Factory looking aftermarket radio

[bill1101]

Not sure if this has been discussed lately, but what company makes a quality aftermarket radio with modern features that looks factory?

 

[TheRktmn]

I had my original AM 8-track radio converted to modern AM/FM with input jack and bluetooth by Mike at Resto Radio ( https://retroradio.biz/ ).

 

[tpj71mach]

I had my original AM 8-track radio converted to modern AM/FM with input jack and bluetooth by Mike at Resto Radio ( https://retroradio.biz/ ).

Thanks Rocketman for the referral, I have researched the Aurora Designs conversion but was concerned which dealer to use. The Aurora Designs website lists a lot and didn't know who to trust with my radio.

 

[giantpune]

I recently installed a headless stereo in one of my cars. You can leave your factory AM radio in the dash and just not use it.
The aftermarket one is just a little black box with a wired controller coming out of it. You pair your phone to it and stream music over bluetooth from spotify/apple music/pandora/youtube.

It has the usual car stereo things like constant 12 input, switched 12v input, ground, preamp outputs, and pairs of wires for 4 speakers. The remote can be stashed in the glovebox, console, or under the seat.

 

[bill1101]

Thanks for the input. I was hoping for AM/FM and maybe a cassette player? I still have a lot of great tapes. I am really not all that up to date on the technology side of things as you can probably guess from the cassettes, but if I could at least listen to FM radio that would be great.

 

[INPete]

I recently installed the USA-740 and fits perfectly into my 73 vert. Has AM/FM, bluetooth, aux, and USB. Not sure if you'll find something to play cassette tapes unless you get yours converted. I didn't want to have my factory radio internals changed in case I ever sold the car and the new owner wants it back to factory. That's why I opted for a replacement.

 

[Ripper679]

Yep. I went with the 740 too. Here is a link

https://www.classiccarstereos.com/1967-1973-mustang-radio-with-bluetooth-usa-740.html

 

[GrantOv]

For the 740 - I had a question. What you you recommend regarding speaker wiring for dual 4ohm voice coil dash center, 4ohm R&L door speakers, 6ohm R&L rear speaker and powered slim subwoofer? I think RCA to the sub, straight wiring to the side and rears but not sure how to handle the center also? What would you recommend? A 2 or 4 channel amp?

 

[RC92234]

I have a RetroSound Motor 4HD model available. I installed it, didn't like the way it worked, returned to the original AM/FM. I wanted something that looked as stock as possible, but with all the additions (bluetooth, etc) controlled by just the two radio knobs, it didn't suit me. Make an offer if interested. Since I have two of the originals, I'm thinking I may go the retrofit route (retroradio mentioned earlier).

https://www.retromanufacturing.com/...arch/products/1969-73-ford-mustang-retroradio

 

[Ripper679]

For the 740 - I had a question. What you you recommend regarding speaker wiring for dual 4ohm voice coil dash center, 4ohm R&L door speakers, 6ohm R&L rear speaker and powered slim subwoofer? I think RCA to the sub, straight wiring to the side and rears but not sure how to handle the center also? What would you recommend? A 2 or 4 channel amp?

I'm probably nobhelp here. I also bought classic autosounds best direct fit replacement radio. It's still new in the box, also probably will sell to any 7173er for a cheaper price. I ended up just putting a Bluetooth sound bar that attaches to my roll cage, taken from an off road side by side. It actually sounds great.
Sorry couldn't be of more help. I went for simple.
Manny

 

[RC92234]

I recently installed a headless stereo in one of my cars. You can leave your factory AM radio in the dash and just not use it.
The aftermarket one is just a little black box with a wired controller coming out of it. You pair your phone to it and stream music over bluetooth from spotify/apple music/pandora/youtube.

It has the usual car stereo things like constant 12 input, switched 12v input, ground, preamp outputs, and pairs of wires for 4 speakers. The remote can be stashed in the glovebox, console, or under the seat.

Any details on which one you chose?

 

[giantpune]

Any details on which one you chose?

BOSS Audio Systems MC900B. So far, its a couple years old and still working fine. I like that it pairs with my phone in under a couple seconds when I turn on the key. I stuck the wired remote for it in the ash tray of my truck. It closes up nicely and hides out of sight. The only buttons I need to use on a regular basis are the volume up and down. Everything else is done on the phone. I guess if I had to complain about anything, maybe its underpowered. It sounds like a $150 radio. So you get what you pay for. I have not bothered to wire up an amp and a subwoofer to give it some balls.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IBI518Y

 

[Mark Jones]

The radio will most likely have "Front and Rear" speaker wires. Usually, the minimum ohms per channel is 4 ohms. You might want to check the radio specifications to be sure. Typically, in this case, you will wire the front door speakers and the dual voice coil dash speaker "in-series" per channel to the "Front" speaker wires. Unfortunately, this "In-Series" wiring will net you 8 ohms per channel and will cut output power by 50%. If you are lucky and the spec shows that the speaker outputs are 2 ohm capable, wiring the speakers in "Parallel" will maintain power output. You can go ahead and wire the speakers in parallel, but the net 2 ohms will cause the radio amplifier to heat up prematurely. if you are rocking the house with this lower impedance wiring, you can burn out the radio's amplifier. You can - and should use a 100ufd bi-polar cap on the (+) terminal of both of the dash speakers to limit their bass response. These caps will mask the true impedance of the speaker and could save your radio amplifier.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2228857654...QzvGdkkj5t3Xwb9PywMtAN85U=|tkp:Bk9SR6qThO7pYw

Connect the 6 ohm rear speakers to the rear set of speaker outputs on the radio and the Sub Line Out goes to the slim powered woofer. This should be quiet a satisfying system.

