Vintage Clarion - belt /roller replacement - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

skender · 10th Aug 2020, 8:53 am

Hi everyone,

New member here and first time poster.... thanks for the add! I'll head over to the intro's form to formally introduce myself.

I'm a complete newbie to car audio repairs and have decided to try my hand at belt/pinch roller replacement on a Vintage Clarion Radio Cassette for one of my mini's.

The deck is a Clarion PE-554A (pictured below) and it's going into an Aussie 72 Clubman GT.

How do I know what belts to buy and where would I buy them? Same deal with the pinch roller... I have cleaned it and it "seems" to be in reasonable condition, but now that I have the whole thing in pieces it may as well be replaced (if possible). Where do I start??

Any tips/advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Skender.

60 oldjohn · 10th Aug 2020, 9:19 am

Hi Skender, welcome to the forum. If you search for Cassette Belts on Ebay it comes up with assorted sizes of belt. You have to fit the nearest size. Available in flat or round section.

John.

skender · 10th Aug 2020, 11:47 am

Thanks for the reply John.

one of the belts is intact... should I measure it assuming it has stretched and buy a belt a little smaller? What's the general rule of thumb?

The other belt has snapped - how should I measure this one?

mark_in_manc · 10th Aug 2020, 12:44 pm

The last ones I bought came as a pack of assorted sizes, which spanned the length I thought I needed. Flat belts come in packs of one, so if you need one you'll need to get the right length - I think I used 10% under the apparent length worked out from the pulley diameters and their centres to allow a bit of stretch, which is important to make it grip.

I do hope you'll be attaching it using bits of bent dexion and wonky self-tappers into various bits of irreplaceable trim, as was traditional (and a wire coat hanger for an aerial)

skender · 10th Aug 2020, 1:19 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark_in_manc

The last ones I bought came as a pack of assorted sizes, which spanned the length I thought I needed. Flat belts come in packs of one, so if you need one you'll need to get the right length - I think I used 10% under the apparent length worked out from the pulley diameters and their centres to allow a bit of stretch, which is important to make it grip.

ok cool... will give that a go.....

Quote:

I do hope you'll be attaching it using bits of bent dexion and wonky self-tappers into various bits of irreplaceable trim, as was traditional (and a wire coat hanger for an aerial)

yes of course.... not to mention cutting out large chunks of the dash to make it fit

DMcMahon · 10th Aug 2020, 1:32 pm

If the Pinch Roller is not too hard/soft and is undamaged/not misshapen then I personally would not replace it.

David

skender · 10th Aug 2020, 2:01 pm

Ok - that's good advice. The pinch roller looks to be in pretty good condition so I'll leave it be.

Cheers David.

10th Aug 2020, 8:53 am	#1
skender Diode Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 5	Vintage Clarion - belt /roller replacement Hi everyone, New member here and first time poster.... thanks for the add! I'll head over to the intro's form to formally introduce myself. I'm a complete newbie to car audio repairs and have decided to try my hand at belt/pinch roller replacement on a Vintage Clarion Radio Cassette for one of my mini's. The deck is a Clarion PE-554A (pictured below) and it's going into an Aussie 72 Clubman GT. How do I know what belts to buy and where would I buy them? Same deal with the pinch roller... I have cleaned it and it "seems" to be in reasonable condition, but now that I have the whole thing in pieces it may as well be replaced (if possible). Where do I start?? Any tips/advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks, Skender. Attached Thumbnails

10th Aug 2020, 9:19 am	#2
60 oldjohn Dekatron Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 3,990	Re: Vintage Clarion - belt /roller replacement Hi Skender, welcome to the forum. If you search for Cassette Belts on Ebay it comes up with assorted sizes of belt. You have to fit the nearest size. Available in flat or round section. John. __________________ My favourite text message "I'll be there in five minutes, if not read again"

10th Aug 2020, 11:47 am	#3
skender Diode Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 5	Re: Vintage Clarion - belt /roller replacement Thanks for the reply John. one of the belts is intact... should I measure it assuming it has stretched and buy a belt a little smaller? What's the general rule of thumb? The other belt has snapped - how should I measure this one?

10th Aug 2020, 12:44 pm	#4
mark_in_manc Octode Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Manchester, UK. Posts: 1,875	Re: Vintage Clarion - belt /roller replacement The last ones I bought came as a pack of assorted sizes, which spanned the length I thought I needed. Flat belts come in packs of one, so if you need one you'll need to get the right length - I think I used 10% under the apparent length worked out from the pulley diameters and their centres to allow a bit of stretch, which is important to make it grip. I do hope you'll be attaching it using bits of bent dexion and wonky self-tappers into various bits of irreplaceable trim, as was traditional (and a wire coat hanger for an aerial)

10th Aug 2020, 1:32 pm	#6
DMcMahon Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Worthing, West Sussex, UK. Posts: 6,604	Re: Vintage Clarion - belt /roller replacement If the Pinch Roller is not too hard/soft and is undamaged/not misshapen then I personally would not replace it. David

10th Aug 2020, 2:01 pm	#7
skender Diode Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 5	Re: Vintage Clarion - belt /roller replacement Ok - that's good advice. The pinch roller looks to be in pretty good condition so I'll leave it be. Cheers David.