Topic: 1950's Grundig stereo cabinet restomod

[Dime]

My mother in-law gave me this Grundig cabinet. It was her parents.  Her Dad was stationed in Germany during his time in the forces as a radar tech.

The radio is missing but the turntable is there. It has a few nicks and scratches as well the finish being in rough shape.

I took it as a project for my boys and me to do over time.

The plan is to completely disassemble it, strip the finish to bare wood, restain and upgrade all the electronics to a modern level.

Not sure if we will use the original turntable as I will have to find someone who can check it out. The space where the radio was will be filled with a Bluetooth amp.

The original Grundig speakers, wires and resistors will be sold off to help fund the project. I will need to find two 4x6 speakers and two 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 replacement speakers.

The goal is to have a retro piece but with modern components and performance.

There is no timeline. Just something for the boys and I to pick at that is more up their ally than motorcycles.

[CycleRanger]

Nice cabinet, cool project! 

[Kevin]

Very cool.
Your family will enjoy it for many years after the restoration is complete.

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[HondaMan]

That looks to be the same model my dad brought back from Europe in the 1950s(?) or so. The radio had a big brass "Grundig-Majestic" label proudly displayed above the tuner, and it had a "green eye" tube near the tuning knob to help you make sure you were 'centered' on the (AM) radio signal as you tuned. We played LOTS of records on that turntable, it could stack 5 on the spindle above the turntable and would drop them on as the previous record finished and the tonearm picked up, cycled out, let it drop, then went back to start the next one.

Great memories!

[scottly]

I've actually worked on a Grundig or two, back in the day. My dad's shop was the only one in the area that would work on them; it might have had to do with the availability of parts? There was an Air Force base nearby, and the stereos were brought back from Germany by returning servicemen.
The metal clip on the back wall of the turntable compartment held an spindle adapter for 45 RPM records with the large hole.
The turntable isn't that hard to work on, and it might be a fun learning experience, the way the cams and gears perform the record changing function.

[Don R]

 A few years ago, a friend dropped off two homemade stereo speakers, the cabinets were pretty crude but I had a pair of cabinets with similar size blown speakers. They're living on a pair of shelves in my shop now. I wish I could remember the brand.  The tuner they are wired to hangs on the wall, came out of a 5' long stereo cabinet and has quad 8 track in it. It still lives in a crude cabinet.