A fully restored working TR82C for £2.19 ?

[howard]

Hello all,

I bought a very distressed looking TR82C off eBay last weekend for a mere £2.19 plus £8 postage from mr99p, so called cos all his auctions start at 99p, and this didnt get much over that ! Not a lot really and I bought it to break up for spares thinking it would be a write-off .... but it isn't So over the weekend I'm going to restore this poor old thing, and I'll describe step by step how I go about restoring one of these wonderful old transistor radios back into near mint condition.

So what have I got ? Well its a mark 2 TR82C with the earphone socket and plastic BUSH letters and its a 1963 model with all OC series transistors. Good It has a very bent handle and it has probably been sitting in a public bar as it is smothered in nicotine ! Even the blue rexine cover is brown ! It's totally dead, of course But, in its favour, it is complete, even the purchase tax label is still there, the case isnt cracked or chipped, it has some light scratches on the front and back but nothing serious and all four mountings are fine

Do please jump in with questions or suggestions as the transition progresses over the weekend.

Howard

[Paul Stenning]

It sounds like a bargain! I suspect straigtening the handle will be one of the more tricky parts of the restoration.

[howard]

Hello,

And Im away, The first task is to take the chassis out of the case. With the back removed and the radio laid on its back on a soft towel I remove the dials on these using a small sink plunger .... they are available from Robert Dyas for £3.95 but its necessary first to trim off the outer lip so that it fits snugly on the face of the dial. I got good suction on the dial and then one or two upward tugs later off it came I think this is the best way of removing these dials, one can use bits of wire to lift them off but the rocking motion also required may damage the often perished rubber bushes on which the variable capacitors are mounted, or even damage the ball bearing cages at the top or bottom of the variable capacitor. Then the pointer was removed, lifting and twisting it gently holding onto the inner ends. The radio was then turned over onto its front on to a soft thick towel and the four mounting bolts removed, and the rather dirty chassis was then lifted out. So far so good

Howard

[howard]

Hello again,

Going well here ...... before cleaning the case, I usually remove the handle, the top moulding that goes around the push buttons and volume and on/off/tone wheels, the BUSH letters and any other loose bits like the purchase tax plate in order to secure it properly later and the oblong piece of thick card that goes under the battery (the latter doesnt like getting wet !).

Removing the handle was tricky on this one, With one of the spring clips I shoved the blade of a small screwdriver under the piece of the clip that fits round the end of the handle pin and then prised it off and that worked, the other didnt so I prised the whole clip off ... I'll have to straighten it later.

Removal of the top plastic moulding entailed removal of the two screws holding it place ... look out for the tiny spacer washers !

Removing the plastic letters is simple. Working from inside the radio pull back the black felt behind the letter 'B' to reveal its pins. I just tapped the ends of the letter pins with a small punch to dislodge them slightly, and then knocked them right out with a thin nail, a little way each side at a time (punch one side too hard and the letter will snap). The metal letters on these are similar, just lift the long metal pins and then gently tap them out.

Sometimes I take the front off these radios as well especially if the chrome trims around the edges of the rexine need replacing cos theyre rusty but these are OK. That is tricky, the middle screws securing the front are under the lower mountings clips and awkward to get at. Dont ever attempt to remove the mounting clips unless you cut them off cos the plastic mountings will break !

And now to start cleaning and polishing all the parts.

Howard

[howard]

Hello again,

All clean now. What I use to clean these radios with is B&Q carpet and upholstery multipurpose stain remover, a spray bottle of plain water to rinse off the cleaner and a toothbrush, a wet rag and loads of paper towels. I occasionally use B&Qs glue, chewing gum and sticky stuff remover should there be any sticky labels to remove.

I did the back panel, the handle and top moulding first, just sprayed the surface with the cleaner, rubbed it all over by hand left it 3 minutes while using the toothbrush to clean out the slats at the top of the rear panel. The inside of the rear panel I did more carefully with a wet paper towel and cleaner so not to soak the battery label.

I did the main part of the case in the same way, and I always tape over the speaker slats and the hole for the tuning dial, to stop loads of water getting inside, cos that piece of hardboard which sits behind the speaker soaks up water like a sponge so I avoid getting it wet. When I rinsed off the outside of the case I held the case upside down and sprayed upwards so not to soak the rexine.

The rexine I again cleaned with the cleaner, but tried not to get it too wet. Once damp, if there are any specks of paint on the rexine as was the case with this radio now is the time to gently brush them off with ones fingernail. Strangely the rexine changes colour when damp but not to worry, it quickly returns to its original colour when dry.

The dial came up like new with just the cleaner and a scrub around the rim with the toothbrush.

I have straightened the handle, best way is to turn it upside down and to rest the top of the metal part on a half inch thick piece of wood, and then to press down quite hard. That does it, and then if it needs to be pulled outwards, again rest it on the wood and pull.

Im leaving it all to dry overnight now before polishing it tomorrow. Only two items of minor concern so far, the battery sponge on the rear panel was rotten so I'll have to replace that, and also the letter 'U' has lost its silver finish so Im going to cheat as I have a spare one

Howard

[Paul Stenning]

Good progress so far. Once it's finished I'll move this thread to Success Stories (assuming of course that it's a success! ).

One quick general question - is that narrow table/board your working area or is it just where you are taking the photos?

