Author: Jeff

ConcoursMustang.com

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems 1962-69

General History
When Reverberators first came out, or at least when I was first aware of them, it was the early 60's and I was in High School. Now what could have been more cool than "making the rounds" (wording prior to "Cruising"), with your favorite AM radio station "reverberating" for all to hear - particularly in a Convertible. However, "back then", most Convertibles didn't have provisions for Rear Seat Speakers (which are required for the reverberation effect). Mine was even more of a challenge as it wasn't "just a Convertible", but a 1957 Ford Retractable. After minor modifications to the inner rear quarter structure (3/16" steel) using continuous drill bit holes to make a larger one (I didn't have hole saws then), I finally had openings to receive the magnets for the two 4" speakers.
In the Summer of 1963, I purchased a Motorola R200 Vibrasonic Reverberator and installed it. Over the next year and a half or so, I made minor customizing changes to the '57 (nothing too drastic that I couldn't change back to original "down the road"). Well, "down the road" came in 1976. Ironically, this was the same time that I purchased my 1966 Mustang (actually so I'd have another "fun car" to drive while restoring the '57). Of course, one of the "non-original" items that I removed from the '57 was the Reverberator. Not wanting to throw it away, or just set it on the shelf, I installed it in my Mustang.
After acquiring my Mustang, I did what I had done with the '57 (and all of the other cars that I subsequently purchased), and began acquiring all of the original Ford literature, etc. that I could that pertained to my '66. Imagine my surprise when I found that Ford offered a Reverberator ("Studiosonic Sound System" in Ford's language) as an Accessory in 1966, and it was made for Ford by Motorola. Over the following 40 years, I have acquired a considerable amount literature, along with knowledge about not only the aforementioned cars along with their available Options and Accessories, but also for the additional ones we have purchased and own, including my 1967 Mustang Convertible.
Ford Specific
The earliest I have been able to document Ford's offering a Reverberator ("Studiosonic Sound System") is 1962 (Ford Part # C2AZ-18875-B). What is interesting about the 1962 unit (RV2F) is that it is not listed in my 1962 "Complete Selection of Accessories" (dated 1961), in my January 1962 "Ford Ready Reference Parts Book", nor in my 1962 Ford Master Parts Catalog (MPC), dated January of 1962. Thus, it must have been added "later in the year" to the "accessory line". To add to the confusion, is the fact that the first Ford specific Motorola Reverberator Service Manual that I have found (dated January 1963), shows that the kit for 1962 Fords is Part # C20Z-18875-C. The January 1963 Ford OSI book confirms this, showing that the C2AZ-18875-B was "Replaced By" C20Z-18875-C. Ford continued to offer this (although with different Part Numbers) until 1969 for sure, and I believe in 1970 (although I do not have a 1970 Accessory Catalog to confirm this).
The 1962-1966 units were all basically the same, using the Motorola R200 Vibrasonic unit, with the main difference being that each year had a wiring harness that was appropriate for that year Ford. The 1967 and up units were of a total different design, being about 1/4 the size of the previous year units, and totally enclosed in a metal case. I believe that the reason for the drastic reduction in size is the elimination of the mechanical spring assembly inside the unit which created the reverberation effect and replacing it with newer electronics (note the addition of a second transistor in the attached pictures of 1968 and 1969 units). As I am not that familiar with the actual electronics or details of the later "Studiosonic" units, the remainder of this article will deal only with the 1962-66 units, and reference to the later units by pictures and text is for general information only.
