Went to an estate sale today and picked up a couple Zenith's from the same home. The first find was a 1983 Zenith 25" metal cabinet table set, system 3 of course. One I have been wanting to find for some time since it marks the tail end of the metal cabinet era. In fact, I believe the last metal cabinet table sets were built in 1984. This particular one was built in November of '83. It came with it's original manuals and paperwork too which is always a nice plus. I had to search the house for the remote and finally it turned up in a basket of sewing items in another bedroom. It suffered from the breakdown of the vinyl cladding which results in that horrid sticky cabinet. I had to throw an old sheet over the set before i could even consider carrying it, that's how bad it was. That's easily rectified by wiping the cabinet down with rubbing alcohol so now it's nice and fresh again.

As I was getting ready to take the set from upstairs, the lady running the sale said there is another older TV down in the family room that I could have. I said I'll check it out which I was going to do anyway... Luck again! The family room TV was a 1976 Zenith Chromacolor II console with space command 1000. It looked like it was ready for a photo shoot for the Zenith catalog with that wood paneling and orange carpeting and the rest of the early American decor. A kid working at the sale helped me bring it up to my truck. I had to search the house for the remote for that set too. That ended up being in the dining room.

What's interesting to note is that this particular Chromacolor II does NOT use the typical square tube cap. It uses the conical shaped one. I've never seen this on a vertical chassis CCII before. It still works well. The '83 Zenith got used well though. The CRT is pretty tired, especially the green gun which is unfortunate.

But here they are, safe and sound:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5693/21209038399_a45360cd8b_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yjaScR)DSC04269 (https://flic.kr/p/yjaScR) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/738/21207872260_7088ec01bd_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yj4Ty1)DSC04234 (https://flic.kr/p/yj4Ty1) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/780/21208372330_0b37c99e0d_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yj7scU)DSC04235 (https://flic.kr/p/yj7scU) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/745/21208082418_b2123b21f6_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yj5Y2q)DSC04244 (https://flic.kr/p/yj5Y2q) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5738/20773225464_04bb0b32d0_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDEdcJ)DSC04245 (https://flic.kr/p/xDEdcJ) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/774/21395925165_a2e59d6289_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yAFH8t)DSC04243 (https://flic.kr/p/yAFH8t) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5743/20774911443_c42732a873_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDNRok)DSC04320 (https://flic.kr/p/xDNRok) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

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https://farm1.staticflickr.com/727/20773304634_f9e04bae42_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDEBJJ)DSC04287 (https://flic.kr/p/xDEBJJ) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5658/21209090489_f72a936116_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yjb8FX)DSC04324 (https://flic.kr/p/yjb8FX) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/747/20774904173_906efbbcd2_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDNPdZ)DSC04325 (https://flic.kr/p/xDNPdZ) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

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https://farm1.staticflickr.com/659/21404379771_c22212ba74_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yBr3ox)DSC04273 (https://flic.kr/p/yBr3ox) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

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additional photos:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5773/21396052475_bae30cd47d_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yAGmYt)DSC04295 (https://flic.kr/p/yAGmYt) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/760/21385202342_6fecafb4cc_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yzJKBd)DSC04291 (https://flic.kr/p/yzJKBd) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/572/21385195812_600b5accf4_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yzJHEC)DSC04296 (https://flic.kr/p/yzJHEC) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5628/21209141849_6de5c8ff58_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yjboXt)DSC04315 (https://flic.kr/p/yjboXt) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/760/20773344764_aed7c34246_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDEPEC)DSC04316 (https://flic.kr/p/xDEPEC) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5699/20773347314_9b21545ba0_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/xDEQqA)DSC04311 (https://flic.kr/p/xDEQqA) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5697/21404423741_44f61e30de_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/yBrgsD)DSC04310 (https://flic.kr/p/yBrgsD) by drh4683 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/135332734@N02/), on Flickr

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Ah the bigger brother to my own Chromacolor II

Mine weighs about 60 pounds I can only imagine what that console weighs...

You always have the luck. Great catches Doug.

You really scored! That chromacolor alone.. beautiful set.

Ugh, you're always so lucky finding with finding good old Zeniths! Here in Alabama I'm lucky to find an 1980s shelf papered tabletop, let alone a 1960s console, which i"m currently yearning for. I practically have to beg to find anything other than the ubiquitous black/gray 1990s Sylvania at an estate sale. I guess as with real estate, location is everything! Y'all Northerners have the best luck...

Swanky house. But, yeah, it fairly SCREAMS "EIGHTIES !" Good catches, tho.

Second pic - WTF? Nipper overlooking a Zenith?

Nice finds - and minty console - all original...

Excellent finds! I've seen a few CCII's with the conical tube cap; but, they were all earlier models from '74-'75.

The metal cabinet one (as well as the later all particleboard version) was a very common find in churches and schools (usually, they were on a big rollaround A/V cart). The console version of that set still seems to be fairly common and it probably won't take you long to find a good CRT for it. In the meantime, you might try rejuvenating the old tube.

Doug, what was that chrome bumpered car in the garage at the sale?

.

Corvette, from the 1968 generation. But before 1973-74, when they put the FUGLY "Endura Crash" bumpers on 'em

Doug, what was that chrome bumpered car in the garage at the sale?

.

Looks like an 80's Cadillac to me.

Looks like an 80's Cadillac to me.

It's an 80's El Dorado.

I like that console, Early American has grown on me. Could you show a closeup of the remote sometime, it looks like what I might need for my late '70's System 3 tabletop set. There isn't a readable sticker on the back, all the printing faded off. Congratulations for saving two really neat Zeniths!

Excellent finds! I just wanted to chime in to say that I very much enjoy watching your videos on YouTube, Doug. I admire your skill and your values in vintage stuff. I feel exactly the same way.

I never saw such a late-production tin can Zenith before, pretty neat. Considering the remote that came with it, I guess remotes like my gold-faced infrared Space Phone remote weren't made for long. Most of the few I see are marked up quite badly, and mine was "remanufactured" and came with the box. It's a keeper for sure.