1969 Cougar.I am looking to have the am/fm radio restored. I do not want to convert the radio, I just want it restored. The radio powers on, no sound from the left channel, low volume from the right channel. I just talked to Dan at Classic Car Radio in Ca. He talked very good about how he would restore every part of my radio, but it will come at a price starting at about $700. Has anyone worked with him? Good or bad reviews before I send my radio.
Don’t know anything about Classic Car Radio but price seems pretty high and your radio looks to be in excellent cosmetic condition.
Just a quick search found this place at $425 https://joesclassiccarradio.com/Resto.html which seems to be more the going price for this type of service.
Going to cost in any case and sure can see why you want to get it working. Hopefully someone here can give you options before you commit.
Yes I have tried to contact Joe, they only communicate via email no phone #. I emailed them 3 days ago no reply?? I don’t think i want to send my radio to them without communication. The price at Classic Car Radio seems high, but if he does what he says he does I can see the price being what it is. He says he will disassemble the complete circuitry, upgrade all diodes and capacitors, clean and repair everything to new condition.
You could try this guy, not the same I don’t think as the link above. joe.dickhudt@classicautoelectric.com
This guy is (was?) an instructor @ McPherson Tech College. He teaches in the auto restoration program. If I understand right one of the aspects of the program (or maybe he does it on the side too) is repair of radios. I had got pricing from him for repairing my 8-track for my 67 and the price wasn’t bad at all. It was just for repair though, no cosmetic restoration. I can’t say what kind of work they do cuz I have not done anything with my 8-track as of yet. Just opted to go with a Classic after market to start.
Nice looking car BTW
Glen did my am/fm out of the 67 GT. Got it working and replaced the common parts that fail. cleaned it up but not a full restoration. Cost was around $150. Older gentleman and easy to deal with. He asks that you take care in packaging it so he can return it in the same package. best to pickup the phone and call him for communication. About 1 1/2 week turn around when he did my radio.
I had great results with Greg Ward in Huntsville (http://www.wardsclassiccarradiorepair.com/ ). In fact, he corrected a botched repair that one of the parties mentioned in this thread had gotten wrong (twice - but I’m not going to slam someone whose only sin was ineptitude).
Ward’s seems like a Mopar house from the website, but he has my '68 AM-FM stereo booming like a champ. And it was under $300.
IMHO,
Dan at Classic Car Radio in Ca, is doing a restoration along with the fix. Replacing all the old Diodes and Capacitors is a good preventative measure and is probably the reason or a contributor to the current failure. Diodes age and crumble and Electrolytic capacitors Dry out and fail.
So, if you want it fixed, go that route,if you want it re-conditioned/restored well then go that route.
your mileage may vary, tax, title & dealer prep extra, void where prohibited…
Update; Radio Restoration
I have sent the radio to Dan & Patti at Classic Car Radio Restorations. So far dealing with them has been great! Communication has been great. Key for me as I tend to worry a lot when sending out original parts for repair.
Now getting the radio shipped to them has been very stressful. I guess this was the wrong time of year to send any USPS, they have been nothing but helpless. I do not advice sending anything USPS. The only reason I shipped USPS was because I have worked on post office building all over Ohio and see UPS & Fedex trucks drop off packages at the post office for delivery, so why pay the extra shipping if it’s going to go by way of USPS anyway. It did finally make it safe.
Patti took the time to call me to let me know all was good. It was like a weight was lifted, sigh of relief. I will keep you updated on restoration adventure.
Shipping basically unreplaceable parts is stressful for sure. And totally the worst time of year to ship regardless of what carrier used.
If I have to use USPS for something like this always try and use 2nd day at least with a signature needed for delivery. And worth insuring it for more that the part is worth.
From the pic looks like your radio needs very little cosmetic work so hopefully will not take too long to turn it around. But shipping it back would ask them to send it well insured with a signature required. Get the tracking number then sign up for email notices so you can track it on the way back. Signature is a must all carriers will just drop it by the door otherwise. Sadly there are some that follow the trucks around so they can do their own “pick up” before you can. If you can’t be around to sign there are a lot of local businesses that accept the package and hold it for you.
Let us know how the story ends… happily i hope!
Funny I’ve always found the USPS to be the most reliable. And on the rare occasion something did happen they cut me a check right on the spot. I had an expensive piece of equipment damaged by UPS and they refused to pay. They claimed it wasn’t packaged properly despite the fact that I made a wooden crate for it.
UPS wasn’t as bad on covering damage before they put UPS Stores all over. Now unless you pay an outrageous fee to have the UPS store toss it in a box with for you they will always say that it was not packaged correctly.
The UPS refund policy does state what is to be done in the event of a stolen package, and that extensive procedure grants very little in the way of allowing a refund to the customer. Because of the likelihood of fraud, it is difficult to receive refunds of this kind. The “Safe Place” the driver is allowed to delivery to is totally up to the driver as to what is “Safe”.
