Retro tunage...

I had no idea....

Part of this GLI restoration is to return it back to its former glory.  In doing so, I've decided to return the stereo back to stock as well.

I pulled a factory deck from the red GLI I scrapped, but alas it was missing the 2 post knobs.  Searching, and searching, and searching had yielded no source of JUST knobs.  Seems everyone tossed them out when they thought they were removing their decks for the last time.

So upon scouring Ebay, I found a local guy selling a rather beat up Alpine deck, refurbed for $100.  You heard right, for a Robert Borden.  I know what you're thinking, I'm crazy.  You can get a sweet single DIN bluetooth deck for the same price if you look hard enough, but such is retro.  Every deck I looked at was either junk, or commanding over the price of new.  NOS decks from the 80s were pushing $700+!!!

I think my uncle, rocked a similar Alpine deck in his '79 Trans Am, its cool but I just want the knobs. (for now) She's pretty beat up, FFWD and REW buttons are not stock, and the black surround is filed to fit through a hole with rounded corners...(why didn't he file the hole?!?  WTF?!?!) but its good the knobs fit the MEI well...

I believe this is a dealer-installed deck, an MEI CX155E.  It has the proper mk1 dash clips and Volkswagen face.  The harness pigtail is missing, but worse case I cut and solder to a new harness.

In retrospect, in my search for knobs, I saw Blaupunkts, and green-button Alpines, but they are fetching $300+...wow.  Not right now....but maybe someday.  Green-button Alpines are cool sh^t!

As far as speakers go, it reiterates my feeling that Cabbys are great mk1s, because starting in '87 they came factory with upgraded Infinity speakers in the doors and rear seat panels.  Both of which would fit into a modified stock speaker grille housing on the rear package tray of the GLI.

On the home front, finally got into the garage.  Another spring flood put 2" of ice on the floor, and froze the door shut.  My garage is f^cking garbage!  No place to store cars with any value.  Time to price out a new floor, (that slopes towards the door, not towards the back wall) and some kind of trench drain across the doors.

GRRRRR!

UPDATE SEP '19

The collection is growing!