Motorola 7-VT2 worth restoring ?

[bandersen]

Alright, I'll give it a try

I've already gotten most of the scratches out of the plastic screen cover. A little wet sanding, soft scrub and Novus polish. The cabinet is warped as well as broken so I'm going to create some wooden forms to hold it in place while the glue sets.

I've used super glue before for small bakelite parts. I've heard of JB Weld, but never tried it before. I guess it's worth a try.

[bgadow]

If I ever came across one of these and couldn't salvage the cabinet, I would have some real fun with it. Many custom possiblities. I would take a prewar radio cabinet and mount it inside. Many cheap ones out there.

[bandersen]

Good idea - it would certainly be an interesting look. Some of those consoles have openings for huge tuning dials that would be a good fit I bet.

[compucat]

I would restore the electronics and forget the cabinet. Glued plastic is still broken plastic. You could build a custom cabinet for it. You could add a simple five tube radio chassis, build a small console cabinet and have an interesting and useful combo set. These Motorola sets are good and sufficiently common that no sacrilege would be incurred in modding or customising.

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by bandersen

That's a though although I already have the blonde and mahogany wood versions I just can't image where I'd get another flyback aside from getting another TS-18 chassis. Are replacements available ?

I have two three boxes of 50's-60's flybacks and yokes. Mostly N.O.S. Thordarson, Merit, and a few factory replacements. Anyone with needs PM me with a part# and hopefully the cross-references.

[Sandy G]

A neat solution might be to fabricate a clear Lucite cabinet for it...Show off all the tubes, CRT, so forth. In a few years lotsa people won't know what a genuine tube TV will look like...

[jhalphen]

Hi Bandersen,

Bryan G. wrote: "I would take a prewar radio cabinet and mount it inside."

Look at what French collector Pierre Genet built:

Full story here: http://www.cfp-radio.com/

Look under "Realisations" --> "Prototype de moniteur 9 pouces a lampes"

Lots of good TV & Radio restorations on the site, chock-full with pictures.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

[bgadow]

Wow, a "tombstone" TV! I never would have thought of it, but that works! It's ashame "black dial" Zenith cabinets are worth so much. You could build a "prototype" porthole quite easily using one.

I have a cheap Silvertone console from about '46 with the radio/phono under a lid. (it's the same width as any other console, not like a "side-by-side") Someday I will yank the phono (and perhaps the radio as well) and mount an orphaned TV chassis in there, facing upwards. It will be a custom mirror-in-lid set. All I need is time. Look for a completion date sometime in the '20s!

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

. . . fabricate a clear Lucite cabinet for it.

This guy built a Lucite cabinet for his Pilot TV-37.

http://www.electronixandmore.com/tel...lot/index.html

I have mixed feelings. It's cool looking, in a way. On the other hand, it calls to mind those ugly prisoner TVs which have a clear Lucite case so that the convict can't stash contraband inside. This guy admits that he spent more on the Lucite case than he did for the TV itself.

The Radio Crafters television with a chromed chassis might be a better candidate for Lucite. As with some Scott radios, the chrome is almost too pretty to keep hidden.

Trivia note: Hallicrafters made a clear Lucite clock radio in 1952. It was a dealer demo designed to promote their new printed circuit technology.

http://antiqueradio.org/halli11.htm

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

[newhallone]

I have wanted to make a custom case for a porthole for awhile. But first I need a good chassis and crt. It would be a shame to use one that has a good case. Anyone got one in Upper Michigan/ Wisconsin?

[bandersen]

First off, a major thank you to Steve for sending me the HV cage and flyback.
The chassis has cleaned up really well with a little WD-40 and steel wool. I also discovered the ventilation holes + some nylon rope are perfect for holding it all together.

I haven't tried the J.B. Weld yet, but the description sounds promising.

[7"estatdef]

Looks like it's in traction!
Terry

[zenithfan1]

Looking much better! Good job!

[bandersen]

Thanks! The patient has survived traction



I used a few dowels and JB Weld to reinforce the join from the inside:



Here it is with a coat of primer. I also dug through my big 'box o' knobs' and found one 3 more to go

[bandersen]

Here it is after a few coats of primer and gloss black paint. The 'scar' is a little more noticeable than I had expected, but I can live with it. Especially since I was on the verge of tossing it.

One more question for you guys. What is that red logo in the upper left corner? This is the best image I've found online and I can't make it out.
Is that an 'M' ??



Now I just need to get all 3 chassis working, restore the photo finish on the blonde, restore the decals and find all the knobs