The radio in my 1970 convertible does not work. Is their any hope for it? Know of anyone that repairs them?
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Re: C3 Radio
Check the services ads in Driveline! Also, a LOT of Corvette radios sold at swap meets, on eBay, Etc. are lacking in that they only provide HALF the radio! For your '70 there were two radios (AM/FM and the Stereo). Both had insufficient room inside the chassis to house all the vital components, so the second 'half' of the radio was located beneath the RH dash pad, cable connected to the main chassis.
In the case of the base AM/FM radio, this 'box' was called a convector unit and it was essentially the speaker drive transistor mounted on a heat sink. In the case of the stereo set, the other half unit provided FM stereo channel separation electronics as well as the speaker drive circuitry.
More than one good ole boyo decided to 'upgrade' his factory radio, and only pulled the main chassis unit that later surfaced in the aftermarket as a 'rare Corvette radio' for sale.... -
Re: C3 Radio
Before you pull the radio, check out the speakers. I had one that the speaker wires corroded and broke off. The radio was fine.Comment
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Re: C3 Radio
Don-----
There are quite a few companies that will repair these radios to new or near-new condition. As Jack suggests, you can check the Driveline, Hemmings and other references for sources. There are even one or two companies that will convert these radios to modern electronics by gutting them and installing modern "innerds" while keeping all external parts of the radio the same. So, this gets one the "best of both worlds". It's expensive, though. I purchased several used 68-71 Corvette radios [none for sale] and I plan to have one of them converted for installation in my car so that I can remove the original radio and keep it as-is while enjoying much better sound. With the conversion, the external component with germanium transistor/heat sink that Jack referenced is not required. No cassette or CD is provided with the conversion (obviously, there's no way to add such a component and keep the external radio appearance the same). However, the converted radios can be fitted with rear input jacks for the addition of an external cassette, CD, or mini-disc player.
I don't have the name of these companies handy, though. When the time comes I'm going to have to dig through a whole lot of my references to find the names and phone numbers.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: C3 Radio
If the radio does need repair, check out local repair shops. There is one man in our town who has knowledge of these radios and access to lots of old repair parts. Your GM dealer probably has a repair service that it sends radios to also. I don't know where you are located, but there is a very good one in Charlotte, NC.Comment
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Re: C3 Radio Vendor
I picked this gents card up at Carlise
"Vintage Radio Of Canal Fulton"
116 N. Canal Street
Canal Fulton, Ohio 44614
(330)705-2109
The Zeke Seckman is his name and that's all I can tell you about the man.
He was busy tearing a C-3 radio apart when I approached him and had a small mountain of (a-hem) vintage radios piled around him.
Maybe others can provide both you and I feed back as to his reputation.
Hope it helps,
Chuck 32205Comment
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Re: By The Way, About Cost
In speaking with Zeke, he stated that if a radio didn't need much, (simple electronics, new face etc.) the price could (a big word) be as low as $150.00
F.Y.I.
ChuckComment
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Try www.corvetteradios.com *NM*
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Re: C3 Radio
Don, I have a couple thoughts. I called a couple of the radio restorers that have been mentioned on this board as well as one I found in hemmings, while it sounded as if they would do a VERY throuogh job at restoring/rebuilding the radio, the price tag was too steep for me. Cosmeticly my radio was not bad it simply did not work. By word of mouth I heard about a guy not 10 minutes from the office that restores the old tombstone/cathedral style radios as his primary business but also automotive radios as well.
For $100 bucks he tore it apart, cleaned and lubricated the mechanicals and replaced the parts to make it work. I did NOT get a three year waranty but I did get a working radio back in a week (rather than 6 weeks) and it cost several hundred dollars less than some of the other options. Only time will tell if it was really a better deal, but I wanted to point out that there are options to a full restoration.Comment
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Re: C3 Radio
Another thought. As a alternative to adding additional input jacks I found a FM transmitter for my Ipod (MP3 player). This makes it a pretty neat little device. I copy the CD's to it and carry the ipod from car to car and to the office where I can't get radio reception. It uses a unused FM frequency so it will work with the older FM radios without modification or a tangle of wires.Comment
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