07-05-2018, 12:06 AM
Hi Guys,
Bit of a story, that spans a couple of years but I truly need some help. I have a Model 507 Radiobar that I have owned for almost 50 years. At one point many years ago the radio spent a few years at a relative's home. The chassis ceased working so the relative removed it for repair, which unfortunately never happened. When I again had possession of the Radiobar the chassis had simply gone missing.
After some years of the radio just sitting my closet I contacted a radio chassis restoration fellow I deal with here in Palm Springs and told him my plight. I wanted to locate another chassis if possible. He said as long as I had the front panel of the cabinet, he could probably identify the correct chassis. As the cabinet was partially dismantled at this point I simply brought him the front panel for identification. A few weeks later he called to say he new which model I was after, gave me the Philco numbers and I started my search. I did locate a good usable chassis within a month or so and purchased it. In the mean time I decided the cabinet was really due for restoration as well so i took it to my friend here in the desert who owns Museum Quality Restorations.
I called back to my radio friend several times to make arrangements to bring him the chassis for restoration but kept getting his answering machine. This went on for several months but I was not alarmed as he was elderly and did this work as a labor of love. A few more months pass when my cabinet restorer calls me and asks for the missing front panel. I'd forgotten that I did not bring it to him with the rest of the cabinet. I searched my workshop and home high and low but could not locate the darn thing. Then I remembered that I had dropped it with the chassis man and never retrieved it. Several more unanswered calls to him went by before I realized something was amiss. Now approximately a year and a half had passed since I dropped the panel at his shop. I managed to find his residence and called there. His spouse related that my friend had suffered a debilitating stroke and given up the trade almost a year earlier. I explained my situation and was told that they still had the shop although it was now mostly empty. I did speak with the business owner but he simply could not remember what had become of the panel. We went to his shop and it was empty. I looked in every nook and cranny just in case it was tucked away some where but no luck. He told me he'd sold all of his radios to a local collector whom I contacted as well. He was very friendly, we met and he explained that he'd bought all of the fellow's radios but only complete radios, no parts or pieces.
I tried a few more times with the radio man but to no avail. It appears my front panel is lost to the sands of time. I searched for the last few years to see if I could possibly find a cabinet for parts but have had no luck there either. The cabinet restorer is reluctant to make a new panel as he says the new veneer will not match the old. But it seems now that this is our only hope of finishing this project. What I'm after at this point is anyone who might have a Model 507 as pictured (possibly being restored currently) that could make a template of that front panel for my fellow to duplicate from.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Kind regards, Greg
Bit of a story, that spans a couple of years but I truly need some help. I have a Model 507 Radiobar that I have owned for almost 50 years. At one point many years ago the radio spent a few years at a relative's home. The chassis ceased working so the relative removed it for repair, which unfortunately never happened. When I again had possession of the Radiobar the chassis had simply gone missing.
After some years of the radio just sitting my closet I contacted a radio chassis restoration fellow I deal with here in Palm Springs and told him my plight. I wanted to locate another chassis if possible. He said as long as I had the front panel of the cabinet, he could probably identify the correct chassis. As the cabinet was partially dismantled at this point I simply brought him the front panel for identification. A few weeks later he called to say he new which model I was after, gave me the Philco numbers and I started my search. I did locate a good usable chassis within a month or so and purchased it. In the mean time I decided the cabinet was really due for restoration as well so i took it to my friend here in the desert who owns Museum Quality Restorations.
I called back to my radio friend several times to make arrangements to bring him the chassis for restoration but kept getting his answering machine. This went on for several months but I was not alarmed as he was elderly and did this work as a labor of love. A few more months pass when my cabinet restorer calls me and asks for the missing front panel. I'd forgotten that I did not bring it to him with the rest of the cabinet. I searched my workshop and home high and low but could not locate the darn thing. Then I remembered that I had dropped it with the chassis man and never retrieved it. Several more unanswered calls to him went by before I realized something was amiss. Now approximately a year and a half had passed since I dropped the panel at his shop. I managed to find his residence and called there. His spouse related that my friend had suffered a debilitating stroke and given up the trade almost a year earlier. I explained my situation and was told that they still had the shop although it was now mostly empty. I did speak with the business owner but he simply could not remember what had become of the panel. We went to his shop and it was empty. I looked in every nook and cranny just in case it was tucked away some where but no luck. He told me he'd sold all of his radios to a local collector whom I contacted as well. He was very friendly, we met and he explained that he'd bought all of the fellow's radios but only complete radios, no parts or pieces.
I tried a few more times with the radio man but to no avail. It appears my front panel is lost to the sands of time. I searched for the last few years to see if I could possibly find a cabinet for parts but have had no luck there either. The cabinet restorer is reluctant to make a new panel as he says the new veneer will not match the old. But it seems now that this is our only hope of finishing this project. What I'm after at this point is anyone who might have a Model 507 as pictured (possibly being restored currently) that could make a template of that front panel for my fellow to duplicate from.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Kind regards, Greg
