Typical Rebuild of RCA AP-1 underdash record player

Most of the units I receive from all over, are manufactured by ARC, but I do receive RCA’s, Melodies made in Japan and lots of private names such as Firestone, etc. One nice thing is they all are near exact knock offs of the original RCA-AP1 which makes it much easier for me to service. Kind of like a doctor, he or she only has two models to worry about.

An “as received” ARC. Note the broken suspension spring, stretched rear spring with no “shock” and the general condition of the chassis and attached components. This unit is in for a general refurb and conversion to stereo.

Note: Most units received for service have been sitting in a garage or a rusted out car for more than 20 years. This usually means the motor is frozen from lack of use, and the rubber idler wheel has deteriorated for the same reason.

Typical received chassis unmounted. It is dirty, (Common) Lateral buffers deteriorated and missing, Idler wheel deteriorated, motor is usually not stable in speed or noisy or not working at all.

Most units received have not been used for years and the lubriplate has turned to stiff glue like substance. Many are frozen tight. This unit will be completely refurbished like new.

After disassembly, the parts are dipped cleaned and plated as necessary. This chassis is ready for re-assembly..

Chassis re-assembled and ready for remount. Note the new springs and lateral buffers. The springs are necessary due to the fact they come to me stretched due to age. They are replaced with the exact spring used at the time. The lateral buffers are important because they keep the chassis from swinging side to side and bumping into the case during hard corners which will cause skipping. This unit does not have the drive wheel or motor installed yet. It will sport the new motor and freshly minted drive wheel before mounting.

Lights are mounted, motor in place and electronics for stereo. The chassis is then played continuously for 3 or four days to show any deficiencies that need attention. It is then mounted in its case and played another day before shipping. Lights are installed according to the customer. This one wanted blue LED’s.

If you want your under dash 45 rpm player repaired, refurbished, or converted to stereo, please feel free to contact us for more info. A phone call usually works best. We have been repairing and restoring these various brands for over 20 years. We have all parts in stock, but they are for our use only as they are no longer manufactured, even as a reproduction. The rubber drive wheels are sent to the factory for a complete rebuild not just a resurface. We do remanufacture some plastic parts such as the guides in the bottom to stack the records neatly when dropped.