Austin Vert's Car Radio Solution.

Hi To All,

At the moment, i'm doing a step by step make over of my '73 Convert's interior. Installing a decent sound system was on my priority list. My Mussy came from the factory with the still working Philco AM radio and dash speaker. Sadly, it sounds like the music is coming through a tin can.

Over the last 8 months or so, i've been doing a lot of research into upgrading the sound system. It's been an interesting, learning experience as i've gone along. Today, there are a lot of options as to what you want to do. I was drawn to 3 basic choices...... 1. Buy a modern good quality 1 Din Radio Head. 2. Buy a 1 Din DVD Multi Media Player with 7inch flip out touchscreen. and 3.Buy a new classic style radio head that fits into your existing factory bezel.

All three choices had there pluses & minuses. Anyway, i decided to go for the modern good quality i Din radio head with all the goodies. And that's why i'm posting this thread, because my problem was how to marry up the modern look radio head into the old original Ford Radio bezel, and not having it look like a cheap add on.

The first thing i did was to buy a Ken Harrison black plastic replacement radio bezel which comes with the 1 Din letterbox cutout for the modern radio head. I paid good money for it, and tried it on for looks. It was passable, but it didn't have any chrome trim like the original has.So i decided to stick with the Ford bezel for my head.

I've seen a lot of photos on the net over the months where guys have done that very thing to their '71 -'73's.(Modern head on Ford bezels).Where they go wrong i think, is that they leave the raised chrome lines on the inner bezel face, and that spoiles the finished look. It looks like an after thought add on.

So i came up with what i thought was a clever plan,and modified the Ford bezel so the end result looks not too bad at all. Firstly, i bought a repro Ford Radio bezel to hack into so i can store and save away my original factory radio and bezel.The next step is to use a Dremel and small grinding stone and go to work grinding down the raised lettering and inner chrome surround on the face of the bezel. (Use several overlaying strips of masking tape to protect the surrounding chrome trims as your grinder can wander and cause untold damage).

Next, mark out and measure accurately, the cutout for the radio head slide in chassis. Hacksaw off the protruding volume and tuning metal knobs, then using a good jigsaw with a fine tooth metal blade carefully cut out your rectangle. File and shape as needed.

Now you have two choices. You can either refinish the black front face within the existing chrome rectangle with spray putty and matt black, or you can do what i did and make up a rectangular cut out packing bezel out of 4 ml craftwood or plastic that sits within that rectangular chrome surround. Making the bezel is fiddely and time consuming, and it will have to be sprayed with black paint anyway to finish off. The choice is yours.

I ended up making a packing bezel of craftwood, spray painted it black, and Sika flexed it to the radio bezel face.It looks good finished. That's it then. Slide the radio chassis in and secure, slide the radio in and secure and your done.Now that end result may not be everyone's cup of tea, but i think it's not such a bad compromise.

See my photos on Photo bucket to help tell the story.They are not actual real life photos, but accurate mock up ones.

http://s1295.beta.photobucket.com/user/gregsladen/library/73%20Radio%20Bezels

Also, there is another story relating to the major install of my sound system in my '73 Vert. This covers the speaker and amp setups and choices for front and back of the Vert, as well as the choice of sub woofer/ amp combination setup. Above, ivé described the install of the Alpine radio head but the rest of the system has a interesting story.

Basically, i was up against it with my '73 Vert in regards putting in a modern sound system, as there is very little practical room for speakers, amps, subs etc, in these cars. I did not want to deface the interior of my Vert as much as possible, so i came up with some working ideas to help get around this problem. Firstly, my front speakers were mounted on the kick panels. The problem with this idea was that the driver's side speaker would interfere with the foot park brake pedal. I redesigned the foot brake by reshaping the pedal so it would be offset and then clear the speaker housing and grille. This worked out well.(see pics)

In regards the back speakers, defacing the interior, such as a quarter trim mount, was not an option for me. To get around this, i bought two Pioneer 4 inch speakers, and did a custom mount in the top center of the dashboard, replacing the old factory mono speaker.These then became my rear speakers. Again, that idea worked out well also, and sounds great as well.(see my pics) To finish off, i installed a sub woofer and it's own dedicated amp in a custom made tray style floor cabinet, that's positioned on the trunk floor just behind the rear seat upright.(see my pics), I also installed a hard wired in usb power mini cable for my sat nav machine. It sits to the far bottom left of the windscreen.

The component brands and specs should be identifiable in my pics as well. To sum up - this sound system i chose, sounds very good. I went for good quality components, with good specs, and that was a wise decision for starters. I get a good clean quality sound, with great bass and treble characteristics, and plenty of volume, which you need for a top down convertible, as a lot of your sound is lost into the atmosphere, and has to compete with traffic noises as well.

See my sound system install photos ..........................

http://s1295.photobucket.com/user/gregsladen/library/?view=recent&page=1

Thanks,

Greg

Good attention to detail. Enjoy your new tunes in the ragtop.

Ray

X2. That's how I do it.

Thanks Guys for the feedback.

Greg

I have been going through the same process. Here is where I stand right now, not quite as tight but getting there. I used the face plate that came with the radio as well as a generic that was a bit larger behind it to hide the chrome that was around the original cutout. I also put away my original for when my tastes change (again!)

I have been going through the same process. Here is where I stand right now, not quite as tight but getting there. I used the face plate that came with the radio as well as a generic that was a bit larger behind it to hide the chrome that was around the original cutout. I also put away my original for when my tastes change (again!)

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Hi J B,

Thanks for your reply.By looking at your photo, it seems your generic backup face plate packing bezel is oversized and not quite the right size to fit snugly within the accurate confines of the inner chrome dress line. It is very important that it does. To hide part of the chrome or to leave some of it exposed, gives the whole set up an add on, dodgey look, that does not hit the mark. I think most of these new radio heads are the same size and they all come with a thin profile detachable black plastic dress bezel to finish off the installation. Mine and yours look the same in that regard.

You should find that your radio head with that black dress bezel should just fit into the chrome rectangle. (The sides i mean). If you confirm that,then you get back to my treatment where you have 2 choices, cut the metal out and refinish the inner face, or make a new face plate packing bezel that will fit within that chrome rectangle accurately.That should work for you.You are also a smart man to put away your original gear, as you get the flexability of changing without fuss down the track if you want.

Regards, Greg

Looks good from here. Well done.

Looks good from here. Well done.

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Thanks Rex,

All the best,

Greg

Good job!

I just went with the black Ken Harrison 1 din adaptor and got an all black face radio/cd player with no knobs, no bling,

just buttons. It blends in nice and looks like it belongs there. You notice the rest of the dash instead (which

is pretty nice being it's the deluxe interior with fake wood trim, tripple gauges and a/c vents).

Good job!

I just went with the black Ken Harrison 1 din adaptor and got an all black face radio/cd player with no knobs, no bling,

just buttons. It blends in nice and looks like it belongs there. You notice the rest of the dash instead (which

is pretty nice being it's the deluxe interior with fake wood trim, tripple gauges and a/c vents).

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Thanks Mach 1,

When i visualize what you've done, i can see that would look quite good as well. Interesting.I guess it all comes down to a quality finished look and result as being most important.

Greg

Hi to all,

I finally installed and finished my new sound system and sat nav setup for my '73 Convertible.(Attention Ken!) This topic mainly relates to a Convertible install, but would also be relevant to other '71-'73 model cars to some degree.

When it comes to choosing a sound system these days, the choices, brands and models are about endless. I wanted a sound system for my convertible that would deliver a quality, punchy clear sound with a good bass/mid/ and treble mix. To achieve this, 1. the choice of components was important and 2. the layout was just as important as well. I wanted a particular layout of components that would help deliver a good sound, and at the same time, not stuff up the original look of my car. How much money you throw at a system should equate to the quality of the final sound you get. I tried to strike a balance there and end up with a system that sounded really good, but didn't leave me having to get a loan from the Bank.

On that basis, i chose to install my two main front speakers on the front kick panels. and have 'NO' back speakers mounted on the interior quarter panels.I also replaced my original AM radio mono speaker that sits on top of the dash, with two 4 inch separate left/ right channel speakers that would act as a substitute for the rear speakers, and to finish, install a digital amp and subwoofer in the trunk compartment. The only rule i broke was to choose to install a modern day head instead of a classic replica one.

I posted a thread on that subject a couple of months ago, and it explains all about why i chose that head and how i went about installing it.

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-austin-vert-s-car-radio-solution

Although i know sound systems fairly well, and would have been capable of installing this system myself to some degree, i chose to give it to a very good local car audio shop to do the install. That was a smart move,as the job turned out to be more complicated and tricky than i first thought.They did a fantastic job and was well worth the money i paid.

My dash had to be pulled down to have a Classic Aircon system installed, so now was the time to install the sound system as well. The front kick panels were the biggest problem as there was little or no room depth wise to mount speakers in that location. Also, my foot brake pedal and lever was in the way of placing a speaker on the kick panel as well.

I got around that problem by modifying the foot brake lever section by re shapeing the lever with a bend welded in. That solved the clearance problem.I also had to build up the original plastic kick panels with shaped ply and use a special shallow depth speaker because there was no useable hollow cavity behind the plastic kick panels.That all worked out well in the end, and allowed me to use 6 1/2 inch front speakers for good sound.

