Go Back   The Ford Barn > General Discussion > Early V8 (1932-53)

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-19-2024, 03:55 PM   #1
hbiehl
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 5
Default radio won't fit

I just replaced my wiper motor in my 53 F100 with a 12 volt motor. Now my original radio will not fit. It too is a 6 volt. Any advice on what to do? Should I replace it with around Marine radio? Or a clock? Or is there a way to modify the radio to fit that I am not thinking about? Please help.
hbiehl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2024, 05:54 PM   #2
busmania
Senior Member
 
busmania's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Denver metro
Posts: 343
Default Re: radio won't fit

I know my opinion is in the minority but I say with tech these days (smart phones + high quality Bluetooth speaker) there is no longer a need for a radio. Now if it’s a true daily driver, maybe. But for me driving a few times a week I just make sure my speaker is charged and off I go. Or I cruise in Flathead silence. I like the clean no radio (and speakers) look.

I realize that doesn’t help you but that’s my thoughts on radios in a classic!
__________________
40 ford coupe Build -https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...coupe.1277406/
busmania is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Old 02-19-2024, 07:14 PM   #3
tubman
Senior Member
 
tubman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,319
Default Re: radio won't fit

Unless you are lucky, there is absolutely nothing worthwhile listening to on AM these days. You have lots of choices : aftermarket "look-a-like" radios, the above Bluetooth setup, and others. I had collected a lot of stuff I liked over the years on CD's, so I have a hidden CD player.
tubman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2024, 07:45 PM   #4
TJ
Senior Member
 
TJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Napa,California
Posts: 6,037
Default Re: radio won't fit

Put a modern radio in the glove box and download your music from a CD to a flash drive and put it in the radio. I have a small radio (Sony from Walmart) in my '40 and that's what I do. Almost all new radios have the flash drive option. Remove the radio face/dial from the radio and put it in the dash to fill the hole. Those after market radios can be had for less than $100.
Mount the radio in the top part of the glove box and you still have room enough to put other things in the glovebox underneath of the radio.
TJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2024, 07:55 PM   #5
J Franklin
Senior Member
 
J Franklin's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Oregon
Posts: 5,963
Default Re: radio won't fit

So TJ, Now I gotta learn how to download music!
J Franklin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2024, 08:34 PM   #6
TJ
Senior Member
 
TJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Napa,California
Posts: 6,037
Default Re: radio won't fit

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Quote:
Originally Posted by J Franklin View Post
So TJ, Now I gotta learn how to download music!
First download the CD music to your computer and then transfer it to the flash drive. If you are like me, find a kid in your neighborhood to come over to help!
TJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2024, 08:41 PM   #7
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,261
Default Re: radio won't fit

So show us what an original 53 pickup radio looks like.
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2024, 10:25 PM   #8
Lawson Cox
Senior Member
 
Lawson Cox's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Above the gnat line in Georgia
Posts: 7,009
Default Re: radio won't fit

Quote:
Originally Posted by ken/alabama View Post
so show us what an original 53 pickup radio looks like.
i should know this but my rememberer is out of sinc. Did the 35 pee cup have a radio as originally marketed? Got one? 770-784-0507 lawson cox
__________________
Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end, the faster it goes.

It is better to be seen, than viewed.

"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm".
Lawson Cox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2024, 10:29 PM   #9
Ken/Alabama
Senior Member
 
Ken/Alabama's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 3,261
Default Re: radio won't fit

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lawson Cox View Post
i should know this but my rememberer is out of sinc. Did the 35 pee cup have a radio as originally marketed? Got one? 770-784-0507 lawson cox
53 not 35.
Ken/Alabama is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2024, 08:32 AM   #10
Gene1949
Senior Member
 
Gene1949's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Pahrump, NV
Posts: 374
Default Re: radio won't fit

I've had one of their products for years. Great radios with BT, USB port for thumbdrive and phone capability. Works great. Be sure to check out their twin speaker indash replacement.
https://www.classiccarstereos.com/
Gene1949 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2024, 10:58 AM   #11
TJ
Senior Member
 
TJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Napa,California
Posts: 6,037
Default Re: radio won't fit

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken/Alabama View Post
So show us what an original 53 pickup radio looks like.
As I recall the pickup radio was the same as the car radio with the round dial in the center of the dash. It was about 4" in diameter.
TJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2024, 11:19 AM   #12
tubman
Senior Member
 
tubman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,319
Default Re: radio won't fit

Wasn't the "round dial" radio a one year only deal for 1955? IRC, the '53 car radios had everything in a "conventional" (all in a row) alignment.
tubman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2024, 04:01 PM   #13
slowforty
Senior Member
 
slowforty's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Tinley Park Ill
Posts: 1,062
Default Re: radio won't fit

I like having NO Radio. Easier to work under the Dash. Strange noises are more apparent.
Although being 76 with crappy hearing and aching joints does not help.
slowforty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2024, 10:13 PM   #14
52flthed
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 175
Default Re: radio won't fit

What I did on my 52 F-1 was I had an original radio which had a huge heavy chassis to it with all the original tubes and other components in it, well that all got taken out and replaced with digital components and circuit boards, which meant that the huge chassis could now be shrunken to a very small size and light weight. I would recommend going that direction. You gain a really functional radio, Bluetooth, AM/FM, USB charging point and or thumb drive. Lots of way to listen to music take or make a phone call and save lots of room to boot. It was done by an Aurora Digital conversion they specialize in taking old car radios and converting them to digital units.
52flthed is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-21-2024, 08:27 AM   #15
Tim Ayers
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,181
Default Re: radio won't fit

Quote:
Originally Posted by hbiehl View Post
I just replaced my wiper motor in my 53 F100 with a 12 volt motor. Now my original radio will not fit. It too is a 6 volt. Any advice on what to do? Should I replace it with around Marine radio? Or a clock? Or is there a way to modify the radio to fit that I am not thinking about? Please help.
Is it the original radio? I know the earlier radios for '48-'51 pick-ups are model specific and are shaped like an L to fit in the dash.
Tim Ayers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-22-2024, 07:35 AM   #16
chap52
Senior Member
 
chap52's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Marana Arizona
Posts: 1,776
Default Re: radio won't fit

I use to use a blue tooth speaker and all my music was on my phone. If you want you can even blue tooth Sirius FM.
Had a bunch of 1930's music on my phone and when we parked our Model A at a car show or just a parking lot gathering I would have period appropriate music playing. Chap
chap52 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-22-2024, 12:12 PM   #17
47Monarch
Senior Member
 
47Monarch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Sydney Nova Scotia
Posts: 126
Default Re: radio won't fit

I use a blue tooth speaker and Spotify on my radio if I'm at a show or Sunday picnic easy to take my tunes with or just put speaker in the trunk
47Monarch is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:17 AM.