Radios For 1973 - US Spec Coupe

[racerxx]

My New Years resolution was a period correct Becker radio and a set of 16" Alpina wheels.

First the radio, does anyone know the "right radio" for 1973, was it the Europa, Europa II, the Grand Prix or the Mexico? From what years did one series run and then another or were they all concurrent models? Is one superior over any other? Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Basically, if anyone could give me a breakdown of the differences of models and what years they were used in BMW coupes.

 

[racerxx]

I Talked To Becker

I did a little research; I spoke to Tom at Becker Radios North America in New Jersey. He told me our cars had either a Europa or Mexico and there is really no difference between the two. They're both mono type radios as opposed to the Europa II which is a stereo unit. Since I want to keep mine original with the single dash speaker I'll either opt for the Europa or Mexico? Oh, by the way he said the Grand Prix did not hold up well and wasn’t built as good as the other models and I believe it also was a stereo unit.

So now the questions is - Does anyone know the real differences between the Europa and the Mexico and is one more preferred for my '73 coupe?

Thanks again in advance for your opinions and advice.

Best Regards to all in the New Year.

John Raho - Westport, Connecticut

 

[HB Chris]

Radios

There are many different versions of the Europa and Mexico radios. Early units have a separate amplifier, later ones are a sigle unit. For the `70s, the Mexico and Grand Prix had a Cassette I believe. The solid state Europas are generally mono and have 5 buttons. The Europa II is stereo, looks almost identical and generally has 6 buttons. For the US you would want the US version with the FM scale to 108, Europe stopped at 104mhz. Same goes for the Blaupunkt, the Frankfurt model was made in many different versions, early ones with separate amps like the Beckers and the Frankfurt comes in a US version. eBay has lots of both brands. Check out www.oldautoradio.com, especially the Sold section, you can compare pictues, it is even sorted by year and by car. Another site is koenigs-klassic.de which shows the Becker Europas with MB faceplate and Universal versions which is what you would want. The refurbed radio prices are going out of sight! I think the Europa II is a nice radio, has stereo, parts are still available including knobs (see oldautoradio again) and accepts a line in input. Hope this helps.

 

[David]

Lots of great information Chris. Seems like the sort of info we should add to the Tech section.

 

[mark]

racerxx

i have 2x. becker europa IIs that i bought on ebay for my old merc. one has an external amp, one does not. both were advertised as working but the stereo shop told me both were not working when i went to get one oinstalled. i think that might have been a ploy fpr me tp shell out on what they ended up selling me. anyway, i didn't get them independently tested.

you can have them (free) if you're interested in return for a beer if i'm ever passing through. let me know if you're interested. [email protected].

cheers
mark

 

[blumax]

More on Radios

Believe the Blaupunct with cassette first made its showing in 1976 or 77--do not recall ever seeing an original CS have radio with a cassette. Also seem to recall that a few 1974 US models had the top of the line Becker Mexico as an option.

Early auto radios when our Coupes were new 33-38 years ago radios were very basic--just beginning to have solid state electronic components and there were few choices then available to the buyer--certainly when compared to todays virtually unlimited choices--back then a separate amplifier to drive your sound system was a big deal and when fitted with dual speakers you really had a state of the art sound system.

 

[HB Chris]

Becker Radios

Here is a shortcut to Walter Odemer which shows many of the Becker radios in US form. He is in Burbank, CA.

http://www.geocities.com/[email protected]/Beckerold.html?20076

 

[racerxx]

Thanks Chris, Murray and everyone. That helped me with some good info and leads to obtain a decent period correct radio.

Thanks again.

John Raho