The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 1947-1951 Truck radio.

Anyone had experience with these reproduction AM/FM radios that look like the original 1947-1951 Chevrolet truck radio? Any good? Reliability? Sound quality? I know i will have to convert to 12 volt or buy the converter. Are the original AM radios rare and what should i pay for a working unit versus a non working unit?

They seem to come across ebay often enough. (although a quick search just now yielded nothing!)

It's a single speaker, mono sounding radio. Certainly not HiFi! But authentic sounding for sure. I didn't buy it for the thumping base! I bought it because I wanted originality.

When I was shopping there seemed to be a couple a month to choose from - Mine was functional (although they usually don't claim that - as its not advised to power them up before recapping), and I got it for $200.

Recapping cost less than $15 for the capacitors. The new knobs and push buttons cost about $30 at the time. Can of paint.

Reliable? I'm sure it'll last another 60+ years.

When I rewired mine, I inserted a 3.5mm aux jack, to inject iPod music. AM radio is all talk radio where I am!!

Good luck!

I used a "Retro-Sound" unit in my panel truck. It fits right in the stock holes.
They have adjustable on/off - tuning controls that allow you to precisely
mount them. They have a face plate that is made for the AD trucks for a slight additional charge. I have it attached to a 600 watt amp with 5 speakers, although
the unit puts out plenty of power to drive speakers on its own.
Sounds terrific & has a little black attachment so you can plug in a USB drive.
I use my iPod mostly …. plugs right in.
I like their stuff and would recommend.

Ask the guys in The Radio Bench forum. Fred knows EVERYTHING there is to know about radios.

One of th things that you should check out on the new radios is how the presets are stored. Some have memories that need to be powered after the truck is turned off.