Installing a CD Player

This car came with a Phillips-derived R770 radio cassette unit. Whilst it was working OK, we decided that we needed a CD Player at the very least. We decided that we'd like to keep the car looking as original as possible so we decided to source an original-fit CD Player that was the other option when the car was new.

This unit is made by Blaupunkt and has a BMW-type connector on the back of it. The hope was that we would be able to keep the steering wheel controls working but as you'll see later, this wasn't to be.

I sourced the CD Player from my local scrapper and bought an ISO->BMW convertor lead from InCarExpress who are based in Cambridge. The part number was PC3211.

Once I had the parts to hand, I found out that the space for the stereo in the dash is an extremely tight fit. The Philips unit came out with a bit of a struggle, and there was no way that the new unit AND the adaptor loom was going to fit back there. The solution is to remove the glovebox and hack-saw off the back left corner of the dash moulding and then you can plug the loom into the adaptor outside of the radio slot, in the space next to the glove box. Don't forget to tidy up or tape the sharp edges that you create with the saw though.

The Blaupunkt CD Player doesn't need any cradle or cage to fit it into position (so if you're doing this job on your own car, remove the one that the R770 used), just screw the two allen-bolts down to secure it.

The only other problem I had was that these units are security-coded but with the serial number you can obtain the code online (for a fee) or if you're a bit IT-savvy you can download a code generator via Bit Torrent.

The CD player looks like it was there from day one, and it sounds a lot better than the R770, too. The only thing is that my steering wheel controls no longer work - I guess there's something different about the connections or how the buttons work between the Blaupunkt and Philips radios.