Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Body, interior, paint, chrome, and cosmetic items => Topic started by: jpinet on May 14, 2014, 14:29:19
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I know, I know! Provocative title! But almost everyone has a Becker, and they are certainly nice radios.
But I wanted something different, so I found in Germany a Grundig radio, model AS40 from 1965 with Mercedes control knobs to go in my 1965 230SL.
This is what a buyer would have put back then if he had not wanted the Becker.
I really like the style and find it suits our cars perfectly.
What do you think! Did you ever see one of these in a W113?
Let me know!
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I like it and yes you are right the original purchaser had choices as to what to put in his car.
I remember when color TV came on the market in Germany, my dad had three different TV sets delivered to try out after a trial period he had two picked up and kept the Grunding TV, they according to my dad at the time made good stuff :)
BTW. I do have a Becker it does not work, I don't care I use my iPot and a wireless speaker works great for me when I feel like some musical companionship :)
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The radio looks cool in a Jetson's sort of way.
We had a TV repair shop owned by a German fellow in the city I grew up in. His ads always ended with...
"We specialize in Grundig, Blaupunkt and Telefunken".
That was of course when most households had an RCA, Phillips or Magnavox!
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Looks good to me. I have a Blaupunkt "Frankfurt" radio in my car with AM/FM/SW bands. I was able to pick up German SW radio signals occasionally and I could pretend I was driving down Autobahn while navigating the less crowded LA freeways 40+ years ago:-). The radio still works but these days, like Rolf-Dieter, we use our iPod connected to a Bluetooth speaker. We do have some German music on the iPod so we can still pretend to be driving through the "Schwarzwald" while in some of our local forests:-)
John
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It is a good looking radio but no Mercedes owner in Germany in the 60s would have installed a Grundig radio, that was something for the 'masses' and not the 'privileged'. You had to maintain a certain perceived standard when you drove a Mercedes! The radios I saw in M-B cars were Becker and Blaupunkt, both had the typical striped face plate, the others did not.
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My dad had a Grundig reel to reel. This thing looked like a suitcase when the cover / lid was attached.
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My dad had a Grundig reel to reel. This thing looked like a suitcase when the cover / lid was attached.
Yes. I know that look!
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It is a good looking radio but no Mercedes owner in Germany in the 60s would have installed a Grundig radio, that was something for the 'masses' and not the 'privileged'. You had to maintain a certain perceived standard when you drove a Mercedes! The radios I saw in M-B cars were Becker and Blaupunkt, both had the typical striped face plate, the others did not.
OK! But there must have been at least one 'loser' who put a Grundig in his Mercedes. This one was used and has the MB knobs on it, so I can only assume someone from the 'masses' pretended he was privileged! ;D
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Looks good to me. I have a Blaupunkt "Frankfurt" radio in my car with AM/FM/SW bands. I was able to pick up German SW radio signals occasionally and I could pretend I was driving down Autobahn while navigating the less crowded LA freeways 40+ years ago:-). The radio still works but these days, like Rolf-Dieter, we use our iPod connected to a Bluetooth speaker. We do have some German music on the iPod so we can still pretend to be driving through the "Schwarzwald" while in some of our local forests:-)
John
We would get blown off the left lane on the Autobahn! But the ipod to a bluetooth speaker is a good solution.
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The radio looks cool in a Jetson's sort of way.
We had a TV repair shop owned by a German fellow in the city I grew up in. His ads always ended with...
"We specialize in Grundig, Blaupunkt and Telefunken".
That was of course when most households had an RCA, Phillips or Magnavox!
According to 66andBlue, he must have worked for the masses! :o
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I like it and yes you are right the original purchaser had choices as to what to put in his car.
I remember when color TV came on the market in Germany, my dad had three different TV sets delivered to try out after a trial period he had two picked up and kept the Grunding TV, they according to my dad at the time made good stuff :)
BTW. I do have a Becker it does not work, I don't care I use my iPot and a wireless speaker works great for me when I feel like some musical companionship :)
I'm not sure how many companies made car radios in Germany. Telefunken. Blaupunkt, Becker, Grundig. Who else?
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We would get blown off the left lane on the Autobahn! But the ipod to a bluetooth speaker is a good solution.
Right on about the iPot and the Bluetooth speaker, the best thing about it one can listen to his favorite music :)
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My 2 cents:
1) cool radio, looks pretty nice, lacks the pinstripe motif that the rest of the car (clock, etc) have and looks a little out of place to me.
2) never seen one in a 113. Saw one in a 111 sedan but it wasn't original to the car
3) stateside cars either had Becker from the factory or Blaupunkt from the dealer. I have no idea what the options were other than those.
4) thank you for not posting a thread about RetroSound radios.
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I'm not sure how many companies made car radios in Germany. Telefunken. Blaupunkt, Becker, Grundig. Who else?
