BLAUPUNKT Radio Serial for 1954 Beetle

[ChewyBee]

I have an early BLAUPUNKT with a serial A515738. What year is this for? It is both 6v and 12v. Only has AM 5 black buttons. I think the A5157 code could be for my year. I will probably have the guts upgraded but unsure still. If it fits and works maybe that all that matters.

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[RUNKLE]

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Your Blaupunkt model Hamburg 7638300 was manufactured in 1968.

Link: BLAUPUNKT Hamburg 7638300


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1950 Standard - 1959 Ragtop - 1961 Ragtop two fold - 1964 Sunroof

Type 3
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[EverettB]

Yes, also from this Blaupunkt date thread on the site, A = 1968

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=279505
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[tasb]

Some things to consider if you are looking for authenticity: the small size of the housing indicates that it is transistorized. A 1954 radio would still utilized vacuum tubes and had a larger housing. It would have been rare for a 1954 vehicle to have had a radio so it’s not unusual for one to have been added at a later date, like 1968. The fact that it is capable of being run on 6 or 12 volts also indicates later than 1954 production.

Most early radios would have been multi band which would have included short wave or long wave. FM would not have been an option yet. FM did not become popular until the 1960’s.

Since radio’s were not factory installed it was a dealership responsibility. It would have been common practice back then to have accessorized after the car had been fully paid for- which would have only been accomplished after several years of payments. In North America there were several less expensive options than Blaupunkt. These would have included Motorola/Saphire. An AM only Blaupunkt would have been a low end purchase of a more expensive radio made in Germany. That wouldn’t have made much sense in North America.

On the contrary, the buttons being labeled “AM” would indicate USA as other places would have been labele” MW” for medium wave, so maybe this radio was destined for the USA after all.
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[Bub]

That radio wouldn't phnysically fit into an oval window dash, I don't think. The most common 'period correct' radio would be some version of this Motorola radio.
There are however likely dozens of radios to choose from that would be 'correct' - since it was up to the owner or dealer to install them.

thanks @Empiracer!!!

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[janerick3]

Motorola radios were offered as an option through the U.S. dealer network starting around 1953-54.

The "Big M" radio pictured is correct for 1956-57 (same chassis for 1958-59), with the black knobs and italicized "MOTOROLA" on the dial face. Earlier versions had a "snake" instead of the "Big M" on the faceplate and a non-italicized "MOTOROLA." In addition, earlier radios had a crudely-drilled speaker-mounting plate and differently-styled knobs.

AFAIK, there was no standard antenna. My '54 has the Ward "tombstone" antenna, which I believe was dealer-installed, while my '55 parts car had a dual-mount antenna.

Some period option lists show Blaupunkt as a "premium" radio. I have only ever seen one on an oval window in the wild (junkyard), which was a late '55, with the high and low tone pushbuttons.
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Thanks,
Jan K.

[my56samba]

Blaupunkt radios had FM in 1954. I have a 1954 model A453 2-band Frankfurt in my 54 oval window. They fit the stock radio cutout with either a thin chrome bezel that doesn't overlap any of the painted dashboard or one of there larger bezels that covers some of the dash around the cutout. I had to use the larger due to a couple of scratches from the Big M faceplate that was in my car before. But the European FM signal range is only 88-100MHz in the early ones and a few years later was extended to 88-104MHz. They also added a U.S. version in late 57 that receives up to 108MHz
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