Factory Radio restoration and Modification by Nick

[86 12 Brutus]

Im pretty sure I have the original 1981 AM/FM radio from Dad’s truck. But if I remember correctly the FM doesn’t work. I could ship it to you if that would help, but without FM maybe not?

However, if it could be repaired you could see how you could improve it to modern standards to go back in Dad’s truck?

Gary That would be fantastic, If you want, i will pay for the shipping.

So here's the real deal with this. Nick can make that radio have anything and do anything he wants, none of that is an issue. The problem is adapting the radio's controls to operate different functions. Some of it isn't an issue if you were to use a cassette or 8 track, you gut the mechanism out and put the small push buttons behind the door. but a radio only, thats quite a different story. Then come the potentiometers, as you know there is a volume and tone, then tune and if equipped a fader and as you know a fader is not a potentiometer but rather an L pad. Nick did come up with a way to use the fader which he did in the ranchero. the fader control is connected to a rod with a gear on the end which turns a potentiometer inside the radio, that is the bass control, the tone control is the treble, and of course the tune and volume are the same. The eject button or track change button which is the volume knob, when you push it, it turns on the audio input. the bluetooth switches are the fast forward and rewind controls. This also leaves us with no balance control, which the tape systems didn't have to begin with, but the radios did. As far as usb and audio in jacks, those would be behind either the cassette or 8 track door. So its really a matter of adapting the radio's exhisting controls while retaining the tuner and the pushbuttons. We dont want to change anything whasoever about the look of the radio at all

 

[86 12 Brutus]

Gary That would be fantastic, If you want, i will pay for the shipping.

So here's the real deal with this. Nick can make that radio have anything and do anything he wants, none of that is an issue. The problem is adapting the radio's controls to operate different functions. Some of it isn't an issue if you were to use a cassette or 8 track, you gut the mechanism out and put the small push buttons behind the door. but a radio only, thats quite a different story. Then come the potentiometers, as you know there is a volume and tone, then tune and if equipped a fader and as you know a fader is not a potentiometer but rather an L pad. Nick did come up with a way to use the fader which he did in the ranchero. the fader control is connected to a rod with a gear on the end which turns a potentiometer inside the radio, that is the bass control, the tone control is the treble, and of course the tune and volume are the same. The eject button or track change button which is the volume knob, when you push it, it turns on the audio input. the bluetooth switches are the fast forward and rewind controls. This also leaves us with no balance control, which the tape systems didn't have to begin with, but the radios did. As far as usb and audio in jacks, those would be behind either the cassette or 8 track door. So its really a matter of adapting the radio's exhisting controls while retaining the tuner and the pushbuttons. We dont want to change anything whasoever about the look of the radio at all

The radio that came in Brutus is quite a different story, and much easier to adapt to the new modern features. it's loaded with potentiometers and push buttons and is for the most part " Modern " Some amplifier modifications and these radios sound really good. This could be a consideration if you were able to locate the din bezel and the bracket.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary That would be fantastic, If you want, i will pay for the shipping.

So here's the real deal with this. Nick can make that radio have anything and do anything he wants, none of that is an issue. The problem is adapting the radio's controls to operate different functions. Some of it isn't an issue if you were to use a cassette or 8 track, you gut the mechanism out and put the small push buttons behind the door. but a radio only, thats quite a different story. Then come the potentiometers, as you know there is a volume and tone, then tune and if equipped a fader and as you know a fader is not a potentiometer but rather an L pad. Nick did come up with a way to use the fader which he did in the ranchero. the fader control is connected to a rod with a gear on the end which turns a potentiometer inside the radio, that is the bass control, the tone control is the treble, and of course the tune and volume are the same. The eject button or track change button which is the volume knob, when you push it, it turns on the audio input. the bluetooth switches are the fast forward and rewind controls. This also leaves us with no balance control, which the tape systems didn't have to begin with, but the radios did. As far as usb and audio in jacks, those would be behind either the cassette or 8 track door. So its really a matter of adapting the radio's exhisting controls while retaining the tuner and the pushbuttons. We dont want to change anything whasoever about the look of the radio at all

George - Do you think sending you Dad's radio would do any good? It is just an AM/FM radio, meaning no tape or other mechanism, so no place to put extra controls.

