I sent my 56 to a guy in Oceano Ca. Listed in Hemmings. He gutted it and installed an AM/FM in it using the stock front so it appears stock. I too listen to talk radio and some music. When you turn it on its on FM, turn off and back on quickly and it's AM. The stations don't quite line up with the #'s on the face but that's ok as I have them on the push buttons. Front speaker only. Works OK but picksup engine noise occasionally. Costs 200 6 yrs ago. Best thing is it looks stock.

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

I had Classic Car  Radio do my 56 last year. It was expensive &
I don't know if it works yet, but I like all the features provided:
4 Channel Stereo
AM/FM
IPOD input
Power antenna output
Completely stock appearing

Anouther thing to consider is at a lot of swap meets these radio's go for $15-25 and could be a good source of parts incase one needs something. I have 3 for my '59 i'm going to drop off at my rebuilder, one the memory buttons dont work, and one has discolored buttons. I figure between 3 there should be plenty of parts incase he hits a snag

Typical pricing for a rebuild on a radio varies from $175 to $255, depending on model.  If there are major issues, that price could increase but normally I can repair those abnormalities (95% of the time).  Can do the invisible AM/FM conversion if interested.

Check here:  https://classiccarradiodoctor.com/

Regards,

Bill

geo56,
$200 does seem to be quite a bit to bring an am radio back to life if it died from natural causes, For instance the radio played well for you until one day it just quit. If the radio has physical damage from being tossed around for years or being exposed to weather that can makes things very difficult if not impossible. Which brings up the question has this radio ever played since you owned it? A lot of times even simple problems require taking voltage measurements of live circuitry. A vibrator powered radio develops several hundreds of volts so I don't recommend you putting your hands in there. The push button tuners were pretty tough, strange that yours doesn't work unless some one has messed with it or all of the buttons have been set to the same channel. You need to be able to tune across the band to make sure its not setting on an unused frequency. The tuning knob is coupled through a clutch that can develop slip but push buttons should still work. You need to make sure the speaker you are using is a good one. When trying to trouble shoot I wouldn't use a battery charger as I am firm believer of Murphy's Law. Last tip I can give you is that USA tubes that were made in the 50's were tough but they can fail and still be lit. Tube testers are not fool proof, basically if a tube tests bad on a tester it is bad but a tester can show a tube is good and it is bad.  

Car radios are kind of a PITA to work on, because they really stuffed things in as small a space as possible. Now, the really expensive complex radios with motorized Wunderbar auto-tuning and the dial string from hell, maybe leave those to the pros unless you're a masochist but, if you just want to get a standard old AM radio back up and running well it isn't rocket science. Get the power supply sussed out. That is the key to any electronic device. Early sets used a "vibrator" and a high voltage buffer capacitor, and a few power supply electrolytics. $20 or so worth of parts and you're back in business.

Vacuum tubes themselves are the easy part. Believe it or not radio tubes are plentiful and cheap if you were to ever actually need one, but they don't go bad sitting on the shelf or in the radio and are extremely rugged and long lived. I have vacuum tubes that are 100 years old and they work just fine. Interestingly the same cannot be said about certain transistors and they are just as obsolete as vacuum tubes at this point. At one time vacuum tubes were even used for proximity fuses in artillery rounds.

Color Televisions, people remember those as trouble because they ran hot, and ran certain types like horizontal output tubes hard, but in these vintage radios tubes last just about forever. The labor charges, then as now, is what costs so if you are handy with a soldering iron it should be no major trouble and results in considerable savings. Plus you have a cool radio that works.

On one hand, I understand not wanting to spend $200.  On the other,  I know it is typically cheaper in the long run to just have it done right from the beginning.  There's also the option to take it to the next level to have it modified for modern functionality while maintaining a 100% stock appearance from the outside although that typically costs quite a bit more.


Lawrenceville, GA

No luck finding a '56 radio what I have is out of a '57 and it won't fit.

Old radios have a lot of components that do not age well, capacitors, tubes, wiring.  A rebuild may be money well spent.

Actually,  my brother repairs X Ray machines for a living.   He did replace 1 capacitor with no luck.  A lot of it is time.   Our mother passed in February,  but dealing with her illness for a couple years took lots of time.   Even with her in skilled nursing.   Plus he drives about 50-60,000 miles a year for his job.   So his time is really limited.  So if an honest guy could go through it,  replaced all the minor stuff and get it tuned for under $200,   I'm there.   Although Tedster,   since your my friend on here,   you'll do it for 2 chili dogs and a beer,  right?