Pure nostalgia: In car entertainment 1980s style
Discussion
k! I still have my old Alpine head unit. Just got it out the wardrobe now. 
Miserablegit said:
Best car hifi I recall was in a friend's father's Volvo 740 GLE. The tape deck in that was superb - Night of the Guitars blasting out - the guitars sounded superb. Lesley West playing Theme...
Not sure if it was just the size of the car but the quality of the reproduction was excellent. The Jaguar he had later wasn't a patch on it. We thought we were cool anyway rocking up to a wine bar as 18 year olds in what was clearly Daddy's jag!
My dad had a new Volvo 740gle back in 1988.Not sure if it was just the size of the car but the quality of the reproduction was excellent. The Jaguar he had later wasn't a patch on it. We thought we were cool anyway rocking up to a wine bar as 18 year olds in what was clearly Daddy's jag!
Took it for its first service at the Volvo dealer in Streatham and got a call from the dealer to say the Pioneer stereo he had had been stolen whilst in their car park.
Dad went ape. Dealer replaced it with some other model as the stolen one was now discontinued. The dealer agrred to fit an alarm foc as compensation.
Few months later, outside my dads office in the city, the car was broken into again and the stereo taken.
Alarm didn’t go off.
He sold the car shortly after. Was less than a year old
I had a Pye stereo, very similar to 1 and 2 in the OP in my first three cars. They were so easy to remove it's no wonder they used to get nicked so much. I've still got a Blaupunkt with removable fascia in the garage somewhere, I think I've even still got the little plastic case for carrying the fascia in.
I remember the 1990 Carlton CDX 2.6 estate I had was fitted with two Blaupunkt units. One was the cassette and radio, the other was a CD player and graphic equaliser. It also had no less than 10 speakers dotted around it. It was by far and away the best stereo I'd ever had up until that point.
Come to think of it, the whole car was pretty damn good for something with a griffin on the front.
Come to think of it, the whole car was pretty damn good for something with a griffin on the front.
I remember putting a Saisho? (Dixons own brand) head unit in my old escort in 1985.
I chose it because it had 20 watts output compared to mos standard car units that were half that on average. Always had a soft spot for graphic equalizers also.
My dad said he could hear my rock music from the bottom of the road lol
Then the in 90's got serious with Nakamichi and Diamond Audio speakers plus many more watts of output.
I chose it because it had 20 watts output compared to mos standard car units that were half that on average. Always had a soft spot for graphic equalizers also.
My dad said he could hear my rock music from the bottom of the road lol
Then the in 90's got serious with Nakamichi and Diamond Audio speakers plus many more watts of output.
stevemcs said:
MDMA . said:
Very nice, I had the Alpine 7525r in my Fiesta, I was always an Alpine fan. I quite fancy buying an 80/90's car and putting a period system in it.dibblecorse said:
Wow,PYE and Harry Moss, proper blasts from the past, then the 90's happened it it really went mad !!!
In a previous life, I worked for an automotive trade warehouse owned by racing driver Gordon Spice. Did a few stints in the electronic dept and I was convinced we sent back more faulty Harry Moss and Audioline car stereos and alarms than we ever sold. Edited by 2172cc on Tuesday 29th June 19:42
I've still got mine somewhere! Don't have a suitable car for it at present but I hang onto in case I buy something retro. 2172cc said:
In a previous life, I worked for an automotive trade warehouse owned by racing driver Gordon Spice. Did a few stints in the electronic dept and I was convinced we sent back more faulty Harry Moss and Audioline car stereos and alarms than we ever sold.
