The Official 356Talk Forum

Hernan, at "German Auto Radio Repair" just finished my 1951/1954 Telefunken. I never expected him to get it working as it was missing many parts. It is going in my '54 Coupe under restoration. ................................Jim.

Has anyone used Vintageblau (http://www.vintageblau.com) to repair /restore their Blaupunkt radio?

It is some of the parts that are becoming unobtainable such as switch/potentiometer combinations, transformers and knobs. Capacitors, tubes and diodes are all replaceable.

As mentioned elsewhere, I reached out to the 'ham' radio clubs in my area and found several guys with the right testing equipment (signal generator, oscilloscope, etc.) to track the problem and access to their 'tube bank' and many parts I couldn't find myself. Three of them were vying to do the job at the cost of the parts only. It finished well. I did of course manage to find the circuit diagram for my 62-3 hybrid Blaupunkt

Dennis Grist wrote:I know that Palo Alto Speedometer does some radio repair, but to what extent and which models I do not know. I have no radio repair history nor any affiliation with them. They reworked my speedo and tach.
Please let us know whom you choose and the result of your experience. I will need to get my radio done and will be curious to hear about your experience.
Dennis

not any more, Hartmut is a great guy and does excellent work, but he bowed out because of the parts situation. Matthias Klaussen is set up to do perfect repairs and restorations on these radios and even makes new parts and has literature for them.

Hernan is close to you
he did my repair (after Matthis restored it, and the extra phone attachment did not work as it was wired incorrectly) for a very reasonable sum $$
he was fast and efficient.

Herman at German Auto Radio Repair did a Blaupunkt radio repair a few years ago for a C coupe for us and it worked great. Not inexpensive, but it was a quick turnaround.

I just had my Blau completely worked thru at Turnswitch in Blaine, Mn

Folks there are great. Great service

Kenny
Mn

just got in some restored Frankfurts from Matthias, really does some beautiful work. Even has the iPod connector. He rebuilds these all of the time, has all of the parts, and shipping to Germany is not that expensive, plus he has instant turn around.

Hi,

I am looking for a manual of a Blaupunkt Radio for my 356B T5 - 1961.
Maybe someone has a copy of it.
If not I would be happy to see some pictures of the radio behind the dash?

Thank you ynd greetings from Austria,
Lukas

http://www.classicradio.com/
The folks at Classic Car Radio Service in Woodacre "restore" radios. They did my Blaupunkt Frankfurt ('56-7), all new capacitors, tubes, all new cables, rebuilt power supply, etc. It takes months to get on their "cue" and takes him 1 week to completely restore each radio that comes his way. They don't like to "repair" radios.

And to think I bought this radio for a wheel barrel full of cash from a highly regarded vendor from Ojai. He completely ripped me off!!!!!!!

Not only did it not work it was completely shot. From the outside it was a cosmetic jewel, however inside it was a POS. The North Hollywood Blaupunkt firm (Germany Auto Radio Repair) remember repairing this radio for this vendor. When I spoke with them they said they just got it to work. From what I was told by Classic Radio, I seriously doubt that it did based on its condition.

Ultimately, It cost me around $900.00 at Classic Radio, which for the amount of work, was a deal. Classic Radio did a great job turning this exponentially expensive piece of junk into a masterpiece.
Gene at Classic radio is a true master craftsman. This husband and wife team are great people to deal with. I highly recommend them.

The weird part is...your spend all this money to restore a radio that is expected to reproduce a '50-'60 radio sound (no more, no less). Which by comparison to a modern radio is not even close in terms of quality.
Another analogy would be like taking a cathode ray tube TV and having it restored. Clearly it can't compare to a modern 4K flat screen. (nor should it.)
So, I would suggest given the age of these radio's technology, is to keep your expectations low.

Even though I have this great old school radio, I travel with a blue tooth JBL speaker and use my phone I-tunes, Pandora, or pod cast (along with 5 hour battery pack) in my 356.
No static and great sound... a quantum leap better in sound and technology.

hope this helps!

I agree that the quality of sound, and the ability to hold a station, in no way compare to modern systems. I took out my restored Frankfurt and had another one converted by Turnswitch to use digital "guts". It is visually indistinguishable since no change is made on the outside, but it is now stereo, with more power, and will lock onto a station. Plus, there is no concern that the repair will fail as components wear, since this is a digital system. I am very happy with it, and it certainly does not sound "too modern" in comparison to my old radio. It just works!

Just my $.02.

Mark

This is not rocket science take the time to learn, it will be a skill you can use forever.

Does any one know if Matthias Klaussen from Germany is still in business ??

I recently had my radio repaired in the UK for £30. Let me know if you want the details

If I could only be so lucky ..