The 1962-66 Studiosonic Systems were all manufactured for Ford by Motorola, using its R200 Vibrasonic unit. The main difference between the "aftermarket" and the Ford version was that instead of a "generic" brown multi-wire harness and plastic chrome "on/off/fader" control knob with bracket, the Ford units (as noted previously) had wiring harnesses tailored to each model year, and control knobs (with no bracket) that emulated Ford control knobs of the early 60's (black ribbed plastic with a chrome disk insert). In addition, the aftermarket units all had "Motorola" and a Motorola Model number stamped into the metal portion of the enclosure, while the Ford units had either "RV2F, RV4F, RV4D, or RV6F" stamped into the metal side portion of the enclosure, along with a multi-digit (non-Ford) Part Number. I, personally, have never seen an "RV3D or F", nor an "RV5D or F" stamped into a unit, although it is of course possible they may exist.
Another "quirk" that I have noticed over the years is that while all of the aftermarket Motorola units that I have come across, have had metal sides and bottoms with a black cardboard top, I have seen Ford RV4 units with both cardboard and metal tops. I have never seen an RV6 unit with other than a black cardboard top, but once again, they may also exist with a metal top.
Also of interest is how Ford named this system through the years ; 1962 -1964 it was "Studiosonic (one word) Sound System" ; 1965-1966 it was "Studio Sonic (two words) Sound System" ; and in 1967-1969 it became "Studio-sonic (hyphenated) Sound System".
In order to take a closer look at the "Studiosonic Sound System" units, a "year by year" breakdown follows :
1962
As noted earlier, this is the first year that I have found any information of the appearance of the Ford "Studiosonic Sound System". Interestingly, it does not appear in the "1962 Accessories" flyer (dated 1961), nor in the 1962 MPC. Thus, the 1962 unit was either a "mid" or "late" year introduction. It is noted in the Motorola Service Manual as Ford Part # C20Z-18875-C (which, as noted above, actually replaced C2AZ-18875-B). According to the Service Manual, this was furnished as a "Kit" which included the "RV2F" (the Ford version of the R200) reverberation unit, wiring harnesses tailored to the 1962 Fords, a Ford 8 ohm speaker, a Ford speaker grille, and necessary mounting hardware. Ford's "Suggested List Price" (SLP) was $29.95.
1963
The 1963 Accessory foldout brochure shows that the 1962 Kit (C20Z-18875-C) was carried over for the 1963 Model Year, and used, at least for a time, in the 1963 Ford Models. The 1963 MPC, dated January of 1963 also confirms this. At some time between January 1963 and January of 1964, the 1962-63 Kit became C20Z-18875-D. Interestingly, the C20Z-18875-D was not shown as "NR" (Not Replaced) until sometime between July 1965 and July, 1966. The SLP was still noted as $29.95.
1964
For 1964, the Ford Accessory Brochure shows the "Studiosonic Sound System" as Part # C4AZ-18875-A. The Kit still included the 8 ohm speaker and speaker grille, but now, in addition, it also included a "Foot Operated Switch" to turn the rear speaker reverberation effect "On and Off". This switch is identical to the headlight dimmer switch; as a matter of fact, in the 1964 MPC under "Headlight Dimmer Switch" (Part # C0TF-13A024-A) is the notation "Also used for reverberation type rear seat speaker switch". This switch was in addition to the dash mounted control switch.
Along with Ford's new part number, Motorola also issued a new Service Manual (dated October, 1963). The Service Manual was designated "RV4F", and was shown for "both 1963 and 1964" Ford Models. As this manual came out during the 1964 Model Year, its use for 1963 models must have been as an "optional choice", as the C20Z unit is not shown in the January 1964 OSI as either "NR" nor "RB"; the only real differences being that the C4AZ unit was now designated (and likewise stamped), "RV4F", and it included the Foot Operated switch. Interestingly, the November, 1963 Ford Suggested List Prices book lists all three, the C20Z-18875-C, the C20Z-18875-D and the C4AZ-18875-A, at $29.95 each.
Both the C20Z and C4AZ Kits are shown as "NR" in the July 1966 OSI.
1965