It depends at what time. Before WWII there was Körting, a very prominent manufacturer in Leipzig that did not continue building them after the war. I grabbed the attached picture from the web.
Many car radio models after the war were manufactured by Philips, a Dutch company that had factories in Germany and which later bought up the Grundig company.
Max Grundig was very successful before and during WWII, and after the war he started right up again selling a very popular kit to build your own radio called "Heinzelmann". His company made tube car radios until 1954 and then concentrated on other audio products - at one point in time Grundig sold more tape decks than anyone in the world! He re-enterd the car radio business in 1965 with the all transistor model AS40 that was made by at his plant in Portugal and sold until 1967 (http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/grundig_as40.html).
We lived in Nürnberg in the 50s on the border to Fürth (where Max Grundig had built his empire) and we had several Grundig radios and one of his tape decks around the apartment. Should your travels bring you to this area then don't miss to visit the http://www.rundfunkmuseum.fuerth.de/english/index.htm . Lots of Grundig history to see there!
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Scoot, now that you've mentioned Retrosound!
I'm installing one in my car. It's their model two with Bluetooth.
http://www.retrosound.com/product-p/1968-76-1m16-m2-309.htm
I'm also putting in the Hub Car system.
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Echhhhhh!
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hauser,
Did you order your Model 2 Radio with “Becker” Pin Stripe panels & knobs, & Chrome Facia and Buttons.?
I really enjoy mine
Paul
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Haven't ordered it yet but I will next week.
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BTW there is a special facia that can be placed over the led window to mimic the dial.
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Yuk! ::)
I know it is your car but be careful when you bring it to the next PUB, you may have to pay a hefty sum for "code violations". Could be as high as drinks for all !! ;) ;D ;D
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hauser,
It is difficult to read the screen in open top sun light mode, but you do not usually need to read it much anyway.
Tell me more of the special facia - is there a picture somewhere ?
This is mine installed, and the Blaupunkt it replaced.
Keep well
Paul
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Paul,
You can buy the smaller tuning nobs and adapt them easily to fit in place of the larger later type.
Garry
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OK, OK, I admit it. My 67 came from Germany with a Grundig that didn't work. It had a schematic under the lid and I was an Air Force radio repairman, but this was a German radio with strange internals. I took it to a German repair shop and they just said it was unrepairable. I went with a blue dot replacement.
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My 2 cents:
1) cool radio, looks pretty nice, lacks the pinstripe motif that the rest of the car (clock, etc) have and looks a little out of place to me.
2) never seen one in a 113. Saw one in a 111 sedan but it wasn't original to the car
3) stateside cars either had Becker from the factory or Blaupunkt from the dealer. I have no idea what the options were other than those.
4) thank you for not posting a thread about RetroSound radios.
1. Right about the pinstripes, but I do like the look and I like to have something different.
3. My car was bought in Germany. I figured the radio could have been bought over there.
4. Could not do that!
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It depends at what time. Before WWII there was Körting, a very prominent manufacturer in Leipzig that did not continue building them after the war. I grabbed the attached picture from the web.
Many car radio models after the war were manufactured by Philips, a Dutch company that had factories in Germany and which later bought up the Grundig company.
Max Grundig was very successful before and during WWII, and after the war he started right up again selling a very popular kit to build your own radio called "Heinzelmann". His company made tube car radios until 1954 and then concentrated on other audio products - at one point in time Grundig sold more tape decks than anyone in the world! He re-enterd the car radio business in 1965 with the all transistor model AS40 that was made by at his plant in Portugal and sold until 1967 (http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/grundig_as40.html).
We lived in Nürnberg in the 50s on the border to Fürth (where Max Grundig had built his empire) and we had several Grundig radios and one of his tape decks around the apartment. Should your travels bring you to this area then don't miss to visit the http://www.rundfunkmuseum.fuerth.de/english/index.htm . Lots of Grundig history to see there!
Thanks for all that info! I was close to Nürnberg a few years ago, but did not know that then. My radio is the model AS40 from 1965. Says so on the label on the radio body.
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Mine came with a Blaupunkt
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Mine came with a Blaupunkt
Was your car European delivery? Why does it have SW band? Was this ever standard or delivered in the USA?
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Was your car European delivery? Why does it have SW band? Was this ever standard or delivered in the USA?
Michael,
I also have a Blaupunkt radio installed (see my post "3 in this thread). It was originally a dealer installed option in my 250SL. When I traded that car in on my 280, I removed the radio and antenna and installed them myself. I noticed there is a slight difference in appearence between John (thelews) and mine.
John
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hauser,
It is difficult to read the screen in open top sun light mode, but you do not usually need to read it much anyway.
Tell me more of the special facia - is there a picture somewhere ?
This is mine installed, and the Blaupunkt it replaced.
Keep well
Paul
Look up a radio for the 600 MB 1970 and it will show it with the cover.
