The portable radio with a difference
02/23/2024
For some classic car enthusiasts, the historical experience is only complete when they can listen to music from the time their classic car was built while driving. The question of whether you should even listen to the radio in an old car with a beautiful engine sound should remain unanswered at this point - although it has been on the minds of some of our commentators.
Anyone who sees no contradiction in the interplay between engine and music will soon be faced with the question of how to get the desired concert into the oldie with both a pleasant sound and an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Because in the end, it's not the radio that makes the sound - it's the loudspeaker. Therefore, if you want a bit more sonority than the lonely, nasal mono part under the dashboard has to offer, you inevitably have to retrofit modern, stylistically not always suitable speakers.
The American owner of a 1949 Mercury Station Wagoncame up with a particularly ingenious solution when he didn't want to ruin the nostalgic look of his log cabin with obviously modern audio installations. He encased the stereo system, including amplifier and subwoofer, in an old suitcase and then installed the ensemble as a permanent and immovable piece of luggage in the Mercury's load compartment.
Of course, this concept only works in cars whose trunk is not structurally separated from the passenger compartment. Whether the tank and spare wheel will appreciate the improved sound quality as much as the passengers is rather doubtful.
