Aftermarket Radios

[1970pelle]

I have been looking at all the stock style replacement radios offered for our trucks. The prices are all over the place. I want AM/FM and to be able to hook up my Ipod and other type device. I have the rear speaker bracket upgrades with very nice 6X9's and a good set of 3 inch speaker in the dash corners.

What Have you guys found that, seams to to the job for you ?
Thanks Ken

[73kay]

Bump I'm also interested in the exact same thing!

[J Knight]

http://www.classicparts.com/1973-87-...nfo/69%2D773C/

[walkerb]

Originally Posted by J Knight

http://www.classicparts.com/1973-87-...nfo/69%2D773C/

Anyone know how this radio has held up over time?

[J Knight]

A guy on this site has one....he said it performs well....dont know if it lasts though.

[TexasJeff]

I recommend one of these, just put one in my truck.

http://www.retrosound.com/

[TKCR]

http://www.classiccarstereos.com/pro...HTKLL-630.html

This is the one I have. I got it from LMC, although I don't see it anymore on their site. But this is the same model. I love it!!

The back dial is from our current radios (73-87) and the knobs are from an even older Chevy. I found them on Ebay and I liked them better than the black plastic ones.

[chengny]

Another option - if you have an operational OEM radio (or get one from the JY - there are thousands of these around in good shape):

You can easily modify one (a stock Delco) to wire/mount an auxiliary jack that will accept the input cable of whatever kind of device you are using. I have seen one of my sons take an old stock Delco radio and modify it with an auxiliary jack. Then you just plug your Ipod (or whatever they are using these days) into the jack and start listening to the tunes.

I generally don't pay too much attention to half of what he does, but I got the gist of it by looking over his shoulder for a few minutes. The way he did it was wicked easy. Here is a more detailed procedure (compliments of SWIM)



See post #6 here:

EDIT: Never mind - apparently links to GMSB site are forbidden. Bush league. Sad part is - I think that the procedure was originally written up by a member of this site.



I'll cut and paste.

Hello all. This mod came about because I wanted to listen to my ipod in my truck, but I did not want to cut my dash.
I looked into the aftermarket shaft style but right now I can't justify the cost, so for about $20 I made my own.

The first thing I did was grab a stock radio from the local yard, and started to locate what wires were the tuner wires before the amp.
This part is real easy, there is a ORANGE wire and GREEN wire that go from the main board to the amp board

1

What you need to do now is cut the wires in the middle so you don't need to solder directly onto the board.
Now if you look at the location of the wires on the amp board it will tell you which one is left and right

2

Next you need to get a switchable female aux. input. I found one at radio shack, and it is real easy to locate because it will have 5 posts and has a clear side so you can see inside to id which is in and out for both the left and the right channels.

The reason you need a switchable input is because without something plugged in you have normal radio function, but as soon as you plug your ipod in it will disconnect the radio function and will send the new source into the amp

3

So now that you have cut the wires you need to solder 5 wires onto the aux. input. 1 ground that goes to the radio body , a right channel in and out, and a left channel in and out

4


Now you need to find out which is the left and right channels on the male portion that you plug in. If you look at the plug you will see 3 sections, the first at the tip is the left channel, the next one is the right channel, and the third is the ground. You need to solder the the red and green wires from the main board to the input posts on the aux. input then solder the output wires of the aux. input to the wires going into the amp board.

Once that is done you need to drill a small hole for the input to mount into, I found that just above the first channel select was about the best spot. This will involve cutting the am/fm selector plate to clear the wires. After all that it is time to put the radio case back together

5

One thing you need to be careful of is to have the radio off when you plug in and unplug your ipod because for a brief instance everything will be connected and the possibility of damaging something is higher.

With all things electrical take your time and double check all conections before you solder, I learned this the hard way and burnt up a perfectly good radio. I also used an am/fm only radio because you have more room to work, but I am sure one with a cassette would work also.

Misc pictures:

[1970pelle]

Thank you for sharing this again chengny. I had looked at that as a possible route to go. My current radio is a dead player, so a fresh candidate would be needed. But with going to a Vintage Air System I want to keep the under dash area as clear as possible. Again many thanks, Ken

[Dannyboy1966]

Hey brother I have a factory AM/FM Delco out of my 86. It works. Send me a message if interested, just taking up space on my desk.
Dan

[Layne]

I put in a Retro sound radio in my truck a few months ago.
Very pleased with it.

[nsulacountry]

Very informative. It would be a trip to have an AM only radio with an AUX connection!

CT

[Jeepwm69]

While not as clean as the above install, you can get an FM modulated Aux Imput from Soche which is easier to install. It splices into the antenna wires, and you simply tune your radio to 88.3 and flip a power switch and you have Aux imput.

Amazon.com: Scosche FM-MOD02 Universal Audio...
I have this on both my Jeeps and my daily driver Accord as I didn't want to have to buy new head units. Works fine.

Plan on putting one in the square, will probably put the switch in the ashtray under of over the lighter, and put the aux port somewhere right around the radio.

[1970pelle]

Originally Posted by Jeepwm69

While not as clean as the above install, you can get an FM modulated Aux Imput from Soche which is easier to install. It splices into the antenna wires, and you simply tune your radio to 88.3 and flip a power switch and you have Aux imput.

Amazon.com: Scosche FM-MOD02 Universal Audio Input FM Modulator for iPod, Satellite Radio or Portable Music Player: MP3 Players & Accessories

I have this on both my Jeeps and my daily driver Accord as I didn't want to have to buy new head units. Works fine.

Plan on putting one in the square, will probably put the switch in the ashtray under of over the lighter, and put the aux port somewhere right around the radio.

That's very cool thanks for posting. Ken

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by chengny

Another option - if you have an operational OEM radio (or get one from the JY - there are thousands of these around in good shape):

man not in Nor Cal I must have hit 1/2 a dozen Pick N Pulls and found one OEM style radio, they are not easy to find at all

[truckin 79]

I went high tech and went with 2 knob cassette JVC stereo with a amp and flashing lights. I just plug in a cassette adapter and use that with my phone and sounds just fine with 4x6 dual speakers. Anyway any stereo you get will probably need some kind of amp to power todays modern speakers