I think I found the Zenith porthole I've been looking for. It's a G2350Z and looks to be in excellent condition and within an hours drive of home. He wants $250 but I think he'll take $200. All the original knobs, back, finish etc. are in place and owner says he got it at an estate sale where the original owner had a lot of old radio gear and might have been a repairman and or collector. The seller was smart enough to NOT plug it in as well
So far so good. I'll be going out to see it on Monday.

My question is, What is the best way to transport it? I don't want to ruin the CRT if it's good. Can they be laid on their back or side with no damage? How much padding etc?

Thanks,
Ben

Others may have more ideas, but I would remove the knobs and lay it face down on heavy padding or foam. Also make sure the chassis is secure in the case. The previous owner, as he was in the hobby/business may have started or been working on it and left things undone...

I would not lay it face down; if there are any impurities in the CRT they may fall to the face and stick there (I have had this happen, and needed to bang on the CRT to knock them loose).

Lay the TV on its side on padding. Don't let anything near the neck of the CRT. Bungie it so it doesn't slide around.

Both my Portholes I transported with them laying on their side on an old blanket.

But I did make sure their chassis's had the hold down bolts in them.

No damage occurred when I did it this way.

Carl

I agree that I wouldn't choose face down unless there was a very good reason to and no other options.

Side seems OK, as mentioned the bolts and all of the CRT retaining hardware all have to be present and tight.

My preference would be to simply remove the chassis from the cabinet, and keep it in it's normal position, possibly putting it into a large box to keep it from sliding around in the vehicle. Then you can do just about anything you want to with the cabinet.