My car originally came with an AM radio, and for obvious reasons, someone swapped this out at some point in its life. The car is pretty original otherwise, and so my plan is to acquire another Sonomatic, and have someone go through it and do the conversion to put an audio in into it so I can run music off my phone. I never listen to the radio really, so I care less for FM, and more for originality. More in the Two questions, First, what years of knobs would be correct for a 1970 GS with a Sonomatic? Are there other years, other cars that fit? I know they aren't reproduced. Second, I assume the existing ones would fit off my AM/FM. Is this correct? I plan to sell the AM/FM, which is really primo, when its all said and done. Because of that I would like to send the knobs with it wherever it goes. Thanks
I believe this is correct for '70. Not too hard to find on ebay or here on the board. Many nice radios come with the knobs. Not sure why you would want your exiting knobs and no way to know if they would fit without more info. Is it a Delco Am/FM from 1970?
Assuming you have a period correct AM/FM, your knobs will work although if your car, or the car the radio in it came from, has a rear speaker option then the escutchon on tuner side is different as it acts as the fader control. Although they are date coded, any '70-72 AM will appear correct.
Nice Radio. I have the same . AM . I love music. Live it everyday. But do not wanna listen to Music in my Buick . I Don’t understand . Just wanna hear the exhaust
True confessions Steve - If I get it done, this year will be the first time I've had a working radio in my GS in 15 years - same reason!
I have an original AM Sonamatic out of my Framingham built 70 Skylark. I can power it and see if it works if you are interested. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and see if it will work. Iwould be willing to swap it with your am/fm if that would work for you. Jim/Rott in NH
Don’t forget the rare 72 Stereo radio. It looks the same but has a light in dial for Stereo I believe.
Awesome, thanks for the tips. Just feeling it out right now as I look for a radio. I plan to have the whole thing redone, so I really just need one that looks decent. It seems AM radios aren't hard to come by.
I recently had my AM radio converted to modern 4 channel stereo AM/FM with USB, iPod, and Bluetooth inputs. They will also provide pre-amp outputs if you would want to add power amps. I added a single speaker/dual coil front speaker and coaxial rear speakers. If you haven't selected what company to have yours converted by, here's who I used and the quality, price, and communication was excellent. I hadn't had any sound in my GS since buying it about 5 years ago and it's great to finally cruise with tunes I enjoy. http://www.turnswitch.com/radio1.htm
Radio in my "X" is only there for appearance . You can't hear it while cruising anyway . With no AC and the windows open you can't hear it anyway . My music is the exhaust
Thanks for the tip. I actually already met a guy who is semi local to me who does these conversions. I'm with you, I think thats the way to go. It doesnt change the appearance and you techncially have a stock radio. But obviously much better.
What Ray said - the conversions use the same board and the power output is weak (look at RMS @ 4 ohms, not peak watts, per channel). If you are looking for good to great sound plan to add a power amp.
Radio knobs are a PITA. Since the car manufacturer rarely makes the radio, they don't make the parts for it either. I tried to purchase a set of knobs for my '05 Magnum some years back (they came in two styles; naturally, I much preferred the other one). The Mopar parts guy told me with a straight face that the only way I could get the knobs would be to purchase a complete radio - for about $450. I found a bad set in a junkyard and fixed them. The new style looks great.
I can't argue with that but, the sound from the conversion is really quite good. Granted, if one likes booming base and high power audio quality, equalizers and power amps are needed. However my conversion has 50 watts RMS power per channel into 4 ohm speakers and I've installed good quality 6 x 9 coaxials in the rear deck and a pair of 5 1/4 coaxials in the front. Although not as quality as an audiophile system, the sound is much better than any factory radio from the times when our cars were built. I would suggest having the pre-amp outputs installed in the conversion and then listening to it before spending the money for power amps and all the associated wiring upgrades that would be needed.
Ray - I am very glad to hear that your conversion sounds great. Did turnswitch do it? Do you know if they used the FMR-1 or FMR 2.5 amp? 50W RMS @ 4 ohms is really good! Many conversions are 22W RMS into 4 ohms.
Yes, it was done by turnswitch (S&M Electrotech) and is the current FMR 2.5 version. After looking it up on their website it's 45 Watts per channel x 4 into 4 ohm speakers, not 50 watts. I thought I remembered that they stated it was RMS power but, now I can't find that statement. At any rate, the frequency response and high volume levels is impressive into the 6 x 9 coaxial speakers in my rear deck.
