One of the cool aspects of the '57-60 Ford trucks involves the dash mounted radio. For it's time, the standard issue Bendix AM truck radio was relatively compact and reasonably durable. These radios were hybrids in that they contained at least one large transistor and 4 vacuum tubes. Finding one that has not been overhauled and still works today will be difficult at best. The paper capacitors and resistors disintegrate over time and the vacuum tubes are easily susceptible to damage especially if the radio is used and has been removed from the vehicle.

About 3 years ago, I stumbled onto a thread on a Falcon webpage that mentioned modifying the stock Falcon radio with a modern AM/FM circuit board. I did some research and discovered a company called "Aurora Design". They make a very nice automotive style AM/FM radio board that can be used to convert most any stock '50's -'80's radio into a modern, good sounding AM/FM radio. The installation of this board does not impact the appearance of your existing radio because all of the modifications are done inside the stock housing. The only major component that is required is a functioning tuner from the existing radio.



Here is the basic 74BT radio that was installed both at the factory and by Ford dealerships. The part number breaks down as follows: The first character is the year, the second character identifies the number of tubes, the third character identifies the manufacturer (Bendix) and the last character designates that the radio is for a truck. This radio is basically the same for all four years. A '58 radio would have "84BT" stamped on the side of the case, a '59 would have 94BT and a '60 would have "04BT". It is not unusual to see a '57 radio installed in a '58 truck or a '59 radio in a '60 truck. Pretty much one size fits all.



This next photo shows internals of both the stock radio and one that has been modified with the FMR-1 receiver board from Aurora Design. You can see the wiring harness coming out of the modified radio. The harness terminates in a plug that makes the necessary speaker and power connections relatively simple. The modified radio still uses the original tuner so there is no need to modify the existing dial. In most cases, the old main chassis board is removed, but in the case of the Ford truck radio, the main board provides some structural value for the tuner so it was left in. In any case, you can see that the majority of the old components in the unmodified radio are missing in the converted version. The receiver board also supports an auxiliary input so you can play music from your smartphone or other similar device. Switching from AM to FM is easy, just turn the radio off and on and the receiver board changes bands.



Prior to putting the radio back in the truck, I modified the old speaker opening to accept a pair of little "Kicker" stereo speakers. The old stock mono speaker was shot and I wanted to have some semblance of stereo sound with the new radio. I am also going to hook up two more speakers to give me even better sound. The FMR-1 board supports 4 speakers. The newly released FMR-2 board has more power and more whistles and bells.

Installation should be done by a competent technician. Dan at Bob's Radio in Oceano, California and Gary Tayman in Sarasota, Florida have both done installations for me with very positive results. They have web pages as does Aurora Design. Figure on spending about $400 for the parts and labor, plus whatever shipping costs are involved. As you would expect, more information is available on their respective web pages.

Obviously this modification is not for everybody, but if you are looking for vintage radio appearance with modern radio performance, this may be a way to go.

 

That is cool, Thanks for sharing.

 

That is cool. Thanks for sharing.

 

How's your radio holding up? I've been thinking on doing this to my 49 ford too.

 

Yes me too, wondering how it is holding up. Also how do you select between FM and AM ?

 

from the videos I've watched, it's turning the unit off and on again quickly changes what mode your in.

 

I have had the modified radio operating for almost a year in my '58 F-100. I also had one of the Aurora boards installed in my '63 Ranchero over 3 years ago. Both radios are working just fine. Moe is correct. To change from AM to FM, all you need to do is turn the radio off and then on again. Many times, when starting the engine, the radio will flip to the other band. It is not a big deal. Just click the on/off switch and the radio moves to the other band.

For the most part, the radio dial is accurate for AM stations depending on the expertise of the technician who does the overhaul and installation. If you start with an AM only radio then the original numbers on the dial will not have any correlation with the frequency that you are tuning when on the FM band. I don't flip around looking for FM stations so it isn't a problem for me. I know where the needle needs to be pointing to hear my favorite FM station. The latest boards have many new operational improvements so if you do this, make sure you get the latest and greatest version.

If you are looking for a radio that has all the most modern whistles and bells, this might not be the way to go for you. If you do not want to hack up your dashboard and like the nostalgic look of the stock radio, the Aurora board gives you some great options.

 

oldbleu, Who did you have do your conversion?

 

I had my '63 Falcon radio converted at Tayman Electrical in Sarasota, Florida (Auto Radio, Auto Audio, for antique and vintage vehicles). The '58 F-100 radio was done by Dan at Bob's Radio and TV Service in Oceano, California (BOB'S Radio Restorations Repair and Museum, Classic reconditioned car radios for Sale). Both of these guys have done hundreds of these conversions. They use the same Aurora board in their installations.

 

oldbleu.......hope you are able to see this. I took your advice on going through Aurora Design. I discovered they have a dealer just outside of Corpus Christi, Texas....actually in Portland, Texas.....and I'm just SE of Austin. The business is South Texas Antique Electronics. I was back/forth on email as to what I wanted. I removed the unit and shipped it to them. All I wanted was it to be able to: #1---Work; #2---Play FM; and, #3---Have an Aux jack if possible.

It was returned within a two week time frame, and I was tickled!!!! Because of so much other stuff going on around here (I have horses, donkeys, dogs, cats, chickens.....and all them believe they are going to die if you don't feed them!!!!), it wasn't until today that I was finally able to reinstall the radio, a new speaker, and a new antenna. All I can say is that it works PERFECT!!! I am very pleased!!! I understand a lot of people aren't in Texas.....but South Texas Antique Electronics did me very well!!! If this was eBay.....I would give them a 5+ Star Rating. Again, oldbleu....thank you for your guidance, Sir.

 

dotman: I am happy to see you found this old thread and I am glad to hear you like the Aurora board. My two modified radios are still working perfectly. I am considering having the FMC-1 board in my truck radio upgraded to the FMR-2.5 version, which is the latest offering. There are quite a few additional features available on the newer boards.

The Aurora Designs webpage (Home) has more information.

 

I had the radio for my 68 f250 done by R&B Vintage auto radio in Tennessee. It has all the goodies installed and sounds good. Has am/FM, Bluetooth,HD stations. Check out his YouTube channel he does a video on every radio when complete. Great guy to work with.

 

thanks,,,great info on the radio