Radio Conversion to AM-FM Question

[FRED Z]

I have a mint non-working original radio for my 1955 Pontiac Safari that I want to have converted to an AM-FM. Any recommendations on where to send this radio? I am in NE Ohio and am concerned about lead time that is longer than promised. Cost seems to be around $400 with promised lead time of 4-6 weeks. Car is 12-volt.

From what I understand, the converted radio will still look to be original with new microprocessor-controlled AM/FM stereo - and the original push-buttons can still be used. I want to keep the radio original in appearance, but prefer an update rather than repairing the old. A picture of my interior is attached.

Thanks,

Fred Zwicker

[msmazcol]

Happy New Year,

I've had this work done to a AM core that I located on Ebay. Electro-Tec in Blaine Minnesota is who did the work.

I would not convert a good working radio but did make the effort to locate a core. This allowed me to put the original radio in safe keeping and get the end result I wanted. The work was done for my 69 442 49,000 mile survivor car. I have done my best to not mess this car up.

Gregg at Eletro-Tec was decent to work with. I would also suggest an Ipod hook up while you are at it. This allows the tech-no stuff from today into your era car.

Even if you don't use the hook up right now at least it is there for the future.

Gregg did a radio for a buddies 69 Firebird as well.

We are both satisfied.

[FRED Z]

Thanks for the help. What was the lead time and did they stay close to what was first promised on lead time? Thanks, Fred

[msmazcol]

I'm not really sure how long it took. I was not going to install it immediately anyway. If you are under the gun I would call Greg direct. I don't find any BS in doing business with him. What he tells you he will stick too.

Take care

[FRED Z]

Thanks for the info Jeff,

I have two 1955 Pontiac Safaris - one is original and has the originial radio, which is working. A picture of that car was included in my original post. The second Safari was modified and has a Pioneer Radio built into the console and has 4 speakers (1 on each side of the console and 1 on each side in the rear). There was a larger round speaker in the rear of the console that was also being used. The sound was good, but the problem with the Pioneer Radio (digital) is that it runs down the battery after a couple of weeks for reasons unknown, so I have to shut off the battery when car sits for a week or so. Then the radio loses its memory and has to be reprogrammed to find the stations. This takes forever and in bright sunlight, is hard to accomplish. There is a remote control for this radio, but once the memory is lost, you have to start from scratch again. Bottom line - I don't like the Pioneer Radio and never have.

My first thought was to find a replacement (new) radio that could be used that would not run down the battery and also have push buttons that would not have to be reprogrammed all the time. Then I started considering having the original radio reworked into an AM/FM conversion and operate with my existing four smaller speakers with no more need to reprogram anything and would simply turn on and off and stations could be selected with push buttons or by turning the dial. Having FM would be a bonus. I would have the look and operation of the original radio and the benefit of having new technology. Everything sounded good until I just read your very informative post. You make some good points. Now I don't know what to do.

My original radio is now out of the car and looks to be very clean and complete. It was installed, but not hooked up when I bought the car, so I do not know if it works, but it might. I will hook it up to a 12v power supply next week to find out. However if it does work , or can be made to work, but without the original speaker, what next?? Could the radio be hooked into my existing 4 smaller speakers? (not the large speaker). I know nothing about adding an amplifier and/or equalizer, per your link.

Since I have no knowledge of radio hookups, possibly my best bet might be to find a local radio expert to see what options would be best for me. I will say that the original Pontiac radios were really good ones, as had a 1951 Pontiac for many years (in the 1950s) and loved the radio. Any other ideas or options will be greatly appreciated, as I have a few weeks before reassembling the interior, as have the seats out now for new carpet and have the original radio out of the car for repair or rework once I figure out my best options.

Attached is a picture of my interior, showing the original radio mounted in the dash and the Pioneer Radio mounted in the console One of the front speakers can be seen on the side of the console up towards the dash. If I get the original radio working, will it run the 4 existing smaller speakers, since my original speaker behind the dasn on right side is missing?

Thanks again, Fred

[msmazcol]

It is a very valid point of re-working your original radio back to working stock.

