B/L radio

[tomshobby]

I got my first LBC in 1965 and have never seen a British Leland radio, now I found one in a box of parts that came with my Midget. And it works!

Were they installed at the factory or later at a dealer? My car was built in Oct, '73 so I assume the radio was from that era. But nothing fancy by any means, AM only and no tape deck.

 

[RickB]

I got one in my parts MK1 Midget, going to put it in the Sprite for fun. :laugh:

 

[Trevor Jessie]

So which is harder to find? A radio with the BMC logo or the BL logo

 

[John Moore]

Here's one I own. I have no idea how old it is....

Personally, I don't have a radio in my car, I love the sound of the Supercharger! lol

I also have a "Aquaiphonic" 8 Track that came with my Bugeye. It had shag carpet too. woo hoo!

 

[Sarastro]

In those days, most car radios were dealer-installed.

Nice looking radio, though. Someday, if I can find an original-looking one, I'll add one to Ruby Redcar.

 

[tomshobby]

Besides never having seen one of these radios two things surprised me. One was that it worked great and the other was that all the pieces were there. The face plates, knobs, speaker, and the suppressor. Especially sense the PO had installed an aftermarket radio and this one survived so well.

 

[John Moore]

Besides never having seen one of these radios two things surprised me. One was that it worked great and the other was that all the pieces were there. The face plates, knobs, speaker, and the suppressor. Especially sense the PO had installed an aftermarket radio and this one survived so well.

You're very lucky to have the knobs, those are often missing and make it muc more valuable. The AM/FM ones go for big bux on ebay to the Jag and Rolls guys.

 

[tony barnhill]

Radios were dealer accessories....none were "factory"...the NA distributor bought radios in bulk & had faceplates made for them & shipped them out to dealers (some dealers only offered them, others offered whatever they could get locally)...some have the BMC logo, some say "British Motor Corporation", some have the manufacturer's logo (if anything at all)....behind that faceplate is a Panasonic, Zenith, Motorola or whatever brand radio.....

When I bought my '79 MGB new, the dealer had a carousel with various radios for me to pick from (you could hear them through a car speaker)...mine is an am/fm/cassette Panasonic with the BL logo.

They're easily converted to modern guts...look on the internet & you'll find guys who offer that service.

&, John, the Jag & Rolls guys are a tad daffy to pay big bucks for a $25 radio!

 

[mccalebr]

My understaning is that all of the "Optional Equipment" was dealer installed. Here's the spec page from a '73 dealer brochure. BTW, all of the dealer brochures for Midgets are displayed on my web site, www.raysmg.com .

Ray

 

[mccalebr]

...and here's the options photo from the same brochure, showing the radio:

 

[tomshobby]

I sure enjoy learning the nuances of these cars. Thanks much for all the great information.

 

[JPSmit]

BTW I have a BMC am/fm - no knobs and no antenna plug - but it's yours for shipping if anyone wants a project

 

[Billm]

And I still have my old JC Whitney AM to FM converter that I put in my first ('62)Sprite in '68 and last time I tried it still worked! Lousy sound but MEMORIES!
BillM

 

[JPSmit]

Lousy sound but MEMORIES! BillM

You mean it played Barbra Streisand? after all these years? wow!

 

[Billm]

OH--- YUCK!!!!!

 

[E.Roy]

I got my first LBC in 1965 and have never seen a British Leland radio, now I found one in a box of parts that came with my Midget. And it works!

Were they installed at the factory or later at a dealer? My car was built in Oct, '73 so I assume the radio was from that era. But nothing fancy by any means, AM only and no tape deck.

I had a 1973 MG Midget MK3. I purchased it new from the dealer, a British Leyland BLM 105021 AM/FM radio. The dealer installed it. I picked it out from a display in the showroom.

 

[mezy]

all radios used to be dealer fitted of DIY aftermarket, it was only when Datsun cars were imported and they had factory fitted radios,
It was then that british car manufacturers started to factory fit them.