Hello all, I am new to the site but have visited it a few times in the past and have enjoyed the wealth of knowledge here.

Recently I found a Zenith 12s267 and a local thrift store and I am not sure if I should cry or jump for joy as you will see if I can pics to post.

I have not plugged it in for obvious reasons and I cleaned a squirrel or rats nest out of it. I would like to have it restored so any help or comments I appreciate.

Brace yourself it looks rough...

It will cost a lot of money to "have it restored". Its in very poor condition and needs new veneer and lots of other sorting.

The cabinet alone would be many hundreds of £s over here (at > £200/day) and then the electronics? Maybe as much again +. The chassis looks red rust so that really is a major strip to put right and even worse if its the same underneath.

Then there are missing and damaged parts including the speaker which could be difficult to source and expensive.

To me its not worth it unless you can take it on yourself. Its not a radio for a beginner in cabinet work or electronics though.

Gary

it isn't beyond restoration, as Radio Fixer mentioned it will take experience and I will add patience! A very desired set once restored! I have restored worse.

As rare and collectable as the 12S267 is, your set is in really nasty condition. I think it's beyond restoration, more like a lost cause. You'd be better off spending you money and investing your time in restoring an antique radio that holds more promise then that set. I think for the money that it will take to properly restore that set, you could go out and buy the same model in really nice condition from some radio collector or when one pops up on Ebay.

Here's one that's on Ebay right now. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1930-s-Zenith- ... SwU8JZqbWl

Some that have sold on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... 5573.m1684

The dial pointer can bring $45 on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Radio-S ... 7675.l2557

Here's what a dial escutcheon can bring on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Escutch ... 7675.l2557

Here's what the knobs can fetch on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Z ... s&_sacat=0

Here's what the glass could bring. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Radio-D ... Sw09xZ6TqN

If you can carefully extract the control scales, you could get around $10 to $15 for each on Ebay.

Check to see if your set has a 6T5 tuning eye tube. If it does, and it's moderate to good in illumination, you could easily get around $75 to $100 for it. Here's a mint one that sold for $345 on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Radio-T ... SwPIhZ~87d If it's a bad 6T5, then you'd probably get around $20 for it.

Now, I don't know how much money you have in this set but you can really make some good money parting it out and selling the parts. So, Good Luck at whatever you decide to do with that radio but if you do decide to part it out and sell the parts, have fun. Also this is what you could do to the cabinet when your done parting it out.


Bonfire at the Kutztown antique radio swap meet where empty radio cabinets go to die.

If this set's condition represented that of TV character Steve Austin, he would have ended up as the Twenty Five Million Dollar Man.

Virtually anything, in any condition, can be rebuilt. In an interview about his antique car collection, Jay Leno described restoring a Duesenberg, the chassis for which had been buried for decades under a chicken coop.

This sort of operation is more akin to manufacturing than restoration.

If you can do most of the work yourself it's possible to bring that back from the dead. Vince (radiopicker) is bringing/brought back a basket case that may inspire you:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=303606

I might try to find another chassis if that one is too far gone. I can't tell if part of the dial is rusted at the bottom or not in the pictures. If not they make decals for those dial scales (Radio Daze).

No doubt it will take a lot of work, and if you think you're in over your head you can part it out like Indiana said, but I'd try to find a buyer for it complete first..... there might be someone who'd like to restore this if you decide to pass.

Good Luck!

Your radio appears to have spent a good amount of time in a very damp environment judging from the condition of the cabinet and the chassis. I'm sure the radio can be restored, but at what cost. The radio would be judged in my opinion, a parts set as there are parts such as the speaker missing. The moisture can also do serious damage to things like the power transformer, coils and other associated parts such as the tuning drive motor. I restored a 12S267 for a friend of mine a few years ago and they are nice sets once they have been reconditioned. Fortunately the radio I restored lived in a house in Southern California for most of its life so it only needed an electrical restore. Harry

Let it die, sell some of the parts on Ebay and look for a cleaner radio that you won't be married too like the one you have.

