Craigslist free section-2-living room in 1 week. - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Carmine · #1 12-21-2009, 11:07 AM

I spotted a Zenith "Avanti" on the Craigslist free page a couple weeks ago, but forced myself to pass, since I already had a 1972 version awaiting restoration. Concurrently, I have recently began dating a young lady who had a 1993 27" Zenith as her main television! When she said she didn't watch much TV, I had to believe her... There is no other way it could have lasted so long!

So a couple weeks ago the good Captain Moody called me, while she and I were at breakfast. He made sure I was aware of the "free" Zenith, but I again declined. After I hung up, I explained what the phone call was about.

She then asked if the TV would fit in her Ford Escape. I replied, "yes, but you don't want this TV..." I went on to explain that it was nearly ten-years older than her, that it had a "weird" looking cabinet, it was heavy, non-remote, located on the other end of town, etc.

After all this, she said "Will the picture be better than the one I have now?" I could only reply with a sheepish "Yes"... That set in motion a trip through Detroit to snag this dirty old hunk of wood-and-glass from a dark front porch.

Below you see the result...

As found...

I've never seen this style of tuner... It slides up and down through about 15 (I think) positions. There is a spring-loaded detent at each position. Note that the volume slider knob is broken off.

Here's a shot of the set working, as-received. All of the user controls were turned to crazy positions, and after a few seconds of adjustment, I had a "decent" color picture from our good analog friends in Canada...

Do you like that workbench?

Not having the time to seek-out (or order) a new volume slider, I heated a paperclip red-hot and pressed it into the remaining nylon "stump". Knowing that the set would have to function with a converter box, I figured it would see very little use anyways after being set. At the same time, I removed all of the dirty pots and cleaned them with de-ox-id.

I was very surprised by both the volume and quality of sound in the set, given its small, single speaker. (It has a tone control)

Model number:

I'd always wondered about these stickers... Who is going to attempt replacing a semiconductor with the power ON??

Built in November 1974

Here's a shot of that tilt-out Chroma2 chassis. I removed the boards and cleaned the pins after noticing some color-shifting during the first try-out. This is after cleaning...

After some greyscale and vert-size touch-ups, (CRT is still excellent!) I began to turn my attention to the cosmetics...

This is a real wood veneer, although quite thin and easy to sand through if you aren't careful!

The cabinet itself was full of gouges, nicotine, and paint spatter. This set must have seen a lot of use. I treated it much like an automobile finish, feather-edging each damaged spot. This did reveal a rather interesting plywood finish that might look kind of cool with no white finish, and just a coat of varnish.

And now the AFTER pictures...

This one shows off the refinished wood (I sanded lightly with a DA 220 grit, then rubbed with walnut-toned danish oil. Finished with a spray satin varnish). It also shows the cabinet gloss I achieved by using a Rustoleum™ gloss-white enamel. The oil base gives more "flow-out" time for a higher gloss, just like the original. I used a formulated plastic-paint on the yellowed base.

Cell phone screen shots don't really do it justice..

Carmine · #2 12-21-2009, 11:07 AM

And we hooked up the "new" set to the antenna one last time...

andy · #3 12-21-2009, 12:03 PM

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radiotvnut · #4 12-21-2009, 12:36 PM

Nice set and nice work! If your ladyfriend likes this set, you need to do everything in your power to keep her, LOL! Having a TV this old would be reason enough for most girls born in the '80's to run the other way.

BTW, I too have never seen a tuner quite like that. I have, however, seen plenty of the single knob varactor tuners and the varactor tuners with the channel numbers in a vertical row.

captainmoody · #5 12-21-2009, 01:06 PM

Wow, that set looks like new! Great job Chris!

AUdubon5425 · #6 12-21-2009, 01:23 PM

Good work!

Try putting that set on anything made in the last 20 years! Crumple...buckle...dent...

Aren't those Imperials great?

matt_s78mn · #7 12-21-2009, 01:34 PM

Nice work!!! Now just get her to drive that Imperial as a daily driver and you know you've really got a catch!!

drh4683 · #8 12-21-2009, 03:31 PM

Very nice! Nice to see yet another one saved. By the way, that chassis is the one that had the infamous "safety cap" problem. Looks like they got replaced in yours, so its good to go.
Yeah, seeing a woman in her 20's driving a 60's car and enjoying it in 2009 would be unbelievable to say the least. If there are any out there, I'd like to meet them! Then again, seeing anyone in their 20's own and enjoy an original 60's car is rare to begin with. I'm one of the very few my age who prefer a nice original Avocado green 1960's four door sedan with the factory AM radio and wheels vs. any muscle car. Your're '61 LeBaron is great, however, I'd perfer a Nissan Cube. Its a great vehicle that really appeals to my generation.

Adam · #9 12-21-2009, 04:17 PM

That looks like the one I was thinking about picking up earlier. The guy just never e-mailed me back, and I really wanted a remote one of these, so I didn't pursue it further. Good to see it got restored.

I like the '61 Imperial, try putting one of these sets on a modern car like that and the whole front end would probably cave in.

sampson159 · #10 12-21-2009, 05:07 PM

nice looking set now!of course the picture is excellent,but the cabinet work intrigues me.i do lots of that myself and i appreciate fine workmanship.i restored one of those back in the early 90s for a friend.the cabinet had yellowed so i used some bleachwhite (the same used for whitewalls) to clean it up.works great!of course yours was much worse.it looks like a new set now.you are a master of this craft!

Carmine · #11 12-21-2009, 05:39 PM

Thank you all for the kind words. I enjoy looking at everybody else's before/during/after pictures, and reading the stories, so I was glad to have a chance to contribute.

Safety cap: I knew this chassis featured the dreaded cap-o-death, but also knew the OEM was white. Then again, I suppose if it hadn't exploded by now, it never would!

Imperial: Using it as a workbench might freak people out, but there were triple blankets on there, plus the hood needs to be stripped to metal (30-year old repair job is going south)

I considered that a "quickie" resto... I really would have done more to the cabinet (you may have noticed a badly gouged edge), but didn't want to get into anything that wasn't quick.

Later this week I'll post my next project, which will be anything BUT quick!

p.s. Doug... It's a good thing I know you're kidding!

Sandy G · #12 12-21-2009, 06:08 PM

Why don't you get rid of that derned ol' off-brand Mopar trash 'n' gitchoo a REAL car-a
Suicide-Door Lincoln ?!? (grin) BTW, GREAT job on the TV...She's got somethin' to really be proud of now-Besides you & the gussied-up Plymouth, that is.....Mbwahahahahaha..

bandersen · #13 12-21-2009, 06:44 PM

Nice job - it looks great!
Thanks for taking the time to post all the picture and write up that sweet story

bgadow · #14 12-21-2009, 10:25 PM

You're hot stuff! Excellent set...and quite a woman!

I've thought about sneaking something older into the living room. If it blended in to the woodwork I think Kim would be okay with it; the 20" Sylvania we have is about 20 years old now and has some signs of bad caps. One of these days something is gonna happen...that '74 Sylvania table model that none of you guys will come and take from me, well, it would look nice out front...

sampson159 · #15 12-22-2009, 09:48 AM

i wouldnt cross her bryan.she s a keeper and dont risk losing her.build another room onto the house but don t make her mad!!! of course that sylvania would be nice sitting there though.