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TR4/4A Radio for TR4 or TR4A

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Gerald_Gordon

Gerald_Gordon

Senior Member
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When I last spoke with Wayne Bier of Triumphs Only (https://www.triumphsonly.com/pages/main/index.html)about getting an AM-FM radio for my TR4, he said that he would pull the best one from a TR4A. However, I have heard nothing since, and he has not returned my messages, so I wonder if he has gone out of business. Has anybody spoken with or visited him lately?

If he has closed, where should I look for a clean, period-correct radio?
 
Wayne's been trying to sell the place far longer than that; but AFAIK no one yet has been willing to meet his price.

FM was just starting to become popular in 67, so very few if any TR4s would have been fitted with an AM-FM unit.
 
So in my restoration of a 66TR4a I was able to purchase
a radio with the word " Triumph" on the facing. It has AM/FM
buttons with knobs. Would this be an original part in the
arsenal ? Also, where the speakers mounted on the sides of the foot boxes ?
Harry
 
Best place to find a period radio is either eBay or local <span style="text-decoration: line-through">vineyard</span> <span style="text-decoration: underline">boneyard</span> if you can find one that keeps stuff that old. Old pushbutton am/fm radios have bumped up in price on eBay the last few years used to be really cheap.

Edit: Good God posted from my "smartphone" it tries to spell for you, enough to drive you nuts.
 
My 4A built 65 registered 66 has an AM Triumph pushbutton. The one speaker is hanging down from the top of the passenger footwell which was common.
 
HarryL said:
So in my restoration of a 66TR4a I was able to purchase
a radio with the word " Triumph" on the facing. It has AM/FM
buttons with knobs. Would this be an original part in the
arsenal ?
Click to expand...

The earliest Triumph-branded AM-FM listed in my radio service information (SAMS) is model 7FBTRX, which apparently came out in the later part of 1967 (the SAMS book is dated Aug 68). No application information is listed, but the earlier AM-only model 7SMTR is listed for 67 TR4, Herald 1200 and Spitfire 4. (I assume that should say TR4A since of course TR4 production stopped in early 1965, but TR4 is what it says in several places.)

Sorry, no help on speaker location for a TR4.
 
sail said:
My 4A built 65 registered 66 has an AM Triumph pushbutton. The one speaker is hanging down from the top of the passenger footwell which was common.
Click to expand...

Same here for both of my 66 TR4A's (one registered as a 67).

Scott
 
Below is a picture of a radio in a "barn find" tatty but very original TR250 I had for a short time a few years back, the Tr250 is a '68 only one year removed from TR4a production, I assume it was dealer installed or shortly after, I think one of the channels on these will pick up FM and maybe another AM, pretty euro-cool, nice ones go for bigger bucks on E-bay.

000_0392.jpg


This is a Pioneer I got sold as new old stock on ebay in my present TR250, it is maybe 12-14 years newer than the car, but doesn't look too bad or out of period, if you are patient these things come up from time to time, and sometimes you can even get them pretty cheap:

trradio.jpg
 
glemon said:
Below is a picture of a radio in a "barn find" tatty but very original TR250 I had for a short time a few years back,
Click to expand...

I had a similar Blaupunkt in my 70 Audi 100LS; except as I recall it's faceplate was black. The buttons are just band selectors, and as I recall, an audio bandpass filter (which cut down on static when trying to listen to the shortwave band).

The AM section worked pretty good (for a car radio); the other two bands not so good. As I recall, I found Voice of America once on a cold, clear night, but it was gone the next day. Probably would have done better with a decent antenna, instead of just an AM whip.
 
Thank you all for your replies.

Tom, I last spoke with Mr. Bier last May, which was after the posting that you referenced.

Randall and Scott, thank you for pointing out that a "period-correct" radio for my 1962 TR4 would have been AM-only. In fact, that is what was installed when I bought the car in 1965. However, my car is a daily driver (at least during the twenty-six days per year when the car and I are in the same state). So I just want something that would receive FM without looking completely out of place. (When I wanted to receive FM in my entirely stock 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air during the 1970s, I hid under the dash a Radio Shack converter that provided an AM output to the stock radio and that I powered by dividing down the 200-volt plate voltage of the six-volt radio. I don't think that such things are made any more, however.)

And Rusty, thank you for the link to the auction. I am hoping to find a cleaner-looking one than that, however, which Mr. Bier had promised to supply.

As for the stock location of the speaker, the one in my car's original AM radio was mounted in the bottom of the radio's case.
 
If you are not obsessed with having a real period radio, have a look at Retrosound.
https://www.retrosoundusa.com/

They have a listing for TRs and with a black backing plate and chrome or black knobs, they look quite good. They have AM and FM and a headphone input jack for your iThing or MP3. It is a very compact radio with good output and very easy to install.

My wife was concerned about the lack of headrests on the standard 4A seats, so I fitted Mk 1 MX5 seats which have the stereo speakers in the headrests. With upgraded speakers from Clearwater the sound is good and still usable with the top down (i.e. all the time!). Also means that you do not have to cut any holes in the TR.

Gee, 3 posts in one day! Lousy weather means lousy business in the building industry means spare time for reading and posts!
 
I have several Triumph and British Leyland labeled radio's in working order. Both AM and AM/FM with knobs. PM me and we'll talk. I can send pictures of front and you can pick out the one you want.

Marv
 
Jedi Knight,

By any chance, do you know where to locate the electrical schematic for the 66' radio, or the impedance of the original speaker.

Robert
66" tr4a irs
 
I've got the SAMS at home, which should have both of those. Do you happen to know the model number?

PS, might not have speaker impedance, just DC resistance. I'll have to check.
 
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