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Retro car audio / VW Gamma head units


Twinspark
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Not sure if this is the right part of the forum to be posting this...

I have a really fancy head unit in my Alfa 75 at the moment - but due to the location in the car, it's an absolute pain to operate.

(The head unit is behind the gear stick in the centre console, so impossible to operate when in 3rd or 5th gear, and the screen is hard to see).

I thought I had the original 1990 vintage Blaupunkt in the garage to re-install - but it appears that I don't, and I can't find anything suitable on eBay.

However, there are loads of Gamma head units from B5 Passats / A4 Golfs etc, on there - I like these head units, and find them easy to operate.

So I have 2 questions:

Does anyone have a retro Blaupunkt head unit kicking around that they would part with?

Alternatively - will a Gamma head unit work in a non-VAG car?

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You might need to adjust the wiring, usually the permanent live and switched live need swapping, but otherwise it should work.

Can you show me a picture of what the head unit you are after looks like, as I have a VW head unit in my shed that I'd be happy to part with.

It is a bit of a daft position in the Alfa isn't it, all adds to the quirkiness of the car imo, and it's great fun watching passengers search for the window switches, then, thinking they've found them, putting the rear window down!

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Beta looks almost identical - but it doesn't have the fader button.

As a guide - the Gamma tended to come in SE / Highline / GTI type cars. The Beta in S / base model cars.

Not a hard and fast rule, but I had one in a B5 Passat SE and my mates had them in MkIV Golf GTIs.

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Curiosity got the better of me, I've just been out in the rain and it's a Beta.

It's yours if you want it, comes with a CD changer, possibly the cable for the changer too if I can find it.

No idea what car it originally came out of, I bought it purely for the changer and fitted that to my Skoda Superb, then removed it again when I sold the car.

It's got a little post it note stuck to it with a four digit code so I presume it should work fine.

Also, I think you may need an aerial adapter too, as I think it'll be different on the VW head units.

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I'm hoping I did keep the original Blaupunkt Melbourne (not sure which model number) - it may be in my loft, but if not, I'm still looking for a correct era unit.

This Clarion is really very nice, though - and I also managed to dig out one of those cassette adaptor things to play my iPhone through it :)

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I fitted a Becker head unit in my Alfa 75, they don't come much simpler to operate than a that, and the sound quality is among the best you'll buy.

I did initially fit an all singing all dancing Kenwood with a remote on the steering wheel, but it was still a pain in the ar5e, with the Becker, you never needed to look at it to operate it.

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I'm currently watching an early 90s Porsche Blaupunkt Bremen and a Becker on eBay.

The one issue I have is that there seems to be an issue with the wiring not being up to the job of running the head unit at higher volumes - as every one I've tried will cut out when you turn it up loud.

I've tried a couple of different live feeds, but nothing has worked - what I need to do is get a run direct from the battery - but I'm struggling to find anywhere that I can (easily) push a wire through the bulkhead.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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