Radio in the Darrin

[njpatera]

Does anyone else have a radio in theirs? The old man pulled it before he let it sit(I cannot locate anything but my Ford parts) and was curious as to what it looked like mounted.

[Fid]

Here is one..

Not a factory issue radio.  That's a 1940s Mopar radio which has been mounted in a Darrin.
Only factory radio I ever saw in a Darrin was the Henry J 100205 radio.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1940-chrysler-imperial-desoto-dodge-plymouth-philco-model-C-1708-radio-/201945715583?epid=1641999658&hash=item2f04e7137f:g:O8YAAOSwurZZM3zF&vxp=mtr

[njpatera]

Fid, do you have a picture of that part # radio...I've only recently checked evilbay and only see 100170...

[Fid]

njpatera,  Larry Hinnrichs had his Darrin here for the meet a few years ago and it had the 100205 HJ radio in it. I thought I took a picture but so far I am unable to find it. I'll keep looking and if/when I do find it I'll post it.

[njpatera]

Thank you:-)

[joefrazer]

I do not believe the factory ever supported the installation of a radio in a Darrin which could be why you see the different types in them today. The HJ radio would have been the dealer's choice unless they had a smaller unit available from an aftermarket supplier.

Per our judging standards, if a radio is installed in a car, the antenna is to be laid flat in the top well rather than mounted on the body.

[njpatera]

I would agree on the dealer install...Here is a pic of my Dad's when he got it from the dealers son in '56...twin antenna but I have no pics of the inside to verify type...I do have remnants of the mounting hardware underneath the dash...lol

[Fid]

I looked through my reprint of the Darrin owner's manual and no mention of a radio in it (as there is in the Henry J and Kaiser owner's manuals).  The handbook does not mention one either.  I do recall Larry's car had the HJ radio in it but as others have mentioned, that radio requires a separately mounted speaker and I don't know how that might work in a Darrin.  The other one that Jake posted has a Motorolla radio in it. I had some literature on that model and have repaired a few of them. Not a bad radio and the speaker is self-contained in that one so it would work well in car with limited space.  Other after-market radios with self-contained speakers where offered from Firestone, Speigel, Philco, Silvertone and Trutone. Any one of these would mount under the dash of a Darrin.  I can supply pictures of them (not mounted in cars of course) if you'd like to see what they look like.

[njpatera]

Thank you Fid...I'll crawl under and investigate the wires and see if I can locate if a speaker was mounted under as well or a self contained unit...I assume HJ radios were not have a self-contained speaker model?

[Fid]

Right. As mentioned, the HJ radio requires a separately mounted speaker.

[njpatera]

Thank you for the confirmation:-)

[Corsairdeluxe]

I do like the looks of a radio in The Henry J. In all truth you can not hear it very well over the  noise. If you could with the state of Am radio these days unless you speak Spanish or need a spiritual tune up,it's doesn't have much going for it.

[Fid]

Here's one of those Motorolla types for sale.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Motorola-30s-Car-Radio-/142534857043?hash=item212fbd5153:g:pbYAAOSwfVpYuMFy

A bit high priced in my opinion.

[Gordie]

The Henry J radio certainly fits and looks correct in the Darrin but when looking up accessories for the Darrin the only thing that shows up is the heater, wire spoke wheel covers, safety belt and exhaust deflector.  There is no listing in the Darrin parts book for a radio under accessories and the sales literature does not list a radio either.  The Darrin's came from the factory with  turn signals,  shaded windshield, windshield wings, electric windshield wipers, 5 whitewall tires, stainless steel wheel covers, exhaust deflector, bumper guards and cigar lighter.  That info was in Kaiser Willys Trade Letter KW53-2.   None of the factory photos of Darrin's have an antenna and there seems to be nothing published about where to place the antenna.  Does anyone have other info on Darrin radios?