Reproduction 1969 B-Body Thumbwheel radio

[Moparpoolman]

Has anyone bought one of the new thumb wheel radios that has all upgraded components but still looks like an original??  Do they work well??  Where's the best place to buy one?  Thanks for all the help

[68 CHARGER R/T]

got one through year one, sounds great and  half the size unit .

[resq302]

how much did they run?  Dad is looking to get an am/fm radio for the GTX.

[Moparpoolman]

I've seen them run from around $600 to $650, But it seems as though that is what some people want for a working originals with 44 year old technology.

[Ghoste]

And that is even more insane.

[1974dodgecharger]

And that is even more insane.

I guess im anticipating to do that myself.....dont know why...I want upgraded componenets, but old school look.

[Ghoste]

But would you pay 650 for an old one?  That is whats insane (not wanting the new tech with the old look).

[Charger_Dart]

I noticed they have it listed as a 69 radio - whats the difference between a 68 and 69 radio ?

[1BAD68]

1 year

[Dino]

But would you pay 650 for an old one?  That is whats insane (not wanting the new tech with the old look).

Never, nor would I pay $650 for any radio.  This doesn't have aux or usb?  

I noticed they have it listed as a 69 radio - whats the difference between a 68 and 69 radio ?

68 either says Dodge or Plymouth solid state.  In 69 they all said Chrysler solid state.  

These new ones don't say anything so why they have one for 68 and one for 69 is a mystery to me.

http://www.radiosforoldcars.com/pdf-specsheets/1968_Mopar.pdf

http://www.radiosforoldcars.com/pdf-specsheets/1969_Mopar.pdf

[1974dodgecharger]

But would you pay 650 for an old one?  That is whats insane (not wanting the new tech with the old look).

guess not, but there is someobody on ebay and google search that takes your old radio and upgrades it with RCA jacks, usb, etc..same style, but guts are different.

[BrianShaughnessy]

But would you pay 650 for an old one?  That is whats insane (not wanting the new tech with the old look).

guess not, but there is someobody on ebay and google search that takes your old radio and upgrades it with RCA jacks, usb, etc..same style, but guts are different.

Those conversions cost upwards of $400 anyway.     I did one with just the rear outputs and it is what it is... I get some fm.      We're not talking high end sound.

I think Sinnamon is just gonna get $100 pioneer deck with a hole cut in the radio plate. 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

In keeping with Halloween, I'm reviving a dead thread & I'm curious if anyone has purchased and installed one of these radios in these past 3+ years?

http://www.vintageautoradio.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_new.tpl&product_id=467&category_id=4&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=67

[BLK 68 R/T]

I installed one in my brothers car about 2 years ago, 68 coronet 500. Fit great and seems to work just fine. They are way shorter than a factory radio, just the 2 mounting bolts in the front is all that holds it in.

[fizz]

Spent $850 having new guts put in an old one by Instrumrnt Specialties. Bad move, 8 months, rechromed the rollers but not the bezel, tone control didn't work, and volume was touchy and would blow speakers. Bought a new unit from Herbs and am completely happy.

[Laowho]

We'll probably go with these for the USB option

https://www.retromanufacturing.com/collections/dodge

$399-$419

[68 RT]

I noticed they have it listed as a 69 radio - whats the difference between a 68 and 69 radio ?

At least on the am radios 1968 say Plymouth, Dodge or Chrysler solid state and in 69 they all say Chrysler solid state. Not sure when the change over happened??

