I'd like to see aftermarket radio installations
- Thread starter swisherred
- Start date
Doug King
New Member
i didn't see this comment about the peak, wish i had, i did get a Tayman electrical redo of my original with am/fm/usb, bluetooth- works great with the lone speaker in dash- need to find a couple small pods that have mid/tweeters so i can get a bit more sound, don't really want all the bass like some yahoos who vibrate down the road.
also any ideas on after market electric window conversions? wouldn't be opposed to trying it myself.
also any ideas on after market electric window conversions? wouldn't be opposed to trying it myself.
Doug King
New Member
sorry for the delay in getting this up- i run a volunteer non-profit (the Dave Parker39 Foundation- for you Pirates, reds, oakland and Milwaukee fans) and we have a big golf outing (last week) so i have time to breath and catch up.
so i bought the Redondo Rt from retro mfg when the tech guy said it should fit and of course it didnt with that convex paeak in the center of the surround... so i ordered the Tayman electrical rebuild and it works great, blue tooth, am/fm/ phone etc. I highly recommend them- nothing better to keep the stock radio except with updated technology. Highly recommend. here's a picture.
so i bought the Redondo Rt from retro mfg when the tech guy said it should fit and of course it didnt with that convex paeak in the center of the surround... so i ordered the Tayman electrical rebuild and it works great, blue tooth, am/fm/ phone etc. I highly recommend them- nothing better to keep the stock radio except with updated technology. Highly recommend. here's a picture.
Not surprised that it didn't fit and they told you it would.
I had Gary Tayman do two radios for me now and I can't say enough good about the service and the quality of the conversion.
James Romano
Well-Known Member
My suggestion... keep the original radio. Nothing worse than seeing a beautiful all original interior... with a new modern radio. I am biased so this list is biased. I love the look of original interiors...
Option 1: Mount the new radio under the seat with a remote control, or like the Polara owner did ... within reach. - a little coin, but very doable and will work very well. Keeps original look of the dash.
Option 2: Carry a portable speaker (Bose), and run Pandora (or choice of music source) off your phone. - Cheap, easy and doesn't effect anything. Keeps original look of the dash.
Option 3: Send out the radio to be converted (Tayman)... most expensive option. But looks great and works like you want it. Permanent. Keeps original look of the dash.
Option 3a: Take out the original radio.. clean it.. bag it.. shelve it. Get another of the same year and refer back to Option 3. Will allow you to always have the original radio. VERY expensive.
Option 4: Lacerate the living piss out of the car with new wiring, speaker holes... cut the dash.. add adapter plates.. etc..etc.. like we all did back in the 80's... and it will look like it did back in the 80's. Permanent. Destroys original look of dash and car.
That's about it... I like Options 2 and 3/3a.
JR
Option 1: Mount the new radio under the seat with a remote control, or like the Polara owner did ... within reach. - a little coin, but very doable and will work very well. Keeps original look of the dash.
Option 2: Carry a portable speaker (Bose), and run Pandora (or choice of music source) off your phone. - Cheap, easy and doesn't effect anything. Keeps original look of the dash.
Option 3: Send out the radio to be converted (Tayman)... most expensive option. But looks great and works like you want it. Permanent. Keeps original look of the dash.
Option 3a: Take out the original radio.. clean it.. bag it.. shelve it. Get another of the same year and refer back to Option 3. Will allow you to always have the original radio. VERY expensive.
Option 4: Lacerate the living piss out of the car with new wiring, speaker holes... cut the dash.. add adapter plates.. etc..etc.. like we all did back in the 80's... and it will look like it did back in the 80's. Permanent. Destroys original look of dash and car.
That's about it... I like Options 2 and 3/3a.
JR
swisherred
Senior Member
I think my best option is to go with no radio...install a Bluetooth amp and speakers in the original locations and keep the original radio even if it doesn't work. No more holes...only removable items.
James Romano
Well-Known Member
I agree with you. If you don't HAVE to cut or mess with the original set up... Don't. You'll be happier down the road
Allacks
New Member
I have my radio mounted inside the glovebox to keep it concealed. Its a long reach from the driver seat, but I don't mess with it anyways.
