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I just bought an original option radio for my '46. Obviously it is only AM and I am putting it in there only for looks. Here's my thought, tell me what you think. The radio it self appears it may be in good enough condition that it may actually work with a good cleaning. This would be option 1 but I have no idea how to go about cleaning it without causing damage and would likely never listen to it when driving. My other thought is to gut it with the exception of the front portion so looking at it it appears to be a stock radio. Then purchase a small/modern radio or even an XM radio (for the 50's & 60's channel) that has a wireless remote control and mount the unit inside the casing in the space the old radio parts once took up. It would even leave room to mount a modern single speaker in it. To access the radio the casing comes apart rather easily. I also thought about possibly making the front of the old radio hinged to "open up" revealing the new/modern radio. What do you think? Has anybody done this or seen it. I've seen radios hidding in the glove boxes but I don't like the idea of loosing the glove box. I really don't like the idea of mounting a modern radio under the dash for what I plan to keep looking as original as possible to the average non-stovebolt member.

I posted photos in my "details" photo album below if you want to see what radio I am talking about.

What does a 1946 radio look like? Is it a one piece radio?

I use wood alchohol and brushes and swabs to clean radios inside. I have an AD radio that I am restoring and it was filthy when I got it. It had been sitting in dirt with no back cover. It works quite well now and other than a missing back, which I have to fabricate, it is pretty well 100%.

There are people that will convert your radio to a new AM/FM while still using the original front. I really don't agree with that but the service is available.

I updated my photo album and added photos to the "details" photo album.

Tim

Tim,
wow, what a great collection of photos. I will have to take more time to look at them all!

That radio looks like a good candidate for a restore. The front of it is amazing. If you want help testing it, send me an Email.

Fred

You can pick up a spray electronics cleaner that will clean any dirt within as well as clean the contacts. the back cover and the front can be removed very easy. the outside case can also be removed and wire brushed/ sanded if a little rough and painted silver and black where the speaker is. More than likely you will find that the paper capactors have since dried out and need replacing to get the radio back into operation. Make sure when you try to fire it up that you have it fused, quite often the capactor mounted on the bottom of the 0Z4 tube will short out once it warms up, this is a 1600 volt cap around .0068mf and a must replace before you try installing a new viberator, the solid state viberators do not like this one going bad..

If your only going to use it for looks then why
even care about the inside? Just just clean the
outside using whatever it takes including some
fine sandpaper and then use the proper rattle
can of paint.

I'm still debating the different options. I'm thinking I will try to clean it up and if I ruin it then I will go to option 2 and try putting a modern radio in it. I don't know much about electronics so I'll be learning as I go. I've got the basic wiring concepts down but transisters, resisters, etc....??? :confused:

If you want to learn about electronics Radio Shack has some good introductory books.

I have an original radio and there is NO WAY I'm wasting time and resource to actually make it work. It's there for looks only.

Here is what I'm doing:
- install modern radio in glovebox (65$CDN)
- hook to voltage booster (6v>12v) (85$ CDN)
- download music on the ipod (350$CDN)
- connect ipod to tiny FM transmitter (45$CDN)
- pick up transmitter signal on the radio

Voila!

That's a pretty cool radio. Where are you going to mount it? It looks pretty big and will take up alot of room. Does it hang under the dash or do you have to cut the dash to fit it in some where. Just curious there doesn't seem to be a lot of room under my dash.

I would use it for show only. Get a remote control radio put it behind/under the seat and you will be set. I'm using a Secret Audio radio in my 46. The control unit is going in the blank wiper plate on the passenger side and the rest is going behind the seat. The control unit is only 1.5" high and 4" wide so not much will be showing. Just some food for thought.

George

I must add to my previous comments about cleaning. On the AD radio, I discovered that alchohol actually melts the front bezel. So I wouldn't touch that nice frony plastic with it.

It's not as big as the photos make it look. From what I understand in the rare instances where these were in these trucks they were mounted below the headlight switch. This is also where I was planning to mounti my fog, hear and def switches. Those will now go on the other side of the sttering wheel.

I'm still debating in my own head if I should even wpend the time to try to get it to work or just use the caseing and front to house a modern radio.

There is only about $6 of capactors in the radio that need replacing and can be replace in about an hour or so with a soldering gun. I find the tube radio as well has a different sound than the modern transistor radios of toda, much softer, and i seem to get more radio stations. The only problem is having the tubs checked, but checking around you should be able to find a TV shop that still has a tester, just make up a diagram of the tube locations (may already be one on the inside of the back cover) and check to make sure that there is still a readable number on the tube.

If you do decide to go the restoration route and find that you need a replacement tube or two, let me know. Along with my goofy old truck hobby, I have a goofy old tube amplifier hobby. Who knows, you might be able to get replacements locally, but I've got several crates of old tubes in the basement that I'd be happy to dig through for you.

Honda DOHC V-6 is to a Stovebolt
as a
Media-card MP3 player is to a Tube stereo

They both get the job done, but so much of the soul gets lost along the way.

Analog forever!

If anybody is interested in one of these radios I've seen three of them on e-bay in the last three days. None of them are mine by the way.

Item number: 4503960666

Item number: 4504067089

Item number: 4504066505

When it rains it pours...........

tim, i just got my custom classic truck magazine and in there they in stalled all the switches inside the glove box in a 41 willys truck to clean up the dash looks slick. i have also seen the radio installed there. the truck won top 8 at the ridler show in chicago. i would bet it cost over 200,000 to do professionaly it took 6 1/2 years to do. ron

I plan to build a custom fiberglass glovebox and mount a modern DIN radio in it. I just picked up a new Kenwood unit for my BMW that plays CD's as well as MP-3 and WMA files burned on a CD-Rom, so you can stuff several hours of music in there. It cost less than $160. I love it, it makes 50W/ channel and sounds great. The unit has a full function remote control so you could control it with the glovebox shut if you provided a pathway for the IR sensor to run the remote. An alternate location would be under the seat or behind the dash on some sort of power up/down motorized mount so you could make it dissapear.

I plan to mount a pair of Blaupunkt 6" speakers in the front part of the headliner and a pair firing up from behind the seat. A small sub under the seat would create a pretty nice system. Just use dynamat to control the noise.

I don't mind things showing in the interior as long as metal wasn't sacrificed to do it.

i just found a place to convert the radio without changing the look. go to s&m electro tech.com. they list prices and pictures of the finished product. not cheap. hope this helps. ron

That is awesome.I would see if it worked before I gutted it,obviously it would be worth a lot more in working order,and the truck would be worth more with an original working radio.

You can mount a nice stereo under the dash and out of sight