What kind of car radio would be fitted in 1974?

[Evan Bottcher]

Hi all,

I've got a nice old Sud in half-decent nick.  I'm trying to keep it fairly stock looking (maybe not under the bonnet).  It has an old Ford car radio, and a separate cassette unit, neither of which are working.  I'd like to throw in something period looking.

I think these cars probably came to Australia without a radio fitted, and dealers optioned them with something available locally?  Can anyone confirm my theory?

What would a popular decent car radio (not cassette) make/model have been in 1974?

thanks,
Evan.

[colcol]

Oh dear, 1974 was the year i started work, in 1975 i purchased a  AM FM Pioneer Radio Cassette, to replace the lame AWA pushbutton AM radio.
All radio's in the olden days were AM, FM was classical music only.
Clarion were quite a good radio also Phillips were good because they had '11 transistors', as opposed to the cheapscate radios that had less than 11 transistors.
Do it yourself wrecking yards have a good choice of radio's, usually in a large box marked $10 each.
You could have a look on ebay, as they have good radio's with AM FM, MP3 and i tunes in a package designed to look like an 70's AM pushbutton radio.
Holden had their own brand called Nasco and Ford had Motorcraft?
Not many cars had radio's in 1974, due to their high prices, the Sud being a cheaper car most likely didn't have a radio, a bloke i knew at United Sound use to fit Radio's to Alfa Romeo's in the 70's, as it was a way the dealers could earn some extra money, Colin.

[Doug Gould]

Colin

Have you forgotten EON FM?? I recall that it was transmitting illegally for some time before the launch of FM which I thought was about 1974.

Aftermarket radios were big business then.

[aggie57]

Colin

Have you forgotten EON FM?? I recall that it was transmitting illegally for some time before the launch of FM which I thought was about 1974.

Aftermarket radios were big business then.

In NZ we had Radio Hauraki, a pirate FM station named because it operated from a converted trawler in the Hauraki Gulf.

Like Colin says, Pioneer was very popular as an upmarket brand in the day.