1939 ford radio

[JHFORD51]

Does anybody know if the Philco and Zenith boxes are interchangeable with each others control head? There doesn't seem to be much to the control head (electrically) so maybe they are?

V/R
Jason

[jerry grayson]

No, completly different.

[sturgis 39]

When I bought my 39 two door standard there were two radios in with some other parts. I have no idea where the control knobs go or where to mount the radio. There are holes in the side of the cowl for the antenna. Does somebody have pictures?

Thanks

[JHFORD51]

I have a seen a picture of the Motorola radio and it looks similar to a 39 Merc radio I saw once, definately electronics in the head and interchangeable with nothing. What is the difference in the 39 Ford Zenith and Philco boxes that would not allow them to interchange with each other's control heads? Each box appears to have a cable drive for station selection and a rectangular 6 pin connector for power, volume, sound, etc. These components seem to be oriented and located in similar locations between the two boxes. I realize the Zenith box differs in internal component locations than the Philco but the interface with the control head appears similar/same.

I see Zenith boxes for sale regularly but not that much Philco, which is what I have and need parts for. I rarely see control heads for either.

To the poster who asked about mounting, these are two piece units; the "box" mounts on the firewall (inside the car) sort of under the voltage regulator area with two large bolts (one for Motorola) and the "head" mounts in the dash. Factory installed radios had the aerial centered above the windshield while dealer installed radios often had the aerial mouned on the side of the cowl (no need to mess with headliner this way.)

[Marv]

One difference between the 2 radios is that the control cables are different. One has a male end and the other has a female end. This is some thing anyone can see, but i know nothing about the internals. I am not a radio man. Marv

[sturgis 39]

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Originally Posted by JHFORD51

I have a seen a picture of the Motorola radio and it looks similar to a 39 Merc radio I saw once, definately electronics in the head and interchangeable with nothing. What is the difference in the 39 Ford Zenith and Philco boxes that would not allow them to interchange with each other's control heads? Each box appears to have a cable drive for station selection and a rectangular 6 pin connector for power, volume, sound, etc. These components seem to be oriented and located in similar locations between the two boxes. I realize the Zenith box differs in internal component locations than the Philco but the interface with the control head appears similar/same.

I see Zenith boxes for sale regularly but not that much Philco, which is what I have and need parts for. I rarely see control heads for either.

To the poster who asked about mounting, these are two piece units; the "box" mounts on the firewall (inside the car) sort of under the voltage regulator area with two large bolts (one for Motorola) and the "head" mounts in the dash. Factory installed radios had the aerial centered above the windshield while dealer installed radios often had the aerial mouned on the side of the cowl (no need to mess with headliner this way.)

Thanks for the reply about the mounting. Where does the speaker mount or is it in the radio?

[Marv]

The speaker is mounted on the head of the radio. Marv

[JHFORD51]

Thanks for the tip about the cables.