I visited Gary Tayman of Tayman Electrical today, in Sarasota FL. Gary does
AM/FM conversions on original AM radios of the 50's and 60's and showed me
several completed conversions, as well as one in progress. There are several
variations on these conversions: He will build a mono AM/FM unit, a stereo
unit with either 22 or 44 watts RMS per channel, and either can be had with
CD output and/or line out jacks installed in the rear of the unit.
Basically what he does is remove all of the existing circuitry from the old
radio and install a printed circuit board with all of the functionality
contained on a piece a little bigger than a credit card. It looks pretty
lost in that big old empty case! He retains the original knobs and
pushbuttons, restores them to good working order, and these retain their
original functionality. Each time the radio is turned on, it toggles between
AM and FM. So if it's on AM, you turn it off, wait 7 seconds and when you
turn it on, it's now on FM. Off/On again and it's back to AM. Pretty slick!
I listened to one of his units installed in his '64 T-bird and it sounded
great. The radio looked totally stock and everything worked beautifully. He
has a well-equipped shop and diagnostic facility and I have to say I was
impressed by the quality of his work. He had just finished a conversion on a
'41 Packard, which has an integral speaker below it, like the AD truck
radios use - this particular job was Mono, using an upgraded speaker in the
original location, but it could just have readily been a stereo unit with
external speakers.
The T-bird had one of the Panasonic CD changers installed in the trunk.
Inside the console was the CD changer remote control. When "Play" is pushed
the stereo automatically switches to CD mode and is controlled by the remote
unit. Very simple and effective.
We talked about AM and FM reception. He said that the boards he uses (he
sources them from another source in Palm Harbor FL - Antique Auto Radio,
Inc) were now at their 4th upgrade level and that the reception is much
better than with the original units. Gary admitted that they probably
aren't as good as some of the recent OEM radios - which are vastly better
than they used to be - but are a huge improvement over the stock tuner which
came in the car. He demonstrated a unit on his bench, attached to a standard
car antenna mast sitting on the floor. I thought the reception was fine,
pulling in Tampa stations (60 miles distant) with no problem.
Tayman's web site has full details, spec's and prices on all his conversions
and can be found at http://www.gate.net/~gtayman/index.html. I can say from
what I saw today, that his conversions are top quality, he is a
conscientious craftsman and will stand behind what he sells. If/when I find
a core unit for my AD GMC, It's going right to Gary Tayman for a full stereo
conversion.
Jack / Winter Park FL
----- Original Message -----
From: Grant Galbraith <trks@javanet.com>
To: <MarkNoakes@aol.com>
Cc: <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, October 08, 1999 8:06 PM
Subject: Re: [oletrucks] Radio Repair
> I have talked before about the type of conversion that uses a FM circuit
board
> inside the AM radio. It uses the stock AM mono amp and speaker and is
visually a
> undetectable conversion. I was a amateur radio operator from the age of
vacuum
> tubes and was initially thrilled with this radio. I really tried to make a
go
> with it and though it works OK for strong signals after some silent long
trips
> with a radio that can't pull in weak signals I finally bought a remote
controlled
> receiver/CD player for my '50. I mounted it flush with the back of the
glove box
> and supported the back with a bracket attached to the firewall pad.
Initially I
> tried 6x9's in boxes sitting on the gas tank and must say I never heard
anything
> sound so bad. I moved the speakers out of the boxes and laid them in the
cab
> corners pointing up and forward and they sound pretty good there. Just not
enough
> room for the boxes. The radio takes no room in the glove box and is
undetectable
> with the glove box closed or even open if you put something in front of
it. I was
> suprrised to find the the CD player doesn't skip even with my stock
suspension.
> Anyone that wants to work out a trade for a non'working AD radio plus
cash
> for mine that is restored, converted to FM and 12 volt ping me off list. I
have
> the 6 volt tubes and transformer to change it back to 6 volts if someone
was so
> inclined. I like the sound of the modern radio but would like a stock
radio in
> the dash for looks.
>
> Grant 50 3100
>
>
>
> MarkNoakes@aol.com wrote:
>
> > I found that as soon as I was willing to pay around $100 for a radio not
> > guaranteed to work that I could readily get them. . .I now have two, one
to
> > restore as a stock AM and put away for the future and one to restore to
stock
> > appearance but to convert to AM/FM with a capability for CD remote.
> >
> > What's the latest on vendors for radio repair and/or conversion? Any
> > comments on the quality of the conversions? Some that I've seen are
> > definitely below par.
> >
> > Ron R, are you out there? I don't have your email addr saved in my
address
> > book.
> >
> > Mark Noakes
> > 58/56 Suburban
> > Knoxville, TN
> > oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
>
>
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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