[86 12 Brutus]

George - Do you think sending you Dad's radio would do any good? It is just an AM/FM radio, meaning no tape or other mechanism, so no place to put extra controls.

Gary. Yes that would be very helpful As AM/Fm only is the most common. we do need them in order to try and figure out where and how to place the switches. we are thinking about the possibility of pin switches behind the push button presets, but not sure yet.

As far as something with all the features, ie, usb, line input and bluetooth would absolutely have to be in a unit with a tape system. The radio only however, could very well be outfitted with bluetooth only. That would not be that difficult of a mod, we just need radio's to try this stuff out.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary. Yes that would be very helpful As AM/Fm only is the most common. we do need them in order to try and figure out where and how to place the switches. we are thinking about the possibility of pin switches behind the push button presets, but not sure yet.

As far as something with all the features, ie, usb, line input and bluetooth would absolutely have to be in a unit with a tape system. The radio only however, could very well be outfitted with bluetooth only. That would not be that difficult of a mod, we just need radio's to try this stuff out.

I'll see what I have today then and let you know.

[Gary Lewis]

I'll see what I have today then and let you know.

George - I only have the one radio, which is the 1981 AM/FM stereo unit from Dad's truck. I just checked it out and the FM works fine but the AM didn't pull in any stations although I did get static so maybe my makeshift antenna was too small.

Anyway, maybe it can be serial #1 of your efforts? Can you make it into something with:

• Speaker Out: Either just the current internal amp or pre-amp out. But more power would be nice as back then the radios didn't have much.

• Sub-out: I can do speaker-level into a self-powered sub, and many of them have a low-pass crossover, so I really don't "need" sub-out. But it would be nice.

• USB: Don't really need it as I'll use Bluetooth for streaming and hands-free.

• Bluetooth: This is needed, as said, for both streaming and hands-free.

• Mic: Any chance of having an input for a hands-free mic?

Once we kick it around here let's email on a rough price estimate. I just want to get into a ballpark before I say "go".

And, here are some pics. First is a snippet from a page in the '81 owner's guide showing the controls. Note that while there's a knob for a second pot on the right side, there's apparently not a pot there as it isn't mentioned and I detect no change in sound as I rotate it. And the balance is via a slider below. So, it would be possible to add a pot there for some control. Maybe that could be the balance and the slider could be for some other function?

And, speaking of other functions, I really don't need AM, so maybe the AM/FM slider could be used to select between FM and BT?

Here's the front, and the unit is powered and has a stereo FM station dialed in:

And here's the model info:

 

[66gtk]

George - I only have the one radio, which is the 1981 AM/FM stereo unit from Dad's truck. I just checked it out and the FM works fine but the AM didn't pull in any stations although I did get static so maybe my makeshift antenna was too small.

Anyway, maybe it can be serial #1 of your efforts? Can you make it into something with:

• Speaker Out: Either just the current internal amp or pre-amp out. But more power would be nice as back then the radios didn't have much.

• Sub-out: I can do speaker-level into a self-powered sub, and many of them have a low-pass crossover, so I really don't "need" sub-out. But it would be nice.

• USB: Don't really need it as I'll use Bluetooth for streaming and hands-free.

• Bluetooth: This is needed, as said, for both streaming and hands-free.

• Mic: Any chance of having an input for a hands-free mic?

Once we kick it around here let's email on a rough price estimate. I just want to get into a ballpark before I say "go".

And, here are some pics. First is a snippet from a page in the '81 owner's guide showing the controls. Note that while there's a knob for a second pot on the right side, there's apparently not a pot there as it isn't mentioned and I detect no change in sound as I rotate it. And the balance is via a slider below. So, it would be possible to add a pot there for some control. Maybe that could be the balance and the slider could be for some other function?

And, speaking of other functions, I really don't need AM, so maybe the AM/FM slider could be used to select between FM and BT?

