I pulled the radio in hopes of finding a schematic diagram and happily one was still attached and readable. I attached an old speaker and an antenna to test it out. If it didn’t test out I would replace it. It is a Craig cassette which really fits the period. Fortunately it works fine. I powered the radio for the test using and old radio tube and power supply unit. It can supply 6 or 12 volts which is very handy for bench work. You can probably find them on local buy and sell sites.
The existing connections were all twisted wires with solder and wrapped in electrical tape. Works fine, but I’d rather a cleaner look.
Using the radio schematic I re-did all the connections and added labels for future reference.
One hitch in the works was power for the radio memory. Not something necessary with the period push button radios. I don’t like to leave the battery connected when the car isn’t in use, which is a lot of the time, so I installed a battery disconnect switch. The problem is that once the battery is disconnected the radio looses its memory. To overcome this I have added a battery disconnect bypass with a 7.5 amp fuse. With the ignition off the power point(lighter) is alive. So I attached the memory lead to the power point lead. Now it will get power when the battery is disconnected and if a short happens the bypass fuse will blow quickly
Radio back in place. Now I can move along with the replacement of the console. I’m heading out today to see if I can find some good music cassettes from the local thrift shop. 70’s music is OK by me 🙂