Wonderbar help?

[David R.]

Spent a rainy day today doing one of my favorite things - knocking a few more things off of the "to-do" list on the '62. The factory Wonderbar does work, although it doesn't scan very well. I replaced the antenna cable front to back today and replaced the Pep Boys antenna with the correct unit, and when I clicked it on there was a moment or two of warm-up, a few crackles, and then the garage was filled with the Beach Boys "California Girls". Sounded fabulous. My question is this: I don't really want to remove the radio from the car and send it out if I don't have to . . . it plays well and tunes manually with no problem. It's just the "Wonderbar" feature that's a little wonky (imagine that). She will scan OK every once in a while. Is there anything I can do to "tune it up" (sorry - bad pun) without sending it off to a specialist? Would it be worth it to do so? Would you? Thanks.

[Pat H.]

Re: Wonderbar help?

Dave
I had my 59 wonderbar repaired twice. The first time it wasn't working at all and the second time the wonderbar would stop scanning. The last repair about 10 years ago, everything worked fine and just before the chapter meet this year it started to go wonky again. Fortunately, it did pick up one station during Op's check so the judge was okay with the operation. I've been told that if it doesn't stop scanning you may burn out the scanning motor. I'm not sure if that true, but when that happens I just turn it off. Is it worth fixing that problem, in my opinion probably not. Just listen to the music of the engine and the wind going through the car. Now that music to the ears.

[David R.]

Re: Wonderbar help?

Thanks, Pat - That's kind of the way I'm thinking. Not that many AM stations worth listening to,anyway I think I'll just leave it where it is. I can understand how a scanning mechanism stuck in the "on" position could burn out the motor . . . fortunately mine doesn't do that, at least not yet. Most of the time it won't scan at all, but occasionally it will. And I agree that the best music a Corvette can make doesn't come from the radio.

[Thomas H.]

Re: Wonderbar help?

David,

I just did a couple. A chapter friend's 62 and the one that will go in my 58. Chances are VERY good that several of the capacitors are well out of tolerance causing the internal seeking circuits to not function properly. The only real way to get it working again is to have all of the tubes checked, replace any out of tolerance parts and then align it.

Tom

[David R.]

Re: Wonderbar help?

Thanks, Tom. I think if it gets worse or stops working, a good rebuild will be in order. Any recommendations?

[Thomas H.]

Re: Wonderbar help?

There are several good, reputable guys that do this type of repair a lot. I tend to do my own stuff, have all of the equipment and like to tinker........ Try a search in the archives and I'm sure you will find several solid recommendations.

Tom

[John F.]

Re: Wonderbar help?

Call Jerry Rudbeck (864)363-0947. He rebuilt two for me and they worked perfectly with no hesitations. He will answer your questions.