1951 Hudson Vintage Car Radio Conversion
A Vintage Car Radio Conversion for the Garage
This vintage car radio conversion started with a simple request: a customer wanted a stylish vintage car radio for his garage. Consequently, I converted a 1951 Hudson radio to run on a wall outlet, stream Bluetooth, and still drop back into the car if the situation presents.
He wanted the look. I wanted the Vintage Car Radio Conversion challenge.
The phone call started with a confession. The customer explained that he wanted a vintage car radio for his garage, not for a car. Furthermore, he admitted he had no plans to install the radio into a Hudson. He simply wanted the radio on a shelf, playing tunes while he puttered in his garage. As a result, I liked him immediately.
However, a car radio runs on 6 or 12V DC and expects an antenna bolted to a fender. Therefore, this vintage car radio conversion had to make the radio behave like a home stereo while still looking like it belonged in a dashboard. Additionally, I had to keep the conversion reversible, because the purists would burn down our shop otherwise.
Six volts, positive ground, and a chip the size of a thumbnail.
The radio was one of the hundreds we have in stock and was in decent shape. Hudson used positive-ground 6V electrical systems in 1951, which means the chassis is positive and the source is negative. (Check out this resource for vintage car radio conversion polarities) Therefore, I had to keep my assumptions in check. Furthermore, the original tubes still fired, though the capacitors had given up decades ago.
Thus, I recapped the chassis and installed one of our solid state vibrators first. Then, I tested the original circuit on the bench. It played, but was destined to be removed and stored for later transplant. Therefore, the customer was going to get exactly what he asked for: a vintage look with modern sound. However, getting there required a careful plan.
Some will grumble about this Vintage Car Radio Conversion. I made sure they could undo it.
Some purists will not appreciate this conversion. They will argue that a 1951 Hudson radio belongs in a 1951 Hudson, untouched and original. However, I respect that view, and accordingly I built this conversion to be fully reversible. Therefore, if the customer ever decides to sell the radio so someone can put the radio back into a car, he can do so easily.
Specifically, I planned the conversion so it could be transplanted as is without further modification. As a result, the radio can be powered and installed into a 1951 Hudson again if desired. The Retro-RAD board, the antenna adapter, and the power jack all install cleanly. Consequently, the purists can grumble, but they cannot complain about permanence.
Six changes, and a car radio learns to live on a shelf.
Every vintage car radio conversion starts with the audio board. First, I installed the Retro Radio Shop Retro-RAD conversion . Because of this, the radio now receives FM and streams Bluetooth, all behind the original faceplate. The customer pairs his phone, and the music plays through the vintage speaker. Furthermore, the dial still lights up, and the knobs still turn, so the illusion holds.
Next, I addressed the antenna. A garage shelf has no fender, and therefore no ground plane for the stock antenna jack. However, I kept the original antenna jack intact. Additionally, I adapted the radio with an extendable antenna, which telescopes out the back. Hence, the radio pulls FM signal in a garage without a car around it.
Then, I solved the power problem. The stock 6V power wire remains, so the radio can run in the Hudson whenever it goes back. There is a Retro-Booster available to take the cars original 6v and boost it to the 12v required for the modern Retro-RAD components. Furthermore, I added a power jack that accepts a 9V wall power supply. Therefore, the customer plugs the radio into a standard outlet on his garage shelf, and the radio plays. No car battery required.
Finally, I added a 3.5mm audio jack, and this jack serves two purposes. First, it accepts our Bluetooth transmitter, which sends the radio's audio to any remote Bluetooth speaker in the garage. For this reason, the customer can place a speaker across the room and still hear the radio. Second, the radio also has two hard-wired speaker outputs. Therefore, the customer can connect dedicated speakers directly, or use the Bluetooth transmitter for wireless playback, depending on his mood.
In summary, the bench work came down to six changes:
- Retro-RAD FM and Bluetooth conversion installed behind the original faceplate
- Extendable antenna adapted alongside the original antenna jack
- 9V wall power jack added in addition to the stock 12V power wire
- 3.5mm audio jack added for Bluetooth transmitter to remote speakers
- Two hard-wired speaker outputs for direct connection
- All changes kept fully reversible for return to the 1951 Hudson
A 1951 radio that runs on a wall outlet.
The result of this vintage car radio conversion is a radio that now sits on a garage shelf, plugged into a wall outlet, streaming Bluetooth through a remote speaker across the room. As a result, the customer gets his vintage look and his modern sound. Furthermore, the radio retains every connection it needs to drop back into the 1951 Hudson. Therefore, if he ever decides to provide the radio for someone to place in a car, I have kept nothing that prevents that.
Admittedly, the purists will grumble. However, I also built this conversion to be easily undone, and that is the point. Furthermore, a radio that plays is a radio that lives. If you have a vintage set that needs a second life, the shop takes them in year-round.