Here's the front, and the unit is powered and has a stereo FM station dialed in:

And here's the model info:

George,

Have you guys installed these Aurora systems yet or are you using something else? It seems they can utilize the same potentiometers in different ways. Check out those videos. Very cool, but I would need a cheat sheet to remember how to activate all that stuff (:

https://www.tech-retro.com/aurora-design/home.html

Troy

[Gary Lewis]

George,

Have you guys installed these Aurora systems yet or are you using something else? It seems they can utilize the same potentiometers in different ways. Check out those videos. Very cool, but I would need a cheat sheet to remember how to activate all that stuff (:

https://www.tech-retro.com/aurora-design/home.html

Troy

Those things are wild! WOW! They have features that blow my mind.

[86 12 Brutus]

Those things are wild! WOW! They have features that blow my mind.

Gary. Thats exactly what we were talking about doing to the radio only. Honestly, a wire connection is no longer needed these days with Bluetooth 5.0, it sounds just as good as a wire, and i believe Ipods and stuff like that are coming a thing of the past.

I've heard about the Aurora radios, they have been out for a while now. From what i understand, they are very pricey. I've looked into them a while back when it says built in USA. Yes it was, but all the parts were made in china. Even though the radio dial may look analog, it is digital.. With it being digital, they can use the potentiometers pretty much anyway they want to being there is no analog tuning knob. As far as what Nick and i want to do it to keep and retain the analog tuning section of the original radio.. It would be very easy to convert it to digital. He has already done that some years back when bluetooth first came out. we were able to use the push buttons for anything we needed, but did not live up to our expectations as far as the tuner was concerned. Very few tuners are going to ourperform the original tuner section of the Ford radio

Not saying " don't look into it" if you see something you like, definately buy it and enjoy. I'm glad they are doing it so we can have choices when it comes to radio's for our classic vehicles

As far as we go. We want the features and be able to incorporate them into the radio with Sound quality and performance being the main focus. More times then not, features and convience take the front seat to sound quality and performance. This is the main reason Nick got out of TV and audio repair. and in this day and age, the classic's are becoming worth more and more money and there is a huge demand for the audio equipment we had back in the 70's. Some companies are even outfitting the old receivers with bluetooth. You would be quite surprised at people's reaction , especially younger ones that have never heard the vintage stuff. I've literally seen jaws drop when they hear this stuff as compared to what is out there today. It sounds better, it's built better, and was built with pride. With all the technology they have today, unfortunately pride has gone away. It's just to easy to have 100 watts x4 with subwoofer output, 30 station preset, digital equalizers, different dsp settings, the list goes on and on. but in the end, Brand x sounds just like brand B. The audo industry has even gotten in on this. Some may disagree. Me, and this is just my personal opinion, and the opinion of many others which is why our Bullnose trucks and the GM square body trucks are becoming worth more and more money. The new trucks have so many features and functions and alot of them is just because they can. Brutus is a better truck in every way, shape and form then anything new. The electronics, even if they fail, that truck will drive home. It has an 8 foot box, you can fit anything in it. It's engine, transmission and rear end are not reliant on electronics that " will " fail, not maybe, but will. I can afford a truck payment, but i dont want a new truck. I just dont like them, to me it is not a real truck, they are lincoln town cars with an open trunk.

But enough of that. Sorry, i have a tendency to ramble, but my point is like i said above. No pride, no craftsmanship, nothing to make you stand out. From the moment you switch it on and hear the sound coming out of the speakers, then you will understand. Especially when you tune in your favorite radio station and really have a chance to hear what an analog Superheterodyne tuner can do.

We are not going into this with the idea of putting anybody out of business or anything like that. The original idea was for restoration of original radio's. Modifications to original radio's, instrument cluster rebuilding and automotive electronics repair. Pretty much on a customer's needs basis. Once we get the modifications to work and function well inside an original radio, we would have a handfull to sell at any particular time. I couldn't even imagine what the price may be yet.

As soon as we get the radio only and am able to open it up and compare with the cassette and 8 track units as far as room and where everything is going to go and how it will function will give us a better idea of cost factors etc.

