Square Radios...a peek at early Alfa
1900 radios
(DISCLAIMER: This article is for
"recreational use" only! I am not suggesting that any of these
radios are correct or incorrect for any specific car, with the exception
of the Aster 756 radio in early berlinas, the correctness of which is
supported by period advertising. Even then, I am not suggesting that the
Aster 756 was the only possibility.)
LINK: Lino
Autoradio: Car Radio Restorer, by Petrolicious
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If you have looked at the early Alfa 1900s in my
PhotoBase, you may not have paid much attention to their radios. But the radio
is an important piece of dashboard "jewelry" that needs
to be taken seriously in a proper restoration. I
am not here to answer the "what's proper" question. I
frankly don't know with any certainty. I simply wanted to identify
the many radios that are shown in the PhotoBase. This is not
a comprehensive
survey.
For now, this little
feature covers mostly early berlinas and Tipo1/2 Touring coupes.
Those cars generally used lovely, interesting square radios from
three manufacturers. After that, the common wide rectangular form
was used and those radios, frankly, are not very interesting to
look at. I do include a Pinin Farina cabriolet, although it should
be noted that PF cabs seemed to use both forms, for some reason.
More on that below. Later, there may be a companion story by another Alfa
1900 enthusiast, a story that will go into much more detail about
the radios and their histories.
Also
worth mentioning are two online sources of interest to restorers: the Radio Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland
and a terrific Petrolicious video by Lino
Carlini. You may also be interested
in the Antique
Autoradio Madness website. |
Radio
Museum website
Petrolicious
video
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ASTER 756 |
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As these ads show, the Aster 756 was definitely used
in the early berlinas. It's also often seen in Tipo1 and Tipo2
cars and was probably the radio of choice for those models too. .
On the middle-left is
a close-up of an Aster
756 radio. Unlike most other square radios, the Aster 756
incorporated a speaker in the faceplate, making for a very compact
and tidy installation. A restored example is shown middle-right,
installed in a Tipo2 (*01607*).
At the lower-left
you can see the positioning of the Aster 756 (and other square
radios) in the dashboard of *01607*.
On the lower-right, an Aster 756 in an early berlina (*41337*).
The blanking plate where a
radio could go if none was ordered is the very same shape as the
Aster 756 (center, below, correctly oriented (*01366*).
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AUTOVOX RA-7 |
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The Autovox RA-7
is period-correct but, based on the few examples in my
Photo Base, it would not be as aesthetically pleasing a choice as
the Aster 756. It may also be a bit wrong-sized for some radio
holes, too. While it seems a reasonable choice on a
berlina dashboard, to my eyes it looks a bit too "fussy"
for a Tipo1/2 Touring coupe. In the photos here, three
installations are shown, clockwise from upper right: a Tipo1 (*01227*),
a berlina (*03301*)
and another Tipo1 *01293*).
In two of these examples, there seems to be a problem fitting the
radios properly. |
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AUTOVOX RA-15 |
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Illustrated
here are two examples identified as Autovox RA-15 radios.
Note that the one on the upper-left is hooded (as commonly seen on
1900 berlinas), while the one on the
lower-left is not. Italian radio manufacturers of the day often amended model numbers for
each car make and model that
was not identical to an existing radio model, such as
"RA-15/C" (?) for a Fiat application, "RA-15/L" for
a Lancia application, and "RA-15/AR" for Alfa 1900s. So,
while the unhooded RA-15 seems more
attractive to me for a Series I Touring coupe, it appears to be a
Lancia radio, an Autovox RA-15/L. |
"hooded" RA-15 in *06679*,
above |
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"hooded" RA-15 in *01560*,
below
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CONDOR
S4A |
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The Condor S4A was a fairly simple-looking device.
Here it is seen in a 6C2500 Freccia d'Oro (left) and a 1900 Pinin
Farina cabriolet on the right (*01091*),
although it looks a bit under-sized in the PF cab. But
the PF cabs are unusual in that two radio shapes may have been used.
Below, left, is the dashboard of *01104*
and it is pristine and appears to favor a rectangular radio if one
had added a radio back in the day. In the lower right photo, we see another PF cab
(RHD, *01200*)
that, as with *01091*
above it,
clearly had a square radio hole incised into an otherwise normal
PF cab dash. Why is this? |
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CONDOR
S5A |
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To my eyes, the Condor S5A is the most interesting and
beautiful of all the 1900-eligible classic radios. In both of
these photos, this jewel is mounted in Tipo1 *01082*.
Having said that, I think my preferred radio would still be the
Aster 756. But the
Condor S5A would certainly be a close second choice for the dashboard
of my Tipo1/2...if I had one!
However, not all Condor S5As look as pretty as the jewel
above-left. On the left here is
an S5A that looks totally original. And at right is
another restored S5A that is, perhaps, a bit overdone.
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CONDOR
SAETTA II |
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The Condor Saetta II is pretty much like
the S5A but without the bottom section of that model. I have seen no examples of it except in
this Tipo1 Touring coupe (*01265*).
But at least its radio has been identified. |
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KLAMOR
K202 |
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PHONOLA
5521 |
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On the left is an illustration of the ultra-rare Klamor K202,
which could have been fitted to a 1900, according to the Klamor
brochure.
The Phonola 5521 on the right is a classic Italian square radio that
could have been fitted to early Alfa 1900s, but I have no examples
of one in use. Apparently Phonola made only a small number of auto
radios in just two or three models. |
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OTHER
ALFA 1900s... |
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The Stabilimenti Farina Victorias, such as *00073*
shown here on the right,
also used the Aster 756. But this Victoria only has the 756-style blanking plate,
not an actual radio.
Other types of early Alfa 1900s,
such as the Pinin Farina coupes (both "L" and
"C" versions), Ghias of any kind, etc., as well as
Tipo3s, Tipo4s and Supers, all seem to use
the more common and less interesting rectangular radio form. Possibly
the square radios were out of production by the time the
Tipo3 came along. |
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