1964 AMC Combo
 

On Saturday I decided to go to an Estate sale that was only a few miles from me, (the pictures on the estate sale website looked promising). There was a small 14" or so metal cabinet table set that I could see in one picture (plugged in and lit up with a blank raster) so I thought if nothing else, I would buy the b/w. Well as soon as I got there, sitting on the front porch was a round screen combo! The back was off and the screws were scattered all around it. Thinking it was already sold, I asked the guy running the sale who bought it, he said "no one yet". He then went on to say he removed the back to check if it was a tube stereo, and when he found that it was, used that as a selling point to the audio collectors. He said I would have to take the "whole thing" if I wanted it and he would'nt go any lower than $30! No problem with that!
After getting it home and fixing a mouse chewed horizontal oscillator coil and a nasty cataract, I took a few pics. the chassis is very clean and appears to be low hour, as well as the original crt. The stereo has that nice tube sound, nothing fancy though, it's a single ended 6BQ5 amp driving 8" speakers.
BTW, the 50's b/w was already gone when I got there, the guy running the sale said it was "real valuable" because it was a 50's tv and so rare! I should have asked him how many would he like, I have a bunch of them stacked in my back closet and would be lucky if I got $10 each!

Love it, nice find.

What a steal! Cabinet looks great.

John

Nice score :thmbsp:

Awesome! That's one you won't find often. Great score:yes: You're up to two AMCs now aren't you?

Guy running the sale: "I removed the back to check if it was a tube stereo,"

Just what we need: Savvy estate sale bosses

Well at least the guy saved it, and did'nt throw it out before the sale! And 30 bucks was in line.
the lady that owned the house worked for Hudsons from the late 40's to the 70's, there were new mixers, toasters, clothes, shoes, just about everything. The back two bedrooms had new clothes piled 3-4 feet high! There were also boxes and boxes of cancelled checks and receipts going back to the 50's! I would say she became quite the hoarder..

Another AMC set, and a combo at that! :) :) :)

Hey nice set dwight. Good to see it working:thmbsp:

Here's a combo unit for-ya-

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/atq/1654820818.html

Great find.

Wow! Looks to be in excellent condition. Nice score.

Yikes! Is that a homebrew entertainment center :scratch2:

I definitely grab it for the TV.

i would grab it for the radio.not too far from cleveland.2 hours and i need parts,but how would you haul that monstrosity?designed by frank lloyd wrong!

Somebody must have grabbed it. The posting is deleted.

John

I dug up some pictures from my browser cache.

What is an AMC ? And is that an RCA chassis in it ?

Hudsons sold AMC products, the chassis is a Wells Gardner RCA clone.

I believe "AMC" stands for American Machine Corporation (no known affiliation with the dead auto company). I do find it interesting that AMC was the "house brand" of the Detroit department store HUDSON'S.

The founder of Hudson's department store provided funding for an automobile company called "HUDSON". There was no direct connection other than the original funding (dating back to 190-? something). Hudson Motor Company later merged with Nash (the auto company) and formed American Motors, although they didn't really go by "AMC" until the later 60s.

BTW, I actually saw this unit at Dwight's suburban Detroit home. I even touched it! :thmbsp: It's real, not something made in photoshop!

AMC is listed in SAMS as AIMCEE Wholesale Corp.
1440 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10018.

-Steve D.

Captainmoody:

Congratulations to this wonderful color tv set! It makes me happy to see from my point here over the large pond such marvels in working condition with such a gorgeous picture!

Kind regards,
Eckhard

Thanx for info. Where were the AMC made ? Plant location ?

saw one amc roundie in a thrift store in the late 80s.was a reasonably well made set.rca clone chassis with an unbrand crt.no label visible.did have a good,bright picture.i was pretty impressed.but for the 30.00 price tag-money was tight then.
wish i would have gotten it.another time there were 2 sets at the volunteers downtown cols.ctc9 and a ctc15.both were beautiful!cabinets were perfect and the crts were so sharp and clear.i wanted both.the little woman nixed that idea.i could buy to resale,not keep.i passed.kicking myself since.

As one poster suggested, Wells-Gardner, a manufacturer of private label TV's, produced the AMC branded sets. Wells-Gardner was a Chicago based company. Here is an interesting site:

Bright Lights Dim Beauty of Chicago: The Start of Wells-Gardner
Address:http://dimbeautyofchicago.blogspot.c...s-gardner.html

-Steve D.

This is a great story of American enterprise - even copying an RCA chassis like the Japanese would do !

And Hudsons, what a store ! - would like to have visited it in the 50's or 60's taking in the bustling downtown atmosphere.

I have heard it as "Associated Merchandisers Company" or something similiar. They apparently provided merchandise for many independent department stores around the country. I believe they are still around in some form.