 

[tpj71mach]

Thanks for the input. I was hoping for AM/FM and maybe a cassette player? I still have a lot of great tapes. I am really not all that up to date on the technology side of things as you can probably guess from the cassettes, but if I could at least listen to FM radio that would be great.

I have a buddy that took a factory AM/FM cassette out of an 80 something Ford and installed it in his 72 Mustang. It looks stock and correct other than you know it never happened, but I wouldn't care as long as you aren't hacking the dash then it is all reversible. He has a ton of good cassettes that he loves and carries them in the briefcase like back in the day. He still has some mix tapes he made for his then girl friend/now wife and they still play. Trick is finding a radio that the tape deck still works or finding someone who can repair it. Just a suggestion that might work for you.

 

[mrgmhale]

The more I drive our vintage ponies the more happy I am with their exhaust sounds. I doubt I will ever want to use the radios in them, ever again. The 69 Shelby GT had an oem.factory installed AM, but the prior owner swapped in a period correct AM/FM unit. I still have the original AM radio. In the 73 Mustang Convertible we have the factory AM. For the 73 Mach 1 the prior owner swap the original AM with a Pioneer AM/FM/Cassette Tape Player. He also placed a pair of stereo box speakers on the rear seat floorboard. I plan to remove those speakers and just leave the radio disconnected, although installing flush mount door speakers is still a possibility - maybe.

Years ago, when in high school and early college, I would have wanted a nice stereo. Now, decades later, I am not all that concerned with an audio system. Not only do I enjoy hearing the rich, deep exhaust from those cars, I also lost all hearing in my left ear quite suddenly about two years ago. So having a stereo is no longer something I would be able to truly enjoy. Installing an X-Pipe in the Mach 1 definitely changed the sound of the exhaust, it became noticeably less harsh, mellower. In an effort to have a lot of the more shrill sound absorbed by the exhaust piping, which passes through a Hooker long tube set of headers, I had some pretty intense curves used. The running temp of the engine dropped by 2-3 degrees, consistently, in addition to having a less harsh sound. Better than any stereo IMHO <g>...

The x-pipe fabrication from scratch is in the link below. Note the radical bends meant to force the sound waves to run into the exhaust pipe metal as much as possible as it flows out the exhaust pipes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjdO_QOo30o


In the following video I show how to use a Block-Check tester to detect combustion gas being present in a cooling system. Near the end of the video I demonstrate how CO presence affects the test liquid. In that part of the video you can hear the exhaust sound with the X-Pipe, beginning at about 4:44 mm:ss into the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhNQVEp7Kxw

 

[giantpune]

For the cassette tape player requirement, that sounds like a flea market item. Or get on ebay and pay 10x because it has "vintage" in the title. Or put up a local WTB ad. There are boatload of them out there installed in old cars. You may motivate somebody to pull theirs to sell you. I don't think any company even still makes a tape player. Like a VCR, the only ones remaining on the planet are probably used or new-old-stock.

Here's one I pulled out of the 73 mustang I bought last year. I know the FM radio part of it works. Never bothered to stick a tape in it. Its been sitting on the floor of my shop and I've been stepping over it for months.

 

[tony-muscle]

I have had a Retrosound for almost 10 years and I really like it. If you want a "classic" looking radio with modern functions this is the way to go. The only downside is that it is not too intuitive and you have to memorize what each button does. To keep it classic looking they don't label their buttons so you have to memorize each button's function.

 

[Moderator73]

I have a buddy that took a factory AM/FM cassette out of an 80 something Ford and installed it in his 72 Mustang. It looks stock and correct other than you know it never happened, but I wouldn't care as long as you aren't hacking the dash then it is all reversible. He has a ton of good cassettes that he loves and carries them in the briefcase like back in the day. He still has some mix tapes he made for his then girl friend/now wife and they still play. Trick is finding a radio that the tape deck still works or finding someone who can repair it. Just a suggestion that might work for you.

Here's the Radio I think tpj71mach is talking about. I have it in my car. It's a 1980-84 Ford Pickup or Van radio apparently. My uncle installed this in my car when he owned it many decades ago because they too wanted the cassette player, which I've enjoyed. I took this out during my interior project, thinking it was factory original (I didn't have my Marti report yet), because of how it looks. Ebay has at least three listed when I last checked, but they'll probably need work like mine does. The reception of the channels has a lot of static and the tape does to a modest extent. I've been considering getting another radio myself that is true to the AM/FM that came with the car.

Here's pictures of this radio in my bezel. Don't really know what this suppressor choke is/does exactly? It was just wired & laying behind the radio on the transmission tunnel. If you do decide to get this I have a little additional info on wiring I could post/send you but it's not complete.

Bob

 

[giantpune]

Here's pictures of this radio in my bezel. Don't really know what this suppressor choke is/does exactly? It was just wired & laying behind the radio on the transmission tunnel. If you do decide to get this I have a little additional info on wiring I could post/send you but it's not complete.

Bob

Wasn't the suppressor/choke to cut down on the hum you'd get through the speakers? In some cars where this is not working correctly, you can rev the motor and the pitch of the humming will rise and fall with engine RPM.

 

[Moderator73]

Yeah, I think you are probably right. I just didn't really understand why it was there since we all have the radio suppressor/condenser on our Alt wiring harness that joins at the voltage regulator already?