Several interesting things occurred in 1965, besides the "Studiosonic Sound System" Part # now being C5AZ-18875-E. The 1965 Accessory Catalog lists this part number along with its description, for a price of $22.95 (neither the 1963 nor the 1964 Accessory brochures included prices). The last sentence of the description notes "Rear seat speaker is extra cost". Following the part number and price for the Kit, a "Foot Operated Switch" is listed (Part # C58Z-18876-A) for $3.75.. Note that this is listed incorrectly (misinterpretation of dictaphone ?); It should have been noted as C5AZ-18876-A, as confirmed in the 1965 MPC. So thus, the speaker, speaker grille and the Foot Operated Switch were only included in the C4AZ Kit; for subsequent Kits, they were "extras", explaining the reduced cost.
Another interesting thing for 1965, is that even though the C5AZ "Studiosonic Sound System" is shown in the 1965 MPC as applicable to "Full Size, Fairlanes, Mustangs and Falcons", there is an additional listing for a C5ZZ-18875-A "Studiosonic Sound System" for Mustangs, "Except Model 76". I have never seen this unit, nor any additional information concerning it.
Of interest here in regard to the C5ZZ system, is that in the July 1967 OSI, it is shown as "RB" the C5AZ system, and in the same 1967 OSI, the C5AZ system is shown as "NR". Thus, the C5ZZ system being "RB" must have occurred between July 1966 and July of 1967. The November, 1966 SLP book still lists the C5AZ-18875-E Kit, but now at a SLP of $26.80.
Once again, with the new Ford Part number, Motorola issued a new Service Manual dated October 1964. The previous "RV4F" unit is now designated either "RV4D" or "RV4D-NS". Motorola added the "-NS" designation to note that this Kit had "No Speaker". Presumably, this coincides with Ford's description that the Rear Speaker was not included, but available "at extra cost". However, this does not explain the "RV4D" (with speaker) being available, since the only C5AZ part number shown is the "-E". Possibly, the RV4D Kit was for the C5ZZ-18875-A part number ?
In any case, the C5ZZ Kit is shown as being "RB" the C5AZ unit in the July 1966 OSI, and the C5AZ Kit is shown as "NR" in the July 1967 OSI.
1966
The 1966 Accessory Catalog shows that the "Studiosonic Sound System: for all models is Part Number C6AZ-18875-A, and is now listed for $27.95. The description does not mention a speaker being included; however, just below the part number and price, is a rectangular red box which says "Note : See your Ford Dealer for custom rear seat speakers and their specific model application". I believe that the 1965 offering hinted toward this, as with so many Models being available (Full Size Ford, Fairlane, Falcon, Mustang, etc.), a "universal" rear speaker was no longer applicable. A look at the list of Rear Speakers noted in the 1966 MPC and the 1960-68 MPC, shows at least 8 different ones, including "Standard", Delux", and ones for specific applications.
While the 1966 Accessory Catalog does not include a separate listing for the "Foot Operated Switch" (Part # C5AZ-18876-A), the 1966 MPC did still list it for "reverberator application". As a matter of fact, the C5AZ Foot Operated Switch was still available in 1969, and was finally "NR" sometime between 1969 and 1972.
Once again, with the new Ford Part Number, Motorola issued a new publication. However, this time, instead of a completely new Service Manual, they issued a "Supplement" to the RV4D Manual, noting that the new model, "RV6F" is "...designed for custom installation in various 1965 and 1966 Ford Motor Company Models which have a previously installed radio...", and "...is electrically the same as Model RV4D".
The C6AZ "Studiosonic Sound System" was shown as "NR" in the July, 1968 OSI.
1967- 69
As noted at the beginning of this Post, I have little detailed information, and even less personal knowledge, in regard to the 1967 and "up" Studiosonic Sound Systems". As such, I am treating them collectively in order to at least pass on some basic information and observations.
The Ford part numbers for the 1967-69 units were C7AZ-18875-E, C8AZ-18875-E and C9AZ-18875-A respectively.
The 1967 and 1968 units are both shown in their respective year Accessory Catalogs. The 1967 system is listed for $26.80, while the 1968 catalog does not list any prices.
While I do not have any Accessory Catalogs beyond 1968 (until the 80's), I would think that the 1969 unit was shown in the 1969 Accessory Catalog as I have included pictures of a 1969 unit, in its original box. All three (1967-69) were finally designated "NR" sometime between July 1974 and July 1976. Major points of the above “year by year” descriptions are summarized in the following spread sheet.