Consoles from the 30's are common and usually cheap. Don't waste your time and money on this sorry wreck. Wait a couple of days and look elsewhere. Craigslist often has consoles. My Atwater Kent 559 was on Craigs for a month for $50 until I finally bought it. It even came with a live mouse inside.

If you are close to North Carolina I'll restore it for you, my email is larrydotdowell47atgmail.com.

Lots of parts there, for when you find another one.

very challenging..HOWEVER, what I do NOT see is the zebrawood split on the pillars or the top shoulder curves, ...like most have. That alone is amazing, considering the condition. Not sure how bad the chevron veneers are though.... All the other veneers can easily be replaced, and the bottom base wood too... I would probably save what I could from the chassis, including the 6T5, and adios it on ebay..then find another chassis there. But you never know what will off with some scrubbing and hard work, so don't give up easily, as this is a top dog model Zenith when restored. Botton line is, great find, try, try try...

oops..after further review, the top shoulder veneer is messed up.

Take it from those here who are saying it's a lost cause. They're right. Part it out, sell those parts on Ebay, and buy something that will not turn into a lifetime project that will never be right again. The speaker and all the acoustic adapter hardware is missing, and that alone will set you back some serious coin. The dial is clearly shot, and I don't know of anyone who restores those. Given that it's obviously sat in a wet environment for years and has had animals living in it, there's all kinds of other issues to be considered around the health of delicate coils and transformers. I have a 12S267 myself that I restored. But it was in excellent original condition. Still, it needed a new power transformer and had issues with the drive motor and intermittent tube sockets. Even a well preserved one can be challenging, and I can't begin to imagine the number of issues this one would have.

If you want to, restoring it is possible. Check out this thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=269342

Although not impossible, it would not be easy, as your radio is missing parts. RadioDaze does make reproduction waterslide graphics for the radio dial. http://www.radiodaze.com/dial-scale-decals/

Hello all,

Thanks for viewing my post and giving advice on the Zenith 12s267. After reading the majority of the posts it is almost like watching "Ole Yeller" and not wanting to put it "down" . I did get a good chuckle at Indianas bonfire pic for the cabinet.

I do have the the speaker, which needs a new cone, not sure if speaker works....The acoustic adapter is in bad shape also. I have not connected the speaker to the chassis and powered up due to not having a variac to slowly bring it around.

I purchased the 12s267or $30.00 at a thrift store here in western, KY and have not seen another one around. I know I can make some ebay money on parts, but I still can't kick the thought of trying to get it fixed if its not too expensive

Also the 6T5 tube is gone and was replaced by a 6U5 so that took some luster away : ) I have attached some more pics along with one of the chassis underside, not a good pic due to the shadow but I plan on taking a better one. The bezel and glass is in good shape despite the pic due to being filthy and spider webs.


Kidd

Well, if you do decide to sell the parts, be sure to include the mounting screws when you sell that dial escutcheon. It's hard to install a dial escutcheon without screws.

There's no doubt that is a desirable model, and that it is possible for someone to restore it, but that would be a labor of love. If you aren't able to do the work yourself, it could easily cost well over $1,000 to have the cabinet professionally rebuilt, reveneered and refinished to look like new. Add another $500 to $750 for a professional restoration of the chassis and a couple hundred for the speaker.

There's a lot of rust on the pole piece. I can't recall if you can separate the pole piece from the top plate on that speaker. If not, there's no way to get into the gap to remove that rust, and the magnet system will be useless because you won't be able to keep the vc from rubbing. Just getting speakers like these restored these days seems to be very difficult, as most of the businesses that do this work have shut down. The more I see of this, the stronger I believe this radio should just become an organ donor, and the OP should just put the money in something that can be realistically restored without a lifetime commitment. There's plenty of value in the parts, but as a whole, that thing is a complete disaster.

LarryAD has offered to restore it.
He does nice work! I've seen it.

He is good at resurrecting the near dead.

I'm not sure what he wants for his services, but it might be worth it.

The pole piece can be removed on that speaker. The 4 bolts allow removal of it and the field coil.
The speaker was manufactured by Operadio/Dukane.

-Steve