Original style radio for 1983 QV?

Down here in the southeast, dealers LOVED the Blaupunkt CR3001. I never saw a 308 without one in 1983 (and I have a thread here full of pics to prove it .

Anyway there was no particular brand or model that is "correct" during those years (at least with the 308QV). That Alpine is absolutely period perfect if you like it - but I think it's a little new if you want to split hairs. I bought that model for my Scirocco in 1985.

Get a remote CD changer from Ebay, mount it over the spare tire and put the changer control over in that coin shelf by your left knee. Digital music with a old school tape deck.

That is what I did.

 

Whaa? Why just advance to mid-80s technology? Instead hook a Bluetooth / FM Modulator to your antenna input and stream music from your phone (and get Google Maps instructions through your speakers).

 

Who listens to the radio. Seriously.

 

Yeah, I get the correct part and the driving part. I just don't listen to music in my Ferraris. I've put 25k on my 83 308QV, but it does have a tubi exhaust. Anyway, enjoy the new radio whichever model you decide on. I think I have the blaupunkt.

 

Bingo.

 

I did this in about 01. No Bluetooth then or I had never heard of it if it did exist. I don't mind burning CDs and loading a stack.

When something finally breaks I'll update downstream from my 1981 head unit then.

 

I took out a newish Alpine CD deck and replaced it with one very similar. It looks like it belongs in the car. Mine is an "83 also. And I still have period correct music on cassettes that I keep in the car. Old school.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. Only turned mine on once to see if worked.

 

Yes for sure. The 7263 is contemporary and technically fitting a 308.

Only the Pioneer KEH-5000 or KEH-4300 is fitting better

 

It's good company on road trips.

 

My 83 has the dealer installed Blaupunkt.

 

Confirmed with first owner that my '85 QV had a Blaupunkt when purchased from Setauket NY dealer Grand Prix SSR Co in June 1985. I would like to find one of these radios. Are there owners out there that can confirm what Blaupunkt model my car likely had? Was it the same CR3001 that Dr Tommy Cosgrove mentions or something different/newer? Thanks.

 

as said many times, 3x8 came without any radio installed: just antenna, speakers, cables and the radio cover. Here in Italy, in 1983, dealres usually installed Pioneer or Grundig, no Alpine (it was the "Lamborghini" radio...).

ciao

 

My '83 (North Jersey) had an Alpine head & alpine amplifier. I have it stored and am using a Clarion unit now. It rarely gets used.

 

I very seriously doubt you had the CR3001 by 1985. That model began in about 1981. By 85 I am sure the dealers were using a more updated unit.

 

My 82 had an Alpine cassette unit dealer installed. My 85Qv has an Alpine C/D installed. Not sure it's dealer because speakers are not original but the unit is period correct.

 

My 328 also came from the factory without a stereo.

When I bought it, it had an after-market Alpine, which I'm guessing came from the second owner.
But, on one pothole, the Alpine threw the CD out at me.

There were other electrical gremlins, as well, so I had a dealer go over the car, bumper to bumper, and tear out everything not on the factory wiring diagram.
I wound up with a box of "spare" non-original parts, and the ability to keep the battery up for more than two days when parked.

I then replaced the now bare wires with an original style plastic block 6.3mm blade connector -- except 8 pin instead of 6 pin, as the original connector did not have ignition switched power or dash lighting.
6.3MM Multi-Connector Kit

As there was no "original" stereo, I then installed a radio with an MP3 player.
Days of music on an SD flash card, no moving parts, and I could get rid of the CD wallet from behind the passenger seat.
(And I can even put a spare SD flash card in the tiny "glove" box in the console. )

But I have a Linux home computer I can use to rip my favorite tracks off the store CDs, encode them in MP3, and write them to flash.

FWIW, my '79 Alfa came from the US distributor with a Blaupunkt CR-2001 (tape) deck.
Although I had my dealer replace the wimpy factory speakers with 4.5" Jensen coax speakers (a rather tight fit, in the kick panels).

 

An update on my quest... I got to know Gary Goodman of Goodman Radio in Bryn Mawr. His company did the radio installs for Algar's Ferraris, and said the Houston or Tucson would have been the likely Blaupunkt choices for 308 customers. I found a nice Tucson on eBay, and last week had Gary do the install. He used a period-correct amp and connectors to do the install the way it was done in 1985. Radio works and very happy with the result! Now I have to rebuild my original Bosch Autojet antenna as it's stuck again...
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FAF installed a Blaupunkt Aspen SQR24 in my car a few weeks after it was sold new by them in April 1984 (I have the original receipt in the car's history folder). You don't have to use the SQR24 unless you have 4 speakers. There is an Aspen two channel that may be less expensive but looks exactly the same. I have rear dome speakers in the rear hatch so I needed the SQR24. Not sure why FAF used the 4 channel model unless that's all they had on the shelf that day. Who knows.

Here is the exact radio they used. I just got myself one on eBay and put it in a couple months ago. After almost 20 years I finally had to give up on the CR001's They have a weird little stereo/mono switch and if you run a FM modulated CD player like I do they have a helluva time staying in a stereo mode and just start defaulting to a bunch of static and popping noises. I swapped head units 3 times and even got a new Alpine FM modulator which solved NOTHING. Finally I just dug thru my records, confirmed which model Blaupunkt FAF used, went to eBay, got one and everything is normal again.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BLAUPUNKT-ASPEN-SQR24-VINTAGE-CAR-RADIO-AUDIO-TAPE-CASSETTE-PLAYER-AM-FM-TESTED/283208337108?epid=2295830547&hash=item41f08846d4:gSsAAOSwzIZbwSLO:sc:USPSPriority!35243!US!-1

 

And if you wanted to go period correct "high end", the top was the Nakamichi TD-1200. The TD-1200 was the only car player that had azimuth control like the for home use Dragon. The TD-700 was right below it.

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Of note... by around 1984-85, the double-shaft variety was being quickly eclipsed by DIN-style decks.

 

Managed just to find a nice period correct Blaupunkt for 59003. As i understand SQR45 was Blaupunkts high end unit in those days. Now searching for a 4 channel amplifier that fits behind the passenger footrest plate.
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Mounting an amp to a round piece of wood that fits down in the spare tire wheel is also an option. I've seen a few of those. Obviously that place is a plus for accessing battery current.