Motorola 610-T Restoration

[Plymouthy Adams]

Hank...no numbers are eliminated and the pictures of your post and that of Young Ed..run together when scrolling the thread and I did not see the message break..Yound Ed posted the radio with the CD markings, not you..this has been my error..sorry for the confusion..

[HanksB3B]

Oh good, you had me scared for a moment.

Hank

[Plymouthy Adams]

I can see where you may have gotten nervous..I had been outside welding and of course I have corrective dioptic lens so take my glasses off to weld and forgot my glasses on the bench..I no see that good up close without them...lol

[HanksB3B]

Radio As Found

Radio In Progress

Radio Finishing Up

Hank

Think this is anal? Each capacitor had four pictures taken: As found, Removed, Looped, Soldered. (It helped!)

Edited February 25, 2012 by HanksB3B

[Dave72dt]

Not if it helped. Too often too few are taken.

[Jeff Balazs]

Hank;

For some reason I was thinking your truck was a year earlier.

I had to give you a hard time about the antenna thing.

This is what happens when your truck is too nice......paranoia strikes deep.

It wouldn't be that hard to come up with a cable operated retractable "tail" antenna........... just an idea

El Guapo

[HanksB3B]

Dear El Guapo,

I figured that. I'm not opposed to drilling into the fender and am pretty sure by masking the area I could take the approach you used to break out of Men's Central (The Twin Towers) and use a file carefully over the course of time.

I certainly would not be opposed to finding alternate methods. My Aerospace Electro friend Andrew may have some ideas also.

How's your truck coming along? I know work has you pretty busy.

Hank

[Jeff Balazs]

Hank;

I didn't break out......they got tired of me and gave me the boot!

I can't believe you have not jumped on my idea for a hood ornament with a tail? Just think how novel that would be? You would (and could) be the envy of every boy on this block.

If you engineered it correctly you could have the "tail" lay down parallel with the hood, right in line with the windshield divider just by pulling on a knob. Of course you would have to come up with the correct script for the knob..........

El Guapo

[HanksB3B]

I think I need a ride in my truck...Thankfully it's the only ride I have that uses Regular.

Hank

[Jeff Balazs]

Hank;

Good to see I have not lost my touch.........

El Guapo

[48Dodger]

lol....city boy. Taken pictures of Mud Dauber's...we'ins just knock'em off like lint and fo-git about it.....lol.

look'in bueno Hank:D

48D

[HanksB3B]

Thanks Tim,

But, anyone who has met Hilda Eckel knows I'm as far from a City Slicker as a City Boy can be. Here's a little something that proves I've been looking for a radio for my truck for 29 years. It kind of makes me feel a little better about finding one before Reg. I also find it comforting to know that Reg has has seen more Mopar come and go in his lifetime than I could ever dream of even if I won the Lottery.

Hank

Edited February 28, 2012 by HanksB3B

[Jim Gaspard]

I don't get on the site as much as I want to. Still a working stiff and in year eight of a frame off, and still can't get my driver running. Hope these help. They're out there. Have faith!

Here are all the photos on Photobucket for part numbers:

http://s34.photobucket.com/albums/d148/JimGaspard/Dodge%20Truck%20-%20Misc/Mopar%20611-T%20Radio/

[HanksB3B]

Jim,

Have you or are you planning to re-build your radio by replacing the wax/paper capacitors that every radio repair person I contacted (before I started mine) said go bad and should all be replaced?

Hank

P.S. Is your radio the one that recently was purchased on eBay with quite a lot of competitive bidding going on? If so, congratulations!

[John-T-53]

One more comment on the civil defense marks...

1955 GM vehicle radios didn't have them, but 1956 and up did.

I remember Bob at Bob's radio in Pismo Beach saying 1956 was the year most radios began to have the CD marks.

BUT...other sources on radio websites say they began in '53, '54...

I guess different mfr's implemented at varying times...but if you see the red army coming, just pull over and tune to 640 or 1240 for instructions on what to do next.

[Jim Gaspard]

April 2011 purchase on e-bay. Still regretting where the bidding ended. I am having it restored stock.

[HanksB3B]

Kinda looks like you would have to hack up the dash a bit to install a 610T radio in the factory radio cutout.

That 608 install looks nice and fits right. Looks like someone had done a little grinding at one time for another radio.

Bob

Dodgeb4ya observations may be correct, but according to Motorola's Service Manual the illustration below, the Motorola 610-T belongs in Pilothouse Cabs with the Dashboard Configuration typical for the 51-53 series.

Both the Motorola 608 and 609 both are configured with the tuning knobs in line with the 5 pushbuttons. There also some 7-Pushbutton radios with this "in-line" configuration. (5-Pushbuttons do not fill the whole bottom slot whereas 7-Pushbuttons does) It looks like the 5 and 7 buttom radios never had an escutcheon or bezel like the 610-T and 611-T did have.

True the 608 looks correct but according to Motorola's 608 Service Manual it would appear that either the radio was designed specifically for a car (curved dashboard and bottom mounted speaker) or that an illustration for truck installation was not provided with the manual.

Possiblities: (I could use some help here)

1. Poor coordination between Chrysler engineers (who kept punching out dashboards for either ficticious radios or ones they thought they'd install.

2. Somehow an Illustration of the Motorols 610-T appeared in the 610-T Service Manual in error.

A Little Irony:

When I first got my truck my factory cut-out was "modified" (that's a nice word) and looked like the drawing in the upper left:

While in the body shop I made a new center bar made (shown dashed) and had it welded in and repaired the out of round holes so that the dashboard was back to it's original factory cut-out dimensions.

You can see had I left it alone the 610-T would have fit. I now intend to cut the dash per the lower left drawing after I make sure my radio works.

Sheesh,

Hank

[HanksB3B]

The Civil Defense marks throws another twist into the subject of "What Radio is Really the Holy Grail for the 51-53 Series Pilothouse Trucks.

Ed's Radio would be awarded "Best Fit Into a Factory Cut Dashboard" but if sources for JohnT-53's comments are correct, then Ed's Radio could have possibly been available in 1953. What about 51's and 52's what radios were installed on those trucks.

Hank

[pflaming]

In the early 50's my brothers and I wanted a radio. Dad asked why? So we could listen to music was our reply. So he taught us how to sing!!!!!!!!!!1:D

[HanksB3B]

Too Funny!

Back in the Day I used to have a Crystal Radio (I think it was something a kid had to put together). I used to listen to Gene Sheppard, Garner Ted Armstrong, Gene and Dale Autry and a bunch of other old radio shows before falling asleep.

Hank

[Young Ed]

Hank I suspect this is your 608 original use. 51-52 plymouths. Here's the dash of my 51.

[HanksB3B]

Same Punch-Out as the 51-53 Series Pilothouse, but the secondary unit (power unit/amp and speaker for the 802 seems to be the same as the 608.

Thanks Ed,

Hank

[Young Ed]

I happen to know where there's a few of these if you need me to check anything.....

Dads had a 51 convert since 66 plus many many other 51-52s.

[HanksB3B]

Thanks Ed,

Maybe you Dad can help us out here. As Confucius once said "A picture is worth a thousand words"

Thanks,

Hank

[Young Ed]

Thanks Ed,

Maybe you Dad can help us out here. As Confucius once said "A picture is worth a thousand words"

Thanks,

Hank

What would you like pictures of?