USA-230 Radio

[tompiantanida]

Has anyone installed a USA-230 radio in their dash? If so, how difficult is the installation? Does it look like a factory installation? Is any fabrication (other than saying it looks great if it doesn't) required? My AM radio doesn't work, so I thought I would replace it with something more modern, but only if it is an easy installation and looks good. Thanks.

[paulr]

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[paulr]

My car had one when I bought it 5 years ago. It fit perfectly, no dash alteration needed. The wiring does not mate with your car wiring; this confused my previous owner whose work was a real hack job. Now, that radio is getting dusty on the back of a shelf. I got rid of it because it was garbage; the plastic knobs and face plate were offensive looking, and it didn't take long to find a good, working OEM AM radio on Ebay which restored fine and works well. That's my take. Good luck.

(Back side has a big cheesy US flag and says "Engineered in the USA". Below that a smaller sticker says "made in China".

[RedBird64]

Call me nuts but I like the operation of an original AM/FM radio. The sound and need to slightly adjust the frequency once in a while takes me back to the way cars once were. like the time machine vibe ;)
I suspect you can find old radio's for roughly what the new replacements go for.
You can also have the old radio's totally updated internally.

Scott

[tompiantanida]

I wouldn't mind an original AM/FM radio, but I can't find one that works and is affordable.

[RedBird64]

Pretty nice one on fleabay right now. Not cheap but in line with the new ones.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Original- ... nU&vxp=mtr

It has a cracked lens but IIRC, you can swap an AM radio lens with it with minor modification.

You can also have an AM radio modified with new internals and have FM stereo. It will still look exactly the same though.

[paulr]

I've been looking for years. The AM's are easy to find; market pricing is usually consistent with appearance and how well they work.
Original AM/FM's are rare and have been horded so market pricing is always high.
True statement that the lenses are interchangeable; they can also be polished very nicely.
With new reproduction speaker(s) connected I agree that the sound of the old radio (AM in my case) is very good. There is more than one noise suppression coil in the Tbird. Of course, it helps to have some kind of AM radio market. We have a station that plays a lot of really good stuff from the 40s-60s; the ads suck.

[tompiantanida]

I looked at the radio on eBay that says it fits the 1964-66 Thunderbird, but that is misleading. The face of the radio will fit the Thunderbird console, but Thunderbird radios have integral legs that support the back of the radio. Those legs attach to brackets that are bolted to the transmission hump. Without the legs, the whole weight of the radio is taken by the faceplate on the console.

[RedBird64]

I didn't realize that about the legs. The one I'm using is from a T-Bird parts place and doesn't have legs (probably removed) but has been in there for 23 years.

Scott

[RAVEN]

The rear legs are removable from the radio body, and are a separate item. If going with an OEM radio, just switch over the legs.
With the new internals which are offered you get external jacks and MP3/4, do not modify the external radio appearance, and sound quite good. The weak link is the speakers if not upgraded.

[tompiantanida]

The rear legs appear to be riveted to the radio body.

[tompiantanida]

On the Thunderbird radio, the legs are riveted to the case. On the Galaxie radio, there are no holes where the Thunderbird legs could be riveted.

[paulr]

I just looked at that Ebay radio ad.

That is not a Tbird radio. Yes, the console mounted Tbird model relies on rear fastened "legs" I guess you call them. You could make something work, or ignore it. (Honestly, a shim under the radio's butt would work fine; who'd know.) No guarantees that a Tbird AM lens would interchange if you'd be looking to replace the cracked lens. I never trust Ebay sellers who say what parts will fit my Tbird--who knows where they heard it from. I have the unusable parts on my shelf to prove it. Anyone need a beautiful '63 top radiator support?

If it were my money, I'd wait for an actual Tbird radio; gonna cost the same. No issues. Good luck.

[RAVEN]

On every radio I have had my hands on the legs came off. There were a lag screw type mount, both at radio body and at tranny tunnel.
My major experience is MY64. What year are you talking? Also note that a radio for a 64 is of a different animal than 65/66 in the area of FM, including AM/AM-FM/8 trac applications and push button shapes
A previous situation could be someone did the riveting, and is not factory. I have seen 66 radios in MY64 and vise-versa.

[tompiantanida]

OK, enough already about the legs on the 1966 radio. They are riveted on; the rivets appear to be factory quality; the radio on ebay does not have holes where the legs rivet on.