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 

     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

 

ASTER 756
   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*).

AUTOVOX RA-7
   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.
AUTOVOX RA-15
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
"hooded" RA-15 in *01560*, below
CONDOR S4A
   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?
CONDOR S5A
    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. 

CONDOR SAETTA II
   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.
KLAMOR K202 PHONOLA 5521
   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.

OTHER ALFA 1900s...
   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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