the Radio- 48 Plymouth

[Wm Steed]

I have had a lot of experience with old radios, ie: the tube type things from the '30's/50's, but I do not claim to be skilled in their repair. Most of the old radios I have seen are beyond their service life and need extensive repairs to all of the circuits. Most if not all of the capacitors/resisters have started to leak which will be evident by the dis-coloration on their exteriors. I could go on and on about all the problems that occur with old radio's, in lieu of all that verbiage, I will just say that I have found that before you put any power to an old tube type radio you take it to an experienced radio repairman, have him check it over very carefully, repairing everything before the thing is powered up.

Several years ago I found a New Old Stock (NOS) radio for my '39 Plym.... yes I said new old stock!!! It was beautiful!!! Before we powered it up I had a friend of mine check it over, he is very good with old radio's... After replacing most of the circuitry in the radio and putting in a new electronic vibrator tube, which is a must on old radio's, we fired the thing up.... it sounded wonderful for about five minutes, then it quit. It took my friend hours to find the problem because it was intermittent, the radio would play for awhile then quit, after it sat for awhile it would light right up. The problem turned out to be a bad plug base on a tube. The base was broken which caused it to expand as it heated up, thereby causing a break in the power to a tube.

The base was most likely broken when the radio was assembled which rendered the radio defective, however, this would not have shown up until the radio was installed in a vehicle. The intermittent problem would render the radio as defective and was most likely tagged as such for many years, but then the tag either feel off or was removed. As the years go by another NOS part is reborn.

The radio now plays beautifully, receiving AM stations on almost every turn of the dial. My grand kids get a big kick out the radio in my old car that plays old music.
The Philco radios that Chrysler used were great radio's...Bill     

[Go Fleiter]

Mike, our old radios really can make trouble, shorts, even fire. Usually the old condensers are leaking and are resposable for this. I highly recommend to change these with modern condensers. I f You are not firm in electronics, let a company do it. They usually have a good stock of tubes too. Greetings! Go

[36 Ply]

Mike-

I'm going by memory on this; I last owned a '48 Plymouth in the mid '60s.

I don't know exactly what you need.

There should be an inline fuse in a metal fuse holder; I would check it first.

If you need to remove the radio, I believe there was a nut or wingnut holding the radio case to a bracket underneath the dashboard. If I remember correctly, you remove that nut and the volume and tuning knobs, disconnect the inline fuse holder, and you should be able to remove the radio.

Then there should be several sheetmetal screws to remove one side of the radio case; once it is removed, you should have access to the tubes and a vibrator (round metal case, it is inserted into a socket with 3? ?? metal prongs).

You will need someone with a tube checker to test your tubes and the vibrator.

Any repairs beyond what I have described is beyond my expertise.? Unlike modern radios, this one will take 20 seconds or so to warm up. It may be wired so that it only plays when the ignition is "on".

Regards, and good luck,

Pat O'Connor

[48 Beauty]

I have no idea what it needs, but it sure would be nice to get it working. Any suggestions on how I can do that? Maybe it can be taken out and sent some place to be restored? I appreciate any advice. mike