Radio / Speakers

[SaxMan]

I'm thinking about upgrading the entertainment center in Baby Blue. It currently has a Clarion AM/FM with a cassette deck that gave up the ghost. It runs through two 6" Realistic speakers that a p.o. (not longbridgehealey) cut into the partition between the trunk and the passenger compartment. Even without changing the radio, I'm sure just changing the speakers will yield big results. Anyone have any recommendations for a good 6" speaker replacement? The last time I did any aftermarket improvements to a car stereo, Bill Clinton was in the White House. I was also thinking of putting a speaker in the radio box (there is no speaker there right now) to get a true front/rear balance. Yes, I know that a 1275 humming at full song is wonderful music, but I do like to having a soundtrack to go along with it.

I'm not sure what direction to go with a radio replacements. My wife and I still have a HUGE collection of cassettes, so part of me wants to go "old school" and find another AM/FM/Cassette player. Another part of me wants to go REALLY old school and get a period-correct aftermarket stereo, although I don't want to go so old school to dredge up a stock AM radio.

Seeing that I was a toddler when Baby Blue first arrived in the United States, if I wanted to go the "period correct" route, what brands of stereos should I be looking for? Blaupunkt? Alpine?

 

[jlaird]

Period correct was an AM/FM radio with one speaker in the bottom of the radio box.

 

[CLEAH]

Period correct was an AM/FM radio with one speaker in the bottom of the radio box.

Or more likely just AM. My BJ8 has its original BMC AM radio.

 

[Blueghost]

I believe all LBCs arrived on the dock without radios. Each U.S. dealer added radios to the empty optional "Radio Console." Therefore, there was no real standard radio. Retrosound (RetoSound.com) makes a good quality period correct radio. It has pelnty of power/volume for 4 speakers. It has rotary dials instead of touchscreen, and no annoying flashing lights (car toys) as the music plays. Optional installation kit includes proper sized face plate for easy install. They have plug-in options for additional bells and whistles (satallite/MP3/aux input etc.) - I have the basic model. Don't know about cassett capability. If you want to stay period correct, you need to get an 8-track - I had one in my original Bugeye.

When adding speakers, most people mount rear speakers in fiberboard trunk closure pannel. I chose different approach. I installed a quarter inch thick plywood shelf directly above the flat surface behind the seats. You can mount any size speaker you want into what is now a "speaker box" (speakers need a box to push sound waves the right direction and trunk does not work well for this).

This causes rear shelf deck to be about 6" higher than stock, so when I installed carpet (Home Depot marine carpet), I had to run it higher to cover deck. Change is invisible unless you look real close. Plywood is strong enough to support anything I would put in there.

Blueghost, Portland Oregon

 

[SaxMan]

Nice install! I ended up ordering a pair of Pioneer 6.5 inch speakers from Crutchfield. I'll see what that does before I start playing with the head.

I did find on Ebay a number of radios that certainly would look "period correct" in the car, but, again, I'll probably wait on that modification.

 

[HealeyRick]

1969 was the early days of stereo audio automotive availability. Most Midgets came with a dealer installed British Leyland AM radio like this:

If you wanted to blast your Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater and Woodstock eight tracks in stereo, you bought one of these and added a couple of speakers in the back:

AM-FM stereo radio cassette players were just coming on the scene and would be available only in the high end cars like Mercedes and Ferrari. For instance, this Becker Mexico didn't become available until 1971.

They are wonderful radios and have a deep, rich sound and can easily be fitted with a jack to accept MP3 players. They are also available with an attached amp that gives the extra boost you need in a noisy convertible. OK, I'm a little biased, I have a Becker Europa II Stereo in my big Healey and I think it looks very period correct:



OTOH, I think the Becker might look out of place in a Midget. It just wasn't done. For a Midget, I'd probably give up some "period correctness" for performance. Find an early Pioneer Supertuner Casette on eBay without any digital displays or LEDs, connect it up to a decent hidden amp and you should pass the casual sniff test. If you're trying to go concours, you don't have any other option than the BL AM radio.

 

[SaxMan]

I'm definitely not trying to go concourse quality. Not with this car. Not yet, anyway. Maybe one day way down the road I'll do a ground up concourse-type restoration on it, but right now, I'd rather be driving it. The look I am trying to go for is something an owner would have put in when the car was a few years old. Thanks for the tips on some "period correct" heads.

 

[SaxMan]

The Pioneer speakers came in. Installation was pretty straightforward. When I pulled the old speakers, you could see the kind of hatchet job one of the car's p.o.'s did on the installation. I didn't want to do any more damage to the partition, so I used the original speakers screw holes and hardware. I had to do a little bit of work on the speaker connectors, but not a big deal. I really won't be able to tell until I'm actually driving, but, at least in the garage, the change in speakers made a huge difference.

Part of me is still thinking about putting a speaker (or speakers) up front in the radio box (which is currently devoid of speakers), but I'll wait to see how the system sounds with the new speakers first.

 

[David_Doan]

A pair of small mid-range/tweeters up front will probably help a lot.

 

[nomad]

I've got a couple of BMC and BL AM radio's on the shelf. Guess I'm waiting for good AM to come back!

 

[SaxMan]

I know at one point, there was talk of AM Stereo, but I don't think it gained any traction.

The one thing AM does have going for it is range. I remember as a kid sweeping through the dial trying to see what stations I could pick up. From my spot outside of Washington D.C., I could routinely pick up New York City stations. Sometimes, I could get WLS in Chicago, WOWO in Ft. Wayne was easy to pick up. The farthest one away was an Atlanta station. When my parents purchased our 1985 Dodge Aries Wagon, it came with a digital AM radio, so you could tune into the specific frequencies, which made station hunting very easy. Cuiriously, I had a Yamaha CS-01 synthesizer that was able to pick up Radio Canada on shortwave.

 

[nomad]

Yeah, I miss being able to drive all day listening to one station. I know there's lots of other options but I always liked to here the DJ's ideas on what was good.

Kurt.

 

[65sprite]

Pioneer use to make a nice little self contained tune-up speaker model TS-M2. Basically a 2" tweeter in a self sealed enclosure a little bigger than a deck of cards. Each speaker has it's own volume control wheel, and a built crossover. I mounted them in the kick panels with a pair of 6" woofers with a modest amp in the rear panel. Because tweeters are directional, higher is better, but I chose not to mount them on the dash. They work very well. I believe Pioneer stopped production of them in the late 70's but you can still find them listed on Ebay. Worth a look for semi period electronics.