MacsWebs
Terms that grate on me...
Generally these are automotive terms, and more specifically Chevrolet Chevelles, freely bantered about and left un checked get tossed into the automotive lexicon leaving enthusiasts with a false sense of knowledge. As with other bits of truth that gets skewed, over time the truth is long forgotten about.
Radio Delete and/or Radio Delete Plate (all years)
Term(s) often used to describe a Chevelle ordered without a radio and/or the plate used to cover the hole where a radio would have gone. Now, on every Chevelle from 1964 up to and including 1972, a radio (be it AM, AM/FM, AM/FM/Stereo tape, etal.) was optional. That means you had to ask for, and pay for, a radio. Hence, the radio could no more be "deleted" than not ordering air conditioning, Positraction, power windows, etc. The plate used in lieu of a radio not being ordered was simply called a cover assembly or radio hole cover.Stripe Delete (1970)
D88 Hood & Deck stripes were an option, not only with SS cars (w/o ZL2) but Malibus coupes, convertibles and pickups as well. Neither the Z25 SS396 nor the Z15 SS454 option included stripes or hood pins but did include a domed hood for which another term often misused is a "non-functional cowl hood." It's not a cowl hood, it's a domed hood and it performs its function as well as can be expected.
Since the D88 stripes were an option one had to ask for, and pay for, they couldn't be "deleted." If air conditioning wasn't ordered the car wasn't an "air condition delete" car, air conditioning just wasn't one of the options ordered. Not buying a radio also gets called "radio delete" for the same strange reason. One never hears a Chevelle with an automatic transmission called a "4-speed delete" car.
Now, if the RPO ZL2 was ordered, it came standard with the cowl induction hood, D88 stripes, and hood pins. A customer could order the package with the stripes "deleted" based on the fact they were included in the ZL2 package.
Stripe Delete (1971-1972)
Essentially the same applies to stripes in 1971 & 1972 with the exception that RPO Z15 was now simply an "SS Equipment" option and came with no base engine. RPO Z25 was dropped in 1971 and RPO Z15 became a dress-up option rather than a performance-oriented option.
The RPO Z15 SS Equipment option for 1971 included the following:
Note the 1971 SS Equipment option does not mention hood & deck stripes.
However, in 1971 the special domed hood did come with locking pins. This
special domed hood IS NOT the cowl-induction hood that was still
optional under RPO ZL2. Hood & deck stripes were still part of the ZL2
package and, only through ordering the ZL2 cowl induction hood could
stripes be deleted.
The RPO Z15 SS Equipment option for 1972 was very similar to 1971 and
included the following:
As was the case in 1971, RPO Z15 SS Equipment option does not mention
hood & deck stripes. The same special domed hood and locking pins were
still part of the package. Also note for 1972, only black or white
stripe colors were available.
