I picked up a 49 merc radio, it has 5 white plastic selector buttons, I googled a pic of a 49 merc radio and it has 6 chrome selector buttons, any body know if there were 2 different radios produced for a merc? or would the one I recieved be a 49-50 truck radio?
Can't speak specifically for '49 Mercs, but for '55 Fords there were two radios - one with fewer tubes than the other. The cheaper of the two had plastic selector buttons, the one with chrome had more tubes (6 vs 9 I think).
My '50 Merc has 6 black plastic selector buttons. I found in one of the documents I have on 49-51 Mercury/Lincoln that the radio's supposedly all had 8 tubes. But there is no further mention of the radio in those documents. After a little google search I came across this page where you can see an original accessories brochure, with a picture of the original radio on it. http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.ph.../1949-Mercury-Accessories/1949-Mercury-Acc-03
There was similarity in the radio chassis & selector buttons in radios used for 48/50 Ford F1 pickups & larger trucks. The front trim plate is different and I believe the knobs are different too but they are similar enough to be interchangeable to a degree. I'm not sure about the Lincolns for 49 but it seems like they had the chrome buttons. It seems like some of the truck radios were a tan color on the knobs & buttons. White, I don't recall but there may have been several colors available.
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