Chrysler AM/FM 3501623 Radio

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APK

APK

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I sent a Chrsyler AM/FM 3501623 Radio to be repaired.

The repair service has replied that AM and FM is working but... "the [AM/FM] linkage that throws the switch is broke and missing. This part is unique to these 72-76 A body AM FM radios . It was made of pot metal and they often broke. I do not have one on hand, and the only way to get one is to pay for another am fm radio to rob that part".

Is it possible to find this part or does anyone know of a replacement part source or should I just forget it and just be happy the FM works?
 
Maybe you could have a new part machined to match if possible and then you would have a part that will last.
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Since the part was so cheap (pot metal) and known to break often, I thought that someone would have done that. Since the part is missing I do not even know what is looks like. The only other thing I can do is perform a google search and hope to find a part supplier or another radio repair site that has this part.
 
there is a man who rebuilds mopar radios i think i saw him on ebay maybe . you could check there . i will see if i can find him.
 
APK said:
Since the part was so cheap (pot metal) and known to break often, I thought that someone would have done that. Since the part is missing I do not even know what is looks like. The only other thing I can do is perform a google search and hope to find a part supplier or another radio repair site that has this part.
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Bummer. You might look and see if the C body radios share the same part. What year and application is your radio for?
 
You need to keep an out out for one of these. Maybe contact the buyer of this auction and see if he will sell you a copy of his.

RADIO SERVICE MANUAL
1973 DODGE PLYMOUTH MODEL 3501623
DODGE DART, PLYMOUTH VALIANT​
​

You are bidding on an original Photofact service folder. This manuals fits the item listed above.



This manual contains such material as alignment instructions, schematics, line drawings, exploded views of the radio interior, parts listings and more.

This manual is 10 pages long.​


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Dodge-...905?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519ebe9c19
 

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Wards is the only place I know of that might have it..Google them...
 
Ward's is where the radio is being repaired and he does not have the part. Which I would think that if this part is so bad to break he would have come up with a better quality replacement.
 
The part might be fabricated with aluminum. It is something a machine shop could do. It will help if you show a picture of the part. You might even be able to make it yourself. Simple tools including drill, saw and files go a long way in making parts by hand.
 
KitCarlson said:
The part might be fabricated with aluminum. It is something a machine shop could do. It will help if you show a picture of the part. You might even be able to make it yourself. Simple tools including drill, saw and files go a long way in making parts by hand.
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Read post 2 and the op's reply on post 3.
 
You might search this site or contact them and see if they have the part. The do have parts radios.
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I checked that site last night and did not see any part describe as AM/FM Switch Linkage. I also did not find a contact email address for them.
 
More Info from Wards in response to my questions...

Saturday:
I have had several of these radios in the past that have had this exact part broken . No other radio has a part even simular to it,
so it has to come from another 72-76 A body AM FM radio . The way the switch is thrown and the shape and contour of the linkage is unique to this model only.
The linkage was made of pot metal and often broke . In the past I have attempted to repair these with epoxy , jb weld etc .nothing would hold
since the part is put under stress when used. In your radio, the other half of the linkage is missing all together , a previous owner must have removed it.
I have one other am fm A body here, but I have already had to rob that linkage for another customers radio in the past.
The only thing to do is buy another am fm, if you want to put that much more money into it let me know . Your looking at approx another $ 100-$ 125
to get a non working radio for parts .

Sunday:
To switch from AM to FM you twist the RH inner knob . The shaft the inner knob rides on is all part of the one piece pot metal linkage.
That part is still on the radio , when it goes inside the radio it takes a 90 degree turn , then another 90 degree turn ,and meets up with more linkage and untimatly, the switch itsself.
The part that is broke is very intricate and not something that could easily be made or rigged together.
Because the inner knob shaft is hollowed out, notched etc and is part of the one piece linkage there is no way to fabricate anything .
If you want AM , We will have to buy another radio to get the correct linkage piece.
 
APK said:
More Info from Wards in response to my questions...

Saturday:
I have had several of these radios in the past that have had this exact part broken . No other radio has a part even simular to it,
so it has to come from another 72-76 A body AM FM radio . The way the switch is thrown and the shape and contour of the linkage is unique to this model only.
The linkage was made of pot metal and often broke . In the past I have attempted to repair these with epoxy , jb weld etc .nothing would hold
since the part is put under stress when used. In your radio, the other half of the linkage is missing all together , a previous owner must have removed it.
I have one other am fm A body here, but I have already had to rob that linkage for another customers radio in the past.
The only thing to do is buy another am fm, if you want to put that much more money into it let me know . Your looking at approx another $ 100-$ 125
to get a non working radio for parts .

Sunday:
To switch from AM to FM you twist the RH inner knob . The shaft the inner knob rides on is all part of the one piece pot metal linkage.
That part is still on the radio , when it goes inside the radio it takes a 90 degree turn , then another 90 degree turn ,and meets up with more linkage and untimatly, the switch itsself.
The part that is broke is very intricate and not something that could easily be made or rigged together.
Because the inner knob shaft is hollowed out, notched etc and is part of the one piece linkage there is no way to fabricate anything .
If you want AM , We will have to buy another radio to get the correct linkage piece.
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It would be nice if they could supply you a picture. The Sams Photofact would have the part number and it could be floating around on eBay unidentified.
 
I agree it it is not easy, but it is possible. With the radio at hand, and the description it should be possible. It may take a few attempts, but it is possible. When the part was first made it was likely made by hand in a model shop, then an even more difficult mold of several components was made to fabricate the part.

It is possible to make individual parts from steel and braze them together. The braze is not done in the normal fashion. It is done with thin sheet brass, flux, clamping and heating. I am not saying I want to do it. It would take me about day to do,

I also have a neighbor that carves drywall molds, then pours in melted pot metal. His work is quite intricate. He is jewelry artist. I am not recommending him however.

OT:
I started fabricating parts for my father 50 years ago. It involved making lock parts for muzzle loading guns. I made many missing parts. I was good enough (better than him), that he did not want me to mess with electronics. It was a struggle, neighbors helped by giving me radios to fix and for parts. I ended up with a EE degree, all my fingers, however some are damaged. To earn money for school, I worked in a machine shop that made machines to manufacture parts.
 
I just worked on a radio similar to yours with the same problem. The AM/FM selector linkage was broken inside the radio. I ended up fabricating a new part out of PC board material and it worked great! It was a crappy design to begin with but I was happy to get the radio working again.
 
Hope it works out for you, Im going auto graveyard digging and i will keep an eye out for an am/fm, by the way lemme know how Wards treats you, dad is looking to send in his am/fm to get repaired over the winter. Its a 67 by the way, so it wouldnt work for you.
 
Another possibility is to remove the wires from the AM/FM switch inside the radio at the end of the broken part. Mount another switch on the bottom of the radio and attach the wires to that switch (Maybe Ward's would do this for you). It might be a little cumbersome to reach up under the dash and switch bands but if you mounted it near the back of the case on the bottom you should be able to reach it without too much trouble. It retains the original appearance too!
 
Hope it works out for you, Im going auto graveyard digging and i will keep an eye out for an am/fm, by the way lemme know how Wards treats you, dad is looking to send in his am/fm to get repaired over the winter. Its a 67 by the way, so it wouldnt work for you.
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The radio came back from Ward's yesterday (Oct 17). They charged me $100 for the work and $20 for shipping. When I bought the radio on ebay the FM already worked, don't know about the AM. The Wires had been cut (power and speaker) and I knew the AM/FM switch was broke and missing pieces.


Ward's did not itemize the invoice included with the radio when it came back. So for all I know, all they did was repair the wires and bench test the radio on AM and FM for several hours as described on their website as their work process. They not did try to manufacture a linkage to repair the AM/FM switch, nor did they have an old radio to steal one from.

Before I sent them the radio, I contacted them by email describing the radio and it's known problems, one being the AM/FM switch was broken. I wish they would have alerted me at that time that they did not carry that part and the known history of the poor quality of that part. I probably would have contacted someone else like "D and M" to see what they could do and not have sent it to Ward's not getting all issues fixed.

When you contact Ward's be sure you pin them down on what parts they have and you might want to contact D and M Restorations also.

I will update this thread after "D and M" completes their work.
 
APK said:
The radio came back from Ward's yesterday (Oct 17). They charged me $100 for the work and $20 for shipping. When I bought the radio on ebay the FM already worked, don't know about the AM. The Wires had been cut (power and speaker) and I knew the AM/FM switch was broke and missing pieces.


Ward's did not itemize the invoice included with the radio when it came back. So for all I know, all they did was repair the wires and bench test the radio on AM and FM for several hours as described on their website as their work process. They not did try to manufacture a linkage to repair the AM/FM switch, nor did they have an old radio to steal one from.

Before I sent them the radio, I contacted them by email describing the radio and it's known problems, one being the AM/FM switch was broken. I wish they would have alerted me at that time that they did not carry that part and the known history of the poor quality of that part. I probably would have contacted someone else like "D and M" to see what they could do and not have sent it to Ward's not getting all issues fixed.

When you contact Ward's be sure you pin them down on what parts they have and you might want to contact D and M Restorations also.

I will update this thread after "D and M" complete their work.
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Thanks for the heads up!
 
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