yup, as long as it pertains to the diesel badge, I'm ok with it.
as this is a taste preference thing, not a specific tech question on the radios, I'm thinking it goes with the vehicle, so it's OK.
when the thread is all petered out, I may move it to audio forum, and leave a permanent link on this forum...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I like to call the style of the typical modern Asian car radio "Vegas (or Hong Kong) at Midnite"!

Those 'old-fashioned' Becker Europas and Mexicos were really great looking.
That retro-style Becker Mexico in the original post looks alot like the '70s Mexico I got off eBay several years ago for my '72 250C. Wonder if it's made in Germany. Or if the chromed face is still metal like the original?

My first couple of rusty 240Ds came with dead or dying modern Asian CD radios. Replaced those with a pair of '80s Japanese cassette radios (Pioneer & Clarion) tastefully black-faced, with the round knobs for on-off/volume and tuning.

Right now, my Euro 5-speed '84 TD has a PO-installed Asian Blaupunkt Laguna CD-radio. It doesn't look that bad, but it's all buttons, with tiny illegible symbols, and stupid menus to scroll through if one needs to change settings. Stuff I'd rather not have to deal with while I'm shifting gears, or looking out for the idiots on the road.
Plus the CD likes to lock-up if it's playing for more than about a half-hour.
So I'm hoping to eventually swap in a $10 Euro 4-band Becker Europa Cassette, I found laying on the front seat of an '82 Euro 280SE at the Virginia Beach Pick-N-Pull. Hoping I can get a replacement belt for the cassette-drive (Yeah, I still listen to tapes!) and Becker-USA can get me a belt. And it doesn't cost ten times what I paid for the radio!

Meanwhile, I'll probably install a '90s Singapore Blaupunkt cassette unit I got for $8 at my local thrift store. It's all buttons, but they're larger and less complicated than the newer stuff. Plus it has an aux input socket, so I can hook up a portable CD player, I-Pod, MP3, or any other audio device that has a mini headphone jack.

MY current, 'nice' '82 240D still had it's original Becker Europa cassetter unit, but the amp seemed somewhat weak, especially playing tapes. So I swapped in a $15 Japanese Cassette Blaupunkt I pulled from an '82 BMW 320i at the Pick-N-Pull. And it also has the round knobs. Even with the original Mercedes speakers, it was a big improvement. So we'll see how well it holds up, before I need to start planning for another swap.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Yay! Someone else who agrees with me, the modern radios look like crap in the old 1xx cars.

Both of my M-Bs had modern radios when i acquired them, and they got swapped for proper period appropriate Beckers.

Contact Ed Ebel at Becker, he is very helpful, he fixed both of my radios that were not working. He is amazing, fixed both my radios while I waited. Both times I had to fly to NJ for work, so I dropped it off, grabbed a sandwich and by the time I came back he had it running like it was new.

Ed's phone number is 201.773.0976

Also to anyone else reading this, if you come across any unwanted Becker equipment, contact Ed, he told me to let y'all know he is looking for cores, and will buy them. He says there are lots of valuable NLA parts in these old units. Whatever you do, don't junk it!

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Guess I will slide over with technology. My Bora has touchscreen. It bright and large enough to hit a button while doing 60 on a dirt road. Logo's up as Fender system and sounds fine to me.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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BENZ THERE DONE THAThttp://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...c/progress.gif
15 VW Passat TDI
00 E420
98 E300 DT
97 E420 Donor Car - NEED PARTS? PM ME!
97 S500
97 E300D
86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
86 300SDL
(o\|/o)

I love me a Becker


- this was in my first car, a W124 with the 220E M111 engine, RIP.

I still have the radio though, in my 230E

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-1990 W124 230E; Winter car
-1985 W123 230TE; Ex-280TE, daily driver
-1976 W115 200D; Restoration project

This is what I got for the 240D for Christmas. It has bluetooth streaming which is important for me since I usually am listening to Pandora in the car.

Streaming Bluetooth is awesome, and you're not gonna get it in period correct radios. All audio from your phone gets routed to the car radio, music, phone (handsfree), navigation voice prompts.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Exactly. The radio I got was the cheapest that did everything I wanted and had as few flashing lights as possible.

My first pair of 240Ds were my 'diesel-education' cars, and they weren't in good enough shape to lavish with high-end audio gear, or even a nice Becker. The Pioneer & speakers for my first 240D actually came from a neighbors trash, while the Clarion in 240D#2 was a $5 yardsale special that I recycled from an '84 Honda Accord I used to have.

Except for the cranky CD, the Blaupunkt Laguna radio in my Euro TD actually performs pretty well.
But navigating menus or changing settings while driving is really frustrating, especially with the car being a stick-shift. I usually have to wait until I'm at a long traffic light or parked.

In ancient times, (1940s to the '80s) most car radios had an on-off-volume knob on the left, A tuning knob on the right and station preset buttons in between. With modern car radios, nothing is standardised. Too many have tiny buttons, performing multiple functions, scattered in random locations. If I drove the TD exclusively, I might be able to learn to use some of the Blaupunkt's buttons instictively. But I drive three other vehicles with different radios.
My '98 Nissan has the most up-to-date unit, with it's factory 'premium' 6-speaker system providing AM,FM, cassette and CD, But all the audio settings are round knobs, and the other controls are large buttons.

The touch-screen systems in late-model cars don't even have buttons one can feel, and I've been hearing gripes from safety critics about the driving-distraction caused by them.

Personally, my TD's aftermarket Blaupunkt CD-radio is the most difficult to operate while driving.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Had the pleasure of seeing this installed in a '69 300 SEL. It was gorgeous and had matching amplifiers.

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Products/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=caraudio&ProductId=MX406[/URL]

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Current
2006 E320 CDI, 57K bought at 67K "Liesl"
1986 190E 2.3-16, 198K bought at 56K "Brigitta"
1987 300TD (Chuggin Along), 292K "Friedrich"
1995 E320 Wagon, 200K "Louisa"

Past
1987 300SDL, (sold) 125K, bought for 1$ "Kurt"

I've never liked the look of the Nakamichi radios. Although they seem to have a big following.

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2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

That retro becker looks pretty decent. But I still prefer a refurbished OE one, redone by Becker, with the Aux-in mod.

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (116k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
2008 ML320 CDI (199k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (267k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K), 1985 300D (233K), 1993 300D 2.5T (338k), 1993 300SD (291k)

From where I can purchase this awesome looking Radio? Very nice

I found this site on becker Radios.
BLACK FOREST LLC - Becker Model History

I have one of these Becker Europa Cassetts in the 240 and 300.
Becker has some they used in europe that look like this one but has 4 bands.
BLACK FOREST LLC - Becker Europa Cassette AM/FM Stereo Radio - 1981-1983


Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Any old Becker with a real potentiometer for volume control.

I hate how newer radios have a button in the volume that I inevitably hit trying to change the volume, taking me to some menu I don't want, ugh

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1982 300D Turbodiesel, daily driver. Mods so far: Fram 8038 paper filter, 4 brake light mod, Gen II w126 (front) rotors/calipers, boost turned up to 12lbs, non-egr manifolds, water/methanol injection, 4-speed manual
1980 300SD Turbodiesel, project car, nearly ready to hit the street

1974 240D, New paint