Thanks much,

This is getting confusing. Do you think I should be looking for a
older Blaupunkt cassette-radio, or one of the two Becker models
mentioned?....Would an older model be preferable to a new,
inexpensive model. I like basic, old style. I like the knobs...and
the push buttons to set the stations. The trouble with ebay is
that you have to trust the seller regarding the quality...

If it's good sound you want, forget the old stuff and put in an Alpine head unit so you can run a thumb drive or your phone.

__________________
85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

Double din Alpine in '85 300D.

I had to remove the ashtray, move the HVAC controller, and cut/customize new wood.

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Lindajane - the Becker 599 Model has knobs for volume and tuning. It also has a cassette tape player and is a perfect fit for the W123 cars. I usually see fully functioning 599’s sell for $200 +.

Where did you get the new wood?

Bada$$ job BTW

Oh boy. First I tried to buy some thin zebrano wood and match the stain - that was an epic failure after nearly a month of testing stain mixtures and poly coats.

I eventually ended up buying new wood trim for an 80's SL model off of eBay, and it wasn't cheap (sorry I don't remember the full details).

I have so many questions as I am trying to do the same thing in my 300D! What model Alpine did you use? Did you have to run extra wire? How did you go about moving the HVAC controller and removing the ashtray housing?

Alpine iLX-W650

1. The Alpine has a shallow depth and could allow different mounting positions than what I used.

• I made the original mods for a Kenwood double din that was much deeper.

• No extra wires were needed, but that was because the speaker wire was changed many years (bypassing the fader control knob in the console beside the hazard light switch).

HVAC

• After popping off the wood, there are a couple of screw holding in the unit, just remove them and it comes out easy.
• I believe the HVAC could be placed where the radio currently is, but it may be too tight, lots of measuring and imagination is needed.
• If it will go where the current radio slot is, you could keep the ashtray and minimize the wood that needs to be cut/customized.
• Be very careful not to breaker the black plastic 'shelf' that the radio sits on, it basically hold that area of the dash together.
• Cutting the wood requires a clamp or vice and a drimel or something similar, because you'll have to cut the wood without damaging it and the metal plate that backs the wood trim.

Greetings, maybe this will be helpful to someone if planning to put modern multimedia in w123. I've done it this way:

https://imgur.com/j00aSDv
https://imgur.com/a7Qk0Kh
https://imgur.com/qSG7ORv

Original w123 taxi dashboard with modified top.. and I'm planning to replace it with bigger display android multimedia.

Side note. Noticed your third picture shows the same interior but manual transmission. But a very impressive setup. Very inspiring.

Okay, long ago this thread had a question : "How do you get the speaker grills off of the dash? I undid the screw and slid it out from under the A-piller, but I couldn't get the front lip out from under the dash. "

My question is : how the heck do I get that same tab back under the dashboard's lip ? .

I have the front speakers out and no matter what I can't get that tab to go into place .

TIA,

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better