I came upon an old pontiac 2 piece tube accessory radio for 1932 or 3 or 4 Pontiac. Model 980455. Its in pretty good shape but I have not fired it up so I don't know if it works. Is this valuable/worth restoration??

Hi Rickie. I don't know what its worth without knowing if it works. I found 1 a year or so ago for $100. The guy backed out of the deal because his brother said he wanted it. So if you decide that you don't want to spend the money to restotre the radio , let me know , mabey we can work out a deal. Joe .:I came upon an old pontiac 2 piece tube accessory radio for 1932 or 3 or 4 Pontiac. Model 980455. Its in pretty good shape but I have not fired it up so I don't know if it works. Is this valuable/worth restoration??

Though you are not likely to find too many people on Earth that go for car radios like people go for household radios, this radio is likely worth a lot of money. Only people restoring antique cars that wish to keep them original will be after the original radio. Sadly probably only half of the antique car enthusiasts restore cars to original. The rest mutilate them into hot rods. I cannot understand why anyone would do this to something so rare, but they do never the less. It would make more sense to purchase a new car since the new cars are styled for the "fast and mean" look anyway. Still, there is a large number of people that do restore cars to their original state.

At any rate, the radio for my 1951 Chevrolet without push-buttons goes for about $200 in good condition (not restored). The push-button radio goes for more. The radios for the 1940s Chevrolets go for much more than this. The deluxe models with multiple short-wave bands (very rare) go for $800 +. There was one that comes to mind that I've seen in my catologue that even has a control that mounts below the steering wheel. It was either a 1940 or 1941. This is kind of like the modern cars with the radio controls on the wheel. Amazing! You can check www.chevsofthe40s.com for ideas about Chevrolet radios and what some are worth, which will give you an idea about your Pontiac radio. Remember that in the 1930s most people did not have car radios, so anyone restoring a 1930s Pontiac will want this radio desperately. It is far more rare than a radio for a 1951 car. Even if it only has standard broadcast, which is all most do, it will be worth quite a bit. If the radio is hideous, it may take more work to restore it than it is worth, but it may still be worth it due to its rarity. Dials and knobs are made for the various Chevrolet radios of this period, and I assume that they are made for Pontiac radios as well. If the knobs are deteriorated, which I assume they will be if they are of anything other than bakelite, you or someone else can likely find reproductions if you search hard enough. You may also try checking eBay from time to time and see what various antique car radios are worth--perhaps even yours if it shows up. There are services that can be found on the internet that will restore car radios or convert them to FM (I do not recommend this unless you personally want it). If all they do is change out the tubes, then this is not worth your time. You can restore the electronics on your own. If they restore the entire chassis and dial, then this is what you want. Also, those who say that they replace all the tubes are not really doing you a service, as most of the tubes will likely still work in the radio and may be the original ones, which are somewhat hard to come by (Delco tubes in the ST style). Only tubes that malfunction should be replaced. Since the radio goes behind the dash, though, you may not be concerned with this. If the vibrator does not work, a solid state vibrator is a real plus as it does not fail like the old ones, but usually a solid state vibrator is particular about positive and negative ground systems. Unless the original vibrator is synchronous, it may be used on either positive or negative ground systems.

Personally, unless it was total junk, I would highly consider restoring it (if I had the money). If it was total junk (severely rusted and mangled), then I'd at least consider saving it for parts that may be salvaged.

Thomas