Mark --
So sorry to read that. Are you able to share the name of the repro maker? Might help others to avoid the same pitfall.
For that amount of money (even more here in Canadian funds) one would think the so-called pros would provide an exceptional product with a great satisfaction guaranty.
And in light of that, have you contacted the supplier to see if they will make it right for you?
Some of my research included folks like yourself who were also dissatisfied with those (commercial) products. Some with the same complaint as yours.
I suspect that the original intent was to provide a quality product. But I guess a quick buck got in the way of integrity. From what I understand, those electronic card gizmos are available to most any 'commercial' shop who wants to repackage and sell it. Their mechanical assembly expertise might be lacking as a result.
Depending how choked you still are about this, perhaps by using the front end dial assembly of your unit (if they used the original stuff), the chassis could be swapped and more appropriately adapted to that of a '60's radio?
Hey, it might even come out prettier than mine
