Under Dash Record Players....need info from older guys?

Ttt

 

I just got a Highway HiFi. Still need to have a radio man to get it running. It is 16 RPM I want to put it in my 56 Ranchwagon.

 

Nice score!!!

 

1965 I had a real low buck 45/one at a time ,one in the glovebox of my 54 Study,used when stopped only,good thing the raido work well,replaced it later with a 8track

 

I have had several over the years, still have one. It's very easy to make a brass bushing to slide over one shaft in them to change it to 45 rpm's, and not a lot of work to fix the skipping on bumps.

 

How great is that?

 

We have a fellow HAMBer who's an expert on the late-'50s MoPar "Hiway Hi-Fi" units. I'll find his contact info later today for you. BTW, Jay Leno has one, but VERY few of the 16.5-rpm records! Rare stuff!

 

We had one in our '56 Plymouth, it came with the record "Davey Crockett"....we could tell which mechanic worked on it whenever it was in for service, because when we would pick it up, one of the mechanics would be singing "Davey Crockett"........what a hoot..........

 

roddinron had it correct, you had to park, put on a Frank Sinatra ballad and proceed to close the deal. I remember I had a regular 45 player with a 12 volt comverter the size of a small suitcase in the trunk.

 

I transferred all the 45's or 33's to cassette tape that way, I get the vinyl sound. I can pay cassettes, cd's with a changer, am-fm and its ipod compostable.
I would get a nice RCA that looks good on the outside, but shot on the inside and mount by cassette tape player inside of it, you get the looks and the 45's sound. :

 

I see the Damn things on the Bay for up to 900.00, and the say it needs work, have no way to test it.....I sold mine for 35 bucks back in 91.

 

Stuff is getting expensive.. They look cool hanging from the dash..

 

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Not a great idea overall, but very cool for "parking." Gary

 

You guys that have them, how to you mount them? I just got mine and it is heavy!!!

 

I have a HiWay HiFI. To mount just make L brackets for under dash. If your car rides rough. Good Luck!

 

Will CB mounting brackets work?

 

I bought one with really nice original chrome for my dad and had it restored by a guy in Rochester. I'm probably not allowed to post his information here, but if anyone is interested in it you know how to reach me. He's a really nice guy and very knowledgeable about these. Intead of wiring it to an FM transmiter it has a 3.5mm jack that plugs into the aux port of a CD player (hidden in the glove box of course )

As far as mounting it, we still haven't installed it yet, but it has a threaded hole on either side. I was going to weld flat stock down from the cowl and I'll probably even try mounting it with springs to give it as much cushion as I can. Either way it'll be best used for a cruise in and that's what my dad has always bragged about - being the only one with music in his car!

 

I'm still looking for a nice clean still working record player.

 

Not to hijack this thread - What is the name for the adapter (red or yellow 'thingy') for the centre of a 45 record that allowed it to play on a regular-sized record player spindle. Been trying to find out for a couple of years.....

 

"Spider" seems way to simple but if that's what it is, I guess I'll sleep better tonight. Thanks, Jeff.

 

Ready to install mine now. My brother is an engineer and he measuring my dash and my record player to mount mine. He is using CAD at his work and will make my brackets.. I will post pictures when it is installed...

 

The RCA and ARC units were more reliable, and better in general that they played 45 RPM singles, rather than a limited base of 16 2/3 RPM records for the HiWay HiFi.

Chrysler offered the HiWay Hifi from '56 to 1957, they were not offered by the factory after that point, but many dealers would still sell the units left in stock, but with no factory warranty.
I have a HiWay HiFi unit in my '57 Fury, but I removed the mechanicals, and used the case to house a CD player about ten years ago. I plan on changing the drive to accept 45 RPM records, as I still have many of them.
Chrysler offered the RCA players through their dealers from 1959 to several years later.

---John

 

Mine is an ARC 2500. It works so I am going to hook it up and play 45s hopefully...

 

I had a 45 RPM ARC in my '56 Ford ragtop. Never worked well driving...(scuffed up my original D.J. copy of "Bacon Fat" by Big Daddy and his boys...)

My bud's Dad was a radio/T.V. repairman, worked for the phone co. He installed an amplifier in the trunk, and 2 guitar jacks under the dash. When you'd plug in, the radio stopped and you had speakers.
I had a Hohner mic for my Blues Harp, and Steve had a Trini Lopez Gibson guitar.
We'd cruise slowly, playing Way-down funky blues, real loud...That harp sounded like Charlie Musselwhite, on the low notes...
Chicks would run alongside on the sidewalk, chasin' us like we were the 'Pied Pipers'.
...the Pied Pipers of soul.....

 

There is a one for sale on chevybombs under parts for sale for 500$. Just an FYI, not mine.