The Ford Barn

jon laing · 10-31-2013, 03:44 PM

I am considering installing a "Secret Radio" in my 1939 ford. The advantage is that most of the equipment can be installed under a seat or hidden behind the dash. This keeps the car looking original. Does anyone have advice or experience with these radios. I am primarily looking for a good AM/FM up to date radio. Jon Laing

CaliforniaBorn36 · 10-31-2013, 04:16 PM

You can search "Radio Solution? Secret/Hidden Stereo? " or on my user name and see a thread on this topic. Lots of options and opinions. I have some additional informaiton on another computer that I will look at this evening and add here, about some other radio alternatives if you are interested. I am thinking underseat.

cryobug · 11-06-2013, 01:15 AM

I installed a radio in the panel between the trunk and the passenger compartment on my 39 coupe and control it with a remote. The radio has a USB port on the radio and I have all of my CDs on a memory stick.

CaliforniaBorn36 · 11-07-2013, 03:49 PM

John, I have been considering tunes for my 36 for a while and have done some research, If you are installing in the Glovebox anyway, appearance of the unit is less critical. I tried looking up the USA230(?) radio you mentioned in another post and it looks pretty expensive. A few other alternatives I found are

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PLMRKT12BK-In-Dash-Marine-Tuning/dp/B002J9GHHA
http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PLR14MPF-In-Dash-FM-MPX-Shaft/dp/B004HJ3FH0
Both a lot less expensinve and the one in kit form even has a remote and marine grade speakers.

Post back on what you end up doing, I'd love to hear what you think of the final result

Power converters are available on Ebay for the 6 to 12 volt, positive to negative ground issues if you are still running 6 volts

Matt

Old Henry · 11-07-2013, 04:17 PM

If you're still 6 volts like I am you may be interested in what I did.

As I was considering a sound system as an alternate to my AM radio I thought of doing what you're thinking but that would have required a 6 to 12 volt converter for about $100 plus the rest of the system. Instead, I just bought a headphone amp for about $100 that ran on a 9 volt battery then hooked it up to my radio speaker through a switch mounted in the roof of the glove box that I could switch the speaker source between my radio and the headphone amp and pluged the headphone amp into my DiscMan CD player and put it all in the glove box. I soon discovered, however, that running the speaker on the headphone amp soon killed the little 9 volt battery so I bypassed that and hooked the little amp up to a 9 volt battery pack I made out of 6 D cell batteries in a Radio Shack holder as shown. It lasts for a year or two. Because the single radio speaker is monoral rather than stereo as comes out of the CD player and goes through the amp I added a Radio Shack adapter wire that goes in stereo one end and combines both tracks into one monoral signal coming out the other end for the speaker. The system was somehow picking up the spark plugs so I got the choke coils from Radio Shack and put on all the wires to eliminate that. So, basically for the same as I would have paid for the 6 to 12 volt converter alone I had at least a CD player that played through my radio speaker. Whenever I take guests for a ride I put on 40's music and they wonder what radio station I'm playing that old music from. And, at car shows I run the 40's music out of the radio speaker all day and the neighbors and visitors love it.

I have since replaced the CD player with an MP3 player that is also an AM/FM stereo radio receiver.

Just an idea.

wisbangman · 11-07-2013, 07:52 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Jon............ See my post under your " 1939 ford glove box " post. I used a Sony 12 volt radio that I bought at Best Buy, it seems like I paid about $70.00 for it. The two speakers I used were Walmart, maybe $40.00. One of my friends said, " You better mount the speakers where you can build a nice fancy enclosure for them to get the best possible sound " I DID NOT TAKE HIS ADVICE. and instead, with no enclosure, the new speakers, instead of New Car Sound, remind me of how radios sounded in cars 70 years ago which was just what I was looking for ! The radio comes with a remote but the glove box door needs to be open to work with the remote, as it is a " line of sight radio / remote. " Again I went 12 volt, with a marine battery in the trunk, hidden in a vintage picnic basket. Every time I open the Picnic basket I hear " That's really unique " If the battery was sitting in the trunk, naked, in front of God and everyone else ! maybe I would get a different response.