Wasn't the company called Spice? My Dad did a stint there in the late Eighties, after leaving Akzo. I'm pretty sure that's where he had a very early Mk2 Astra GTE as a company car - incidentally, crammed full of expensive Blaupunkt audio. He wasn't there for long. Well, long enough to write the Astra off on the A1 avoiding a deer! Edited by 2172cc on Tuesday 29th June 19:42
Leins said:
Pet peeve of mine, as I hate the look of more modern stereos in older car dashes
Just sourced this for a buddy of mine’s E30 M3
I have one of these in my E30 (non-M3 unfortunately). It sounds fantastic with a pair of period-correct Blaupunkt speakers in the back. It's the same head unit the chap in the post above you is describing as being in his Carlton. The SQR 88 was paired with the separate Blaupunkt SCD-08/09 unit which used to take CD cartridges (remember those!?) I've seen a BMW ICE price list from 1990 with the Blaupunkt SQR-88 listed at around £750 which is eye wateringly expensive for the time! Just sourced this for a buddy of mine’s E30 M3
P5BNij said:
Apologies for the crap image quality - this is a much modified 1970 Mk2 Cooper S that I went to look at back in 1999, it's thought the triple stacked ICE gear was installed in the '80s or '90s....
Looks like a Pioneer CD-5 graphic in the middle, with a KP-707G underneath. Can't tell what the top unit is.alex.baker89 said:
Leins said:
I have one of these in my E30 (non-M3 unfortunately). It sounds fantastic with a pair of period-correct Blaupunkt speakers in the back. It's the same head unit the chap in the post above you is describing as being in his Carlton. The SQR 88 was paired with the separate Blaupunkt SCD-08/09 unit which used to take CD cartridges (remember those!?) I've seen a BMW ICE price list from 1990 with the Blaupunkt SQR-88 listed at around £750 which is eye wateringly expensive for the time! 
As an aside, here’s the list of manufacturers and equivalent models for the BMW Bavaria range and later. I can imagine any of these are a lot pricier these days than when everyone was taking them out to replace with flashy new Halfords specials:
•BMW Bavaria C II - Blaupunkt BP9455
•BMW Bavaria C REVERSE II - Blaupunkt BP9475
•BMW Bavaria C Business - Becker BE0774
•BMW Bavaria C Professional - Becker BE0776
•BMW Bavaria Electronic CD - Blaupunkt New York SCD08
•BMW Bavaria C Business RDS - Pioneer KE-92ZBM
•BMW Bavaria Electronic CD II - Blaupunkt München SCD09
•BMW Bavaria C Reverse RDS - Blaupunkt BP1836
•BMW Bavaria C Professional RDS - Becker BE1801
•BMW Bavaria C III - Blaupunkt BP1830
•BMW Bavaria C Reverse III - Blaupunkt BP1835
•BMW Reverse RDS - Blaupunkt BP4836 (early) / Blaupunkt BP6262 (late)
•BMW Business RDS - Philips DC785
•BMW Business CD RDS - Blaupunkt CD23
•BMW Professional RDS - Becker BE2450
•BMW Business CD - Blaupunkt CD43
That's a useful list.
I'm pretty sure there was a Reverse RDS made by Alpine as well - around the time of the E36. The problem with all of the BMW branded gear at the time was that it was generally priced a lot higher than more capable units available aftermarket from the same manufacturers.
Most of it is certainly properly rare these days!
P.S. - I still have the CDP without any cartridge units stowed away somewhere. Funnily enough, I acquired a Senator 24v just after Christmas, of which earlier examples came with this Blaupunkt setup. Mine has a Grundig 4870 but I'm replacing it for a 7525R / 5952Z. The aim is to build a period system using a load of old Alpine amps / speakers I've got. I still feel the need to keep it a secret as I feel there's still a bit of a post-Max Power stigma attached to fitting subs into a car!!
I'm pretty sure there was a Reverse RDS made by Alpine as well - around the time of the E36. The problem with all of the BMW branded gear at the time was that it was generally priced a lot higher than more capable units available aftermarket from the same manufacturers.
Most of it is certainly properly rare these days!
P.S. - I still have the CDP without any cartridge units stowed away somewhere. Funnily enough, I acquired a Senator 24v just after Christmas, of which earlier examples came with this Blaupunkt setup. Mine has a Grundig 4870 but I'm replacing it for a 7525R / 5952Z. The aim is to build a period system using a load of old Alpine amps / speakers I've got. I still feel the need to keep it a secret as I feel there's still a bit of a post-Max Power stigma attached to fitting subs into a car!!
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