come in with a page of complaints re: paint & panel alignment; and we would fix them.
43 years later, GM still has complaints!

[stepinwolf]

Tigernut, as was previously mentioned by other members, the speaker grill has a reputation for an incorrect or should we say , sloppy fit.

However with the time and energy spent restoring the car, the restoration, or fitting of a speaker grill is not a big problem

With a little time and some special care, it may be carefully bent in order for it to conform to the shape of the opening in the top of the dash. I have just finished fitting one, and once in place, you can't fit a dollar bill between it, and the fiberglass dash, anywhere around the perimeter


Drive your Corvettes as if each day was your last

[EBVette]

With a lot of patience, managed to very carefully bend the speaker to fit...here is the result: