I recently bought a 1991 300CE.

The car came equipped with the standard OEM Becker radio....but with a twist.

The first owner had a customized radio set-up where the radio's face was covered with a burlwood door. At the press of a button, the door (which was hinged at the bottom, would drop down and the raido would slide forward, maybe 0.5 inch or so. Press the button again, and the door would close up.

I had the OEM radio replaced with an Alpine unit with built-in Bluetooth, XM radio and iPod hook up. I di dnot take pictures of the radio while it was in the car, but I have taken some pictures of the radio out of the car.

The mechanism is rather ingenious. The entire radio is installed inside a metal sleeve. The radio moved back and forth inside the sleeve. At the back of the sleeve was a small electrical motor, with an eccentric cam which caused the radio to move back and forth.

The pictures are posted below.

Has anyone seen a similar set-up? I would be curious to know if there are other Benzes with a similar set-up.

I do not know the reason why the first owner had this done. I suspect that he or she was worried about radio theft. Whatever the reason, it seems like they spent a lot of money in this little gadget. :D

Radio. Open door.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/imejasan/300CE/1a230d2f.jpg

Radio--top view. Door down.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/imejasan/300CE/6bda8996.jpg

Radio--top view. Motor.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/imejasan/300CE/d40b04c4.jpg

Radio--side view. Motor close-up.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/imejasan/300CE/3fd2a7af.jpg

Radio--top view. Door closed. Please note the sleeve inside which the radio slides in and out.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/imejasan/300CE/3c0e4866.jpg

Radio. Door closed. Sorry about the blurry picture. But the burlwood used for the door is a near perfect match of the rest of the car's wood.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/imejasan/300CE/8be8eb32.jpg

Interesting application......by someone trying really hard to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

The OE Becker radios of the era were unfortunately,....really, junk.

It was a smart move for you to upgrade to something contemporary with the features you really can use, that were unheard of back in '91.

(BTW, VERY nice job with the euro light upgrade, and losing the headlight wipers, Ernesto, at a quick glance, it looks like a mint '95 euro car, now and you will like driving at night....Just remember, euro lights for a '91 is for "off road use only" hehehe)

Ahhhh, Southern California, the home of car culture

Jim:

The original owner lived in West Los Angeles for a while. There was a time when auto theft, and specially stereo theft was a big issue. I think that's what the owner was looking at when she/he had this set-up.

The opening switch was hidden under the small carpeted area where the center console is. So it appears that they did not want anyone to know where the switch was.

I wasn't too crazy about the set up. I am glad I put the the new Alpine h/u. It is far more versatile and it sounds better.

I just had to get the Euros...now I can cruise up and down Malibu Canyon road and up and down PCH. :D

Back in the late 80's to mid 90's, there was an aftermarket product called Audio Safe, which did exactly what you describe was installed in your car. It was the stealth way to hide high end audio; a friend of mine had one to hide a Nachamichi (sp?) head. It looks like the PO installed one in your car to hide a radio not worth stealing. This was not a MB factory option. Dave

Back in the late 80's to mid 90's, there was an aftermarket product called Audio Safe, which did exactly what you describe was installed in your car. It was the stealth way to hide high end audio; a friend of mine had one to hide a Nachamichi (sp?) head. It looks like the PO installed one in your car to hide a radio not worth stealing. This was not a MB factory option. Dave

Meant for DIN chassis, so I couldn't take advantage of this with my shaft-type Nakamichi TD-800. It was subsequently borrowed (permanently). I immediately replaced it with a TD-1200 and bolted it to the firewall! Didn't go anywhere after that!

Back in the late 80's to mid 90's, there was an aftermarket product called Audio Safe, which did exactly what you describe was installed in your car. It was the stealth way to hide high end audio; a friend of mine had one to hide a Nachamichi (sp?) head. It looks like the PO installed one in your car to hide a radio not worth stealing. This was not a MB factory option. Dave

For a while, back when this car was new, So. Calif was the car radio theft capital of the Nation.

They were even stealing Becker radios which, of course, they couldn't use w/o the code and w/o the trunk mounted amps. DUH!

Thanks for the info. The radio, with the Audio Safe now make for a nice door stop! :D