09-07-2013, 08:45 PM
The good news is the speaker was perfectly fine. Turns out it was a misplaced cap that caused the garbled sound through the speaker and low volume 
The radio plays great now. Thanks to Ron, Brenda, and everyone else for their help with this restoration. 
The detailed underside parts diagram / parts list found in the Rider's manual made recapping relatively easy. Each component was in EXACTLY the proper location, which made identifying what belonged where a breeze. There was nothing left of the grille cloth save for a few strands of cloth, but I had a piece of left over diamond pattern grille cloth I removed from my 39-40 when I replaced it and was able to use it for this set. Most of the cloth was ok yet, but there was a big hole near the volume switch on the 39-40, which meant it needed replacement. It pays to save that old cloth just for a small project like this!
I was able to salvage the original finish on the cabinet, except for the outer edges, which were so badly gouged that it needed refinishing. Not being able to find an exact match, I went with a dark tone similar to what is used on the edges of my 39-30 slant front table model. Not factory authentic for '41, but the more I see how it looks, the more its grown on me.
The dial face, knobs and pushbuttons are all exact repros (although I think the dial face has a bit too much marble effect). Here's a before pic (I already had installed the repro dial face when this photo was taken a few years back):
And a few after shots:
I actually had this radio about 15 years but never got around to working on it until just this month. I remember buying it at the Iola old car show in Iola, WI and lugging it through the meet back to the car, which was about 2 miles away from the vendor where I bought it! Maybe that's the reason I let it sit so long... to save my aching back!
The radio plays great now. Thanks to Ron, Brenda, and everyone else for their help with this restoration. The detailed underside parts diagram / parts list found in the Rider's manual made recapping relatively easy. Each component was in EXACTLY the proper location, which made identifying what belonged where a breeze. There was nothing left of the grille cloth save for a few strands of cloth, but I had a piece of left over diamond pattern grille cloth I removed from my 39-40 when I replaced it and was able to use it for this set. Most of the cloth was ok yet, but there was a big hole near the volume switch on the 39-40, which meant it needed replacement. It pays to save that old cloth just for a small project like this!
I was able to salvage the original finish on the cabinet, except for the outer edges, which were so badly gouged that it needed refinishing. Not being able to find an exact match, I went with a dark tone similar to what is used on the edges of my 39-30 slant front table model. Not factory authentic for '41, but the more I see how it looks, the more its grown on me.
The dial face, knobs and pushbuttons are all exact repros (although I think the dial face has a bit too much marble effect). Here's a before pic (I already had installed the repro dial face when this photo was taken a few years back):
And a few after shots:
I actually had this radio about 15 years but never got around to working on it until just this month. I remember buying it at the Iola old car show in Iola, WI and lugging it through the meet back to the car, which was about 2 miles away from the vendor where I bought it! Maybe that's the reason I let it sit so long... to save my aching back!
Greg V.
West Bend, WI
Member WARCI.org
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