neil morse Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I am looking for someone to rebuild the Sonomatic radio from my '41. I am interested in a stock rebuild rather than a conversion, but I could be persuaded otherwise if the rebuild is too expensive. I have gotten one estimate so far, and was surprised at how high it was. I would be grateful for some suggestions for a good shop that won't charge me an arm and a leg. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS VEGAS DAVE Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I have had two 38 radios rebuilt. Different places but both were pricey. We are running out of places that have the knowledge and parts and even want to bother with them any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Thanks, Dave. When I first read your post, I thought it said that you had had 38 radios rebuilt! That would be a lot. What you say makes a lot of sense. I suppose there's a finite number of radio tubes in the world, and I assume no one is manufacturing them any longer. Since posting my question this morning, I have gotten another estimate, which was less than a third of the first. So it's a bit confusing. The lower bid was from Bill the Radio Guy in Washington state. http://www.billtheradioguy.com I was referred to Bill by another person I contacted who no longer does pre-war radios. Has anyone had experience with Bill? Any other suggestions? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuickBob49 Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Have you tried antiquecarradios.com. Vince in West Virginia. I purchased a refurbished radio from him for my 1939 Roadmaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 Thanks. I will check Vince out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 After some emailing back and forth, I have decided to go with Bill the Radio Guy. I checked around and could find nothing but positive reports on him, and I looked at his YouTube channel where he shows various radios playing on the bench after he has restored them. I'm getting a full restoration plus the addition of FM and an aux jack so I can use an Ipod, etc., to play any music I want. The outward appearance of the radio is unchanged from stock. The price is about a third of what another shop quoted for the restoration alone, so we shall see. I will post the results when the job is finished, probably about two months from now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Cool that you're adding the cell phone jack. Would you mind sharing the price? I found the one for my 38 in the trunk and was wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 I have a guy in Flint that will fix car radios. Does a great job at a reasonable price. I had him redo my Corvette radio and add a mp3 jack and I think it was less than $100.00 PM me and I will send you his information. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 3 hours ago, MrEarl said: Cool that you're adding the cell phone jack. Would you mind sharing the price? I found the one for my 38 in the trunk and was wondering. Sure. Bill's quote for the restoration plus the FM/aux conversion was $325 to $350. The first guy I contacted wanted $900 just for the restoration! I talked to another guy in Southern California who said he was no longer doing restoration of pre-war radios, and he told me that Sonomatics are problematic (pun not intended) because the push buttons are activated by solenoid and he could never get them to work. Anyone have any information about that? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 2 hours ago, Larry Schramm said: I have a guy in Flint that will fix car radios. Does a great job at a reasonable price. I had him redo my Corvette radio and add a mp3 jack and I think it was less than $100.00 PM me and I will send you his information. Thanks, but I'm already committed to Bill the Radio Guy. As I said, I will let everyone know how it works out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Gotta love the Internet. A quick search led me to this discussion on an antique radio forum that explains the solenoid-operated "clutch" that disables the tuning knob when one of the push buttons is pushed. It also explains how to tune the push buttons. Good stuff. http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=59594 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1967 - 1997 Riviera Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Glad to see that you are restoring the original radio instead of replacing outright with a modern unit. Plus, the planned addition of FM and an Ipod connection option should keep you happy for many miles of listening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 Yeah, I want my car to remain as stock and correct as possible. But I don't mind a modification as long as it's invisible. This seemed like a perfect solution to the radio question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 (edited) I wouldn't mind paying $300-$400 for my radio to be rebuilt. I'm not at the that stage yet, but that sounds like a winner to me! Edited March 30, 2017 by 39BuickEight (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS VEGAS DAVE Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Where will the FM button be located? Will the same dial be used for the FM? Will the stock antenna be also the FM antenna? 38 Buicks have the running boards as antennas, not the best design but it works ok in the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Here's the email I got from Mr. Bill: Given a 6 volt system we install a small chip that works in conjunction with your working radio.You may visit tech-retro.com and reference the FMC-1 for more information. It does not alter appearance or fit. There is no dial face for the fm stations and your existing tuner is utilized allowing you to use your manual dial as well as push buttons to save desired favorites. The fm and aux modes are accessed by turning off the radio with the on/off switch and quickly turning it back on. The aux mode will allow you to play an Iphonre MP3 Satellite radio cd or any other device through your radio. The cord from the device plugs into the aux port and is switched like fm and may be left in all the time. It will only play when in that mode. This option costs $225.00 if the radio is working. With restoration of the radio the cost is $325.00 to $350.00 and a solid state vibrator as well as the aux jack is added gratis. I did not ask him about the antenna, but I assume it just works off of whatever antenna you have on your car. There is also a blue tooth option, but that involves converting to 12 volt or using a voltage booster. That option gives you 180 watt 4-speaker stereo capability. I was not interested in that. This is his YouTube channel where you can see him demonstrating some of the radios he has rebuilt on the bench. In some of them, you can see him switching to the fm mode with the "quick on/off" feature. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4p7hUT3ktvspDVPbPeTcBQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS VEGAS DAVE Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Sounds good to me,I never heard of this before. Let us know how you like it. Very fair price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 I got my radio back from Bill the radio guy last week. The work came in under the estimate -- it was $300 including the return shipping. Unfortunately, even though the radio was very carefully packed, one of the mounting studs on the case was badly bent -- UPS must have dropped it from a considerable height. I was bummed because it looked like the stud would break for sure if I tried to bend it back, and I thought it would need to be welded. I was afraid to touch it. I was also worried that something might have been damaged on the inside. Bill was very responsive when I told him about the damage, and was prepared to make a claim to UPS if necessary. However, today a mechanic friend of mine came over and was able to very carefully straighten out the stud. We then put the radio back in the car, and it works great! Just as advertised, it toggles between AM, FM, and AUX when you quickly turn the on/off switch off and on again. The solid state vibrator is very quiet, and reception is excellent with the stock antenna in both AM and FM. I am very happy with it, and would recommend Bill to anyone looking for a radio rebuild. Again, he can be reached here: http://www.billtheradioguy.com 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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