I might be getting a 1968 Zenith color!
 

My friend that lives near me in Birmingham went down to Louisiana yesterday and picked up a 1965 Zenith roundie, but he said he had to get rid of one of his other sets. He's got one set that I always liked, and I might be getting it when he gets the roundie going. It's a beautiful 1968 Zenith all tube set in a very small upright cabinet. It will be my first Zenith all tube color set. I'm definitely looking forward to adding this one to the collection.

Tuning knob looks to be a random spare... I've got one with that face mask and tuner arrangement from ~1969. If yours is the same chassis as mine then there will be a chassis mounted chroma demod IC and ~2-5 passive transistors mounted to the chassis.

What chassis no?

I've done a little research, and I think I've narrowed it down to either a 20Y1C36 or 16Z8C50 chassis.

Probably the 20Y1C36
Tuner knob should be chrome T-shaped. Common step-up
layout for 3 yrs. Only transistors on main chassis would
have been for AFT IIRC. This was our first colored set. The
old man got it to watch the '67 Red Sox in the world series.
They can run forever. Ours had the bridge rects go under
warranty then I changed a few tubes over the years to perk
things up. CRT never went bad or had a cataract. Lost track
of it in the mid 80's, he wanted a cable ready set.

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

Thanks for clearing that up, Zeno. I'll call tonight and see what it is. Update: Just talked to my friends. Confirmed that it is a 20Y1C36, and it also has the correct tuning knob now.

I'm really confusing myself right now. I don't remember if he told me it was 20Y1C36 or 20Y1C38. I found an old thread on VK with a set that's almost identical to mine, but it has the 20Y1C38 chassis.

I had a concentric-tuned Zenith like that, in a slightly different cabinet, and mine was a 20Y1C38 chassis. These are really nice sets working and adjusted properly!

Single transistor in the video amp section. Good solid TV. Prob work fine as is. def not one that will need to be recapped.

One thing to keep in mind when working on Zenith, there are a LOT of parts under the chassis that can be moved around (and shorted on the leads) if you are not careful on handling it. The service saver bottom removed with the chassis still installed is the way to go. May have some voltage regulation issues, IIRC on mine that was a problem. Think it had something to do with the varistor used in the regulation circuit, its not a shunt like RCA.

I have an identical model on a swivel base, chassis 16Z8C50. I love that style! Like Dave says, these are among Zeniths that used 6HS5-6HV5-6JD5 HV pulse regulators and the varistor causes issues. Doug Harland, a hero VK member to all owners of 67-72 Zenith sets, found a good replacement. If I find that thread Ill link it.

Due to Zeniths superior engineering and circuit design, individual electrolytic caps in lower working voltage ranges can cause odd symptoms, if open. Best to check all with an ESR tester when you have it on its side and bottom cover off. My experience is that the black electrolytics (25v and 50v) with red or yellow ends are usually NOT a problem but gray axial lead caps that look Japanese sometimes go open.

I was told that the picture on this TV kind of "breathes". HV regulation problem? I have not seen this TV in person since May, and I have never seen it work.

Could be HV regulation, pincushion, PS lytics, or even rapid swings in 120V wall voltage (I get that here occasionally).

I suppose I'll have to dig out my high voltage meter, wherever it may be.

TV is now in my possession. Checked every tube, replaced about 7 or 8 of them. Lots of grid emmission and shorts. Cleaned the tuner and did greyscale, purity, and convergence. Convergence was god awful - I don't even know how he was watching it like that. CRT is pretty dim, might Clean and Balance it with the B&K 470.

Convergence.