Inherited Sharp GF555 in a sorry state. (Pic heavy)

I have waited and waited for my father to pass down some of his beloved hifi but he has made me wait so long its not in the greatest shape. Heres the GF555 he gave me finally last night. Im hoping to restore it and get it fully working again as its been in the family 36 years. The issues i have found so far are as follows. All help gratefully received.

1) The volume slider crackles (I've got some switch cleaner to try tomorrow)
2) The Tape deck only plays on one channel (hoping the switch cleaner fixes this)
3) The record deck chews tapes (probably the rubber capstan thingie I've read about here)
4) The silver cosmetic AMTS trim is missing (hoping for a donation or lucky find)























Today i decided to spend 3 hours cleaning the GF555 to see what it was like underneath 30+ years of crudd. Im actually surprised. It doesn't look too bad.

Very Nice so far! She looks really clean now! I'm starting to like the look of the 555 - what about the sound?

I should get me one too!

I can't help with the parts you need but I do wish you well. Overall, it looks to be in quite good condition and.................................I love the back story and the good reasons you have for the resto.

Good luck.

MyOhMy said:

I can't help with the parts you need but I do wish you well. Overall, it looks to be in quite good condition and.................................I love the back story and the good reasons you have for the resto.

Good luck.

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It was purchased by my Grandad who passed away about 25 years ago and then my Dad inherited it and now me. I wish it was in better condition though lol

Nice work mate, I have about 60 boxes which could use a bit of your skills

I have just ordered these off Ebay, they seem cheap enough and if an official part presents itself i can easily replace them http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Sharp-GF555-and-GF666-Trim-Stripes-/122312830996?hash=item1c7a69b014:g:gS0AAOSwjDZYbzMH

im_alan_partridge said:

Nice work mate, I have about 60 boxes which could use a bit of your skills

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I didn't disassemble anything. I just did that outside manually

Kid Sensation said:

Very Nice so far! She looks really clean now! I'm starting to like the look of the 555 - what about the sound?

I should get me one too!

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It sounds ok, it could sound better if I'm honest. The crackly volume control is quite annoying and sometimes the sound goes off on one channel. I will attempt to take the back off tomorrow and clean the switches to see what difference it makes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6cp7Sjghas

You were pretty with finding the parts, these are as rare as hen's teeth in UK.

Needs a bath

MyOhMy said:

You were pretty with finding the parts, these are as rare as hen's teeth in UK.

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Ooops! ..........pretty *quick* with........................

Cool. A family radio is a treasure.
And you're lucky,it's a decent box.
Good job so far.
I'm surprised you found those parts so easily and inexpensive.
Looking forward to seeing the proud shots of it all done.

Goodluck with restoration!

According to the service manual on hifiengine, removing the back screws will release the front too, which gives you full access to the volume slider.

Family Heirloom Box

Oh man, you gotta get her back in top shape!

caution said:

According to the service manual on hifiengine, removing the back screws will release the front too, which gives you full access to the volume slider.

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SEE, the professionals here will hook you up!

BTW, fill out your profile so we know where your located!

Can't beat free! Love the look of this one for sure.

Sorted the facia cosmetics today. Looks much better.

Damn that looks so much better, pops is gonna like that a lot!