Correct Radio for 61 GTE ?

Blaupunkt, Becker, or Telefunken seem to predominate.

 

DJ,

I think that it would be period-correct for a 1961 car to have a radio a couple of years newer.

--Matt

 

There is no "correct" radio as Ferrari did not install a radio in its cars until the BB512i. Radios were all dealer installed options. So, the all you need to do is find a period correct radio unless you can locate the original selling dealer and find out what brand and model it was installing back then.

 

Darren,

I was planning on putting in a Becker Europa in my car but tracked down the original radio with a previous owner. I have accumilated a stash or Europas (assuming I remember where I stashed them) if you are interested. However, it might not be worth the shipping cost to the UK.

Good luck,

Art S.

 

I suggest you go here as he has tons of period radios (10,000 he says) in very good shape and will be able to talk to you about your needs. I think in 1961 that would be a tube radio which might be a bit more expensive, trouble, fragile, large, hot, then you might want. Best, Yale

http://www.koenigs-klassik.de/indexe.html

 

Yale,

Mine is half tube - half transistor. For what its worth, since I had it rebuilt, it’s the most reliable thing on the car (never any problems). It also has rather distinct sound characteristics which results from the tube architecture. Besides, how often is it necessary with a V-12 making music up front?


Art S.

 

Yes the tubes are for the radio and the tranistors are for the amplifier part so that sound that you are refering to is coming from the transitors that were designed to act like the tubes.The whole early sixties was when radios were going from all tubes to partial tubes to all transitors and since the dealer placed in the car whatever radio they wanted anything could have come with these cars. Mine came with an AM/SW unit, no FM. What I really want is one of those units that came with the 45 player mounted on a gimble. Anyway I can barely hear the radio except in traffic when I am driving under 30.

Yale

 

Find a period Blaupunkt...

 

Stuart,

Why Blaupunkt over the others? Do you not like Beckers? I have a Blaupunkt but I'm curious.

Regards,

Art S.

 

Yale,

I agree with your radio observations (I thought the specific sound was caused by the tubes). However, I'm not sure how well the 45 player would do in the twisties let alone NYC. I heard you switched to Cromodoras because problems with Borrani-pothole interaction in the city.

Regards,

Art S.

 

this radio is correct for a 63. I have a Blaupunkt Frankfurt in mine.

 

Art: It's simply because old Blaupunkts seem to be easier to find and cheaper than old Beckers (at least in good condition). Both are excellent.

 

The Blaupunkt Frankfurt was made for many years as many different evolving radios.

The early sixties was the end of the hybrid partial tube radios, these were two piece units in which the amp was separate. When car radios started being made with solid-state components they worked to keep the tube sound and kept the radios in two pieces. For Becker these were the TG series, Mexico TG, Europa TG, etc. Mexico and Europa being the same radio with the Mexico having auto search function for stations. Blauplunkt also made a Frankfurt with an auto search feature called the Koln.

Around 1964 they switched to all transistorized radios that were also in two pieces, for Becker and Blaupunkt this was the TR series. Later in the '60's the radios changed their tube based design and fit in one box.

You can still order and get fixed from Becker almost any radio Becker made. They are now owned by Harmon (ex Harmon Kardon, which also owns JBL and more). Beckers were the standard radio in Mercedes, Volkswagon and I think Porsche. Which to me was reason enough to get a Blauplunkt for the Ferrari.

As for my jones for a car turntable, can you imagine anything more stylin' then playing a 45 in your 64 Ferrari. Even if I have to stay in one place when I am doing it. Listen as the needle drops and Tom Jones starts singing "What's new *****cat"...whew.

And yes the New York City streets literally turned my Borrani's into spaghetti. You wouldn't believe how few working wires you can have to fool you into thinking your wheel is ok. I was lucky an undercover cop pointed to my wheels on while I was driving on 12th Avenue and mouthed "something is wrong."

Yale

 

I think a new or properly restored wheel should last quite a while, even in New York...after all, many cars used wires on long races such as the Mille Miglia and LeMans, and I don't know of many wheel failures...

 

Stuart,

Although you are probably right about Borranis being tough, the streets of New York are in much worse condition than those in Italy (well maybe right after the war they were pretty similar). I've been airborne on the Cross-Bronx Expressway. That said, my Borranis are redone and I don't go into the city all that often so mine are doing fine. I believe Yale lives in the city and keeps his car there - much heavier duty cycle!

Regards,

Art S.

 

You may be right Dr. Since I haven't redone my Borranis I don't know how much stronger they would be. I was going to get Cork Adams to redo them using the Daytona spokes which as you probably know are thicker until Francois, (man who works on the car), said that back when he worked at Chinetti (sp?) they were always getting rid of the Borranis for mag wheels and that one of the reasons Ferrari switched to mags was that they were stronger then the Borranis which made even more of a difference as the cars got heavier. When you get into a discussion with Francois about such things you get the Gaelic shrug of, I told you what I think, it's your car, do any stupid thing you want with it.

I can't stress enough how shredded my wheels were while looking fine. When the cop motioned I pulled over looked at the wheels and thought to myself, what is he talking about? Then I touch the spokes and 70% of them fell off!

Yale

 

I do know that chromed wire wheels are somewhat more fragile than polished or bare aluminum ones. The chroming process seems to make the spokes more brittle. Wire wheels should be checked every few years, as you really don't want one to shatter while driving.

 

For what its worth, I believe my spokes were redone in stainless.

Art S.

 

This has sort of turned into two threads - which makes it twice as interesting. When I bought my 1960 Ferrari it still had the original radio - a very dead Blaupunkt. I looked under the dash and was astonished to see that it was the size of a bread bin! Getting it out was an exercise in bench pressing. A local car radio shop sold me a used ‘67 Blaupunkt that had the same front dimensions but behind the dash was a fraction of the size, so I swapped the buttons, knobs and facia and nailed it in. The '67 radio has no mechanism to compensate for signal fluctuation as you drive about so the sound grows louder and softer as you motor about town, a condition that you forget to expect when you’ve had a modern car for a while.
I’ve also had quite a few broken spokes. They suffered from hydrogen embrittlement after they had been chromed. The problem was that they were not boiled like tough old vegetables before they were put in the wheel. Seemingly the boiling re-tempers the steel.
Another interesting bit of wire-wheel trivia is that the car actually hangs from the top spokes when the wires are a bit loose, which is why the problem is hard to spot on a stationary vehicle.
Good luck with the streets of N.Y. They could tear the tread off a Sherman tank.
Kram

 

My 1963 has a Becker Europa TR. It was installed shortly after the first owner took delivery. I have a copy of the receipt for the tax she had to pay the Italian post office (the regulated and taxed car radio installations back then). I agree with the comment that any contemporary or later (by a few years) radio would be suitable. Obviously, mine is a Becker installed in Italy.

-Bill Preston