Does anyone on the list know when in 72 Buick added option D4 (AM/FM Stereo) to the A bodies. Is there any info on how rare it is?
I don't think it's too rare in the grand scheme of things that they aren't able to be found. If it's in nice shape on the face plate I'd be interested to buy it as long as it works good. There are sites to check the value, a couple people on the board refurbish them and sell with guarantees.
I would say that it was pretty rare to find one of these radios,especially in an A-body car.In the full sized cars, an AM/FM Stereo radio was more commonly found.The radios are different between the two car lines. I believe the first time an AM/FM stereo radio was availble(for full sized cars) was 1968. Naturally,the full size cars cost more,so this radio was expected to be found on these-not so with the A-Body cars. My guess would be that it was available in late 1972.
am fm stereo am/fm stereo was quite rare because fm was still in its infancy , let alone broadcasts in fm stereo . am/fm stereo was available in the a-bodied cars in 1970 . addendum: i should have said that an advertised option for the 70 chevelles am/fm stereo .
Actually, am/fm stereo in Skylark cars became available in very late 72. Very rare, and if anyone tells you that their 70 or 71 GS came with factory stereo, they are WRONG!! John Chamberlain
Yes, I know the true 72 A body stereo units are rare, as I've only seen one in many years of looking at Buick parts. It had a yellow stereo indicator light if I remember correctly. It doesn't even show up in the 72 accessory catalog though, so it must have been a very late addition. Looks like it wasn't promoted at all. Carl
The '72 Cutlass Supreme my folks owned had one. I seem to remember that car was built in July of '72. I later drove the car into the ground and junked it. If I had known at the time it was rare I would have kept the radio. I do remember that radio had pretty strong bass for a stock radio.
Geez, I sure am late looking at these posts! Actually, the 72 Skylark stereo has a RED stereo light indicator! JKC
Sorry, I am late reading this thread.. The '72 Daily Car Report from GM shows: 361 of the GS Coupes built had option D4 "Stereo Radio" 60 of the GS Convertibles had it. There are no "D4" option listings shown for '71. :beer
I got one. I checked our old radio collection recently and I can't believe it, one of the extra radios is a true '72 A-body Buick AM/FM Stereo. Have no idea where or when we got ito No: or if it works but apparently we got it for our '72 Stage 1 which has an old aftermarket AM/FM in it. After getting the documentation from the Sloan Museum we learned that the car actually left the factory with no radio (not truely "radio delete" since that term indicates that a radio was standard which it was not). Makes since though because the car doesn't have a front speaker and you can see a peice of black cardboard covering the hole (from the bottom side) when you look thru the front windshield. I guess I'll just put it in our '72 Skylark. Neat finding something like this that you didn't know you even had!:grin:
I have a AM/FM radio from my '72 GS. It has a red indicator light in the center of the FM scale and a plug for the fader behind the tuning/fader control. I believe it is a stereo radio. If this is the type of radio you're talking about, the assembly manual shows it as drawing #12-14.1. I'm not sure if this is the one in question, but I just thought I would add my .02.
What is the GM part number for the '72 Stereo Radio. I have an AM-FM Stereo in my garage and I do not know what year it is for? o No:
Wow, that is very rare. I wonder why Buick went to the trouble of making a one-year only radio design for so few sales?
The production figures I posted are for GS coupes and GS convertibles only. I am sure they were put in other cars also. They just did not use that many of them in GS's thats all.. :beer
I just bought a 70 Skylark conv and it has an AM/FM radio. Does not work, have not looked into yet. Who rebuilds the radios on this board? Would like to know since I may want to get the radio working. Thanks!
I bet not many AM/FM Stereo's went into the base Skylarks. Probably in Skylark Custom's about the same percentage as in the GS. GS cars cost a lot back then, so probably came loaded with more options than a base Skylark.