Right now what we want to start off doing is outfitting with just bluetooth and hands free mic with a modern amplifier that can also give preamp and subwoofer outputs

Sorry for the long ramble, some of you are used to it by now.

So yes Gary we want the radio

 

[Gary Lewis]

Gary. Thats exactly what we were talking about doing to the radio only. Honestly, a wire connection is no longer needed these days with Bluetooth 5.0, it sounds just as good as a wire, and i believe Ipods and stuff like that are coming a thing of the past.

I've heard about the Aurora radios, they have been out for a while now. From what i understand, they are very pricey. I've looked into them a while back when it says built in USA. Yes it was, but all the parts were made in china. Even though the radio dial may look analog, it is digital.. With it being digital, they can use the potentiometers pretty much anyway they want to being there is no analog tuning knob. As far as what Nick and i want to do it to keep and retain the analog tuning section of the original radio.. It would be very easy to convert it to digital. He has already done that some years back when bluetooth first came out. we were able to use the push buttons for anything we needed, but did not live up to our expectations as far as the tuner was concerned. Very few tuners are going to ourperform the original tuner section of the Ford radio

Not saying " don't look into it" if you see something you like, definately buy it and enjoy. I'm glad they are doing it so we can have choices when it comes to radio's for our classic vehicles

As far as we go. We want the features and be able to incorporate them into the radio with Sound quality and performance being the main focus. More times then not, features and convience take the front seat to sound quality and performance. This is the main reason Nick got out of TV and audio repair. and in this day and age, the classic's are becoming worth more and more money and there is a huge demand for the audio equipment we had back in the 70's. Some companies are even outfitting the old receivers with bluetooth. You would be quite surprised at people's reaction , especially younger ones that have never heard the vintage stuff. I've literally seen jaws drop when they hear this stuff as compared to what is out there today. It sounds better, it's built better, and was built with pride. With all the technology they have today, unfortunately pride has gone away. It's just to easy to have 100 watts x4 with subwoofer output, 30 station preset, digital equalizers, different dsp settings, the list goes on and on. but in the end, Brand x sounds just like brand B. The audo industry has even gotten in on this. Some may disagree. Me, and this is just my personal opinion, and the opinion of many others which is why our Bullnose trucks and the GM square body trucks are becoming worth more and more money. The new trucks have so many features and functions and alot of them is just because they can. Brutus is a better truck in every way, shape and form then anything new. The electronics, even if they fail, that truck will drive home. It has an 8 foot box, you can fit anything in it. It's engine, transmission and rear end are not reliant on electronics that " will " fail, not maybe, but will. I can afford a truck payment, but i dont want a new truck. I just dont like them, to me it is not a real truck, they are lincoln town cars with an open trunk.

But enough of that. Sorry, i have a tendency to ramble, but my point is like i said above. No pride, no craftsmanship, nothing to make you stand out. From the moment you switch it on and hear the sound coming out of the speakers, then you will understand. Especially when you tune in your favorite radio station and really have a chance to hear what an analog Superheterodyne tuner can do.

We are not going into this with the idea of putting anybody out of business or anything like that. The original idea was for restoration of original radio's. Modifications to original radio's, instrument cluster rebuilding and automotive electronics repair. Pretty much on a customer's needs basis. Once we get the modifications to work and function well inside an original radio, we would have a handfull to sell at any particular time. I couldn't even imagine what the price may be yet.

As soon as we get the radio only and am able to open it up and compare with the cassette and 8 track units as far as room and where everything is going to go and how it will function will give us a better idea of cost factors etc.

Right now what we want to start off doing is outfitting with just bluetooth and hands free mic with a modern amplifier that can also give preamp and subwoofer outputs

Sorry for the long ramble, some of you are used to it by now.

So yes Gary we want the radio

George - I watched the videos for the Aurora radios and decided there's way too many options for me. He did things with the dials that I could never remember, like turning one twice to the right to answer a call.

So I am just looking for an update on the original radio. Bluetooth is the main need so I can stream and have hands-free calling. But more power would be appreciated.

Send me an email with your address and I'll ship this thing to you.