I bought new repro plastic kick panels with moulded speaker profiles from America to accept small speakers, but found they did not fit properly to the car and they ended up being a complete waste of time and money on that basis.(another repro ripoff and around $80.00 for the pair) The sound shop made a custom mounting board for the new top dash speakers to replace the old mono speaker. That worked out well and gives a good quality direct sound as well. The amp and sub set up comprises of a shaped carpeted ply platform across the back of the trunk.This construction does not and can not in any way, interfear with the rear window sitting properly in the well when the top is down fully. The custom made sub enclosure sits on the left hand side, and the amp is placed in the middle in front of the power top motor. That all got carpeted to finish off, and looks great.Another sub can be mounted on the right hand side of the platform if desired later on.

For the components, i chose an Alpine head with Bluetooth/DAT radio, USB. ipod etc,

Hertz brand compact digital amp, 6 1/2" front speakers and 10" sub woofer. 4 "Pioneer top dash speakers. Morel main front speaker grilles. My photos will show all the specs on these components.When the dash was out, i got the boys to install a hard wired mini usb cable to supply power to the sat nav.My sat nav is a five year old Tom Tom Go 730 model. A small hole was drilled in the top of the dash and finished off with a rubber grommet on the far left hand side of the dash, and the cable feeds up from this location. Simply unhook the sat nav when not needed.

The end result i think sounds and looks pretty good, and works for me.The only drawback, is when the top is down, you loose a degree of sound quality because all the music evaporates into the air above instead of being contained in a normal cabin. It does make a differance in that regard, but still sounds pretty good. The whole project set me back around $3,000.00 Australian, and i think it was money well spent to get that final sound i was chasing. Please see all my photos on the Bucket, and click any photo to enlarge.

http://s1295.photobucket.com/user/gregsladen/library/Mustang%20Trunk%20Alighnment/Mustang%20Rear%20Spoiler/Mustang%20Sound%20and%20Sat%20Nav%20System?sort=4&page=1

Many thanks,

Greg

::goodjob:: Very nice!

Many thanks Doc,

Greg

Looks good, lots of detailed pics too.

That's awesome Greg. I bought a setup for my car but haven't put anything together yet. I was planning to put the speakers in the door, but that would mean cutting the steel trim piece on running the length of the door carpet. I never really liked that idea, your solution is much nicer.

The only thing I'm wondering is if the brake pedal will hold up to the torture. It seems to me you will end up needing more bracing on it since all the leverage angles have changed significantly.

I may still go the door route as my speakers are not shallow. I'm using Pioneer D1720Cs.

Greg

Looks good, lots of detailed pics too.

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Thankyou Mike,

Greg

That's awesome Greg. I bought a setup for my car but haven't put anything together yet. I was planning to put the speakers in the door, but that would mean cutting the steel trim piece on running the length of the door carpet. I never really liked that idea, your solution is much nicer.

The only thing I'm wondering is if the brake pedal will hold up to the torture. It seems to me you will end up needing more bracing on it since all the leverage angles have changed significantly.

I may still go the door route as my speakers are not shallow. I'm using Pioneer D1720Cs.

Greg

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Hi Greg,

Thanks for your praise, and i'm glad you like the setup.

The strength of the modified brake lever won't be an issue. The lever itself

is made of very thick steel,and profiled in shape, so there is no flex or give to cause breaking, twisting, warping, or cracking issues down the track so to speak. The welds were very strong when the boys did the mods on the lever. The mechanism itself remains the same, it's just the lever that's been modified and offset as such.The downwards pressure when applying the foot brake remains the same, so you're not changing any angles in that regard, to cause any side ways extra force on the mechanism itself. I really can't see any problems in that regard.

I'm fairly sure your Pioneer front speakers come in at around 2 1/2 inches in depth overall. I think my Hertz front speakers are close to the same, but i can't find depth specs for mine as a reference at this stage. If you look at my pics of the foot brake lever, and how far the speaker grille sits away from the lever, i think there is space to play with for a deeper speaker if needed.

I have the delux interior door panels and did not want to hack into them to install small door speakers as such. You are limited in size as to what front speakers you could use in that situation as well. That was not an option for me.

So good luck with your system when you get it installed Greg.

Greg

Looks great! Well done.

Looks great! Well done.

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Thank you Don for your kind words.

Greg

Sweet! I've been thinking of doing the same thing to mine (re-shape the e-brake pedal), as I have those "Q-logic-like" MB Products kick panels and some Polk Audio speakers as well.