Volvo 480 Club Europe

As part of my 440 restoration, in the interests of trying to return to originality, I am looking for an appropriate radio cassette unit. For the 440/460/480 these were Philips units made for Volvo - sometimes they carried the "Volvo" brand and sometimes were used under their original "Philips" label.

Ideally I am after a VC802 - this was the unit commonly used across all 3 400 series cars in the early 90's. A VC602 would be a workable alternative although it is less sophisticated without RDS.

I know a lot of people on here upgrade their head units to up-to-date items, so wondered if anyone has something sitting around that they no longer use?

Many thanks

David

And no sooner flagged on here than just the right unit makes itself available elsewhere

Thanks anyway!

David

Hi David

Well here we go again eh?

I haven't got an early 90s radio but I do have a c.1985 Philips radio/cassette out of a Manta, but the issue I found was that it only does Short and mediumwave, not FM, so is basically useless these days.

I found when trying to find a good unit for my car that it is often impossible to find out exactly what radio is correct, or rather, impossible to find the correct radio as the Volvo VC numbers were internal designations where Philips would actually license that radio to several different brands.

I think you may be better served by searching for a period correct unit, or a period Philips catalogue unit, if in doubt I would recommend going to a specialist vintage Hi-Fi shop, the one I know is very passionate and I believe they are all enthusiasts who will know what you need

Just had a quick nosey and found this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-PHI ... Swh7RfCf5Z

It seems this reply is now redundant, but someone may find it useful

What was the correct unit in the end?

Thanks Ben

Yes, the irony of my request was not lost on me - especially when I see you are the first responder

I have got hold of a VC802 in really good nick, so happy. I believe the actual correct unit for the 440ES may have been one of the Philips branded ones, but it's close enough for my needs.

Thanks for taking the time to reply - I think your observations are quite right, especially since at the time Philips were main suppliers for both Vauxhall and Rover.

David