Beogram 4004 (5526): A New Arrival from California - First Assessment

This post assesses the condition of a Beogram 4004 (Type 5526) that I received from a customer in California. The unit came safely packaged in a Beolover shipping container and there was no shipping damage. I extracted the unit from the box and put it on the bench:

The unit is in pretty nice condition. The hood has a few scratches but not too many:

I removed the hood and found a bunch of orangeish transport lock bushing fragments:

The degradation of these bushings is a common issue with the 4004. I will fix this by installing a Beolover Transport Lock Bushing Set for Beogram 4000, 4002, and 4004. This shows the entire unit:

The aluminum surfaces are in pretty good condition overall! The main plate has a few dings around the opening for the platter:

These are most likely the result of carrying the unit without removing the platter and/or tightening the transport locks. The keypad has early-onset finger smudges from pressing the keys:

This could be fixed with a new rebuilt keypad.

The original rosewood veneer wood frame is in pristine condition with perfect front corners:

After this visual inspection, I removed the aluminum plates and platter:

Under the panels, it looked 'original'. I plugged it in and pressed START. The carriage sluggishly moved to find the LP setdown point. Once it found it, the solenoid engaged. The platter motor was also running. All good signs!

In summary, this Beogram is an excellent starting point for a restoration that will bring it back to like-new performance. Stay tuned for my restoration report!