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

ConcoursMustang.com

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

1965 Paint Colors

Page #

Page #

R200 Front

R200 Rear

Pictures of Switch Bracket furnished
with Motorola R200

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

ConcoursMustang.com

1965 Paint Colors

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

Page #

Page #

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

ConcoursMustang.com

1965 Paint Colors

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

Page #

Page #

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

1963 Accessory Brochure

1964 Accessory Brochure

ConcoursMustang.com

1965 Paint Colors

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

Page #

Page #

C4AZ-18875-A (RV4F - 1964) - Metal Top

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

C4AZ-18875-A (RV4F - 1964) -Cardboard Top

ConcoursMustang.com

1965 Paint Colors

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

Page #

Page #

1965 Accessory Catalog

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

ConcoursMustang.com

1965 Paint Colors

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

Page #

Page #

C5AZ-18875-E (RV4D-NS - 1965)

1966 Accessory Catalog

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

ConcoursMustang.com

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

1965 Paint Colors

Page #

Page #

Installation Diagram for 1965-66 Mustangs

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

ConcoursMustang.com

1965 Paint Colors

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

Page #

Page #

Nov 1966 Parts and Merchandising News

1968 Accessory Catalog

1967 Accessory Catalog

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

ConcoursMustang.com

1965 Paint Colors

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

Page #

Page #

C8AZ-18875-E (1968)

Installation Diagram for 1967-68 Mustangs

C9AZ-18875-E (1969)

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

ConcoursMustang.com

Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems

1965 Paint Colors

Page #

Page #

Should anyone have any documentation which would replace the question marks (?) in the above spread sheet, please contact the author, Bob McKee, through the Private Message system (PM) on this site- Screen Name -196667Bob

This document, pictures, and descriptions contained within are the property of Bob McKee 2017. It is attended for private use and may not be transferred, reproduced, or sold by others without written permission. Permission has been granted to ConcoursMustang.com for its publication. All rights reserved by its creator.

Since we are talking about the attachments right now, I thought I'd go look at the attachments on your first draft of the Article. Looks like you were ahead of me, as you have already provided captions to some of the "groupings" of the pictures (hopefully you can add similar to the "Catalog Cuts" and the "Service Manual sheets"). Looks like I only have a couple of comments;
the first sheet of the Motorola R200 Service Manual was intended to follow the 6 pictures related to the R200.
.
Finally, now don't get upset, after over 40 years, I recently came across a 1963 Ford foldout Accessory brochure. After getting it, I realized that I may have missed it over the years as it is so different than my others. My 1957,58,59 and 60 versions are all small stapled booklets; the 1962 and 1964's are large color foldouts; and the 1965.66,67 and 68's are 8-1/2 x 11 and larger color brochures. The 1963 that I recently obtained is a 3 color foldout that is only 3" x 6", and opens up to 11-3/4" x 18-1/2".
The good thing, is that it does show the Studiosonic Sound System for 1963 (which as I had noted in the text for 1963, was a carryover of the C2, 1962 version.

In order to complete this History of 1962-1969 Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems, I have attached the following "Visual Aids" on the following pages

