It seems that every time the thought of owning an original RHD tri-five has been permanently dismissed from my mind, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/172566325410 pops up for sale again. (Thanks to John for bringing this to my attention.) Same car at the same price as this time last year, though the AUD to USD exchange rate is less favorable for me than last year.
Anyway, this car's reappearance raised a few questions in my mind.
At some point in its life, the car was fitted with Bel Air wheel covers and dash trim. I have a RHD parts catalog from 1957, and it lists this dash trim, but only for Bel Airs. Likewise, the Australian version of the owner's manual http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/chevyowner/a57omindex.htm shows no dash trim or radio.
I'm inclined to think someone ordered the dash trim from the dealership's parts department early on, and installed it. Does anyone know of any original documentation that shows this trim being installed from the factory?
My main question is about radios. Obviously, the radio in this car was installed in recent decades.
My RHD catalog does not list a radio. Now, the RHD catalog only lists parts that differ from LHD cars - the "regular" US LHD catalog is used for most parts. So, either Australian tri-fives did not have a GM-supplied radio available, or they used the same radios as the American cars.
So, my question is: in the mid 1950s, did Australia have AM radio stations at the same frequencies as the North American AM radio stations - 540-1600 kHz? What other radio station bands were in common use in Australia? FM? Short wave? Other?
Anyway, this car's reappearance raised a few questions in my mind.
At some point in its life, the car was fitted with Bel Air wheel covers and dash trim. I have a RHD parts catalog from 1957, and it lists this dash trim, but only for Bel Airs. Likewise, the Australian version of the owner's manual http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/chevyowner/a57omindex.htm shows no dash trim or radio.
I'm inclined to think someone ordered the dash trim from the dealership's parts department early on, and installed it. Does anyone know of any original documentation that shows this trim being installed from the factory?
My main question is about radios. Obviously, the radio in this car was installed in recent decades.
My RHD catalog does not list a radio. Now, the RHD catalog only lists parts that differ from LHD cars - the "regular" US LHD catalog is used for most parts. So, either Australian tri-fives did not have a GM-supplied radio available, or they used the same radios as the American cars.
So, my question is: in the mid 1950s, did Australia have AM radio stations at the same frequencies as the North American AM radio stations - 540-1600 kHz? What other radio station bands were in common use in Australia? FM? Short wave? Other?