1938 Radio Removal

[GaryU.]

Yesterday I came to the conclusion that now is the time to remove the radio from my '38 for repair for two reasons.
#1 Some weeks ago I came across a c-list ad with 1950's Cadillac radios for sale locally and given the description of the work done on them I knew the seller had repaired them. Sure enough, someone with 40 years plus in electronic repair starting in the U.S. Navy and many decades at the Mayo Clinic lives less than a half hour away. He has thousands of tubes and parts so I was going to remove it anyway to hopefully get it back in working order.

#2 Last night before taking my daughter for a ride, when starting our car I found the choke rod/interior mechanism are now not connected. Opened the hood and moved the choke so the car would start and after a warm up on the driveway and putting the choke back to to an open setting went for a nice ride to cap the day. So I've seen that from parts listings there are two bolts holding the radio in place. Anything else beside power and antenna connection? The power and tuning knobs come off with a little effort but is there something else I should be aware of.

 

[rotorwrench]

The Ford Philco F1540 types have a connection or mounting lug on the back that likely attaches to the firewall and the face mounting to the dash. Other than electrical connection and antenna, that looks to be about it. I've never removed or installed one but I don't see how it could be more complicated than that. Maybe someone else can add more.

 

[GaryU.]

Got her out. No problems to speak of, one bracket on back. The choke will be an easy repair, some epoxy and heavy duty side cutter to reconnect the parts. The radio itself is very clean and has been serviced before. Will get it tested and maybe some tunes this summer.

 

[HDowse]

The radio does look good inside. I had my 1940 Zenith rebuilt and had it changed to receive FM. Not original but it does work well. It’s also interesting to see how similar so many of the under dash parts are from '38 to '40.

 

[tubman]

The radio does look good inside. I had my 1940 Zenith rebuilt and had it changed to receive FM. Not original but it does work well. It’s also interesting to see how similar so many of the under dash parts are from '38 to '40.

This is a good idea; I don't know about your "neck of the woods", but all we get up here in Minnesota are crop reports on AM. There is an occasional Spanish speaking program, but being a Norwegian, I have a hard time comprehending. We used to have good "oldies station", but it went the way of all good things.

 

[HDowse]

Tubman, Joe at Classic Auto Electric did my radio. He's in McPherson KS where the McPherson College is located. I’m very pleased with his work. As they say up here in NH, it warn't cheap but it was worth it. Hunt

 

[rotorwrench]

Some folks just add in a hook up for an external media device like an MP3 player or cell phone. With few radio stations in some locations of the country, this seems like a decent alternative. The old tube radios generally are very good amplifiers when all is in good working order. The old type capacitors are generally the most common problem area with antique radio sets.

 

[slowforty]

I could not get anything but "Jack Benny" or "Amos and Andy"

 

[GaryU.]

Dropped the radio off at the repairman's house 30 minutes away, he is juiced about working on it. He recently repaired a 1935 Ford radio for a customer so I'm confident mine will be easy(or so I hope). On my way home I checked out all the A.M. stations and found most talk radio, 3 hispanic stations and 2 country music. Along with about a thousand tubes and hundreds of other parts, Jim has many decades of experience including 30 years at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

 

[tubman]

I could not get anything but "Jack Benny" or "Amos and Andy"

I would LOVE that. I bought a set of the complete recordings of "Amos & Andy" several years ago. Then, Bill Cosby got involved and shut down the sale of the recordings because they were "racist". They weren't racist; they were flat out funny. Answer me this : who was more bombastic, George "Kingfish" Stevens or Ralph Kramden?

I still don't understand Spanish.

 

[fortyonerag]

I have a large (600-700) collection of vintage commercials and air checks. I play them on random order with appropriate music through an MP3 player that comes out of the car speaker.

 

[GaryU.]

Radio now in working condition! Took it to repairman last Sunday and on Tuesday afternoon got the call she was up and running. I was correct that it had been worked on in the past, capacitors and speaker replaced but then previous repair person found a problem they could not fix. Part number 15, the oscillator transformer was bad and was marked with red paint so after work was done and it still didn't work the radio was reinstalled. Fortunately I found the right guy at the right time to come up with a fix, also the ******** was stuck and my guy replaced that as well. Heard it working on his bench but not back in car yet. Cabinet and parts are in excellent condition and tubes appear to be originals that tested good.

 

[ford38v8]

To me, listening to music while driving a Ford Flathead just doesn't make any sense unless it is scratchy with static, and hums like an authentic old car radio should. Twisting the tuner squee-squaaw between stations, zzzzzz, zzzzz! while accelerating, changing gears, that's the real deal!

 

[don35]

Talk about fast turnaround! Great to see service is still available, if you are in the right place.

 

[TerryOH]

It does appear you took the radio to the correct repair person. Ford Service Bulletins often included the entire radio tune up procedure with Spec. Not necessary for the repair person with experience but often handy for another without the experience or technical knowledge. Maybe post some contact information here for the repair person.

 

[fortyonerag]

Nice work. Early radios are a very specific craft.

 

[GaryU.]

If someone wants contact information send me a P.M. Can't promise the time and work that happened to me but it's nice to know there are still people out there with his experience. I feel quite lucky that I didn't hand him a rusty basket case to try to sort out.