New Custom Autosounds Slidebar radio

[Rich69shortfleet]

I recently installed a Custom Autosounds Slidbar radio and I'm really happy with it. I installed Kenwood 4" coaxials in the dash and I used two ancient but nice box speakers behind the seat. Sounds pretty good. The old Clarion cassette deck radio had gotten so bad I couldn't even hear it at full volume out on the highway.

This head unit provides radio, bluetooth, USB, Aux and I-phone connections. I'm just using the radio, BT and USB, everything works great so far. The digital readout can be adjusted to one of seven colors to match the dash lights color and can be dimmed or brightened. It has a lot of features. By using the EQ settings and the fader and balancer I was able to get pretty decent sound for what it is. I might add a small self-powered subwoofer under the seat for a little more bass. The head unit has pre-outs that can run to the subwoofer as needed. I routed the USB plug to the top corner of the glovebox by the glovebox light. The controls are a little twitchy but using a light touch makes them work great. Connected to my phone without any trouble and comes with BT built in so no extra dongle and the package contained a small mic for phone use.

So far I'm pretty happy with it. I was very happy to find that the previous owners hadn't chopped up the dash. This CAS unit fit into the factory hole perfectly. The front chrome bezel is plastic, would have preferred it to be metal, but you can't have everything.

[slikside]

Nice fitment!

[68Gold/white]

Cool.
Did you purchase direct from Custom Auto Sound???

[Rich69shortfleet]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

Cool.
Did you purchase direct from Custom Auto Sound???

No, from Speedway Motors so I could get my Speedway reward points. Price was the same but I got $20 of rewards from Speedway.

[Rich69shortfleet]

Originally Posted by Rich69shortfleet

No, from Speedway Motors so I could get my Speedway reward points. Price was the same but I got $20 of rewards from Speedway.

But of course Classic Car Stereos put the same unit on sale this past weekend, would have saved me $38 plus the difference in tax. Oh well!

[Rich69shortfleet]

I did decide to add a Rockville 6x9 self powered subwoofer, just bought it today. Hope it gets here by the weekend but it probably won't.

[Casper42]

I have the same radio, for over a year. it's a very nice choice. it looks far better than the competitor from RetroSound

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

I have the same unit as well in my truck and love it. Have used custom auto sound for years as they make a good radio where you dont need to cut the dash.

[Rich69shortfleet]

Good to hear from a couple of owners who have had good luck over time. I did read some reviews that weren't exactly positive, but it has often been my experience that most common component failures more often than not have more to do with improper installation than low quality products.

Regardless, I'm pretty happy with the unit and it has a 2 year warranty so I should be good all the way around. Looking forward to adding the subwoofer, but it won't be here until the middle of next week. I got their install kit as well, so installation should be pretty straightforward and I won't need to be chasing down any additional supplies to get it installed.

Only tough part will be getting to the wiring on the back of the head unit since I really don't want to pull the glovebox out again since it was so hard to install. The glovebox manufacurer didn't put all the screw clips and screw holes in the right places... Which is really frustrating and disappointing especially in light of the glovebox I installed in my Chevelle which dropped right in with no muss or fuss.

[Rich69shortfleet]

I received my powered sub and installed it today. The sub install wasn't so bad, but taking out the bench seat and especially putting it back in all by myself was a bit of a PITA. But I got it done. Now I need to mess with my EQ settings again to get it sounding the best.

[Rich69shortfleet]

LOL at me. I had the truck out running recycling to the recycling center and the sound started cutting in and out. Hit a bump, sound goes out but sub keeps going, hit another bump and the sound comes back. And on and on. I thought, is the amp going out all ready in the new stereo? Once I was done with recycling I pulled off into a parking lot to look for loose connections. I found that the right rear box speaker had a cable coming loose from the crimped on terminal and was shorting out against some metal behind the seat. Fixed the terminal and sealed it with some shrink tubing and all is well.

[dmjlambert]

Can you show pictures of how you mounted the Rockville 6x9 self powered subwoofer? And perhaps a link to where it is for sale?

[Rich69shortfleet]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

Can you show pictures of how you mounted the Rockville 6x9 self powered subwoofer? And perhaps a link to where it is for sale?

Well, it is all under the seat in the center of the cab so kind of hard to get any pictures. I bought it directly from Rockville.

https://www.rockvilleaudio.com/rw68ca/

[dmjlambert]

Thanks, the pictures on their website and the description is very good. I may want to get one or 2 of those, seems very nice. I didn't know there were 6x9 subwoofers. Are you getting nice deep bass sounds?

[Rich69shortfleet]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

Thanks, the pictures on their website and the description is very good. I may want to get one or 2 of those, seems very nice. I didn't know there were 6x9 subwoofers. Are you getting nice deep bass sounds?

You can with the power/volume control. I have mine set at a fairly mild level. They won't shake the windows or anything, but they do add fairly clean sound to the mix.

[Rust_never_sleeps]

Does anyone make a retro unit without the LED display?

[1970cstblazer]

Yes, there is one that appears almost identical to the original AM/FM radio.

part number 832201BT from

Antique Automobile Radio



https://www.ebay.com/itm/13444123068...Bk9SR6qMq-DoZA

[Rust_never_sleeps]

Originally Posted by 1970cstblazer

Yes, there is one that appears almost identical to the original AM/FM radio.

part number 832201BT from Antique Automobile Radio

That is a good looking unit, though it's very expensive

[54blackhornet]

I have an elderly gentleman down the road that has his own junkyard. I have tried to buy the three radios he has sitting inside 67/72 pickups. One is AM/FM. The trucks are toast but the radios appear to be in good condition. I offered $200.00 for it alone.

[1970cstblazer]

$200 usually won't touch a '71-'77 van AM/FM, even if it's rough. A real truck radio starts at $400 and they all need servicing.