I'm trying to get a radio in my car, and I want an FM head unit. I don't want something plastic, cheap looking or hidden. I like the digital conversions I've seen, but lots of people don't do them any more and can be expensive. I almost got a RetroSound unit, but apparently they don't make one for my car. What have most of you '53-54 guys done? I might have to scour the swap meets with a tape measure forever if I don't think of something! Thanks for your help, everyone! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
They exist. Reproduction radios are made for 53-54 Chevrolets that have an Aux input as well as FM, they look totally original. They also cost around $600. For a bit less (Probably $400) you could likely have yours converted. Early FM radios for these cars don't really exist. It wasn't until the mid 60s that FM was really an option in cars. Lincoln offered an FM tuner from 59-60 made by Bendix (They were the first). They are very rare (And worth a damned fortune) for a reason. Nobody listened to FM back then. FM didn't really take over until the early 80s.. as late as the late 70s the #1 Music station in NY City was on AM. Read the history part of some FM stations in your area on Wikipedia.. you'll find most of them came on the air in the 50s/60s as Non profit or religious stations, not mainstream stations. You could get an FM convertor and mount it under the dash but those are really a 70s thing.
Yeah, I've looked at getting a conversion, but even that's $485, not really much different from an FM reproduction :\ Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
You might try finding an AM/FM radio from a mid 60's Olds, Buick, Pontiac, or Cadillac and see if you can mount it in the same location.
The Jalopy Journal
