• Push buttons were discontinued at the end of 1953 and did not reappear until 1967
  • Prior to 1959 radios used mechanical vibrator tubes. They would operate with either positive or negative ground. A low buzzing sound could always be heard from the tube area before the radio warmed up, once the sound began, the speaker made the buzzing difficult to hear. In recent years a major change has occurred. Vibrator tubes have been gradually replaced with a modern solid state style These are ruined if the battery is reversed. A positive ground tube cannot be placed in a negative ground vehicle
  • The 1947-1955 four staff cowl mounted antenna could be extended almost four feet. This helped pull in at least one station in rural areas
  • With a totally redesigned dash in 1954, the radio was given a major change. It remained AM only but with push buttons discontinued, it became almost half the size of the previous model
  • From 1959 and older, GM truck radios had two lead wires. One usually attached to the headlight switch so the dial light went on with the dash lights. The other wire attached to a 20 amp fuse and then to the ignition switch "hot" connection
  • The AM-FM radio was first available in GM trucks in 1970, not in 1967. These units have one sound track and are not stereo
  • In 1947, with the introduction of the Advance Design body style, GM trucks for the first time had a place in the dash to install a radio
  • In relation to wages, early radios were very expensive. A 1949 radio had a retail price of about $74.50 when it was difficult to carry $5.00 in groceries
  • The dash on the 1954-1959 GMC and 1955-59 Chevrolet has no place for a speaker opening. Thus, the factory speaker is placed between the sunvisors above the windshield