Hi,
I posted something about this yesterday, but apparently it didn't make it to
the group.
The actual radio unit in the eBay pictures look correct for a 1A, the
enclosure
is from a older Tiger/Alpine, and the black trim plate seems out of place.In
20 years of looking at and photographing Tigers and Alpines,this is the first
times I've seen a black trim plate used for a stock installation. Without
being
close enough to the part, my guess is maybe the enclosure was used for a
different,
non standard radio at some point and the tuner hole cutouts were modified. I
believe Bendix made this radio, and versions of it were also OEM in the
States
for Volvo and Volkswagen during 1966-7 with essentially just the clear
plastic
tuner dial etched for the specific car make.
The typical mounting for a Tiger 1A and Mark II radio of this period was a
just
a small trapezoidal faceplate, and no integral speaker enclosure. Obviously
I cant include pictures on this user group, but Ive scanned some, if
individuals
need them. Having written this, I found a photo of a 66 1A that I believe
the
same owner has had since it was one year old. It shows the same enclosure as
the one from eBay, but the photo was not taken close enough for me to ID the
actual radio, and perhaps the selling dealer was getting rid of old stock.
I also have a scan of the rare later radio, I believe from Motorola, thats
marked by black tuner buttons, volume and manual tuning knobs. The outside
knobs
are flat and the tuner buttons are a more softer design. I actually have an
AMFM Volkswagen version from 1968. My hunch is that the redesign was done to
meet 1968 instrument panel protrusion requirements legislated by the US.
And, again, this just a hunch, but maybe the first owner of this second 66
1A waited more than a year later to buy a Sunbeam radio, and the later one
was
the only one available. I write this because I have pictures of two separate
original Mark IIs. and they both have the chrome button radio with the small
trapezoidal bezel.
This is a long answer to the basic question. The eBay Tiger radio itself
looks
correct for the 1A application, and this is afterall what the buyer should
concentrate
on. Getting the correct enclosure or small bezel could be fairly simple to
locate.
You could also ask the seller if maybe there's nothing wrong with the
enclosure,
but the black faceplate was added as overkill.
RB
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