1957 Factory radio removal tips

[TbirdFan76]

I have an aftermarket AC installed which is installed directory under the ash tray and radio. Is it possible to remove the factory radio with the AC installed? How hard/easy is it?

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[Tom Alpers]

I think it will largely depend on which side (drivers or passengers) the hoses for the AC exit on the back of the AC unit. If they exit on the passenger side you should be able to unfasten the mounting brackets for the AC and swing the whole thing over towards or even into the passenger side footwell area. That should give you quite a but of working space to get the radio out. If the hoses come out on the drivers side rear of the unit I think it would be very hard to swing it out of the way with the hoses connected. Your unit looks like the same one I have so odds seem pretty good you can move it to passenger side without much trouble. Removing the radio itself is easy as far as unbolting it from it's mounts and maneuvering it out other then how good you are at yoga.

 

[TbirdFan76]

Mi

I think it will largely depend on which side (drivers or passengers) the hoses for the AC exit on the back of the AC unit. If they exit on the passenger side you should be able to unfasten the mounting brackets for the AC and swing the whole thing over towards or even into the passenger side footwell area. That should give you quite a but of working space to get the radio out. If the hoses come out on the drivers side rear of the unit I think it would be very hard to swing it out of the way with the hoses connected. Your unit looks like the same one I have so odds seem pretty good you can move it to passenger side without much trouble. Removing the radio itself is easy as far as unbolting it from it's mounts and maneuvering it out other then how good you are at yoga.

The AC hoses exit on the passenger side. Is there risk that the hoses could pull off while doing this?

 

[Tom Alpers]

Mi

The AC hoses exit on the passenger side. Is there risk that the hoses could pull off while doing this?

Anything reasonably recent has screw on hose connections and they can't pull off. Older systems used barbed fittings that the hoses were pushed over and "radiator" style clamps were used to hold them on. Those conceivably could pull off if the clamp was not very tight. You would not want to side load stuff too much as you move it around but most of these style systems have the hoses go thru holes in the firewall and unless there is a clamp somewhere near where they go thru there's a reasonable amount of "free play" available to move stuff around as you pivot it around where the hoses go thru the holes. I recently dropped mine down and moved it over a bit, can't even recall why now, and had no difficulty at all swinging it over. Here's a photo I took when I was installing mine. You can see there is a good length of hose which makes it easy to swing it over (have to drop the gearshift in low to get it out of the way) and you can also see how the hoses are crimped onto fitting that screw onto the fittings on the back of the AC unit.