'73 CS radio question

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ES 1800

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I'm trying to source a radio that would have come in a '73CS. (None in car when I bought it. ) Were there various option installed by the dealer? Is there documentation describing these options?

When I got it my car had a metric speedometer. I have very little history on the car, but am wondering if it was originally sold in Europe. (In my Volvo world I can ask for original delivery information from Volvo's archivist. Can that be done with BMW?)
 
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lets start with what the VIN is on the car, that will tell us if it is a USA model or an EU model. i can tell you very basic stuff since the VIN is different and i might have info on the car from the coupe ancestry project. i can tell you that Canadian models generally had metric speedos.

the radios were generally Blaupunkt Frankfurt stereo radio. some came from the dealer with Becker Europa radios. the other variation is where your antenna is located. many 3.0cs had electric antennas located on the drivers side of the rear fender. others had manual antenna on one of the front fenders or on the drivers side A pillar (less frequent, but early 2002 used that location.
 
rsporsche said:
lets start with what the VIN is on the car, that will tell us if it is a USA model or an EU model. i can tell you very basic stuff since the VIN is different and i might have info on the car from the coupe ancestry project. i can tell you that Canadian models generally had metric speedos.

the radios were generally Blaupunkt Frankfurt stereo radio. some came from the dealer with Becker Europa radios. the other variation is where your antenna is located. many 3.0cs had electric antennas located on the drivers side of the rear fender. others had manual antenna on one of the front fenders or on the drivers side A pillar (less frequent, but early 2002 used that location.
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The VIN is 224057.

Best I can tell is that there was no radio install in the car ever. No antenna hole.
 
224 series is a USA vin but you are missing a number - there are 7 numbers. if it has a metric speedo and since you live in Wisconsin, its likely a canadian car. does it have AC and leather seats?
 
rsporsche said:
224 series is a USA vin but you are missing a number - there are 7 numbers. if it has a metric speedo and since you live in Wisconsin, its likely a canadian car. does it have AC and leather seats?
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I'm away from the car right now so I cannot check the VIN question. The car does have leather seats and does not have AC (yet).
 
i have 4 - 224057x cars in the registry, but have no real info on 3 of them 570, 571 + 572 - 570 i believe is malaga and 572 is fjord. so please let me know the complete vin and the color.

thanks
 
it could also be a central or south american car ... but then you would believe it would have had a/c. very unlikely for a US 3.0 cs to not have had a/c. send me a pic of the front / rear bumpers. the USA car would have had the 2.5 mph bumpers ... not sure the canadian, central or south american would have had them. perhaps @HB Chris would know.
 
So, I would ask what you are trying to accomplish? Other than looking origin, I can't think of a good reason to install an original radio in our cars. Very poor fidelity and the speaker configuration did not lend itself to music. I would only think it useful for baseball games.

And if your car doesn't have an antenna hole, it likely has not been cut up for speakers either. The lack of holes in your parcel shelf and in the kick panels in the footwells is actually a good thing. I know what you are thinking - every car has to have a radio. Actually, it is possible to run without one.

20210213_161621.jpg
 
rsporsche said:
lets start with what the VIN is on the car, that will tell us if it is a USA model or an EU model. i can tell you very basic stuff since the VIN is different and i might have info on the car from the coupe ancestry project. i can tell you that Canadian models generally had metric speedos.

the radios were generally Blaupunkt Frankfurt stereo radio. some came from the dealer with Becker Europa radios. the other variation is where your antenna is located. many 3.0cs had electric antennas located on the drivers side of the rear fender. others had manual antenna on one of the front fenders or on the drivers side A pillar (less frequent, but early 2002 used that location.
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I can add to this. Owned my '72 CSA from 1987. Speedo in MPH. Vancouver car. So either this was changed, before I got it, or this is the way it was shipped. Sure looks like original to me, and I do love looking at it. ;)
IMG_1057.jpeg
 
I wanted a radio and the original blaupunkt was not tunable.

I ended up with a retro sound radio and undercover audio speakers that almost fit under the seats. Sound is not great, but I really don’t want to be the one to cut holes in the package tray.
Interior re-upholstered 8.JPG
Interior re-upholstered.JPG
 
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Hey ES 1800,

Having a radio/stereo is up to you of course. For what its worth, may car came to me with a RetroSound Bluetooth Radio that looks period correct, yet can stream music from your phone, and allows BT hands free. Its cool, I like it. I also have kick panel speakers and rear shelf speakers. Honestly, I sounds just OK. I wish the speakers were better and I had an amplifier. But, I can crank tunes and drive. Boonies set up I have never seen before, looks cool and discrete.

Hope this helps!

Jimmi

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I have questions....
Didn't your M30 sound nice enough?

I have much more wanted V8 cars, but that e9 has the most satisfying sound of all...

Every time I catch myself, rolling the windows down for no reason than listening the noise...

Breiti
 
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