For you guys looking for dash speaker recommendations I have been planning my future system for awhile now here is my shortlist as of now. Technology changes so fast so tomorrow this all might change.
3" Full range speaker. They may look like lame stock speakers but they perform much better. I have them in another car and are very good. They have high sensitivity so you get more volume per watt. If you are using a volume high enough to hear distortion consider using bass blockers and foam baffles to create a kind of box. A pair of these could replace the 4x10
Tweeter with wide range/midrange. Certainly has less bass but relatively plays low into the midrange. And handles big power. These are very likely going into my stereo dash locations.
4" coaxial. I know nothing about this brand but in my search for well reviewed high wattage (for my convertible) small speakers this was a nicely priced option. JL make a more expensive 3.5" option
4x6 plate option. Again well reviewed, high sensitivity and high power. Biggest issue is size. Side by side these would be 12" long total so you would have to get creative with a mounting plate into the stock 4x10 opening.
I've had good luck with Infinity Reference line of speakers too. I have used many of these in stock systems. And would like to try JBL GTO line as well.
In regards to bluetooth amps I agree it totally removes the need and expense of changing the head unit. This assumes all your music is on a phone or ipod (with Bluetooth. But what worries me is changing technology and the whatever is built into the amp will not - change. It would be a shame if your new snazzy phone would no longer talk to you expensive amp. So my suggestion is a regular old amp (cheaper) with a external Bluetooth receiver/adapter like this. I have not used this one but something like ity. Perhaps any of the home Bluetooth receivers would work if you convert 12v to 5v. This way you just need to change BT receivers as tech changes.
There are other Bluetooth interfaces that are even more flexible and allow for multiple amps and equalization. And something like this would allow a working stock radio to be used in addition to BT by using the high level (speaker level)inputs. I believe there are old fashioned equalizers with Bluetooth built in too. And lastly, when you are looking alternate ways of getting your music other than a traditional head unit, don't be surprised if it brings you to marine or motorcycle stuff.
3" Full range speaker. They may look like lame stock speakers but they perform much better. I have them in another car and are very good. They have high sensitivity so you get more volume per watt. If you are using a volume high enough to hear distortion consider using bass blockers and foam baffles to create a kind of box. A pair of these could replace the 4x10
Tweeter with wide range/midrange. Certainly has less bass but relatively plays low into the midrange. And handles big power. These are very likely going into my stereo dash locations.
4" coaxial. I know nothing about this brand but in my search for well reviewed high wattage (for my convertible) small speakers this was a nicely priced option. JL make a more expensive 3.5" option
4x6 plate option. Again well reviewed, high sensitivity and high power. Biggest issue is size. Side by side these would be 12" long total so you would have to get creative with a mounting plate into the stock 4x10 opening.
I've had good luck with Infinity Reference line of speakers too. I have used many of these in stock systems. And would like to try JBL GTO line as well.
In regards to bluetooth amps I agree it totally removes the need and expense of changing the head unit. This assumes all your music is on a phone or ipod (with Bluetooth. But what worries me is changing technology and the whatever is built into the amp will not - change. It would be a shame if your new snazzy phone would no longer talk to you expensive amp. So my suggestion is a regular old amp (cheaper) with a external Bluetooth receiver/adapter like this. I have not used this one but something like ity. Perhaps any of the home Bluetooth receivers would work if you convert 12v to 5v. This way you just need to change BT receivers as tech changes.
There are other Bluetooth interfaces that are even more flexible and allow for multiple amps and equalization. And something like this would allow a working stock radio to be used in addition to BT by using the high level (speaker level)inputs. I believe there are old fashioned equalizers with Bluetooth built in too. And lastly, when you are looking alternate ways of getting your music other than a traditional head unit, don't be surprised if it brings you to marine or motorcycle stuff.
LocuMob
Fluid Technician with a hat
I have the original, non working radios in my cars but one, a tape deck stuffed in the hole of the 68 Monaco 500. It looks ok, or terrible depending on your likes. I used it for a few hours out of 1500 miles of driving last year. Hidden modern, or revamped original would be my route if I wanted tunes.
And I forgot to mention that like jake's example there is another relatively new subset of car stereo call "digital media receivers". No CD player and sometimes no amp. One big difference is they are alot smaller lending themselves better to hiding.
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