I had located a site from Crocett Sound labs that specialize in vintage radio and amp work. His site was very interesting and he brings a lifetime of knowledge with it. He does not strike me as a guy that will ramble on with you on the phone answering questions though. The vintage radios of that era were far better than the modern transistor stuff we think is good now.

It seems to me you need to make a decision what you want from your car radio. In my case I had a AM only radio. The car was all stock un-molested or restored. I wanted the radio in the dash to match what the window sticker said for the car. I was not going to listen to AM. This is why I removed the stock radio and went with a reworked unit with better features than my stock AM.

The factory radio is in a box. The radio in the dash looks like what the car had when built and I get enough functions to enjoy it. I plug in an Ipod and have hours of non-stop music I enjoy.

Again decide what you want from your radio to enjoy using it.

[Jim Bollman]

Here is what I did in the previous truck and what I intend to do with the new one. The AM radio stopped working and I wasn't willing to pay the cost to get it fixed for just AM or converted to AM/FM, so I used a self powered iPod speaker sitting on the dash with rechargeable batteries and an inexpensive refurbed small iPod Nano that I could load up with my cruisin toons.

On the new F1 I plan to hide an amp somewhere under the dash and install either a dual cone speaker for stereo, or mount two smaller speakers on a piece of mahogany board in place of the original speaker. Then tuck a cable for the iPod up into the ash tray and I can listen to what I want, not what is on the radio and everything visible stays stock.

[FRED Z]

Thanks a lot Jim. (Food for thought, although I enjoy talk radio, so may still check other options). I see you have a 1949 Crosley Station Wagon.

In 1949 I graduated from high school and in July of 1949 a friend and I hitch-hiked to Miami to visit my uncle. Getting a ride in the south was not as easy as the first part of the trip, so I hid in the woods while my friend tried to get a ride. This was in Georgia. Finally a guy driving a 1949 Crosley Station Wagon stopped and I ran out of the woods to share the ride. He wasn't too happy about all 3 of us in the small Crosley, but said OK. My friend sat up front and I in the back. The driver liked country music and sang loudly along with the radio most of the trip. He drove us all the way to Miami and dropped us off at my uncle's real estate office. I will say that it was a long ride, but the Crosley never missed a beat and we arrived safely. For all I know, it could have been your wagon!

Fred

P.S. Check our restored 1951 Ford Stake Truck with only 23,000 original miles.

Edited January 2, 2010 by FRED Z
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[Jim Bollman]

Thanks a lot Jim. (Food for thought, although I enjoy talk radio, so may still check other options). I see you have a 1949 Crosley Station Wagon.

In 1949 I graduated from high school and in July of 1949 a friend and I hitch-hiked to Miami to visit my uncle. Getting a ride in the south was not as easy as the first part of the trip, so I hid in the woods while my friend tried to get a ride. This was in Georgia. Finally a guy driving a 1949 Crosley Station Wagon stopped and I ran out of the woods to share the ride. He wasn't too happy about all 3 of us in the small Crosley, but said OK. My friend sat up front and I in the back. The driver liked country music and sang loudly along with the radio most of the trip. He drove us all the way to Miami and dropped us off at my uncle's real estate office. I will say that it was a long ride, but the Crosley never missed a beat and we arrived safely. For all I know, it could have been your wagon!

Fred

P.S. Check our restored 1951 Ford Stake Truck with only 23,000 original miles.

Thanks for the nice story. My wagon came from Ohio, but you never know. My 1950 F1 Stake is also suppose to be low milage. I haven't found anything to disprove the claim but have only had it home for a little over a month. I haven't got many pictures up yet but here is a link that shows my stuff.

Jim's Misc Collection of Stuff

Depending on how much you are into computers and such, my son likes a couple of talk programs but his job is such he doesn't always catch them so he downloads them off the net and loads them on his MP3 player to listens to at his connivence. I do the same think for a couple of programs and for some old time radio programs.

