Picked this up on Saturday (9/29) at the big Jefferson, WI old car show of all places for $10. The seller wanted $15, and accepted my $10 offer. Three new capacitors, some off white paint, a new dial glass, DeOXit and lots of cleaning was all she needed. Tubes all checked out good. I had everything here, so I didn't have to purchase anything specifically for the set, so it's still only a $10 investment. Not a bad score!
Very nice find for a sawbuck. I like the "leatherette" look. Is it actual leather or some kind of early techno fabric? The dial pointer is cool and very representative of that time frame. "The Saturn Style" was used on a lot of sets.
A great pick up, I have heard people finding radios at Car Meets and not just auto radios.
Enjoy,
Paul
Thanks. I think it's some kind of particle board with the "leatherette" look pressed into it. I forgot I also had to install a new bulb for the dial light
Since the original plastic dial "glass" was so badly yellowed and cloudy (see pic), I made a new one out of a piece of 3/16" thick plexiglass. It's not convex like the original , but I made it a nice tight press fit, and positioned it far enough ahead to allow for the dial pointer to clear it. I think it looks decent.
Mark Palmquist, of Retro Radio Repair, makes excellent repop dial covers. If your set is not listed in his "inventory," he can make a custom one for you.
His site:
http://jmpalm.home.mindspring.com/
Thanks for the tip! Good to know, I will bookmark his website for future use. As for this model, since I only have the $10 invested, I think I'll just leave it as is. The more I look at it, the more I think, with the square, flat front, that a flat glass actually "blends" in with the grille lines better. I think the only reason it had the convex plastic was because it was used on the 47-204 "sister" set, that had the wide plastic frame around the speaker and dial. Philco just "double-dipped" into its parts inventory to save on having to make a new mold! :-) Here's a pic of the 204 for comparison: