Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

My 1608 has front and rear radios. One is under the dash and is tuned from the dashboard, with a large underdash speaker.

The rear one is mounted in the trunk with tuning head in the right rear armrest. Speakers appear to be in the doors.

Is this standard, factory option or just custom?

I think it is certain that the front radio is standard. The question is the rear. Since the rear still had Philco tags on it, my guess it was not installed in the factory as the factory warranty on the car would cover it???

I have been told the rear radio was only available on limos and 7 passenger touring cars and was expensive at $130.

Any clues?

Bill

We occasionally find Philco hang tags on factory-installed radios on low mileage unmolested and well-preserved posrwar Packards. So I would draw no conclusion concerning post-sale installation of a radio based on the presence of such tags.

One of the unanswered questions is about whether Packard could have used the guest speaker for the 38 rear radio or was it too big to fit where the factory placed it. The guest speaker was sold as an accessory for the front radio to provide a better listening experience for rear seat passengers but the rear radio is a complete unit and even though it might not be used for the primary purpose the guest speaker might have been used there in place of the regular speaker. The guest speaker was available for several years and while the placement usually said the front seat back, other books says the roof and other locations could be used

Does anyone have one of the guest speakers in their car that could provide some overall dimensions of the diameter. The question is did Packard use the thick regular speaker in the door since that is where the speaker was mounted when a 38 rear radio was installed and would the window still clear or did they use a possibly thinner guest speaker or maybe it took a special size to fit inside the door.

Borrowing a copy of the photo bluedevil posted at PAC showing the speaker that is in the door now, it looks fairly small and while the wire has obviously been changed the question is could the speaker be original or is it an aftermarket. Also shown is the senior series fact book description of the rear radio and speaker placement as well as the guest speaker which so far is the only Packard published 38 info found.

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I have a 1508. Was a guest speaker an option in 1937?

G'day BillCmdr. Murph,
to PackardInfo, but sorry I can't answer your question.

However, I invite you to include your 1508 in the Packard Owner's Registry.

I don't have any senior literature for 37 but the speaker is shown in the 37 120 accessory folder. I am assuming accessories like that if available in a 120 could be ordered and installed in a senior model. My guess is it was available and maybe even styled differently to better match a senior.

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This would make a fun project. In the interest of better sound I'd love a rear-seat speaker but would never do a modern version (shudder). Couple of pictures here: one is a hand embroidered rear speaker from a 1608 and the other, what appears to be tone control from a 1508. Never seen that before, either.

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Thanks for showing the embroidered speaker. Is it in the front seat back and is that a jump seat next to it? If not, I wonder if that would have been the treatment of the door speaker blue40devil has been asking about.

I'm pretty certain that's on the division.

Bill for including your '37 Twelve Convertible Sedan in the Registry.