A while back, my friend Jay and I were doing yard work for his grandmother and she happened to be getting rid of stuff in her barn. She asked us if we saw anything we liked and as I browsed around, a nice looking cabinet caught my eye. When I opened it up, I was stunned to see it was a television set. I knew it had to be from the 50’s or 60’s because they used to be made by cabinet makers since they were rare and large. After some research I found out it was a 1954 RCA Victor Black and White T.V. She agreed to let me take it and restore it. I got started immediately. Here are some pictures from the restoration.

1954 RCA Victor Television

Original Condition

Cathode Ray Tube Front

CRT

Cathode Ray Tube

CRT Back

Chassis

Chassis

Plastic Bezel

Bezel with melted gasket

empty RCA Victor cabinet

Cleaned out cabinet

Cleaned Cabinet Front

Cleaned Cabinet Front

Melted gasket on beel

Removing melted gasket from bezel

cabinet came out beautifully

Doesn’t work yet but the cabinet came out beautifully

Hopefully I can find an expert who can help rebuild the chassis and reconnect it to the CRT to get this gem working again. For now it remains just an interesting conversation piece.