Mystery radio

Author
Discussion

yorkebar

Original Poster:

121 posts

141 months

Tuesday 29th July 2014
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Looking around Online for timely bits for my 1977 spitfire and spotted a cheap(ish) radio online, Listed as an unknown brand. Snapped it up because even if it didn't work it would fill the hole in the dash that always bugged me. But since buying it I've become perplexed as to its make and model.

Here are some pictures.





From what I can tell it's a Blaupunkt of some kind. but I've searched and searched and turned up nothing. Any help is appreciated.

nta16

7,898 posts

233 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
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I thought it might be a Blaupunkt by the blue dot

as there are no other markings it might be a standard fit on a certain make and model of car

if you've never heard a radio from that era in an open car you might be very disappointed with its performance and sound level, that probably went with a single elliptical speaker of around 1.5-2 watts matching the radio's output

whether you'd be able to hear much with the roof up or down depends on the radio's original quality and how well or not it has worn since then

you could get a little mono booster amplifier to give a higher sound level but it won't improve the quality of the sound much

XJ Flyer

5,526 posts

129 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
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It seems like a 1970's Blaupunkt Hildesheim from something like a Citroen.

www.nuancierds.fr/technique/autoradio/autoradio%20...

There was also the FM stereo Frankfurt available in the day.

yorkebar

Original Poster:

121 posts

141 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
XJ Flyer said:
It seems like a 1970's Blaupunkt Hildesheim from something like a Citroen.

www.nuancierds.fr/technique/autoradio/autoradio%20...

There was also the FM stereo Frankfurt available in the day.
Brilliant detective skills, what really stumped me was that most of the screens looked the same whereas i couldn't find any with rocker switches.

And i wasn't really looking for top quality ICE it's more of an ornament, i've gone down the modern stereo route before and it does the car no justice.

Hooli

32,278 posts

199 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
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yorkebar said:
And i wasn't really looking for top quality ICE it's more of an ornament, i've gone down the modern stereo route before and it does the car no justice.
I tried the same in a Midget & eventually just took the radio console out as it's a separate thing in them.

nta16

7,898 posts

233 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
it looks a very basic model but might sound better than more elaborate models

to have it just for show is strange to me especially as that model would not be original to a Spit, if you used it it wouldn't matter but if it's just for show it's an odd choice

your car your choice

to me it's the same as having a classic for show and rarely used but each to their own

yorkebar

Original Poster:

121 posts

141 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
nta16 said:
it looks a very basic model but might sound better than more elaborate models

to have it just for show is strange to me especially as that model would not be original to a Spit, if you used it it wouldn't matter but if it's just for show it's an odd choice

your car your choice

to me it's the same as having a classic for show and rarely used but each to their own
I can see where you're coming from, but the basic needs it had to fulfil were plugging the hole in the dash where my old (new) radio went, and looking sort of period correct, matches the interior materials and basic style of the spit. The car is being restored to be used , but as I and many others have found out before, making the stereo sound good is like fighting a losing battle.

I have a build thread over on the retro rides forum if you'd like to take a look.

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/158320/1977...

nta16

7,898 posts

233 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
yorkebar said:
but the basic needs it had to fulfil were plugging the hole in the dash where my old (new) radio went, and looking sort of period correct, matches the interior materials and basic style of the spit.
well it ticks all the boxes and better for looking a bit older as by then it'd have been a new radio/cassette for the trendy


yorkebar said:
The car is being restored to be used , but as I and many others have found out before, making the stereo sound good is like fighting a losing battle.

I have a build thread over on the retro rides forum if you'd like to take a look.

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/158320/1977...
just had a quick look all seems to be going very well, just a caution, anything with modern bought classic rubber in keep your eye on, fuel pipes, brake hoses, etc. - I had a set of TREs and steering rack gaiter craze in 6 months light use and I've had trouble with other parts with modern classic rubber in

for the amount of work you're putting in you'll need to use the car a lot and regularly and that'll help sort out the niggles and the more you use it the better it will get

getting the mono to sound good is just as hard smile

I always call whatever is in car a stereo too, from mono radio to mp3 player (whatever one of those are)

I've had a couple of classics with mono radios in and the sound is just right if you're listening to a radio station like Gold on MW but when I first listened I must admit I'd forgotten about the whistles and fading as you get to the edge of a reception area or the tuning knob needs a slight tweak - but to try anything modern through it or any volume forget it

you might find your yellow headlight covers make things below par if you have sealed beam headlights

good luck

Edited by nta16 on Wednesday 30th July 22:37