[howard]

Hello Paul and all,

I use Turtle Wax 'Safe Cut' to polish out any minor scratches, which is like Tcut but nowhere near as abrasive. I just apply a bit of this to a piece of cotton cloth and polish the surface using small circular sweeps and then finish off with some Mr Sheen furniture polish. If the chrome trims are pitted (and these werent) I'd polish them with Autosol chrome polish. The rexine I brightened up with Simoniz Cockpit Shine (yes I used to restore cars !) cos it had some shiny patches and now its all shiny. If it had been matt I would have used the gentler STP Son of a Gun polish.

I got it working OK, the waveband switch was caked up in nicotine so I cleaned that with some switch cleaner. The variable capacitor was very noisy so I slackened off the adjuster screw and now its quiet. I brushed away all the dust inside with a paint brush and the cleaned the volume, on/off and push buttons with a toothbrush and cleaner and also some of the internal components.

Reassembly was straightforward, these are easy ! I always rub a little WD40 on the variable capacitor spindle so its easier to remove the dial in the future.

And below are pics of my finished £2.19 radio. It has taken me 8 hours to do and the only spare part I needed was a letter 'U' and she really is a good one, hardly a mark on her ! And she works well too, currently tuned to County Sound radio in Guildford playing Elvis Presleys JailHouse Rock !
Many thanks mr99p I daresay there will now be more competition for the next 99p Bush TR82C radio on eBay ......

Howard

[paulsherwin]

It certainly looks great now. I'm most impressed by the tuning dial, which shows no signs of the usual cloudiness and discolouration. Maybe it's been sitting on a shelf in a pub as 'set dressing' for many years, and this has limited the UV exposure.

Congratulations on a fine job.

Best regards, Paul

[howard]

Hello Paul,

It's amazing, the dial is like new with no hint of cloudiness ! You're probably right, if its been in a dingy public bar for years then light hasnt affected it.

These radios do get used as 'set dressing', the BBC use them a lot, theres even one in the kitchen of the Queen Vic on Eastenders. Much better though not just to look at them but to hear them working well

Howard

[GJR 11L]

Howard,
I'm quite envious now, my most recent TR82 (eBay, £9.99) was in need of much more work than this lovely bargain of yours.
As an aside and o/t I know, but "Eastenders" is a good place to see older radio sets. Did you know, for example, that Pauline Fowler has a red/gold Hacker VHF Herald stashed on top of her wardrobe and seen briefly some time ago during a storyline involving someone looking for something that had become lost up there!
Back to the TR82. I usually use 2 flat pieces of vinyl to pull the tuning dial cover from its spindle, I have only 1 set whose tuning gang mounts are still flexible, most seem to become hard with age and will disintegrate when trying to remove them. Some perish and soften, but either way I replace the little blighters with tiny wiring grommets. It's a pain to do, especially with a VTR103 where the sleeve that holds the FM tuning cord onto the spindle gets in the way and never wants to come off! But, if we wanted it easy, I guess we'd all go to the Tesco and buy a replica. Not!
You have inspired me to get some work done on my VTR103, thanks for that!

[howard]

Hello Paul,

Ive just spotted your question about the pics .... its a pine bench that the radio is perched on, situated next to my PC and camera so just a convenient place to take the pics. I work at a large pine table .... and generally anywhere thats not cluttered up with radios

Howard

[Station X]

Well Done Howard.

I must admit that when I restore a radio I start with the electronics. I don't generally give the cabinets the attention they deserve, as my main aim it to get the set working.

Starting with the cabinet seems like a good idea. Do the hard bit first, then you won't lose interest so easily. I think the 80/20 rule applies to vintage radio restoration. The last 20% of the work takes up 80% of the time.

Graham.

[howard]

Hello Phil,

I'm glad I have inspired you to get on with your VTR103, I actually received a VTR103 this morning which is the first one Ive bought that isnt badly damaged ! In fact all it needs is a light clean. This VHF version definitely sounds a lot better than the MW/LW TR82. Ive got a couple of VTR103s in mid restoration myself but both need considerably more work than mr99p !

The variable capacitor mountings do perish on these, more so Ive found on the later ones. On a couple I bought they had disintegrated completely and the variable capacitor has been damaged irrepairably (and shorted out) after colliding with the chassis. I replace the mountings in exactly the same way as you do, with 1/4" rubber grommets from Halfords for 99p.

Its good to see old radios on the telly, Im sure it inspires some wealthy folk to go out and buy one themselves to perch on their restored 1960s G Plan sideboards and I gather that in London antique and bric a brac shops TR82s in good condition sell for well over £100 apiece ....

Errrr, no, dont treat yourself to a TR82/97 ! Theyre all sold out at Comet and Tescos etc now anyway

Howard

[howard]

Hello Graham,

The TR82s rarely need much attention to their electronics, theyre good robust old radios, ever so easy to work on and even an amateur like me can fix one .... usually. This one took just 30 minutes to get going again, but over 7 hours was spent on the case. For me its just as satisfying to restore the case as it is to get them working again cos once theyre fully restored they really are lovely radios.

Howard

[brunel]

Originally Posted by howard

Hello Paul and all,
"The variable capacitor was very noisy so I slackened off the adjuster screw and now its quiet."

On my TR82B I found the bearing grease on the tuning cap. was almost solid, I put a drop of penetrating fluid on the front ball bearings to loosen it, removed the residue with a cotton bud, and put a dab of fresh grease on the bearings.
To cure the rotation noise, a drop of switch cleaner on the centre rotor "earthing" spring and another drop of a suitable lubricant on the rear rotor mounting.

Regards
brunel

[Andrew c]

Hi All yes these TR82s are great radios to restore having done one myself. however this one does look better then mine.nice one Howard
Andy