Description: This is a 1937 Arvin radio model 518 made by the Noblitt-Sparks company in Indiana. This small tombstone style tabletop radio was known as the "Phantom Baby". Normally I am presented with a challenge to start and this was no different. The case was dirty covered with decades of dirt. After removing the mess I found that the finish on the walnut veneer on entire radio was bad and had to be removed. Removed all of the old non working radio guts. Sanded the whole case to remove the old finish. The wood underneath was in good condition. I think it is important to retain as much of the original as possible w/o scarificing everything. Did add a walnut toner to the entire case to even up the color pattern. Put a light gloss lacquer coat over the case to protect the finish. Love the grain patterns on the top & both sides. Please look at the pics. Was able reuse the original original 2 part plastic dial. Not perfect but once glued back together looks real good. Very unusual colors for the time white-green-red. The 4 original wood knobs were reinstalled and added a piece of deco speaker cloth. Again look at the pics - beautiful . On the inside, I installed a new Bluetooth digital stereo hi-fi audio amplifier with 50 watts in addition to a 4" Infinity Reference multi range speaker. Yes this classic is now a real boom box. This thing sounds great. Nice bass. Rewired the original dial light so everyone can see the details on the dial. The on/off switch for the light is on the back panel. When the dial lite is on the very cool speaker cloth is backlit. Nice. Installed the on/off/volume switch with the knob on the upper right. The others are fixed. All of the electronics are hard wired and secured to the inner supports insure a long life. This is one of a kind Bluetooth speaker that is deco cool. A real conversation piece that makes a grand statement. There is a new electrical plug also. The 1937 Arvin radio converted to Bluetooth speaker measures a small 9" x 7" x 6" .Will look good, sound great and fit anywhere. Thanks for looking. ED
Price: 239 USD
Location: Mertztown, Pennsylvania
End Time: 2024-12-08T05:44:15.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Brand: Arvin
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
