The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay The Radio Bench AM radio replacement

I know there are dealers who will sell retro radios for any given (Chevy) truck year. But I really don't want to spend the big bucks just to play some local AM stations on my tinny speaker(s). Besides, I like keeping this hobby as hands-on as possible.

My '55 First Series is 6 volt and I've decided to convert to 12 volts -- most of the replacement gear is now in-hand so one of the last items to fix is the radio. Yes, the 6 volt tuber is completely toasted so I might as well look to a 12 volt unit instead.

What I propose to do is to either yank the guts out of the tuber and replace them with a 60's radio innards, or a distant second choice would be to try and directly mount a later model radio into the dash.

Because of the uniqueness of the front end on the tuber (dial and knobs), as it fits the curved dash, methinks the former idea may be my best choice.

Seems to me that if I can find a more "modern" basic dial-only radio (ie, '64 Chevelle?) with adjustable front-end stems, I might be able to

adapt it to the old chassis. The stems need to be 7" OC apart in order to fit the dash cutouts.

What I would like is some input from folks who have done just what I propose, or at least some idea of what donor radios might be promising for my project.

You might want to look for a 55-59 12v manual-tune Chevrolet truck radio. I think the post distance is the same, and the case looks to be the same size/shape. The 1953-54 manual tune car radio has the same post-to-post distance (and the same size case) but they have an oblong (rounded corners) glass/bezel.

If you want an upgraded AM/FM, etc, in the original case, you'd need to do some fancy converting.

There are some companies that do conversions. They take out the old electronics and use the mechanical tuner and the off and on switch and control. Usually they use the tuning coil for the oscillator to control the frequency of the new electronics. I think one of the links on this site, Tayman does the conversion.

What I did was mount a modern radio in my seat frame under the drivers side of the seat look at my pics under seat forward. in my pic's you can't see the radio unless you look there and with alittle practice you can change the channels. Also I can keep a I pod on the seat and listen to my music .Just be careful when you cut the hole I cut it small and got the insert to fit tight .Pulled the wires under the floor mat from the dash to the radio.

Pete

Thanks for your responses, guys. And thanks for moving my post to the appropriate forum -- don't know why I missed that logical place for this topic.

Anyway, as with all things to do with my truck I'd like to see if I can gather enough info to construct the project myself without farming it out to 3rd party.

Referring to your suggestion of '55-'59 radio units, those may be all but impossible to find anymore ..but it is a lead, thanks.

Any more hands-on info is appreciated.

Interesting idea, Pete. But I don't want to be cutting into any interior body work, thanks. The integrity of the truck has already been comprimised by some running gear mods and now the 6~12 conversion. However, all that can be reversed for that day I decide to sell and move on.

Those radios show up on eBay

The 55-59 GMC will fit your dash ,not the 55-59 Chevy, What would you want a 60's radio for? They where JUNK, nothing sound better than a tube out put !

I wondered what was meant by the radio was "toast". I agree with Bill.

I have brought many of these radios back from the dead, I've had them that have been in water for years ,left out doors for years one came in with bullit holes once! Last week I removed the second "IF" transformer from a 49 Chevy radio, took it apart, and with a magnifing glass found the brake and repaired it ,try that 50years from now with this "MODERN" stuff ,I have radios back to 1921 ,with some help ofcause, still play .That is what many of us like about these old trucks they can be repair.

Are you suggesting that the GMC dash style was the same as the Chevy but GMC continued on to 1959 (unlike the Chevy)?

My dash style ended with 1954~'55 First Series.

As for 60's radio, I figured that they were simple transistor and simple dial front end. The '64 Chevelle I have here seems simple enough, except for it's front knob spacing. They weren't huge like the tubers and the sound ?? ..I don't really care as long as the tunes can be heard. Not interested in fancy sound in such a small space and such short driving trips. Heck, I have an old 6 vdc portable transistor radio slung under the dash right now, but it is crappy for reception ..even when hooked up to the truck's antenna.

Anyway, any 12 volt year should do me fine -- as long as I can (relatively) easily adapt it into the dash or integrate it into the old tuber chassis.

Years ago, I played around with substituting the vibrator with a homemade ss bridge. Unfortunately, my lousy design took out the big power (T1) transformer and several caps and resistors -- I tried to find another T1 can but none at any reasonable cost.

I appreciate what you are saying. However, I feel done with trying to resurrect our old tuber and instead would like to move on with trying my hand at either adapting the front end (dial and knob stems) of the tuber to a 12 volt transistor chassis or finding a reasonable "modern" replacement fit for the dashboard.

Also the 1956 Wlllys pickup/station wagon radio will fit the dash opening on the 1954-early55 Chevy truck dash, I've been doing "JIM CARTER's" truck radio work for about 15 years now ,I have a larger library of original radio service and parts information I've bought out old radio shops ,mostly ones that did auto radio work and Delco/United Service/GM radios mostly I looked for!
My father was in the electronic before me he sold Automatic brand of car radios they built radios that would fit your dash only for trucks they seam even more rare!'
One thing I really disliked about the 60's radios is that if your speaker coil should open up and you don't shut of the radio soon it shorts out the output transistor and burns out a resistor this was common with the farm tractor radios I use to repair, parts are harder to find than for radios built in the 30! The 60' radios where built to be thrown away