zenith color roundie tv saved from barn 6/3/12
 

after looking close at the zenith ,and removing alot of mouse packing & pooping i decided that i will restore the complete tv cabnet and all.the picture tube is useble, the chassie can be rebuilt, its not as rusty as first thought looks like all the crap might have protected it, the only thing i have never done before is document it step by step as i go . thats what i am going to do in this case ,so bare with me i will post progress as i go,if there is anyone out there that could post any pictures of what this cabnet looked like when it was new like the different color sceams that was offered that would be a big help ,i have to replace to complete bottom ,the o.s.b is coming appart ,i will replace it with 3/4 plywood and the top will have to be steamed back into place and reinforced ,but i would like to see the different stan's they offered for that model ,and the shade of green on the pic. tube bezzel .im not sure yet what year this is ,and i need a complete schematic for it i have pay pal if anyone has a schematic they can sell me . thanks

zenith taredown
 

i seem to haveing trouble uploading all my pictures,only 3 or 4 at a time are making it ? before i can start today im going to scub off dirt and bird poop ex.

all disasembled ready for the big cleaning . this is so dirty i have to start i my garage.

chassie
 

pictures of chassie after first round with shop vac .

yoke / clover / tuner bezzell
 

the rest of parts

Looks like you have quite a project on your hands! Good luck with the restore. keep us posted on the progress.

Wow...BIG project. This would overwhelm me even if I had the space to do it.

I did notice in the first pics that it LOOKS like the color and hue adjustments were "cranked"...so wonder if you are gonna find some problem there. Of course I know you'll be overwhelmed with joy when you GET to that point though :P

I do love the over-explanation of the two color knobs though. Drives home the point that color was new I guess. I have yet to even see a roundie, or ANY running "first color" sets. Hope I sometime see one of these first color sets. I don't see any small enough for me to ever take on.

all but one of the plastic knobs behind the control board crumbled in my hands ,so ill hunt for some in the spare part boxs of knobs i have,iv got like a 5 gal bucket of used knobs hopefuly i have some.

alot of the work will go into the cabnet ,i have no problem with wood part its the staining and clear coating ill need to work at. i just cant bring myself to destroy this cabnet without trying first.i have alot of automotive sanding tools and boxs of different sand paper grits from 30 threw 1000 grit so i should be able to sand fine finish . plus i know a guy i grew up that builds kitchen cabnet he can give me pointers on staining .

I may have a bunch of the knobs you need. PM me if you do.

Frank

That cabinet is eminently restorable. Looks to be structually sound. Is probably fake veneer so might need a new real veneered top, but you can't tell until cleaned up. I have good luck cleaning cabinets with Orange Goop non-pumice hand cleaner (auto parts stores and Harbor Freight.) It might just come back with that and then some staining and attention to the trim.

I'd pull the tubes on that chassis, put some duct tape over the top of all the coil cans, and scrub and hose it down in the yard with your favorite home spray cleaner, set it in the sun to dry.

today i think i matched the colors on the bezzel, i know as soon as i start on pot metal bezzel cleaning that corsion off there probley be pit holes and who knows what, i might sand blast it and reshoot it with original colors . i noticed the digital camera shows up the color better than i can see it. does anyone have a picture of what the tv looked like new , i would like to get as close as i can ,even if i have to have the color matched.i was thinking about cleaning it that way and just blow dry it with the compressor ,just stay away from coils and transformers with high pressure air.

before i can really start on the tv ,i will have put my truck in the garage and replaced the left rear leaf spring i broke the main leaf getting this tv ,rough roads and the truck is only 35 yrs old ,they just dont make them to last. lol

Geez... I didn't realize that Zenith would be so heavy! :D

it was a vary BIG zenith ,its just one of those things you put off until it gets worst ,it allready had three crack leafs i just finished it off iv had new springs in the shed since i restored the truck in 04 . i was going to wait till i put the tommy lift on the truck ,guess theres ben change in plans

Very cool - I'll be following along. What are the model and chassis numbers? I may have documentation and service info I can share.

Mark

ok got done scrubbing a 1/4 of dirt and who know's what off of the cabnet / bezzell / lower inspection cover, buffed off rust from leg mounts & painted flat black . the inspection cover has some rust in spots ill buff it off and probley paint white .

here is the bezzel after cleaning & before sanding and repainting ,if anyone has a clear picture of the bezzell on this model of what the paint looked like complete please upload a picture here, i probley will not shoot it till saturday .the last picture on the tire is the wrong one thats before cleaning ,theres something kinda going on with uploading pictures to this website. i bought some paint for the bezzel ,close as i can match it without having it mixed for me ,i sanded and cleaned and painted chassie inspection cover .

i will replace the cabnet bottom tonight or saturday its time for some pizza

cool ill uncover some numbers and get them to you, thanks

PIZZA! I WANT!!!!