Regardless of carrier, requiring a signature is still your best as unless you can show it was not signed for or delivered to the wrong address you’ll get no love from any of them. Also a good idea if you’re the shipper to take pictures of the package and how it was packed. When receiving if there is any damage to the box, photograph everything before and as you open it.
But totally agree with Al. USPS insured with a tracking number and signature required is currently your best bet. Tends to be the least expensive as well.
I have had my rounds with all FEDEX, UPS & USPS. AS Don has said in video on packing a steering column UPS = United Package Smashers. I would add USPS = United Special Package Smashers!! LOL
Yes buying insurance makes us feel safe all the way up until the day you file a claim. (GOOD LUCK) UPS, It’s your fault your package was damaged is all you will hear. USPS, You will need to turn over your original receipt to file a claim, which in turn gets lost. Good luck trying to hold a government employee accountable. Just hand over your package and pray is about all you can do.
I do all I can to prevent theft but I can’t make FEDEX deliver the packages to my house?? Thanks to good neighbors I get my packages. I have a lock box on my porch and several surveillance cameras that alert me when a package is delivered, so far I have not had a package stolen. (Yet!) This is the world we live in.
Rant over!! Wow sorry about that, sore subject.
I will keep the rest of my post’s about the radio restoration results…
Sorry for the detour. I am interested in how your radio turns out. I have a few that are probably going to require some attention. It will be nice to know of a place that puts out good work.
I just got my non-working AM radio completely redone by Joe. I went the whole nine yards; Bluetooth, USB, FM, and the thing looks factory stock/new. I had the pleasure of visiting with him a bit, and seeing where he works. The man is a kind, decent, eminently reasonable human being. He’s also passionate about what he does! Your garage full of car stuff? My ever-expanding collection of computer parts? Joe, forgive me, but your house is a living testament to radio relics, and it’s freaking awesome.
So, he freaking nailed it. My radio LOOKS like a brand new '67 unit, and it still works like it did. Except it’s Stereo now. And it has four high-powered outs along with Sub. Sound quality and tuning are phenomenal. I have not yet got it installed in my car; I just got it back on Thursday, but I hooked it up to the speakers I’m putting in (sans the 12" subwoofer going into my new trunk ‘firewall’ plate behind the rear seat) and it delivers. My intention is to hide it all, and leave my car looking as though it’s all factory. I am not building a system to break windows or rattle my license plate bolts loose; I just want good sound quality. Hi-Fi.
You use it just like it was set up originally, but there are nifty ‘commands’ to get it to switch between modes, like fader and balance (because this radio didn’t have those controls. Everything’s directed by flicking the volume and tuner controls back and forth, which sounds a bit odd, but it’s easy to do once you get used to it.
Anyway, Joe’s only about 40 minutes from me out here in Kansas, but I sure can’t say enough good things about him. IMHO, if you have an original AM radio for your car, Joe Dickhudt is the way to go. The only downside to this was the cost, which in my case, needing additional work to fix busted stuff, cost me a grand total of $750. He was kind enough to show the cost of the parts involved on the invoice, and I don’t begrudge him the labor involved.
I have not heard any of the pseudo-vintage radios for our cars that sound very good, and the annoying LEDs and lighting on them really don’t thrill me either. I know I could’ve gotten one for about half the price of his work, but the way I figure it, I’d rather just do it once, and get exactly what I wanted: My car’s original factory AM radio, but infinitely better than it was. It will never seem garish or out of place in my dash, and never feel ‘out of date’.
One last thing, if you read this rather long post: The USB functionality? I’m removing the cigarette lighter inside my dash to install a USB socket, and the ash tray is going to hold a few thumb drives with different playlists. One of those playlists will include the Work Song by Herb Alpert, and some other hits from 1967, so people can take a real time trip. I’m pretty stoked about this, if you can’t tell.
(also, UPS = Universal Pounding Service)
I am glad to hear a great review of Joe’s radio restoration/conversion. I struggled with ether do conversion or restoration? I like the amenities that come with the conversion and i’m sure you will enjoy it. I just couldn’t bring myself to have all the gut’s from the original radio just thrown away.
I was kind of lucky that way, HRS1969. My original radio’s guts were shot. Gears busted, things un-functioning. Whatever that was left that’s still salvageable, I gave to Joe. That way if someone else has another FoMoCo Am-Jammer that can benefit, he can use 'em as he sees fit. No conflict involved in my mind. =) I get the sweet “factory” radio with upgraded innards, and none of the guilt.
If you just want yours healed, I know it’d cost a lot less! get in touch with him if you need his help. =)
Glenn Thome from Countryside Radio as mentioned above is very reliable and honest as I’ve had many radios repaired by him for past 20 years.
Update; Radio and all orignal functions are working like new! Dan & Patti at Classic Car Radio Restoration do great work. The radio works flawlessly, volume is clean and clear, tuning is also very clean and clear. Definitely recommend them for any radio restoration. Yes it was pricey but you get what you pay for. I am happy I found them.