Rear Glass w/no defroster??

[Dat240ZG]

I own #248 and noticed the other day that the rear glass has no defroster grid and that the consol has no provision for a rear defroster at all. Anyone else have that?

My #1793 has the vertical elements.

Interesting.....

Bryan

Dat240zg

[jmortensen]

I recall that #472 had no defroster, but 12xx did. Narrows the numbers down a bit.

[MikeW]

Yes, the earliest cars did not have the defroster.

[zcarnut]

I was looking at # 313 (yes, it's up for sale) last week and I also noticed the lack of the rear defroster. On the console plate the rear defroster switch is not there and in its place was a rectangular plastic plug.

For comparison, on my 2/70 car (# 1841) there is a rear defroster

[sblake01]

I once owned #488, no defroster.

[26th-Z]

Welcome to the low vin club! I am looking for one of those console plugs.

[koreavet]

For those with low VIN's and no defroster glass - Do you have the holes cut out of the plastic roof finisher for the nonexistent defroster wires?

Thanks,

Jim

[Duffman]

I have #1399, no defroster (as reflected above), but I don't see any opening or plugged opening for defroster wires.

Stephen

[sblake01]

So #1456 was the first to have a defroster. I didn't know the number was that high. I had always heard that the first 500 or so didn't have a defroster. I guess you can teach and old dog new tricks:classic:

[Dat240ZG]

Mine doesn't have a plug or anything. Just a blank area where you would typically find the switch.

[Arne]

I am looking for one of those console plugs.

Chris, is that the plug that has the pebble texture and the pair of mounting tabs that attach with screws to the underside of the console finisher?

[MikeW]

I find this kind of ironic. People who bought the earliest cars probably felt cheated. They were missing amenities and features that appeared as standard equipment a short time later.

"I can't see out the back because it's frosted over"

"My radio is AM only".

"My crankshaft is causing the engine to vibrate too much"

Some of them might have had the dealer "upgrade" them as in the case of the defroster by using the parts that 26th-Z posted. Now these early cars are highly regarded. The "upgraded" cars might even be less valuable since they're not "original".