Is the CRT original? It doesent look like it is laminating, or is my monitor going bad?!?!

yeah it looks like its orginal, dam i was really hoping for a rebuild one ,i removed the strap mounting and wiped some dirt off and it still has the lens on it. i took somemore pic's close up. pizza was good and had me a little nap after to.

I'll look around this weekend, I think I have a spare bezel somewhere with a perfect paint job. If I do, it's yours for postage. I have a control panel too.....or did. Like I said, I'll look in my storage unit for you.

ok ill still sand it down and paint it just to see how it might turn out , got nothing loose at this point.

ok here is pictures of removing bottom of cabnet,and then ill post the clean up of the glue and remainder of o.s.b board. this is kinda fun i never have taken pictures showing what i am doing step by step,wait and see how i remove the guts out of old can capacitors ,it takes about 60 seconds no matter how tough it wants to be.

now prep for new 3/4 plywood im fighting off my cat , he's after my pizza cold pizza if it all goes crazzy that means he stepped on the keyboard i won pizza gone ha ha cat.i think before this is complete i will end up replacing the top to,and if im going to replace the top i might as well do the sides, i got a closer look after cleaning all the dirt off it looks like the top panel is separeting

Looks like some car workn' on tools are being used on this TV. You obviously have other hobbies as well! We are a small group of people (I suspect) that appreciate this kind of thing. Looks promising.

yup most of my tools are automotive ,thats what i did or still do depending on the degenerative artheritis in spine allows , worked for olds dealership since i was in high school then owned my own shop for 18yrs in osceola indiana until i got disabled 08 & 09 i brought home everthing and stuff it in my garage and outbuildings ,if notice the chassie in the picture is sitting on a car lift arm that i took home and set up in my garage ,every home needs a car lift in there garage dont they ,sure makes life alittle more easy.

I'm impressed! :yes:

It's great to see someone take the time to restore an old set like this. All too often they get parted out. Or worse......

im not someone , its me hi--volt lol i cant help it when i see something i cant trough it away , if get rid of something its completly worn out ,then i scrap it if its metal.when i was growing up that's all i ever hurd was the old saying waste not , want not i guess it stuck good in my head .while we are on the subject of never getting rid of things here something i have had since i was a teenager did i mention how much i hate fishtanks ,say hello to my little freind john deer 1010 1949

Why? A rebuilt tube does not necessarily mean it will be a good tube. I used to get excited if I found a tube had been already replaced (rebuild or not) and then end up disappointed that the replacement was no good.

Two years ago, I brought home an 63 Zenith and a 66 CM in the same day. I saw the CRT in the Zenith had been replaced... i think with a late-70's Sylvania tube... it was dead. The Curtis Mathes (which has the instant on feature) had the original tube and tested just fine.

Side note- I've brought home Sylvania round tubes on 3 different occasions... all had 1970's date codes... and they were all no good.

I think the big advantage on CRTs that have been replaced is the situation where the replacement was a better tube (regarding design) than the original. For instance, the 21CYP22 in my CTC9 was replaced with a 21FBP22. The FBP should have better brightness and reds than the CYP.

That looks like a Zenith branded RCA tube! See if the EIA code is 274 on the labeling. I see the Hi-Lite sticker on it which was the RCA trade name at the time.

At any rate, the face of the tube looks great. I bet it will wake up if you allow the tube to cook for awhile.

Good catch on the Hi-Lite sticker, Marty!

yea it checks out ok except the blue gun is weak and compared it between the sencore tester and the b & k the sencore showed alittle stronger but we will see i guess i should remove the lens & pva stuff while its out .knowing my luck once its all together and useing it a caterack will start to show . ill just brake out the sludge hammer and a couple of chissels and pop that lens right off.

probley because i used to get reman picture tubes from a guy that had a tv parts store nere by me, and they never gave me a bit of trouble sometimes i think they were better than new one's i dont know were he got them from but they were priced good and i never had to replace them again .he also was the only suppler for bendix lazer equitment these tubes they used were big and pricy the place was called tv electronic's and there wasnt nothing he couldnt find you.

Strange, the Hi-Lite label says it's an FBP which should have a removable lens and gasket, yet the lens on this one is glued on???

Then leave it alone!!! I wondered if it was an FBP when I saw how reflective the safety glass was on it! Thats why I questioned the CRT lineage.

tell me more if it doesnt have the pva on it and it wouldnt get cateracs ill leave it ,i was going to give it a good bath before i do anything to it anyway . plus i probley got a week playing with the cabnet, i think i might have to replace the other panels to. does anyone know if this model ever came as a blonde ,i like to know now because if replace the top and sides panels i can go with any finish.

I'd wipe down the bell of the tube with a damp rag. Dont take a chance getting water between the safety glass and the CRT. The rubber gasket may be stuck from all the years of togetherness. I'd be really careful doing things here. GOOD LUCK!!