My +2 has a hole where the radio once was. Can anyone suggest where to get a 1960s /70s looking radio that also has FM that will fit. I’d rather not spend a vast amount of money. The German ones like Becker and Blaupunkt seem expensive on the web.
If you are in the uk there is a supplier in cheshire that supplies recon AM equipment I bought a radiomobile 1050 from them (though it wasn’t cheap) I’ll dig out the invoice and check the name when I get home from work. There is also a german supplier that will put a modern pll radio into the inside of the AM set at a price. Just thinking out aloud though you could get a miniature mp3 player that would probably hide somewhere for actual music if you are only after the look
My elan had the original radio replaced with an 80s unit when i purchased it. now i want to restore to the original radio. can you please let me know what i should be looking for? can you direct me to possible sources? many thanks
The Guy in cheshire is Vintage Wireless. He will convert your original to FM for about ?150 . He will also add an lead that goes to the glove box so you can connect an MP3 or CD player for another ?35. I think he also sells period radios.
These folks list their Radiomobile FM/MP3 proper stereo conversions on ebay fairly regularly and seem to have v. good feedback. They seem to go for around ?250.
I have a Radiomobile 80T in my +2, one day the conversion will make it to the top of my priority list. Now that they’ve switched off MW, I’ve a choice of one crackly LW station!
Note our dear UK Govt plan to turn off all mainstream analogue FM as well, starting in 2012 ? Therefore please ensure any conversion to an existing unit should have connectivity to a DAB device.
Why would anyone want a decent radio (+ other bits) in an elan ? Not only is the sound from the exhaust music to ones ears, but there’s enough entertainment on the roads as it is (esp in an elan) without adding to it. Hang on…I’ve got long wave…I can listen to the cricket !!
are we not severely limited to choice of radio due to space behind the dash? i was advised to forget it, there are hardly any out there that fit…seems like people are happily fitting whatever takes their fancy?
All I can say is, surely you’ve never driven your car for a substantial length of time. After an hour or so, one gets tired of hearing the same song. I put CD players with 6 speakers in both of my Lotuses. Cranking up Jagger belting out “Satisfaction” while driving a 60s engineered car is pure nirvana.
Rich. Only the +2 has limited space behind the dash. What do you own?
Yeah, I’ve got a +2 but Iain started this thread saying he has a +2, which means he needs +2 advice. Dgently says he has a Radiomobile 80T in his +2…is this one of the few that fits or is it sticking out of your dash?
If you struggle to find one that fits (I think there is one by Pye that fits) you could do what Spyder recommends and get a black cubby hole tray from a Vectra I believe, which fits nicely behind the hole apparently. Good for storing coins, fags, parking tickets, johnnies etc.
The Radiomobile models fit fine and are common and cheap. Philips Turnolock and the Pyemaster illustrated in the WS Manual are also proven options but rarely list on ebay. It would be worth searching the archives as the “fit” question for elans and +2’s has been covered very well.
The beauty of the Tadpole conversions is that they install a modern stereo amp with a line in port. So DAB, DAB+, iPods, 8-tracks etc can be simply plugged in via the glovebox and controlled by the “60’s” radio.
Interesting. I am thinking of retro fitting an old radio unit. Might be a silly question but how do these fit into the dash. On the Elan dash (mine anyway) the cut out for the radio unit is a large rectangular hole. How do you mount one of these old radios (type with the 2 knobs sticking out). The modern one I currently have has the catches on the side that locate it in the big hole and is removed using the U shaped tool that you push in from the front. Is there some sort of fitting kit to adapt the double knob type to the large hole. On that tadpol site they show a chrome facia plate but I cant see how this would clip the unit into the dash.
Also does anyone know what the modern electronics unit is that they use in the old radio chassis? Could be an interesting project to make my own. Find an old radio on ebay and do the conversion myself. Just need to know where to get the bits.
With the Turnolock units there are two brackets which go over the knob posts and into the dash hole, sandwiching the dash between them and the facia plate. I would have thought it would be the same for other radio models…
This is the original radio out of the S4 SE Coupe (0078E) that I have, you can see the side of the radio have L brackets and the face plate pinches the dash in between when you tighten the nuts on the threaded portions where the knobs are.
A while back a “helpful” mechanic on Cape Cod removed the radio in my car that, as far as I could tell, was working, and told us it was “toast” (and not safe). He did not have the old radio to show us so it is unclear if it was junk or re-deployed in another customer’s car.
Any recommendations on where to get a positive earth radio for my s3 in the New England area?