[LedHed]

Picked up my second project at a second hand store a few days ago for a song because the cabinet was so dirty w/ candle wax all over it. I removed the chassis, speaker, and grille cloth. I ordered the new caps and stripped the cabinet, and the glue is drying on a new piece of walnut veneer... Has anyone worked on one of these? Any gotchas?

[Jbaker]

A Zenith 7s363 was my first radio I repaired. I doesn't have the sound quality of my 10S464 or my Philco consoles but it's still a nice set. After replacing the caps, a couple of tubes and a few resistors, it came alive. It was a great confidence booster.

If I remember correctly, there was lots of room under the chassis and it was pretty easy to work on. I was able to get the proper replacement grill cloth and repro knobs and tabs from a local radio shop. They are still available on line if you need them. If you need a copy of the Zenith service manual let me know. It is a little easier to read than the Nostalgiaair schematic. My cabinet was in great shape so a little cleanup and polishing was all it needed.

I wanted to make this set my daily player but I didn't have a good antenna in the house. I picked up a Bogen AM/FM tuner cheap and wired it in like you would an Ipod. The tuner has a fairly high level output and works great. There aren't many good AM stations in my area so it's nice to be able to tune in FM.

Good luck. It is a beautiful radio.

Jim

[LedHed]

Thanks for the encouragement Jim. I removed the chassis already and tried to clean up the cabinet, but decided it was a full restoration project. Caps are on their way, cabinet prep is almost finished. Any opinions on stains and finish for it? I have a neutral stain for the majority and was going to use a reddish mahogany stain for some contrast on the corners and bottom trim. I need new push pull buttons and new grille cloth, so that will be next after the cabinet is finished.

[Jbaker]

Unfortunately, I am an electronics guy and refinishing cabinets is not my strong point so I can't make a recommendation. There are some nice pictures of a 7s363 at RadioAttic.com in Ron Potter's Attic.

Just a note on the grill cloth. You may want to get it soon. A primary supplier for many grill cloths discontinued them last year and I don't know if a new source has been found. A couple used on some Zenith consoles that I was trying to buy have been sold out.

Jim

[LedHed]

Thanks again Jim, I think I saw that on another website. I will make sure I get that cloth next. I am mostly trying to refinish the cabinet more or less in a factory manner. With respect to the original lacquer finish, I don't know if I can do it justice. I will have to do some more research.

[Michael Dennis]

I have a 7S363 I bought in November of '09. What surprised me is that all of the pushbuttons and tabs were still present. Many times some these will be missing or broken. Mine had what appeared to be all original tubes, except for the 6U5 eye tube. Good luck with your restoration, I haven't even started on mine yet.

Mike

[LedHed]

The station ID tabs are still present, but not the radiorgan tabs. The push buttons are toast so I need to source those. I'm still waiting on caps to start the electronics, but I hope to have the cabinet just about done this weekend.

[Eliot Ness]

Great Northern Antique Radios (Alan Jesperson) has the reproduction tabs and pushbuttons:

http://www.alanjesperson.com/gn_repro.htm

K60 is the part# for the "Long hook push button stations"
K61 is the part# for the "Short hook push button tone"
K62-1 is the part# for the "Triangular station indicator tab"
K63-1 is the part# for the "Triangular tone indicator tab"

Good luck!

[Michael Dennis]

Thanks John, I wanted to mention the source for these parts but I could't think of who the source was at the moment.

Mike

[LedHed]

You guys don't waste and time! Thanks for the info. I will get a couple photos up later today. The cabinet is really starting to look sharp. I love all the different veneer and the care that went into book matching the different pieces.

[Michael Dennis]

I think it's one of the more attractive cabinets Zenith used also. It's surprising how just a good cleaning can make detail pop out. And welcome to the forum!

Mike

[LedHed]

Thanks Mike, I tried to clean the cabinet up but the scratches were pretty bad and there was a nasty water ring on top plus some missing veneer. That's why I decided to strip it all down. On the upside, it was mostly intact and the veneer itself wasn't too badly gouged. It's been neat to see the wood come to life.

[LedHed]

Photo Time! Here is the original finish

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After stripping the old finish

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My shop helper and I prepping the new veneer section.

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[Michael Dennis]

Excellent, looks like you've put a lot of work into that. And good help is hard to find these days. Thanks for the before and after!

Mike

[LedHed]

Just got off the phone with Great Northern Reproduction Parts. My new tone tabs, station tabs and push button are on the way! As soon as "The Blonde Monster" is down for a nap then it's off to the garage for some 220 grit and maybe some stain if she co-operates!