[John348]

Save your money, I had it done on my 60 Impala about 8 years ago it never worked right. Part of the problem is the voltage at idle produced by the generator is too low for a transistor to work, so the radio would cut out. Tubes can compenste for this, might be the reason why we did not see a full transistor untill 1963? I sent it back several times, only to find out that the componants installed are made by a common vendor, so they all have the same problem. Maybe this has been solved since I had mine done, but at least ask before you have it done. Good Luck

John

[FRED Z]

'Thanks a lot John - and others who have responded,

I never thought about such an issue, but the radio in question is for my modified 1955 Pontiac Safari that has an alternator, so maybe not a problem. We plan to connect the original radio on Monday to see if it works (as the original radio has never been connected since I bought the car last year). If it works, I will probably stay with that radio. If not working, I will then try to figure out my best option and go from there. I am hoping that I can find someone locally who is familiar with the old tube radios who can advise me accordingly.

I have a second 1955 Pontiac Safari that is 100% original, including an original working radio, but has a "Vintage Air" system routed through the original air conditioning ducts and the air conditioning works real good - however with one exception that I noticed last summer:

With the air conditioning on and the original radio on, at an idle at a traffic light, my turn signals failed to work properly (very slow, sometimes stopping altogether). At the time, at first I thought they were malfunctioning until I shut off the air conditioning and they worked just fine. I never thought to turn off the radio, as with both radio and air conditioning on at the same time, this may have caused the turn signal problem. Now after reading your post, am anxious to test this in the spring (car is stored for the winter).

Thanks again,

Fred

[Guest L.C.22]

Don't people understand how dangerous it is to listen to the radio and drive?? How are you going to turn it down when your cel phone rings? With all the things we do daily driving to work, shaving, eating egg McSomething, reading the paper, is there really time to sing along with Slipknot?

I saw a lady painting her toe nails once but it was at a stoplight so I guess that doesn't count

[FRED Z]

I took the original radio to a local technician, who called me this afternoon to let me know that the radio was intact, but the power supply and speaker combination were missing (and this was definitely not in the car), so I guess now that my only option is to send it to be converted to an AM-FM setup, even though most on this forum feel that the sound is not as good. I will be picking up the radio on Thursday and making arrangements to have it converted. Any other recommendations?

Thanks a lot for everyone's help in all of this.

Fred

[28 Chrysler]

I would repair the radio to stock.

The electrolytic capacitors in these old radios tend dry out and is normally the main cause of the unit failing, Another problem is the vibrators contacts become dirty and fail. both are easy to fix.

If you want to have an "I pod or something" connected ask the repair shop to put in an audio input jack.

[FRED Z]

Thanks 28 Chrysler - but what about my missing speaker and power supply? See my earlier post. Without this, my radio technician cannot fix the original radio. Fred

[oldcarfudd]

Is there a source of parts for the crystal set I got with my 1906 Buick?

Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ

[MCHinson]

Fred,

Forgive me but I have no experience with automotive radios from the 50's. In the past, I have worked on two way radios from the 40's - 80's, and car audio from the 70's and 80's.

I am guessing you are talking about some type of amp and a related speaker.... but this is just a guess.

What type of power supply are you missing? Replacement speakers should be readily available. Most any type of power supply should be easily made by a competent radio guy.

You will also see a lot of radios on Ebay that indicate that they fit a 1955 Pontiac, but I have no idea if any of these would solve your problem.

Please explain exactly what you are missing and perhaps someone can suggest a source of a replacement of what you are missing.

[FRED Z]

My radio man called me today and said that he had the 55 Pontiac original radio working, after I brought in the speaker & power supply. He even played it for me over the phone. He said the vibrator was almost new, but he still cleaned up the points. It was missing one tube, which he can get, but the radio plays even with the one tube missing !

He is going to get the missing tube and replace a couple of capacitors and maybe something else. The original speaker is not perfect, so we are in hopes that we can connect either two or four of the speakers from the Pioneer radio, but he wants to check the impedence or something. I am bringing in those speakers to him on Monday, as we have a lot of snow in Ohio this weekend.

If all works out as planned, I will soon have an original 1955 Pontiac Delco radio in my car, with working push buttons. So far the quoted price was $125, not including whatever it takes to figure out how to connect my extra speakers in place of the original speaker. This seems reasonable to me, plus very fast service and able to have this done locally is a big plus.

Attached is a picture of my radio after removal from the car.

Fred

Edited January 8, 2010 by FRED Z
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