The PHILCO Phorum

The Wisconsin Antique Radio Club swap meet was today, and despite the beautiful weather, vendor turn out was meager. I was just getting ready to leave when I saw a late comer just setting up and spotted this:

[attachment=7743]

A 38-116. I asked the out-of-breath guy who just unloaded it from his van how much. He said $30. Wow....this seems to good to be true. Closer examination revealed a cabinet that needed total refinishing (my picture doesn't show the wear, dings, scratches, stains, etc.). I got to talking with him a little and said "At that price you basically are just looking to free up some space?" He said yes. I pressed on. "Has anyone started to restore this or has it been sitting for years?". "I started restoring it about 20 years ago". Hmmm...now it's getting clearer. I said "Did you run into some problems?" Yes came the response. "I recapped it but couldn't get very many stations back then and only at low volume. I just tried it again today and got nothing". So basically I got the sense that he messed something up and just left it sit. As much as I would like one of these, I'm afraid I would've been biting off more than I could chew. Even an original unmolested set is a challenge to restore. Coupled with that... miles of crumbling rubber covered wire (if only this was a 1937 or earlier). In the end, I decided against it. Another guy was going to trade him a 10 year old stereo system for it, so I knew he just wanted it out of the house. I wound up coming home with a Crosley "dashboard" table model instead.

Well,

What can I say. You made your decision.
I would make a different decision.
For 30 bucks unless it is a piece of rust inside, no speakers and everything is screwed up, this is not even a steal, it is a highway robbery.

I would not ask questions, I would grab it and run as fast as I could with this radio in hands before he changed his mind.

Space also factored into my decision, Morzh. But, for the right person, I agree it was a fantastic deal. It was just more than I wanted to tackle, plain and simple. I thought of the model 89 I restored a few years back and all of the trouble I had with that. This set would make that one seem like a walk in the park!

Tons of parts even if not restorable. Tex was looking for the speaker. Chassis alone is worth three time that. Well, if it is not what you want, of course why take the space.

NostalgiaRadioTime Wrote:Coupled with that... miles of crumbling rubber covered wire (if only this was a 1937 or earlier).

I hate to tell you this, Greg, but...Philco did not start using rubber-covered wiring in wholesale fashion in their chassis until the 1939 season...the 38-116 has cloth-covered wiring...

Man, you missed out on a steal! Or like Mike (morzh) said, highway robbery!

Let's see...what was that old saying about not looking a gift horse in the mouth...???

Ron
I didn't have the heart to tell him.
Terry

(07-12-2015, 03:51 PM)Ron Ramirez Wrote: [ -> ]

NostalgiaRadioTime Wrote:Coupled with that... miles of crumbling rubber covered wire (if only this was a 1937 or earlier).

I hate to tell you this, Greg, but...Philco did not start using rubber-covered wiring in wholesale fashion in their chassis until the 1939 season...the 38-116 has cloth-covered wiring...

Man, you missed out on a steal! Or like Mike (morzh) said, highway robbery!

Let's see...what was that old saying about not looking a gift horse in the mouth...???

Even a gift horse breath stinks - don't look it in the mouth.

(07-12-2015, 05:23 PM)Radioroslyn Wrote: [ -> ]Ron
I didn't have the heart to tell him.
Terry

Easy for me - I have no heart

No, having had more time to think about it, I don't feel like I missed the boat at all, Ron & Terry. It just wasn't for me. The wiring was certainly not the main factor that influenced my decision. It was the massive size of the thing mostly. I know these are desirable sets and sound great when properly restored. I just don't have room for it (remember the 41-616 located not too far from me that I turned down, Ron?), and I am happy with the consoles I already have. But you can bet I was definitely doing some serious weighing of the pro's & con's with myself before finally making the decision I know was right for me and my own situation.

 Next time you see one like that, just grab it.  Even if for parts.  They are not as hard as thought to restore.  You just have to take your time. 

I always take those and if the cabinet is really bad I still take it.  I took one where the cabinet that was in several pieces.  They come up often enough that you end up making one good one from parts pretty easy.

Steve

Next time I see one, I'll let you grab it instead, Steve

Greg

Believe me, I understand...

There is a fairly desirable RCA C13-2 console about an hour from here. Am I going after it? Nope...I have more consoles that I need already...

I would have jumped on it for that price, if your liked that model I wouldn't walked away from it. I have one restored to the hilt and love it. The sound is amazing , the looks are awesome, its a power house from the past

Thanks for understanding, Ron. Believe me, I agonized over this one. I'm sure if I would've waved a twenty dollar bill at him he'd have taken it. He just wanted it gone.

That wasn't the only Philco console I passed up today. There also was a 1929 model 86 just like the one Buzz did a restoration video series on YouTube recently that could've been had for $35.

I like the looks of 37-116 better, but performance-wise they are the same. An awesome sound.