Next, my basic intent for this Article was to first give a little "background" (general history) of Reverberators, then "Ford specific" applications in general, and then the year by year details. To that end, in reviewing "Draft D", I have done several things :
1) On the first page of the Article, I have added two major headings ; "General History" (which could also be noted "Background" if you think that would be better), and "Ford Specific". I have also noted where, and in what order pictures of everything pertaining to the R200 should be placed. In addition, I have added two words which I think should be added to the text for clarity. In order to avoid confusion, besides marking these items in red on the first page, I have also included a copy of just the first page text through the first paragraph of "Ford Specific" to more clearly show how I envision this.
2) On pages 2 through 4, I added captions for pictures 1 and 2, added "1963" on page 4 under the sub-heading "1965", and at the end of each year sub-section, added a list of the picture numbers to be included, in the order noted, in order to keep with the "theme" of keeping all of the information pertaining to a specific year , together. Note that this includes pictures of each Accessory brochure/catalog, pictures of the actual units (where available), picture of the first page of the applicable Motorola Service Manual, and wiring diagrams specific to Mustangs. For these pages, I just red-lined copies of your draft Article pages.
3) For page 5, I followed the same procedure in regard to the pictures, plus removed the last part of the last sentence on page 5 that referred to an "item currently on Ebay" (I totally agree with you on this). In addition, I added a sentence (handwritten in red at the bottom of page 5) following "box" which I should have included initially. I also added a one sentence paragraph (shown on a separate sheet) that "leads into" the summary spreadsheet, which should be placed after this paragraph.
4) On page 6 of the Article, the spreadsheet (picture 15), I added the heading ("Summary of Ford Studiosonic Sound Systems - 1962 to 1969), and appropriate information for 1969, in order to agree with the Title of our Article. Also, as long as I was making a change to the spreadsheet, I added 3 more columns (Speaker, Foot Switch and SLP) in order to make it a more complete summary.
5) Pages 7, 8, and 9 of Article (attachments) - no changes except noting in Article text as to where to place them.
6) Pages 10 and 11 of Article (attachments) - These are all catalog cuts from the Accessory brochures/catalogs. I have added captions to each showing the year and if brochure or catalog. Note that for some reason, the 1967 Accessory Catalog cut (which I note as picture #33) didn't make it to this version "D" of the Article. My guess is that I confused you by including picture # 27, which is actually from the xxx, 1966 Ford Parts and Service Marketing booklet. I included this as I do not have, or have a picture of, an actual 1967 unit with a C7 stamp on it, and this shows it. As I noted in the red-lined page 5, this should follow the 1967 accessory Catalog cut # 33.
I just realized that I forgot to fill in the "X's" that I noted in item 6) of the email I just sent you with the Revisions. I put the "X's" there so that I wouldn't forget to pull my references and fill in the date. Well obviously I forgot anyway. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but when I pulled by Parts and Service Marketing Action Guides and started going through them, I couldn't find the "cut" that I included. Then it dawned on me; it was in my Parts and Merchandising News, not the Marketing booklets. The minor result is that in item 6) of my email to you it should have said "Nov 1966 Parts and Merchandising News", not "Parts and Service Marketing". The MAJOR result though is that I put the incorrect caption on picture # 27. It should say " NOV 1966 Ford Parts and Service Merchandising News". Please correct my mistake.
7) Page 12 of Article (attachments 31 and 32) - No changes except where to place them as noted in red-lined page 5 of Article.
8) Finally, and here I am going to need your help, all of the 33 attachments are pictures that I have taken or scanned, of items that I own, except the four items shown in pictures # 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14. These pictures I "borrowed" from 4 different listings from 2 Sellers on Ebay. None of the 4 listings had any statements in regard to copyrights, copying of pictures, property of pictures, etc. Based on this, is it in conflict with the statement that you have included at the bottom of each page in regard to the pictures (which implies "all") being my "property" ?

3/2017
Page 2 - On the second picture down on the right hand side, the caption should be "R200 REAR"
Page 4 - On the right hand column, at the end of the "1964" paragraph, add the following sentence ; "This switch was in addition to the dash mounted control switch" (quotation marks not to be included in Article).
Also on this page, Revise caption "1964 Accessory Catalog" to "1964 Accessory Brochure".
Finally on this page, under the right hand picture (the picture of the radio) from the 1964 brochure, there is a statement "Reproduced under license agreement with Ford Motor Company. License # 5001 3-1-94". This applies to the 1964 Accessory Brochure that I have (the only non-original I have), and not the picture's use in this Article; this may be confusing, and if you agree, should probably be removed.
Page 9 - The picture on the left side (Nov 1966 Parts and Merchandising News) actually applies to the 1967 Studiosonic Sound System. As such, it should go in between the 1967 Accessory Catalog and 1968 Accessory Catalog pictures.
Page 10 - The two pictures at the top of the page (of the C9AZ-18875-E unit) should go at the bottom of the page, and the two pictures at the bottom of the page (of the C8AZ-E unit) should go to the top of the page, leaving the Installation Diagram in between.
Page 11 - In the first sentence at the top of the page, change the word "included" to "shown", and add the word "included" after "...as I have".
Following the above sentence, I had added a hand-written sentence on page 5 of "Draft D" in my previous comments. You must have been interrupted, or couldn't read my handwriting. The full sentence should read "All three (1967-69) were finally designated "NR" sometime between July 1974 and July 1976".
Finally on this page, I think it might be a good idea to add the following after the spread sheet :
"Should anyone have any documentation which would replace the question marks (?) in the above spread sheet, please furnish such by Posting it in the Library Section of this Forum" (Jeff- if you think another Section other than "Library" would be better, please change that accordingly).

1967 Accessory Parts and Service-Marketing