Having an original radio in the dash makes this car less of a target for thieves.

I was driving this car with the radio missing and I didn't like the look. I decided to place the nonworking radio in the dash until I found something to replace it.

I put it back in the dash, but once again all I got from it was white noise. I started the car and went back to the garage. When I returned two minutes later the radio had reception! How cool is that (I thought). I turned off the ignition and went inside. When I returned sometime later and started car once again no reception. I didn't turn off the radio to see what would happen. Sure enough two minutes later the reception was back.

So for now at least I have reception as long as I wait two minutes from a cold start. If it has only been off for a short time the wait is less. Reminds me of the old vacuum tube radios from my youth that had to "warm up".

I hope to still be able to get the code for the other radio in the future.