10-31-2013, 03:44 PM	#1
jon laing Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: DRUMMOND iSLAND, Mi. Posts: 247	1939 ford radio I am considering installing a "Secret Radio" in my 1939 ford. The advantage is that most of the equipment can be installed under a seat or hidden behind the dash. This keeps the car looking original. Does anyone have advice or experience with these radios. I am primarily looking for a good AM/FM up to date radio. Jon Laing

10-31-2013, 04:16 PM	#2
CaliforniaBorn36 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 445	Re: 1939 ford radio You can search "Radio Solution? Secret/Hidden Stereo? " or on my user name and see a thread on this topic. Lots of options and opinions. I have some additional informaiton on another computer that I will look at this evening and add here, about some other radio alternatives if you are interested. I am thinking underseat.

11-06-2013, 01:15 AM	#3
cryobug Junior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: FL Posts: 16	Re: 1939 ford radio I installed a radio in the panel between the trunk and the passenger compartment on my 39 coupe and control it with a remote. The radio has a USB port on the radio and I have all of my CDs on a memory stick.

11-07-2013, 03:49 PM	#4
CaliforniaBorn36 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 445	Re: 1939 ford radio John, I have been considering tunes for my 36 for a while and have done some research, If you are installing in the Glovebox anyway, appearance of the unit is less critical. I tried looking up the USA230(?) radio you mentioned in another post and it looks pretty expensive. A few other alternatives I found are http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PLMRKT12BK-In-Dash-Marine-Tuning/dp/B002J9GHHA http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PLR14MPF-In-Dash-FM-MPX-Shaft/dp/B004HJ3FH0 Both a lot less expensinve and the one in kit form even has a remote and marine grade speakers. Post back on what you end up doing, I'd love to hear what you think of the final result Power converters are available on Ebay for the 6 to 12 volt, positive to negative ground issues if you are still running 6 volts Matt

11-07-2013, 04:17 PM	#5
Old Henry Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Orem, Utah Posts: 5,762	Re: 1939 ford radio If you're still 6 volts like I am you may be interested in what I did. As I was considering a sound system as an alternate to my AM radio I thought of doing what you're thinking but that would have required a 6 to 12 volt converter for about $100 plus the rest of the system. Instead, I just bought a headphone amp for about $100 that ran on a 9 volt battery then hooked it up to my radio speaker through a switch mounted in the roof of the glove box that I could switch the speaker source between my radio and the headphone amp and pluged the headphone amp into my DiscMan CD player and put it all in the glove box. I soon discovered, however, that running the speaker on the headphone amp soon killed the little 9 volt battery so I bypassed that and hooked the little amp up to a 9 volt battery pack I made out of 6 D cell batteries in a Radio Shack holder as shown. It lasts for a year or two. Because the single radio speaker is monoral rather than stereo as comes out of the CD player and goes through the amp I added a Radio Shack adapter wire that goes in stereo one end and combines both tracks into one monoral signal coming out the other end for the speaker. The system was somehow picking up the spark plugs so I got the choke coils from Radio Shack and put on all the wires to eliminate that. So, basically for the same as I would have paid for the 6 to 12 volt converter alone I had at least a CD player that played through my radio speaker. Whenever I take guests for a ride I put on 40's music and they wonder what radio station I'm playing that old music from. And, at car shows I run the 40's music out of the radio speaker all day and the neighbors and visitors love it. I have since replaced the CD player with an MP3 player that is also an AM/FM stereo radio receiver. Just an idea. __________________ Prof. Henry (The Roaming Gnome) "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Ursula K. Le Guin in The Left Hand of Darkness Last edited by Old Henry; 11-07-2013 at 04:26 PM.*

11-07-2013, 07:52 PM	#6
wisbangman Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: oshkosh wi Posts: 216	Re: 1939 ford radio Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Jon............ See my post under your " 1939 ford glove box " post. I used a Sony 12 volt radio that I bought at Best Buy, it seems like I paid about $70.00 for it. The two speakers I used were Walmart, maybe $40.00. One of my friends said, " You better mount the speakers where you can build a nice fancy enclosure for them to get the best possible sound " I DID NOT TAKE HIS ADVICE. and instead, with no enclosure, the new speakers, instead of New Car Sound, remind me of how radios sounded in cars 70 years ago which was just what I was looking for ! The radio comes with a remote but the glove box door needs to be open to work with the remote, as it is a " line of sight radio / remote. " Again I went 12 volt, with a marine battery in the trunk, hidden in a vintage picnic basket. Every time I open the Picnic basket I hear " That's really unique " If the battery was sitting in the trunk, naked, in front of God and everyone else ! maybe I would get a different response.