It is about time for some tunes for my 65. I am considering the Retrosound Model 1 radio. Is there anything better out there for our classic Buicks or is this the way to go?
I have picked up universal adjustable CB radio mounts for $5 online. I am mounting a Pioneer deck in my glovebox, along with a speaker AMP, then running kicker panel speakers (to keep original look, but add sound depth) and running a separate amp and sub in the trunk. I keep my sub woofer on a low for proper sound preformance.. but my stereo is designed for rock-n-roll, modern sound.
I really dont want to have to reach over into the glove box for my radio if I don't have to. That is why I am looking at these retro deals. Here are the two top contenders: http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/category/id/1 http://www.casmfg.com/radios.htm I was hoping somebody had some real world experience to help me decide which one to use.
I don't know about the 65s dash but my 71 was open behind the radio bezel. Being I can replace the bezel fairly easily. I am putting a din Kenwood in mine, with speakers in the kick panels, ( using another 71 panels) so if I ever want to put it back to stock I can. A quality install shop can do amazing things with systems. I had a friend who worked the factory radio in his 66 Charger to operate a CD changer. Tim
It is amazing how fast electronic technology goes. Cd changers are obsolete now. Everyone is using USB flash drives or plugging in their I-phones and blackberries.
Those are not the best looking radios. Try finding a Buick tissue dispenser box and install the rdaio in there you can mount it under the dash and it looks period correct. They show up on Ebay sometimes. Or mount it in the glove box as suggested. Those radios in the links are pretty ugly.
I don't think I can handle the tissue box thing. I would think I was in my grandmothers Oldsmobile LOL
if i was going to go with one i would go with the custom autosound. but i was talking to a friend that owns a local speaker shop and he said they still aint that great.
I've got a "generic" Frontier branded pull-out radio that was bought in the late 80's that has a "CD" mini-phono input jack in the front. The iPhone and my MiniDisc player both sound awesome thru it. What's funny is that this radio is like 20 years old If I was looking for a "factory" look I'd go with the Custom Autosound radio that can use an USB stick. Personally, I may end up just putting my Dell Mini10V in the glovebox with a few thousand MP3s and run a jack into the radio that way.
Hey Steven, I am probably picking one of these up by Pyle: http://www.amazon.com/PYLE-PLR22MPF-FM-MPX-Playback-AUX/dp/B002E9GUBI/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_b It has speaker and line level outs to add a sub or an amp rear speakers (or both :Brow: ). It's cheap, so if it's trash I'm not out too much and I can start over.
The only thing radios are good for is pluging up that hole in the dash. Otherwise, they just make it harder to hear the exhaust tone.
>>How about hiding a modern radio/cd player in an underdash 8-track player then? I did it on my last Buick and I'm in the process of doing it with my '72 as well - here is the article with pics: http://www.buickperformance.com/CD8track.htm
I know this is against the purist thing but I trimmed out my dash and put a Kenwood stereo/CD player in the car. I put the speakers in the package tray using some factory speaker grills. They way I see it, it's my car to do with what I please and I never really cared what the rest of the world thought of that. After all, the driveline isn't original anymore, anyway. Nonetheless, I picked up a spare dash bezel at a swap meet so if I ever decide to make the car original again I will simply replace it, but I expect it will be on the shelf for the rest of my life.
That is pretty clever. Under dash things are not for me though. Normally I would just put what I want in there too. But, lately I have developed an appreciation for maintaining a vehicles factory flavor and personality when possible. My daughter really drove this point home when I was going to build a custom instrument panel. She argued that doing that would destroy the cars personality. She won me over on that one. So, now I am always looking for that just right balance of factory and performance. If I can get good performance and maintain the cars natural character, I will try to do that. One last consideration is how complex radios are now. These aftermarket radios have so many features and gadgets that I have to read the owners manual extensively just to know how to operate the thing. I find this really annoying. It is a damn radio. I shouldn't need a computer programming degree to listen to some rock n roll while I cruise. It distracts from why I love my 65.
I understand that one. Everytime I have to unhook my battery cables I have to get the book out to figure out how to set the clock and stations again.
All these radios from Custom Autosound, CASmfg, and Retrosound are either Kenwood, Pioneer, or similar radios, with different faces, anyway! I bought some of these same radios for at least $100 cheaper from local electronics stores (Best Buy/etc.)! With a universal mounting kit, and modifying a bezel, they fit in the factory location. Some even come with remote controls, so you don't have to lean over to change CD songs/radio stations, while you're driving. Not sure about the '60s cars, but the '70s cars are easy to install aftermarket radios in. My next one will be a Kenwood indash, with the built in DVD/Garmin GPS!
If you look around you can find a number of places that will convert your original radio to modern digital tuning & imputs. I had the original am/fm in my 70 skylark converted to digital tuning, sterio with input capability for cd changer/mp3player & satelite radio. They keep the original radio case & control knobs but, modernize the insides. I have not installed it in my car yet however, a friend of mine had the same conversion done to the radio in his 69 Camaro. It sounds great & looks completley stock. Can't even tell it's been modified. I don't rememeber the name of the place that did the conversion, I could check when I get home.
Those are very cool I saw one online somewhere when shopping. The only draw back that I saw was it was very "spendy".
