VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Radios, Tools, Accessories 1946 Truck Radio Accessory

I put my truck "away" for the winter and am now looking at some smaller winter projects. I managed to get my hands on a radio for my '46 1/2 ton. The problem is that it does not have the brackets that attach it to the bottom of the dash. I am with the understanding that in the rare instances that a radio was ordered, most dealers installed them to the left of the steering wheel under the dash. Without a bracket though I am not certain how it attaches. Is there anybody out there that has either an original bracket or a photo of one that I could re-create/fabricate one from?

Here's the reference to the radio from the 1946 Chevrolet Truck Data Book for Salesmen



Here's a photo of my radio with the two screws shown that I believe held a bracket of sorts in place (see the radio behind it that shows fading of where a bracket or something once was):


I am also still looking for an antenna. I believe they were dual posts but not sure if they were the ones with the red ball on the end or not and I do not have anything that references those types of details. Before I spend the money on one, I want to be sure I have the correct one.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Tim

p.s.; I also scanned all of the Option and Accessory pages from the1946 Chevrolet Truck Data Book for Salesmen and placed them on my web site as a reference for others. 1946 Chevrolet Truck Data Book for Chevrolet Salesmen

Your radio was mounted under the lip of the dash, either on the left or right of the steering column. It was secured by an "L" shaped bracket, to the radio by the two bolts you indicate, and to the lip of the dash by a single bolt.

The back of the radio was stabilized by a strap to the single bolt on the radio and the other end secured to the closest bracket.

The antenna was a two post with red ball top.

Tim, Are you coming to the club Christmas Party on Sun. Dec 13th? I will dig up some info and bring it along.

Now I have the radio as well as a red ball tip antenna. Now the question becomes, what side of the truck do I mount the antenna? I am putting the radio to the left of the steering wheel. Any thoughts are appreciated.





As you can see I have old photos with it on both sides so I want to be sure that I get it right. Drilling holes just scares me.

The antenna goes on the left side for sure. Now find the exact location on the cowl.(up & down)
Must be perfectly verticle like the top picture and not slanted back like the second picture.
It may be on the right side in the third picture due to special mirrors.
Note the frost shields on the windows in pictures #2 and #3.
Would look good on your truck.

Thanks Gene. Any suggestions on drilling the hole? Any special type of bit to use other than new and sharp? Do I tape over the area I am drilling or just center punch and drill directly on the paint? The antenna has a template to use so that will be helpful. I'll probably measure 10 times befoe I actually drill.

I would center punch and use a sharp(new) drill bit. The 1939 antenna instructions call for a 13/32" drill bit, would suspect yours will be the same ...That would indicat the J bolts have a 3/8" thread, same as the originals. Make sure its far enough forward so it will not get in the way of the door. Also look in the insde to make sure there are no braces, etc. in the way.
I wouldn't tape over the punch as you may pull off some paint when you remove the tape.
The nuts/washers inside sould contact bare metal for a good ground.

I have a question on the same topic. I bought a reproduction antenna from Jim Carter as I could not find an original. He says that they are an exact copy of an original. But the pieces that mount it to the cab look extremely different from the original style mounts that Chevs of the 40s sells. This leaves me somewhat confused.
This is the antenna I bought.
This is one of the mount parts Chevs sells.
This is the other part of the mount they sell.

It was also recommended to me, by the way, to install the antenna on the right side to avoid interference with a spotlight if one was equipped.

I sent you pictures of the 1941-1947 antenna - from the parts book.

Thank you kindly. Those photos confirm that the Jim Carter antenna is very very very wrong and the Chevs parts are probably right. However Chevs antenna kit does not seem to have a red ball and does not include the correct insulators and cups for the interior side.
Looks like I will have to spend $100 for two eye-bolts and little pieces of bakelite, and do whithout those proper parts on the inside until I find a used one.

There is a very correct looking one out there.....perhaps the peson that has one will send you a picture-may be a few more bucks than the others.

Check E-bay Item number: 370275698034
link to auction where you can find a seller with lots of vintage antennas
Then click on the seller's store. He has a large amount of antennas to choose from. I think he has what you need.

They are expensive so grab your shorts before you click the link. Return the antenna to Carter's. You should be good to go in the end.

Tim

E X P E N S I V E ! You can say that again!
I bought a red ball antenna for my 1953 Belair sedan and I don't think they are standard stock Chevrolet issue, are they?
My old one had a small steel ball on the top section and the old antenna is longer than the new Red Ball one. :vcca:

The 1949-54 antenna did not have a red ball.

I looked over that sellers antennas but I couldn't find what I want. This add that Gene sent me claims that the antenna was 96 inches long! All the ones I can find are in the 50-60" length. Additionally, this picture clearly shows that the antenna is retained by eyebolts against a plastic piece and has no chrome metal cup partially enclosing the exterior side of the mount as the other antennas around have. I would definitely like to know who has this good reproduction.
BTW, I emailed Chevs of the 40's and they say that their better antenna is no longer available.

I have a red ball antenna in my garage somewhere,it came from grampas garage and had been there a long time so its old. Its either a original taken off a car or a aftermarket at the time.

Hi, I know this item has been going on for awhile, but if you still need it, I have an original rear bracket for the radio and I can get you a photo and measurements if you still need them. Also, I don't think I saw this mentioned before, but the radio used in the '41 to '46 truck was a universal radio that was used in cars as well. When the radio was used in the car the speaker was externally mounted in a frame that attached to the bottom of radio case. But in the truck, the external frame is not used and the speaker is moved to the inside of the radio case. The radio case bottom has pre-drilled holes to mount the speaker inside the case. I have several of these radios, and only a couple have the speaker mounted internally for the truck.

The 1941 radio was unique to 1941 car or truck.

The 1942 radio was unique to 1942 car or truck.

The 1946-48 universal radio was the same. Location of the speaker depended on mounting in a car or truck. 1946 was the last year for the universal radio for the truck. The 1947-50 truck was a special radio. The 51-53 was similar. It had a straight back cover.

Now Ray, would you really take off points if a '50, 3600 had a straight back radio in it??
DG

Drilling holes in sheet metal panels goes much better when using a step bit. It doesn't tear when it breaks thru and you are only drilling 1/16 at each step at slow speed so little heat is generated to cause paint damage.

Thanks again to everybody. I have not installed the radio or the antenna just et - far to cold out to be messing around with it. This will be my first spriing project on the truck!

Still looking for an antenna but I am considering making my own mounts and buying a generic mast that is 8ft long. What I would like to know is if anyone has photos of an actual sidemount 41 antenna mounted to a car or otherwise so I can get more of an idea of what they are like.

I finally got enough nerve to take a drill to the truck and installed the antenna.



Now that it is installed, I need to get the radio installed and then modify the car cover with a slot for the antenna to fit through.

Obviously the antenna is not even close to being fully extended in the photo.

Based on another post, I came back and added this photo of the installed radio. The heater, defroster and fog light switches get installed in the holes under the dash to the right of the steering wheel. The holes are perfectly spaced for the rectangular brown switches.