[ODZKing]

I purchased one for my 73 Charger that was not a thumb wheel but non the less a repop with new electronics.  Paid around $599 for it and sold it earlier this year for less than half what I paid. While it is MUCH smaller in the portion that NO ONE will ever see than the original, that (IMHO) was the only thing it had going for it.
First it does not have the old "dial" style to find stations, it scans so if a station is just a bit faint, it will skip it every time. Second since there are not enough dials in the radio to use it with a 4 speaker system, which it IS set up for I might add, is tedious to say the least. It will fade left-right but front to rear you have to dial all the way one way, wait for the system to kick in, then use the left-right fader as the front-rear fader.  Which re-set I may add, every time the car lost power.  I have a disconnect on the battery, so it was all the time.
Then the radio did not sound like the MP3 connection, drastically different so adjustment was necessary every time I went back and forth. The "tone" knob gives you basically all bass or all high end, very little in between.  AND I put good speakers in, they were 3 way Planet Audio speakers as I recall. I bought initially to listen to my MP3 player and occasionally (not a lot) the radio would go back to "radio" as it would sense silence between songs. The way that works is it senses audio when you plug in to the back of the radio and just kicks over, no switch.
Sooooooo, I took it out and put my original AM/FM Stereo radio back in and with the nice speakers it sounds fantastic! I simply use a FM transmitter now so I can listen to the MP3 player on a FM frequency of my choice.
Moral of my story, if you are tolerant of new electronics and it's limitations, (I am not) you may like it. Do I think they are worth $600 ... NO WAY!  Just my 
If I were to investigate other options, having my original redone with new electronics would be an option. But now, frankly after hearing how good my original radio sounds with the better speakers, I am pleased and I chalk up the monetary loss as a learning experience.
If you only have an AM and you are going to spend money on audio for the car, my suggestion (and it's just MY suggestion so take it for what it is worth) buy a nice original AM/FM Stereo.
This fellow has a 70 for example: http://www.bobsradio.com/bobssale.html
There used to be a place that sold and repaired NOTHING but old car radios but I see they have retired.
http://www.originalcarradios.com/
However there are a bunch of places out there that will either repair or restore your radio or one like it.  I will post a few links I have saved.
http://www.retroradio.biz/      ***front page***
http://www.wardsclassiccarradiorepair.com/      ***front page***
http://www.bobsradio.com/
http://dandmrestoration.com/services/radio-repair/
http://carstereohelp.com/
http://www.classicautoelectric.com/
http://www.vintageautoradio.com/index.php

[VegasCharger]

Gonna agree with ODZKing here. I was considering doing something like this with my AM only radio on my 1968 Charger. Or buy something like the OP posted. Let's just say I seen a YouTube video of a guy selling an AM radio with the USB outlet, 4 speaker set-up and adding FM. And my god the motions you would have to do to get all of the functions to work was mind boggling. Very distracting and it would take your eyes/concentration off of your driving. You might as well be texting, just as bad. And the $$$ you have to fork over, NO thanks.

Going to have my OEM AM radio rebuilt to factory specs and have it connected with my dash frame speaker. And if I want to have FM and USB, I will hide a separate unit on a separate speaker system hidden somewhere. You can get an AM/FM USB SD card & IPod port unit head these days for less than $100.00

My 

[bull]

Wards did my AM radio restoration, including an MP3 jack, for around $120 I think. I'm not sure what they would have charged me normally because I sent them 2-3 other classic Mopar radios for partial trade. They did a good job.

http://wardsclassiccarradiorepair.com/

[birdsandbees]

I just polished up my old AM and stuck it back in the dash. If it doesn't bring me a ball game to listen too I'll pull out an old "boom box" from 1979 and sit it on the passenger seat. Otherwise I'll just enjoy the exhaust note!!  They're are better things to spend $600 during a restoration... 

[Laowho]

Wards did my AM radio restoration, including an MP3 jack, for around $120 I think. I'm not sure what they would have charged me normally because I sent them 2-3 other classic Mopar radios for partial trade. They did a good job.

http://wardsclassiccarradiorepair.com/

Great site. Thanks

[sean257]

I just bought and installed a Retrosound Redondo in my new dash.  Mine isn't a thumbwheel, because my car just came with the base AM knob radio.  Installation wasn't bad at all.  So far, I've only tried the usb hookup through the dash speakers, but it seemed to work fine.  I got it new off of ebay for $339.00