To ask if cars that would have been on the road in 1960 would have had a wireless/radio?

[Hormonecure]

I would love someone to help me with this. Would a character be able to listen to music on a car radio in 1960? In England. Thanks x

Thank you! Lots of good ideas.

I remember a neighbour having an 8 track in the early 1970s, they used to sit in the car outside the house to listen.

I can't remember not having a car radio but I've certainly helped fit more than one so as someone up thread said it probably depends on the car and manufacturer.

I did find a link to a place that fits radios to classic cars, that might be worth a phone call.

www.vintagecarradio.co.uk/index.html

my dad had a traveler back then and there was no radio, lovely car though.

Try google
First factory fitted radio 1933 in UK
Volkswagen fitting them in 1939
Fm car radios introduced in 52
8 tracks the 60s

The man walking in front with a red flag sang requests for a fee.

First factory fitted radio 1933 in UK
Volkswagen fitting them in 1939

These devices would have been huge, cumbersome and expensive and rarities at that stage. The internet has existed in some form since the early 1970s, but wasn't common place in British homes til the mid to late 90s.

Most wouldn't have unless they were top of the range (my dad was a Vauxhall dealer in the 60's/70's).

I doubt it in a normal car, my cousin was the first to drive in the early 80s and in his banger he used a battery powered boom box 😂

I told my daughter the other day that you should turn the radio off when the engine is off as it drains the battery. I really thought it still did, as my daddy used to say that.

I guess I'm really showing my age (57)

I've just remembered something, most people wouldn't drill into their car for an aerial, you used to get a thing a bit like a sun strip that had the aerial in and stick it across the top of the windscreen. It would inevitable start to peel off.

The other thing is the aerial on the bonnet, you had to remember to put it down when you got out of the car so some git didn't break it off. If they did you replaced it with a metal coat hanger.

But again this is probably early 1970s.

I told my daughter the other day that you should turn the radio off when the engine is off as it drains the battery. I really thought it still did, as my daddy used to say that.

We had a carport in front of our house in Germany, we flattened many a battery that way the radio went off as you drove under it and wasn't switched off!

You're all brilliant, thanks.

It might have been me on here previously - I asked another history/plot question.

Believe me, when I say I spend a lot of time researching. But when you get the granular stuff, right at the end, your brain is just MUSH.

I don't think my parent's cars had them in the 60s, but definitely did in the 70s. I can remember having to listen to radio 2 & hating it! Interesting though, as I don't remember them suddenly getting a car & being excited about it having a radio.

I owned a 1959 standard vanguard which had the original valve radio (switch it on and wait to warm up)
My 1960s triumph herald didn’t have a radio or space to fit one

No heating
I used to have a 1968 Beetle and it had heating! The engine had to be running though.

(It also had a radio but clearly stuck in!)

We have a 1968 vw beetle. It has a radio but it was paid for as an extra (We have the original bill of sale) & was quite expensive. So radios were available in the 60's but not as standard. Seat belts were also an extra. As suggested, contact the owners club of the car you are talking about, many have forums now & love talking about their vehicles!

My family had a Singer Vogue and then a Forg Granada. The Ford had a radio but we only used it to listen to the top 20. The rest of the time we would all sing songs together! 😊

Quick Google search will give you the answer, by the 50s AM receivers were commonplace in cars with FM following. But they were add on features not ebveryone had them.

I remember 8 track players in my parents’ cars, they were not a particularly daring or new technology by the early 70s so yeah, they probably had music in cars in the 60s

Our 1958 Karmann Ghia has a radio.

Our car - a Triumph 2000 - when I was a child had been my Dad's before they were married in 1969. We had a separate battery operated radio we kept in the car - I remember because it was eventually destroyed having been badly packed in the roof rack on a camping holiday.

Some would some wouldn’t. So everyone is right!
There were plenty of places retro fitting them though even new cars would probably have had it retro fitted by Bert down the road