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Was your car European delivery? Why does it have SW band? Was this ever standard or delivered in the USA?
Michael,
Blaupunkt radios were never "standard", that is, factory installed options for a Pagoda. But when you ordered the car at the dealer you could, for example, request a factory installed antenna and no radio but order the Blaupunkt from the dealer who would install it before delivery.
I believe that you could order a Becker Reims shortwave adapter from the factory when the 230SL came out but I have never seen one installed in 230SL, only in 300SL and 190SL.
Look here for a copy of the European delivery options for a late 280SL: http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=8173
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The Blaupunkt I have removed and stored, is the same as John 's (49er)
Paul
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Interference suppression w/o radio set was option 533 on my car. In other words, the car was ordered with the ability of a radio to be put in by the dealer.
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Interference suppression w/o radio set was option 533 on my car. In other words, the car was ordered with the ability of a radio to be put in by the dealer.
Same for mine. My car was a special order and perhaps that is why the radio was a dealer installed option. Maybe Beckers were factory installed on cars that had not been "spoken for" yet and were part of normal dealer deliveries?
John
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John in WI.
Since yours was ordered w/o the radio I wonder whether the radio delete plate came along with the car.
John in CA,
which car was the 'special order', your 250SL or the current 280SL?
Your 280SL was not "on the dealer's lot" when you bought it, correct?
Any car with a radio installed at the factory had to be ordered that way (either by the customer or by MBNA for the dealer) and they were all Beckers, the factory would not install another brand in a W113.
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John in WI.
Since yours was ordered w/o the radio I wonder whether the radio delete plate came along with the car.
It did.
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Look up a radio for the 600 MB 1970 and it will show it with the cover.
I'm a little confused - every picture I see of the radio in a 600 shows a Becker Grand Prix, sometimes with the rear remote control unit. Cover???
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John in CA,
which car was the 'special order', your 250SL or the current 280SL?
Your 280SL was not "on the dealer's lot" when you bought it, correct?
Any car with a radio installed at the factory had to be ordered that way (either by the customer or by MBNA for the dealer) and they were all Beckers, the factory would not install another brand in a W113.
Both cars were special orders and the 250 was ordered with a radio. When they installed the radio in the 250 at Hollywood Mercedes, they left the radio delete plate in the car which I kept and reinstalled when I pulled the radio out before trading the car in. When ordering the 280, I told the salesman I was going to use my old radio.
John
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The cover is for the RetroSound radio.
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The cover is for the RetroSound radio.
Don't tell me someone put one of those in a 600..... ug. I'll go away now.
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Both cars were special orders and ......
Hi John,
now you have really piqued my interest! What was the difference between a 'special order' and lets say a 'regular' order, what made it special?
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Hi John,
now you have really piqued my interest! What was the difference between a 'special order' and lets say a 'regular' order, what made it special?
I guess they were just "special" for me:-) I wanted a particular color combination (4 speed, 050 with cognac MBTex interior and a beige soft top) and was willing to wait the 3-4 months delivery time.
John
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Thanks John.
I am sure it is still very much 'special' for you!
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What was the difference between a 'special order' and lets say a 'regular' order, what made it special?
I'm sure that the difference then is the same as now: a "regular order" car is one made by order from a dealer; today, generally, few cars are made without an order in hand. I know Ford, at least, does not manufacture anything to inventory, there is a dealer order for every car manufactured. The dealers order what is either recommended for their inventory, or what they think will sell. A "special order" is one ordered for a specific customer to his/her specifications, and as John indicates, you have to be willing to wait for it. Not all dealers will take a special order, particularly if there is plenty of inventory around. Further, there are some other limitations to a "special order"; late in the model year production, for example, the production is all "queued up" for existing orders prior to M.Y. changeover; therefore they might not be able to accommodate your special order. Or, they might be producing certain colors only at certain times, or certain options may have been deleted mid-way through the model year, or otherwise unavailable. If one wants a "special order" it is best to start early in the model year cycle, and work with a cooperative salesman/dealer.
Some former "special orders" are probably not available. There used to be a few buyers in Alaska and Vermont who would want cars w/o air conditioning. I think that's hard to delete these days; its generally been made standard and also is an integral part of the "climate control" serving a purpose in defrosting.
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I happened to be at a Ford dealer today, and sure enough there was a "special order" right in front of my eyes.
A Mr. E. Steffes special ordered this Taurus, but decided not to buy it after it came in. But the sticker was still in the window. The first will show you that it is a Special Order, and the second has the name of the person who ordered it. So, with the Special Order sticker, the car was in the showroom…
…and that is a Special Order: per a specific customer, not just a dealer order.
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I fitted a Motorolo five button, its period and cheap and looks good. I only have a single speaker on the dash. At speeds over 70 plus you cannot hear anything anyway. 8)