Admiral 14R12 Restoration

[Crist Rigott]

I finished making a new back. The original had several flaws besides the upper mounting holes being enlarged as to be ineffective.

The right side back brace was located too high and interfered with the upper mounting boss. This skewed the whole back and it warped badly from the chassis screws forcing the back back into position. With the brace too high this brought the whole edge down low and the bottom of the back overlapped the bottom of the cabinet. Also somewhere along the way, the interlock on the chassis was changed out probably because of the extreme pressure of the mal-aligned back.

All of these problems were corrected with the new back. I also added 2 1/16 ply shims to the back which runs up against the chassis so when the mounting screws are tightened, they won't warp the back. This is due to the metal interlock bracket. I used some Dewalt brad-point drill bits to drill the holes.

I changed the power cord and made up some new labels too.

[Crist Rigott]

I polished up the knobs and finished the project today. In reality, I still need the metal insert that goes into the channel selector knob. I must have lost it when at my daughters house.

I'd like to thank everyone who helped me get this one done. I learned a lot and you guys have spent some time with me helping me through the process. Thank you.

Here are the final pics.

[Kevin Kuehn]

Originally Posted by Crist Rigott

Yes, I was using my VTVM. Next time I'll double check on the DC coupling. I just checked the scope settings and they were on AC coupling. that could have been the problem?

Yes, at that point you're measuring a DC voltage that varies plus and minus.

Holy cow, that back looks like the real deal, excellent work!!

[Crist Rigott]

Originally Posted by Kevin Kuehn

Yes, at that point you're measuring a DC voltage that varies plus and minus.

Holy cow, that back looks like the real deal, excellent work!!

Thank you Kevin.

[Telecruiser]

I'm not sure they looked that good when they were new! Awesome! :-)

[Crist Rigott]

Originally Posted by Telecruiser

I'm not sure they looked that good when they were new! Awesome! :-)

Thanks.

[Electronic M]

If you restore it any further I do believe it will start picking up broadcasts from the 50's.

Nicely done.

[Crist Rigott]

Thanks.

I did find a station that was airing an episode of "Lassie".

[Crist Rigott]

Well, I located a pencil box door! It'll ship this week. Then this restoration will be truly be finished. Thanks Benman94.

[old_coot88]

Awesome job, bro. Is the height maybe a bit stretched, or is that the aspect ratio of the picture?

[Crist Rigott]

Originally Posted by old_coot88

Awesome job, bro. Is the height maybe a bit stretched, or is that the aspect ratio of the picture?

Thanks for the kind words.

According to the test patterns, the picture is correctly set up. My guess is that another picture of the TV playing would look a lot better.

[Electronic M]

I saw that commercial on one of my sets....That little girl is a real bean pole....She is like some of those cartoons that mocked Frank Sinatra for being skinny.

[jr_tech]

Fantastic restoration of rarely seen early rectangular set.

I could be wrong, but it looks like 16:9 video compressed in width to 4:3... look at the shape of the lamp in the background, those were nearly spherical.

What was the source of the video?

jr

[Polaraligned]

Wow. That is some fantastic restoration. I'm impressed.

Did you replace every resistor in this set? I thought I saw a reference to that earlier in this thread.
What did you paint the chassis with? It looks great.

[Crist Rigott]

Originally Posted by Polaraligned

Wow. That is some fantastic restoration. I'm impressed.

Did you replace every resistor in this set? I thought I saw a reference to that earlier in this thread.
What did you paint the chassis with? It looks great.

Thanks.

Every resistor, except 1 in the tuner, every paper, every electrolytic, and every mica cap was replaced. A few tubes and the doorknob cap was also replaced.

After cleaning and getting rid of the rust etc, I primered the chassis with Rust-Oleum automotive grey sandable primer #2081. Then a light sanding to remove the surface "goobers", then 2 coats of Rust-Oleum Metallic Matte Nickel #7277830.