best old car radios?
 

What are some of the best old car radios? Stock or after market? I would say from the 60's back. some thing I always wondered about. I would like to put a period correct radio in my 64 sears speed boat. And I thought why not try to put one in my daily driver. I mostly listen to am and I am sure I can find something vintage that would work and sound better.:thmbsp:

IMO save your effort and just buy a modern unit.
I looked into this on my '64 GMC and '65 GTO and the factory units are now 'collectable' and priced thru the stratosphere.
Both got a modern unit with a kit so it took zero modification of the stock dash and it still cost less for BOTH sets than buying a stock original radio.

JME,

tal

Yes, those stock radios are getting pricey especially if they have the hardware and look decent. Some guy brought me a '57 chevy signal seeking radio that I think he gave something like $750 for in non working condition. Then, he screamed bloody murder when I told him it would cost $150-$200 to restore the radio. He was like "I figured it could be fixed for $10 or $15, the seller said it only needed a tube or two".

Your best bet for a car radio would be to find an aftermarket model from the '40's, '50's, or early '60's. One day, I'd like to find an old vibrator based car radio, adapt it for AC operation, and build a case for it.

Another problem with a lot of stock radios from back then is that you'd have to make a bezel to fit around the dial & buttons - many of the older sets were made to fit into a specifically styled dashboard.

I can't recall the manufacturer of the radio unit in my first car, A 1948 Packard Custom Eight, but it had one heck of a high end radio in it with dash mounted high fidelity speakers!

It also had an incredible motor, a 356 C.I. straight eight which had a factory special order aluminum head and tri-carbruator/ low resistance manifold set-up......for a 5,000 lbs. car, it hauled.

[QUOTE=anden;2583803]I can't recall the manufacturer of the radio unit in my first car, A 1948 Packard Custom Eight, but it had one heck of a high end radio in it with dash mounted high fidelity speakers!

As befitting a Packard, it should have ! (grin)

JC Whitney (are they still around?) used to offer AM/FM/Cassette radios with bezels styled to be period-correct for 50s Chevys, Fords & the like. Prolly have CD versions now if they're still in business. Order up some Smitty mufflers and a wolf whistle while you're at it.

1, new radios do not even attempt any effort on the am section and they suffer for it.

2. new radios=not fun :-)

3. junkyards and car swap meets are available to me. Granted many old radios are rusted up so bad your only option is to find a NOS unit and pay thru the nose.

4. Most importantly I just wanted to know what factory radios from back in the old days were better than others. And if there were period aftermarket radios that were available to those wanting higher quality units. I'm not talking Sears/Jc Witney which would never would have had Top line product.

I'm not sure if anyone noticed but I mentioned putting an old radio in my daily driver which is a 98 Cherokee. One problem would be noise. My Cherokee puts out alot of crap. :)

One advantage to having a '98 GC is that you could use a Chrysler radio as far back as 1974 and the mountings should fit, and it will look correct (as possible).

Try this website:

http://www.elliottsradio.com/cubecart/index.php

I completely understand your logic, and buying a modern radio to receive AM is like buying a an LCD TV to watch B&W movies on... In other words, they suck.

Just about any old AM car radio will outperform any new radio on AM.

Yeah, but depending upon what the vintage of the radio ..... you'd give up vacuum tubes if you buy a modern unit.:eek: