When is "Classic" audio gear not "Classic"?

[Tony L]

Thanks for mentioning Servisol; I've just ordered some, to clean some slightly marked equipment. Always worth a try.
Would Autoglym work on the rubber surrounds of older speakers?

On rubber, I suspect so, but not foam - that stuff just needs replacement. I tried a little Autoglym on the rubber surrounds of the B110s of my JR149s and it cleaned them up beautifully cosmetically, they were rather dull and grey looking with a little mould as they had obviously been stored somewhere less than ideal. I ended up replacing them with new Falcon FB110s as the pair matching was obviously too far off spec (I've got their T27s on order for the same reason, they will work out an exceptionally expensive pair of 149s!), but I suspect in many cases a gentle wipe with some Autoglym would help with this type of driver. It just seems to rejuvenate the rubber. The difference it made to the rubber mat of my 1963 Lenco L70 had to be seen to be believed!

 

[SimonB]

Thanks for mentioning Servisol; I've just ordered some, to clean some slightly marked equipment. Always worth a try.
Would Autoglym work on the rubber surrounds of older speakers?

Yes. Used it on my 25 year old Monitor Audio's...look like new.

Autoglym - that is. I also use Servisol, although originally on Computers now on (the outside) of all sorts of Electronics.

Simon.

 

[stevec67]

I wouldn't want to modify a collector piece in an irreversible fashion, but improvements to running gear are fine. An old car can still perform with modern stuff. The best example I have is a Lotus 7 series 2 with a blown pre-XF Lotus twink engine. Rebuild cost £5k+, for what? 125bhp, 20 mpg, and more time in the garage than on the road. Great. The owner, sensibly, made an engine cradle to hold a Honda Fireblade engine and gearbox, and arranged for it to fit the original mounts. He now has about 140-150 bhp, 6 speed box, an engine that revs to 10k+ and a lighter, better handling car. It still looks great but it leaves the original car for dead. If he ever wants to go back (why?) he unbolts the cradle and rebuilds the twink. Meanwhile he's too busy thrashing it around racetracks to be fiddling with a wobbly pair of old worn-out Webers.

Seems a shame to do this to a 60's Seven with original Lotus power when you could achieve the same result with a common or garden Caterham of indeterminate age for about 1/5th the value and none of the loss of heritage. Or are we arguing about the same thing?

Like I say, it depends what it's for. I've said I wouldn't modify a museum piece, but the start point here is a somewhat ratty 60s sports car that won't go. It's got no history to speak of, it's just a 50 yr old sports car that is useless in its current state. The owner wants to use it, and for less money than a "restore to original" he can have a better performing car. He's got it working, he's using it for its intended purpose. Remember that the L7 was originally a clubman car that could be driven to work in the week and thrashed round a track at the weekend. If he or any subsequent owner decides it's too valuable to use like this, nothing is irreversible, he unbolts the Honda engine and rebuilds the original twink. I call that the best of all worlds. Far better than a piece of garage jewellery used twice a year or, worse, a car that won't actually go.

 

[ian r]

i wont remind u of my misery with my rebuilt esl 57's after this point

 

[Martin D]

Its probably worth £45 don't worry about it

 

[Fudgemaster]

Robert, I found a replacement belt on the bay, but haven't plucked up the courage to replace it - yet. I had an exploratory look, but chickened out when it came to unsoldering the leads, so don't know how the new belt compares to the old one. I found some guidance on the web, and read also about the magnets possibly being stuck, so the fluids mentioned could help to free them off. I'm fumbling a bit here, but I seem to recall A/S being set at around 1.8, for my Dyna 10x4, but aren't sure.
Still, if I only manage to mangle it slightly, I can always trade it in against an RB251 or 300.
After all, I glued new foam rings into my HB1s, and they were fine.

 

[Fudgemaster]

TonyL, I've got some Electrolube Anti-static Foam Cleaner, and some RS Anti-static cleaner - will one of these be a suitable substitute for the Servisol, please?
Would the Autoglym help the suspension of my cartridge?