VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Radios, Tools, Accessories When were radios first installed at the factory?

Speaking of radios, what year did they start installing Chevrolet radios at the factory? And did they start installing truck radios the same year?

Hi W D,

That is an excellent question. I will leave this one open for a while and let the Technical Advisors get their two cents worth in before I comment.

Hey Ray, Who else is a Tech advisor for radios? Rex North? And what year did the first Am-Fm radio become an option? I don't think there was an FM before 12 volt was there? and when was the multiband or what we called a short wave radio first an option , before 1940?

HEY MR MACK, I WONDER WHAT WAS THE FIRST YEAR CHEVY PUT THOSE FM RADIOS IN THE CARS. :arrow: :arrow:

I don't know Chevy, I thought maybe Ray would know, He probably put some of them in when he was working.

1967 was the first year that radios could be a factory option.The car could be ordered wiithout a radio also and be a dealer installed acessory.In 1967 only the most common radio and antenna combinations could be ordered. Such as a if a rear antenna was desired the radio had to be dealer installed. Will bring info. along to Ar. Will be leaveing Mon. Will see all of you Arkansas travelers next week.

YA MR MACK, I KIND OF WONDERED WHEN FM WAS INTRODUCED INTO CAR RADIOS AND ALSO I HAVE HEARD DIFFERENT THINGS, ABOUT WHEN RADIOS CAME ABOUT FOR CHEVROLET. :) :) :) :)

Chevy Nut, thanks for the info. I was real busy in 1967 useing a PrC-10 radio for my former employer and suragate Mom, the USMC, and there is kinda a blank area there concerning car stuff, for me. See you next week, Lord willing.
OOps! that was not right, in fact it was in 1965 that I was last caught useing the Pr*C*-10

This thread is getting unraveled. I will answer some of the strands and then we will return to the original question: When were radios first installed at the factory?

Question: When was the first multiband radio?

Answer: The 1941 5-band radio Model 985697 was the first Chevrolet car radio to offer more than the standard broadcast band. The 1942 Model 985793 was the last radio offered that was capable of receiving more than the broadcast band.

Question: When was the first AM/FM radio offered?


Answer: 1963 mid year when Model 985694 was introduced. The same radio with a new Model number 985877 was available in 1964.

Question: When did Chevrolet first put a radio in a car?

Answer: Some proof exists that a Westinghouse radio was available for installation in the 1922 Chevrolet Superior. GM highlights still insist that radios were available in 1927. As far as I am concerned the jury is still out.

If you check your old copies of the G&D you will find articles that cover most of the above information that were written by the Radio Technical Advisor.

Now lets return to the original question and find out when the radios were offered as RPO's. I was hoping that the "Year" Technical Advisors would offer either answers or opinions, ie Technical Advisor for say 1958 cars. We have an offering of 1967 as the first year. Your comments please.

MrMack,

You are dating yourself with the PRC-10 radio. When I first entered, the base model was a SCR-306, then the next generation was the ANVMRQ2. I have transmitted many a signal in your resort location called "Fort Hood" and at nearby "Fort Polk, LA". Ah, those were the days.

Ray, I was in the USMC and we had the oldest radios in the Armed Forces, I think they were left over from Korea. I am not really that old, Ha! I just started on Medicare.

This issue is so fogged, when something is offered on E-Bay it helps to know if the item is even possibly close to original

Well, here is some TA input, checked my books and up until 65 they are listed in the Dealer Accessories Instalation Manual. This book is the reference for all of the dealer items, so 1967 is starting to look good, by the way that 63 AM/FM is a rare bird
John 348

Have no intentions of getting one....but my "63" still does not have a radio! I have a modern style Sony cassette tape player that I use sometimes. Play whatever I want, when it suits me. Does that make the "hole Cover" then.....that much more desirable/valuable though? Mine is in of course then mint shape. (probably worth more than the car is...just kidding) Don.

Let me throw this back against the wall as a supplement to my original question. I ordered a new 1958 Chevrolet when I was 19 years old and it came from the factory with a AM manual tune radio with a RH rear fender mounted antenna. The radio was listed on the window label when I picked the car up. The were a extra cost option for a long time after that and that is the reason that they are shown in the accessories book as well as in the installation manual.

