Replaced my original radio on the 87. Is this radio correct for my truck?

[weider1717]

Ok, so my 87 came with a am/fm radio that looks very smiliar to the one pictured below except it did NOT have a cassette player. Seeing that I like to play music for my phone and still wanted a stock appearance without altering my original I bought this one off ebay for $40 and it works great.

Guy said it was removed from an 86 silverado. Well, it's not a huge deal but after looking i noticed most if not all the 1987's I saw pictures of with an original cassette radio looked a little different from this one they looked like they are digital.

So, just curious was this radio even an option on 87's that had cassette option or was it either the radio I removed or the cassette radio thats digital?

[Liberty]

That radio would have been an option. The digital ones were a premium option. Base was AM/FM, midrange added cassette, upper added CB, ect.

[barry1982]

I bought a full load 87 Short box fleet side brand new in Nov of 86. My factory radio looked a different than yours. It sounded great ! Remember a buddy bought a new Ford the same year.... my stereo blew his away. Wish I had pictures of it. My family grew in 1990.... and had to trade it in.

[mxr515]

Looks exactly like the original radio in my 87. RPO info is below.

UN3 Radio am/fm stereo cass mtr
UN9 Radio suppression equipment
UP8 Stereo radio installment

[barry1982]

My 87 Silverado was the radio on upper right of brochure page.

[barry1982]

Sorry... need to go back to grammar school.... My 87 HAD this radio...

[weider1717]

thanks guys guess i'll leave it as is as the one I put in plays and It cleaned up nicely and lets me play my phone through a tape transducer.

Just curious though would that upgrade digital option make any difference in sound quality if I were to happen to see one floating around on ebay eventually?

thanks

[barry1982]

I believe the optional digital radio did have better sound quality. I recall mine "rocked" for the day....... Not sure if you got better speakers with this option.... probably. They are rare though.... I have been tinkering with these trucks for years.... and have only seen a hand full with this option. The only year I ever saw this radio in was 87. I have a 89 Blazer.... (still old body style) and it has a different one I believe.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by mxr515

Looks exactly like the original radio in my 87. RPO info is below.

UN3 Radio am/fm stereo cass mtr
UN9 Radio suppression equipment
UP8 Stereo radio installment

Welcome to the forum.

[jetmech85]

I have three of the digital radios and all of them need repair. I have noticed the trucks that came with the digital radio have no clocks as it is in the radio.

[weider1717]

Originally Posted by jetmech85

I have three of the digital radios and all of them need repair. I have noticed the trucks that came with the digital radio have no clocks as it is in the radio.

Ah good point. Not that it really matters but my truck does have a clock seeing it had the basic radio without cassette. I'll probably just go with what I got! if it bites the dust maybe next time go digital

[original-71]

Originally Posted by jetmech85

I have three of the digital radios and all of them need repair. I have noticed the trucks that came with the digital radio have no clocks as it is in the radio.

Mine has both the quartz clock and digital what does that mean ?

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by original-71

Mine has both the quartz clock and digital what does that mean ?

That means a previous owner has swapped either the quartz clock or the digital radio or both into your truck.

If your truck still has it's original SPID (Service Parts ID) sticker you can see what is original by looking at the codes.

According to the 1987 Chevy Truck Vehicle Information Kit from The GM Heritage Center, the following radio & clock options were available for 1987:

Radio Equipment: (listed on page 59 of the above linked PDF file)
AM Radio ..................... U63
AM/FM Radio ................ U69
AM/FM Stereo Radio ...... U58
AM/FM Stereo Radio with Stereo Cassette Tape ..... UN3
AM/FM Stereo Radio with Seek and Scan, Stereo Cassette Tape and Digital Clock, Electronically Tuned ..... UM6

RPO UN3 is the radio weider1717 has pictured in the first post.

Clock: Quartz Electric. Not available when UM6 radio is specified. (listed on page 57 of the above linked PDF file)
Without YE9, Includes Z53 Voltmeter, Temperature, and Oil Pressure Gauges ... U35
With YE9 ......... U35

Note: YE9 is the Silverado / Sierra Classic package. So the 2 clock listings are basically saying that in order to get the U35 clock you also had to order the Z53 gauge cluster. Unless of you were ordering a Silverado or Sierra Classic which automatically included the Z53 gauges.

[original-71]

my spid has UM6 YE9 Z53

[natedogg]

Not original to my truck, but My 1985 owners manual has this radio in it. That's how I learned to set the clock. I like it and sounds good.

[Liberty]

I just recently installed the digital unit into my truck (I had the same one as yours does now)

Firstly, if your speakers are starting to rot the Digital radio will make this obvious. The ETR Radio throws out a much wider and crisper sound than the analog ones, so if your speakers are getting weak they might flap a bit. I'm currently dealing with this myself

These radios do sound great, I've noticed a ton of them on ebay lately, and as always you can get them repaired at transamradio.com or there is another Delco Repair shop in San Antonio that services all Delco radios old and new.

[gmachinz]

Those digital radios were common in all of GM midsized and larger sedans/coupes of the era such as Buick Limited, Toronado, Cadillac, Riviera, etc.

[motornut]

I got lucky and found this one a while back,for my 79
fit two speakers up front

[swissarmychainsaw]

I like the look of the non-digital radios better in these "classic" vehicles.

You could get a small amp and upgrade your speakers and just leave it.
Plus, tapes are cheap! LOL

[48cj2a]

Originally Posted by original-71

Mine has both the quartz clock and digital what does that mean ?

Was the Digital Radio available as an AM/FM only (no cassette)? I pulled a AM/FM Cassette out of a Olds Delta 88 but it does not not work. I think I read there is a know issue with the capacitor leaking and being defective over time.

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by 48cj2a

Was the Digital Radio available as an AM/FM only (no cassette)? I pulled a AM/FM Cassette out of a Olds Delta 88 but it does not not work. I think I read there is a know issue with the capacitor leaking and being defective over time.

Yes, there was an AM/FM only (no tape) version of these digital radios. And I believe they were also offered with an 8 track tape player.

There are a number of things that can go wrong with old radios. But as you read, electrolytic capacitors are one of the prime suspects.

When testing these digital radios, make sure you have power applied to both the switched +12V and constant +12V wires. The switched feed is the yellow wire on the black 4-terminal plug. The constant feed is the orange wire on the smaller 2-terminal plug and is often overlooked because this plug is specific to the digital radios.

[Liberty]

Actually thr biggest killers of these digital radios are cold solder joints. There are a bundle of small capacitors that are prone to failure however.

The AM/FM only version ran from 78-80 I think.
I want to say after 1980 the digitals all had cassette.

[special-K]

AM/FM only was available in '85, I know that for sure. The only digital was a AM/FM/Cassette, UM6.

[48cj2a]

What were the differences between?

AM/FM Radio ................ U69
AM/FM Stereo Radio ...... U58

[Liberty]

The U69 didn't recieve in stereo and typically just had 1 speaker in the center of the dash IIRC.