Period Radios..

[rsk289]

Mark, I doubt radios were fitted by SA on cars coming back to Europe. My experience of Mustangs etc. (where radios make a little more sense - but not much), is that US broadcast frequencies differed from UK ones so a US-installed period radio will not work in the UK. Obviously one could still be fitted for appearance's sake, but it's unlikely AC dealerships here in the UK would sell cars fitted with unusable radios. My guess is COB radios were all dealer-fitted, so anything of the right period would be 'correct'. I'd be looking at Radiomobile, Motorola, HMV - anything that was fitted in (for example) a Jag would be right, I'd think. We'd moved away from bulky separate valve amps by '66, thank heavens.

[morgy]

Originally Posted by rsk289

Mark, I doubt radios were fitted by SA on cars coming back to Europe. My experience of Mustangs etc. (where radios make a little more sense - but not much), is that US broadcast frequencies differed from UK ones so a US-installed period radio will not work in the UK. Obviously one could still be fitted for appearance's sake, but it's unlikely AC dealerships here in the UK would sell cars fitted with unusable radios. My guess is COB radios were all dealer-fitted, so anything of the right period would be 'correct'. I'd be looking at Radiomobile, Motorola, HMV - anything that was fitted in (for example) a Jag would be right, I'd think. We'd moved away from bulky separate valve amps by '66, thank heavens.

Thanks for the replies...

Agreed SA probably wouldn't have fitted as an option but dealer fitted.. I am more interested in what was actually fitted to COB/COX cars Thames ditton cars Photos/model numbers etc to give me an idea.. It may not have been a "Good" Option to have in a "cobra" but when your car WAS fitted with one it should really have one, Shouldn't it? Whether it was dealer retro fitted or Factory fitted is another discussion i guess.. As my car was Supplied by HW motors it could safe to assume an Aston martin Radio could be a good bet.. Who knows???
The Original Owner can not remember much about the car at all as he only had it for around 6-8 months.. but the original bill of sale shows a radio

[rsk289]

I've not had access to a UK/European market car that had a radio fitted from new, so can't advise I'm afraid.

I think best advice is to look at what was being fitted to UK Jags and so on in period. The choice isn't wide, probably just Motorola, HMV or Radiomobile, regardless of what car they were installed in. Some of the UK vintage radio specialists should be able to help. For some cars the radio was branded - there are Motorolas out there with 'Jaguar' on the tuning strip - but I doubt this was the case for UK Cobras as the market was tiny. I don't know!

[morgy]

Originally Posted by rsk289

I've not had access to a UK/European market car that had a radio fitted from new, so can't advise I'm afraid.

I think best advice is to look at what was being fitted to UK Jags and so on in period. The choice isn't wide, probably just Motorola, HMV or Radiomobile, regardless of what car they were installed in. Some of the UK vintage radio specialists should be able to help. For some cars the radio was branded - there are Motorolas out there with 'Jaguar' on the tuning strip - but I doubt this was the case for UK Cobras as the market was tiny. I don't know!

Cheers Roger,
Only issue i can see with Jag or Aston radios, didn't they have external speakers on the trans tunnel. Sorry my knowledge on those marques are not that great,

[rsk289]

I'm not a radio expert, as I usually rely on the soundtrack coming over the rear deck...
I've not seen a UK radio that had a speaker actually built in to the standard size radio casing. The US ones must have been different - every period UK radio I've ever played with (including in the sixties) had a separate speaker. Certainly my XK does, and my mate's DB6 does too.