1967 is way after the fact, 1963 was of course the first year for AM/FM in Chevrolets followed by the AM/FM Multiplex in 1965. This my no means makes me expert, but I began my Career with Chevrolet Motor Division working in the distribution department in 1964 just prior to the 1965 models being introduced. My knowledge from 1965 on is pretty good. I'm just not positive about when the first radios were installed at the factory probably in the early fifties.

What year did the rear speaker become a Chevrolet accessory ? My 58 Impala had one so it must be before that.

The first documentation I have on a rear speaker is 1951 it shows a part #986532. My 1952 parts book shows it as fitting 1949-1952 models

W.D. I have a 51 belair HT parts car that has a original rear seat speaker and also the rear antenna, the antenna is on the left side and up high and close to the front on the rear fender with a special mounting bracket, it also had the chrome fender trim pieces on top of the rear fenders, must be original the fenders are slotted not drilled for these trim pieces, also There is what looked like a power supply or amp connected to the rear speaker mounted under the package shelf. :arrow: :love:

Geeeeze, you guys just won't stay on the subject. Now you want to talk about rear seat speakers.

Rear seat (auxiliary) speakers were first offered in 1949 as part number 986351. Speaker was mounted on the rear package shelf. There was no separate switch. It was wired direct to the radio and was 'on' all the time. The first 'fader' switch was not offered till 1953.

Rear antennas were not offered till 1957 and was part number 987605.

Never has an auxiliary amplifier been offered for the rear speaker. It has always been powered by the main radio.

Now I will give you some hints on the first factory radio. I have a "1954 list prices of cars and trucks" which lists all the "Factory installed optional and special equipment". Radios are NOT listed. I have a Dealer's Album for 1961 which lists F. O. A. 103 & 104 which is a manual radio and pushbutton respectively. Okay, your job is to narrow it down.

Well I wonder what that device on my car is if it isn't an amp of some sort or power supply, it looks like a transformer, and it is attached to the speaker cable going to the rear seat???? (is all of your info from books (parts catalog or accessory manual) or have you looked at all of the radios in different cars?


Oh! also,about staying on the subject, No one ever answered W.D.'s question of when the first radio was factory installed in Chevy TRUCKS! Come on! :arrow: :love: :arrow:

Hi MrMack,

Don't have a clue as to what is attached to your rear seat speaker. If it looks like a transformer it may be a 1957 speaker installed and the transformer bypassed. The antenna is definately non-stock and don't know what was installed in the dash.

In my showroom is a sample of every Chevrolet radio starting with the UMS Model 2035 and concluding with the 1964 models. My library includes an estimated 98% of coverage of every publication by Chevrolet on radios. Also on display is one of every type test equipment from the first Model 652 United Motors RADIO TEST PANEL up to and including the complete sets of BOES and Chevrolet test equipment required by every Chevrolet dealer in 1947. From 1985 through 1990 I wrote an article on some item related to the Chevrolet car radio in every issue of the G&D.

Lets hear from the truck collectors on the subject. To start it off the first truck radio was the Model 985252 and introduced in 1937.

RAY: Thanks for the info on the first truck radio, being available in 1937. I have one in my 37 1/2 ton P/U. I bought it at the 15th 1976 anniversary meet in Colorado. Had it repaired in 1979, and it is still working, although it is hard to listen to driving on the roads with all the wind noises at 55 mph. The tuning head is attached to the steering column and the dial face is similar to the other instrument faces.
Just thought I would let you know!

Hi Walt D,

You obviously have a very rare and correct radio for your truck. Not too many of those around. Was several years before I found enough good parts to put one together for my collection.

So, did wdoftexas ever get his original question answered about what was the first year for a FACTORY installed radio or what? :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

So far on the radios I can only document factory installations back to 1958. I'm not going to count 1953-54 Corvettes which had radios as standard equipment (I think). I would guess that when in dash air conditioning came along it have been the death of the poor old radio installer that was working on a flat rate.