Mr Bee Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 I believe my 1939 Dodge D13 has a radio delete blocking plate as seen in the attached photo of my dashboard. Does the second screenshot look like the correct radio for a 1939 Dodge? I do believe in the screenshot the part of the trim at the upper left side is not actually part of the radio. You can see from my dashboard photo there's a full length plate that covers the left and right flanks of the radio. And I also guess that the trim at the very bottom of the screenshot actually goes on the top. Is it possible that in the photo of my dash that the radio delete blocking plate is in fact the front face of a missing radio? I would perhaps just have to find a Philco C-1608 radio body and knock out the two vertical black plates in my dash photo? Please note that the silver tuning knobs are not stock. It's all I had hanging around. Any info or photos of your 1939 Dodge, Plymouth or Chrysler dashboard with a radio would be appreciated! By the way, I've searched the internet using various terms to find 1930's mopar car radios. I did find vintage, antique or collector car radio websites, but stock for pre war cars is pretty bare. Is there anyone out there that you've done business with in the past for old radios? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p15-1948 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 (edited) If you find a radio and it needs repair, try joe@classicautoelectric.com. This is part of the McPherson College automotive restoration program (Kansas). They did a great job on my 49 radio that came from a car setting in a hedge row for decades. I don't know if he has leads for radios, might inquire. Edited March 13 by p15-1948 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan_B Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 Yep, it looks like you have the face-plate on your dash, and just missing the actual radio: https://www.philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread.php?tid=22289 Schematics for C-1608 are available: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philco_c1608.html If you find one, you should be able to fix it yourself. I did my C-1708, not so long ago: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bee Posted March 13 Author Report Share Posted March 13 3 hours ago, p15-1948 said: If you find a radio and it needs repair, try joe@classicautoelectric.com. This is part of the McPherson College automotive restoration program (Kansas). They did a great job on my 49 radio that came from a car setting in a hedge row for decades. I don't know if he has leads for radios, might inquire. Great, thanks. I'll send him a message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bee Posted March 13 Author Report Share Posted March 13 3 hours ago, Ivan_B said: Yep, it looks like you have the face-plate on your dash, and just missing the actual radio: https://www.philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread.php?tid=22289 Schematics for C-1608 are available: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philco_c1608.html If you find one, you should be able to fix it yourself. I did my C-1708, not so long ago: Thanks, that link was very useful as it shows me what the actual radio chassis looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desoto1939 Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 The radio that you have in picture two is the correct Philco radio for all 1939 Mopar cars. I have this same model in my 1939 Desoto. The radio can be setup two ways for the antenna setup. 1. roadway - the antennas are under the running boards and there are two rods under each running. This is how my factory radio was setup. 2. Skyway - the outside antenna is mount on the driver side of the cowl and the antenna is mounted on an angle to run on a line going up the window frame. Also it is a two post mounting attachment. 3. There isa small cap on the bottom or top that can be prided off and there is a small wire inside that will go into the skyway or roadway hole according to which radio atenna style you are using. 4. When you take off the drivers side panel for the engine you will also need to mount a brass strip that attaches to the cowl welting and then goes down approx 2-3 inches. When the side panel is put back on then the brass strip also acts as a ground. Most people do not have the strip and also you willneed to get a radio condenser to mount on the generator to remove the static from the engine Contact me i have some literature on this radio and the mounting and tuning. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com H: 610-630-9188 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bee Posted March 13 Author Report Share Posted March 13 4 hours ago, Ivan_B said: Yep, it looks like you have the face-plate on your dash, and just missing the actual radio: https://www.philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread.php?tid=22289 Schematics for C-1608 are available: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philco_c1608.html If you find one, you should be able to fix it yourself. I did my C-1708, not so long ago: Thanks, that link was very useful as it shows me what the actual radio chassis looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bee Posted March 13 Author Report Share Posted March 13 4 minutes ago, desoto1939 said: The radio that you have in picture two is the correct Philco radio for all 1939 Mopar cars. I have this same model in my 1939 Desoto. The radio can be setup two ways for the antenna setup. 1. roadway - the antennas are under the running boards and there are two rods under each running. This is how my factory radio was setup. 2. Skyway - the outside antenna is mount on the driver side of the cowl and the antenna is mounted on an angle to run on a line going up the window frame. Also it is a two post mounting attachment. 3. There isa small cap on the bottom or top that can be prided off and there is a small wire inside that will go into the skyway or roadway hole according to which radio atenna style you are using. 4. When you take off the drivers side panel for the engine you will also need to mount a brass strip that attaches to the cowl welting and then goes down approx 2-3 inches. When the side panel is put back on then the brass strip also acts as a ground. Most people do not have the strip and also you willneed to get a radio condenser to mount on the generator to remove the static from the engine Contact me i have some literature on this radio and the mounting and tuning. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com H: 610-630-9188 Thanks for the tips Rich. I like the idea of hiding the antennas under the running boards! I'm not keen to put a hole in my fender. Also thanks for your contact info...I just may have to get back to you should I find a radio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bee Posted March 13 Author Report Share Posted March 13 I'm just bringing in the photo of the C-1608 that Ivan provided a link to for future reference. This is the actual radio chassis without the decorative grill faceplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan_B Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 13 minutes ago, desoto1939 said: Most people do not have the strip and also you will need to get a radio condenser to mount on the generator to remove the static from the engine. That did not help at all, in my case, but running resistor plugs - did. I did not go for the insulated core wires, though, since the remaining amount of static is negligible Also, you might not need to install the antenna at all. Are you actually planning to listed to the AM broadcast? There is nothing on it, in most places, these days. Instead, you can broadcast your own signal into your radio, like I did: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bee Posted March 13 Author Report Share Posted March 13 Yes, I would prefer to broadcast to the AM radio. I agree, there's not much on AM anymore. I currently broadcast to my FM radio in my current F150 and it works perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted March 14 Report Share Posted March 14 54 minutes ago, Ivan_B said: That did not help at all, in my case, but running resistor plugs - did. Two different sources of noise. If it's a whine that increases pitch with increased rpm, generator or alternator whine. If it's more of a popping and crackling then it's plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan_B Posted March 14 Report Share Posted March 14 That is correct. I just did not have any generator noise to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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