1937 radio question

[Pete Phillips]

Working on a 1937 Buick Roadmaster radio. I have the radio manual but it does not say and I cannot figure out which side of the case has the power input, and which side takes the antenna wire. Both fittings are exactly the same; one on the left side; one on the right side. The inside of the radio is immaculate, so I think this thing might work if I can hook some power to it, but don't want to hook it up wrong and damage it.

Pete Phillips

[MCHinson]

This appears to show the power input coming out of the amp meter and into the driver's side of the radio.

[LAS VEGAS DAVE]

pete, on the 38 radio the power is on the rear drivers side corner and the antenna is on the passenger side about midway. In the diagram you posted you will notice the power wire on the rear drivers side top corner just like mine with an in line fuse in it.

[dibarlaw]

Pete :

 Your power lead should have a fuse in the line. Immaculate external condition means nothing on the radio's functioning condition. Capacitors and resistors have changed value or shorted out from age. Interior wiring is very brittle. The rubber power and antenna plug fittings on mine crumbled away. On my car I still would have to change out the rubber covered shielded antenna wires to the running boards and get new insulators. The mechanical vibrators usually fail. I have not been able to get into redoing my radio. I use a portable sometimes for company. The $$$ quotes to just get the radio back to functioning tells me I can live with out it for the time being.  AM radio is mostly Sports and Talk anyway. When I bought the car in the 1980s there was still some Big Band type stations in our area. I never got into servicing antique radios even though I had been collecting them for over 50 years. I was able to do machine work and cabinet work that I would trade for my electronically skilled friends services. The trouble is all my friends who did this work have passed on.

Larry

[LAS VEGAS DAVE]

The radio restoration is not cheap and is getting harder and harder to find anyone who even wants to bother with it. I started with 3 radios, none worked. I found NOS 38 antenna wire kit from the radio to the running boards. I then bought brand new running board insulators and got the antenna portion of the system completed. I had one of the radios bought to working order but it lasted for about 3 months. I had it restored again by someone at considerable cost along with one more since broken radios on the shelf seem even more useless than a restored radio on the shelf. The first one that was shipped back to me is still working and I have a restored one on the shelf. I just wanted a working radio as my car came without this accessory. Seen lots of money and effort and don't use it much but when we do it works and it works pretty good. We live in Las Vegas and there are lots of AM stations here including an oldies music one. For some unknown reason mine doesn't get static. I don't have a generator condenser or the hubcap static eliminators installed but they also are on the shelf. It seems like its easy to get a collection of extra stuff that lands on the shelf if you have one of these cars. 

Edited May 3, 2017 by LAS VEGAS DAVE (see edit history)