I have a 1951 with no radio, I'm thinking of getting either the original or a reproduction that looks exactly like the original from the dash out. They're both around 600 bucks. The reproduction gets AM and FM and you could add a CD player or an iPod, the original only gets AM but there's nothing like having original parts to your truck. Which one should I get? Can anyone think of other pros and cons? What kind of radio do you guys have? ORIGINAL REPRODUCTION
Welcome, Dj, It is your money so you need to be happy with what you get. Having said that, with the cost being equal, I would definitely go with the reproduction. These old trucks are to enjoy and my music is something I enjoy. I haven't bought one yet but a good reproduction that can be expanded is what I plan to get. Again, welcome to the forum! Gater
I'm going to hang a superheterodyne in mine! Nine volt transistorized superheterodyne receiver hanging from my rear mirror Seriously, if you're into tunes, you've got a lot more possibilities with the repop.
Yes, WELCOME, Dj! Ditto what Gater said. (I got the 'phones on at this very moment. Don't want to wake anyone up, but I won't miss my tunes-time!) 'Course without the right attention to detail in the sound-deadening department, the only time you'll get to enjoy the money spent on a radio would be stoplights and whilst "parking". Cool looking repo! Whose is it?
Just a thought. Another way to go if you wanted to get creative is to create a fake original looking face for the dash, and mount a modern radio behind the speaker opening. That way it would not be obvious, it's cheaper, and you could still have Ipod. You would control it with a remote, which most new radios come with...Mike
I sent my not working original off and had it converted to am-fm . It looks original, it plays just fine and fancy. We run our recorded music into it from an ipod remote, no cd player, no cds lying around in my AD. It is not a boom box. And finding a repop 54 is not an option. It is your truck, do exactly what you want. Jim
Repro radio I bought the same repro radio in your picture from a place called "Mongo's Garage". Got it back in December, and have it installed in my dash, but have not hooked it up yet. To get the best from this radio, they recommend not using just the dash speaker, and I haven't decided exactly where I want to mount additional speakers. I plan to plug an I-pod or MP3 player into mine. The only thing about it that bothers me a little bit is that, once installed, there's more of a gap between the top of the radio and the opening in the dash than I would like. I don't know if that's there with an original or not. My plan is to try a piece of black sponge filler there and see what it looks like. I believe the radio is made by a company in Florida. If anyone is interested in this radio, Mongo's URL is http://www.mongosgarage.com.
AD Radio There's a number of places that will rebuild an original radio and make it play AM & FM plus have the input jack for ipod (MP3 player) , external CD or tape player etc. . My windshiled still leaks so I;'m using the same old Blaupunkt AM-FM Stereo Cassette in the glovebox , speakers behind the seat and one amp. behind the seat too , it works well and I can hear my blues or news anytime at any speed . Once I get the windshiled sorted out I'll install a stock radio , either original or repop , I duno .
Thanks for the link to Mongo's Garage there Bob. I've been looking for a repop radio for my 55/1 for ever - looks like this is one to follow up.
here's the link to what i think is the original vendor- http://www.vintageautoradio.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=365680d07ff6252ec02f54d3b905d7a2 i've been wanting one of these for a while. as far as new vs old- that's a tough one. supposedly there's nothing that sounds like the old tube radios. and if you play guitar, you'll know that tube amps sound a ba-zillion times better than solid state, so i'll have to leave that decision up to you. an idea might be to buy the old one and see how you like it. then you can always buy a new one later if you decide to get rid of the old one, and there are plenty of us here that would be interested in an old radio. jon
Hey Bob, I just noticed this on eBay this truck showing the same gap at the top of the original radio. Perhaps that is just the way it fits. Surely there is a way to make it look like it fits better? Gater
Yep, that's about right That's about the same gap as my repro has. I may try to move the radio up a little to minimize the gap at the top, since I don't think it would be as noticeable at the bottom, or as I said earlier, maybe put a sponge-rubber filler of some kind around it. Hopefully, by the time I get back to that on my "little things I gotta get back to" list, an idea will have occurred to me or some other "idea guy" here. Thanks for the picture.
Does anyone have one of these working? I am not happy with the USA1 radio and dont want to blank out the original holr.
I would not choose an original radio. When those tubes burn out (and they will given time) you won't be able to take them to Seven Eleven for testing and replacing. And don't look for someone local to repair it. They may be around but I'm sure their scarce as hen's teeth.
Keep the original I put my original radio back in the dash and added an aftermarket with a wireless remote under the seat. Looks great and sounds great!
Gap at the top of the original radio Hey Bob, I found this and thought you might be interested in how this restorer solved the problem of a gap above the radio. Gater http://www.guildclassiccars.com/1948_chevrolet_truck_850/850_110.html
Wow! Did you see what they started with? It's not the way I would have finished it, but hey, it wasn't my $$$. Too many fingerprints to be worried about. Great work though. It looks like that fancy faceplate was on the original rust bucket. Larry
Wow Wow Wow ! That sure is a shiny truck ! not ' restored ' but I'd have it in a hearbeat ~ I wish I had the $ or the skills to have this done to my old shoptruck .
If not concerned with keeping original here is what we do to keep the factory dash profile with a modern radio. So many put a square radio into the curved dash and it doesn't look the best in my opinion. By "Frenching" it, it doesn't look so out of place. The two lights where the choke and throttle were are for high beam indicator and turn signal (set up like the early 60's Falcon so it flashes for either right or left turn).
