78 GMC K15 Cassette Radio?

[blake9397]

Hi guys, does anyone know if the 78 GMC K15 or Chevy K10 came from the dealer with a GM/Delco radio with cassette player (possibly GM 2700)? I have the parts catalog and it lists 995992 for the AM/FM radio and 996742 for the AM/FM with cassette. However, there is an asterisk by the listing and all I can find with a cassette player is a GM2700. It looks similar, but for the money, I'd like to be sure it'll fit in the stock bezel opening. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[truckin 79]

Yes it will fit just fine, I have found and pulled many GM cassette units from the junkyard, that were in square bodies. The wiring is the same between all units although most truck units only have provisions for two speakers. Most of the cassette and ETR radios have provisions for a four speaker set up. I have found a lot of GM cassette and ETR radios in Blazers and Suburban. The best GM unit is the ETR in my opinion but they are getting harder to find

[blake9397]

Thanks for the input. Why do you prefer the ETR unit? I have honestly never seen one of those. Again, thanks for your time.

[old Rusty C10]

the one truckin79 posted appears to be the one that was in the early eighties cadillacs. most of the radios ive ever seen did not include cassette but it is possible it was offered in the upper trim levels.. perhaps Keith Seymour could chime in here i mean he built these trucks for a living!!

[truckin 79]

I like the ETR radios as they were top of the line GM units. They have the digital display easy touch buttons and was the only cassette player to flip tape over when it reached the end of tape. The cassette unit you have pictured you would have to eject tape when it was at the end, flip it and put it back in. The ETR was mainly found in Cadillacs but a lot of high optioned Blazers and Suburban's also came with ETR radios. Some of the ETR radios actually came with a CB option now those are rare. I also like how the ETR is period correct and fits nicely in stock radio opening.

[wazzabie]

Would the ETR be correct for a 78? I thought the ETR radios started some time in the 80s.

[hatzie]

Not "correct" but it fits and plugs into the GM wiring.
It's a 2700 series GM radio that's not out of place in the cab of your 78.

A dual voice coil speaker to round it out.
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-W9JbNu...ar-owners.aspx

You can get 6.5", 6x9, & 4x6 speaker mounts for the cab corners beside/behind the seat. 4x6 would be the least obtrusive.

[kglowacky]

was the 8 track radio the upgrade for 1978

[hatzie]

By the late 70's you could get Delco AM, AM FM, Mono AM 8-track, Stereo AM FM 8-track, and Stereo AM FM CB 8-track

Not sure what was available in the CK pickup trucks but I'd guess most of the above were available in the Blazer and Suburban models.

The belts will likely need to be replaced and the tape mechanisms cleaned and lubed. Likely some capacitors replaced and the potentiometers cleaned.
Just rehabbed a Commodore 1530 tape drive. I had to clean it, lubricate it, replace the belts, and adjust the azimuth. I've done similar work on old HP85 & HP9845B built in tape drives. Likely the Delco tape decks are in need of similar attention.

[kglowacky]

thanks. I got one sitting on the bench not sure it would be worth the time and money to replace my now operating original. Had my original repaired about 2 years ago and it was hard to find someone to do it.

[hatzie]

I do my own but I don't service stuff for anyone else. Lots of folks that just don't want to deal with the public at large, me included. Sad state of affairs this world has gotten to.

On a lighter note.
I see a bunch of sections from the Delco radio service manuals on eBay. Unfortunately the many of the goobers selling them are splitting sections out of complete manuals so you'll need to buy several chunks to get the whole manual.
You can likely find the SAMS photofact sheets for your radio.
Repairing and cleaning them is not difficult if you're fine detail oriented and have the patience.

[oldgold70c10]

The 2700 ETR radios are a great mate to the 81-87 trucks which had provisions for 2 or 4 speaker setups from the factory. I went all-out and installed a cassette-receiver in my 83 in place of the Delco 1400-series Am only unit with single speaker that was there. The route I went was with original Delco front and rear speakers and mounts.
They will work in the 73-80 trucks too, but these years trucks don't seem to be 'factory ready' for setups with more than 1 speaker.

The auto-reverse cassette is a nice feature. Belt size is 9.2" x .045" square cross-section belt. Here is a demo if you've never seen one. 1983 Delco 2700 ETR demo

[Jeepwm69]

Originally Posted by truckin 79

I like the ETR radios as they were top of the line GM units. They have the digital display easy touch buttons and was the only cassette player to flip tape over when it reached the end of tape. The cassette unit you have pictured you would have to eject tape when it was at the end, flip it and put it back in. The ETR was mainly found in Cadillacs but a lot of high optioned Blazers and Suburban's also came with ETR radios. Some of the ETR radios actually came with a CB option now those are rare. I also like how the ETR is period correct and fits nicely in stock radio opening.

We had the ETR with CB in the 2 Buick station wagons we had in the 80's.

I think the early one was an 83, the later an 87.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by truckin 79

Yes it will fit just fine, I have found and pulled many GM cassette units from the junkyard, that were in square bodies. The wiring is the same between all units although most truck units only have provisions for two speakers. Most of the cassette and ETR radios have provisions for a four speaker set up. I have found a lot of GM cassette and ETR radios in Blazers and Suburban. The best GM unit is the ETR in my opinion but they are getting harder to find

That's the one I ordered in my '87. RPO UM6 (MSRP $429. Yeow! I paid $351).



I don't know what year they started in trucks, though, since we all temporarily (I hope) do not have access to the generic info packets in the GM Heritage Center archive. Stuff was usually introduced into passenger cars first and then rolled into trucks a couple years later, particularly comfort and convenience options.

K