Beogram 4002 (5503): A New Arrival from California

I recently received an Beogram 4002 (Type 5503; AC platter motor) for restoration. The unit arrived in excellent condition:

The hood is almost pristine. The aluminum panels and the platter are also very nice:

Except that someone drilled a hole into the left upper corner of the aluminum plate around the platter:

This plate should be replaced. Under the plates, the unit seems pristinely original:

'Original condition' is always a great starting point for a restoration, since there will be less probability for unexpected surprised. The unit has the orange plastic transport lock bushings, which promptly disintegrated during shipping (as expected):

But the plinth corners are pristine, a rare occurrence!:

When I plugged it in and pressed start the carriage moved very sluggishly to the LP setdown point, and tried to lower the arm....a pretty good sign! A good cleaning and re-lubrication of the carriage and arm lowering mechanism will fix this. This test also revealed that the 33 RPM trimmer back light bulb is broken, and that the carriage pulley is cracked. Nothing difficult to fix.

In summary, this 4002 is an excellent starting point for a full restoration, which will return it to a like-new performance. Stay tuned!