I wouldnt have normally thought to document a radio and speaker upgrade, but Ive seen several inquiries lately regarding radio upgrades. Since I had already started the process I thought I might as well document it. It is not very technical, so most of the value in the posting is sharing the amount that I spent and what I got for it. That way others can decide whether this approach is right for them. The Problem: An AM stock radio and lots of lousy AM stations. A previous owner had mounted an aftermarket radio under the dash (and drilled holes in the dash to do it) and mounted large speakers in the rear seat area. (See photos below). I found this unacceptable, it was poorly done, and I promptly removed it all. Radio choices: For me this was easy. I wanted to keep my original radio chassis with the B-U-I-C-K lettering across the pre-set buttons. I wanted driver-quality sound that would be better than stock and provide me with AM/FM and MP3 input. I used postings on V8Buick and decided to go with vintageautoradio.com. Their web site was very informative and their pricing was clear ($395 for most radios). Also, they were not too far from me so shipping was inexpensive (they are in Milwaukee and Im in Chicago). Shipping was extra and cost me approximately $15 each way. The solution I selected re-used the original radio and front panel controls. They remove the old innards and replace it with state-of-the-art and miniaturized components. Obviously new radio circuitry can do A LOT more than it could in 1968. You get your original radio back with new innards. It is a guaranteed fit in the dash and looks perfectly original. Speakers: My Buick is a convertible so rear speakers werent a consideration even though the reworked radio can support them. Vintageauoradio.com made it very clear that the stock speaker could not be re-used since it was rated at 8-10 ohms and modern radios need 4 ohm speakers. I purchased two new kick panels from The Parts Place online. Mine was part number RD2786Z. They list at $129, but by the time I paid taxes (Im in Illinois and so are they) and shipping I was into them for about $180. (Errrgh). The Service Steve at vintageautoradio.com was great to talk to. However, when I shipped the radio there was no acknowledgement that they had received it. I emailed them using their contact info on the web site, but they appear not to be up on email. I finally called and Steve appeared to know about my radio so I felt a bit better. The turn-around time was estimated at 5-6 weeks. It actually took 12 weeks. They do not charge for the work until it is complete and they take full payment just prior to shipping. The product was very well done as youll see in the photos. Its a bit of a leap of faith to drop a B-U-I-C-K radio into the mail and not hear anything. It would be better customer service to simply contact the customer and let him/her know that the radio arrived safely and that it is not sitting out in the rain. The process in photos: Figure 1: The problem: Under dash after-market radio with speakers where the kids sit. Figure 2: oh well, isnt that the way of world now? Figure 3: Speaker back within kick panel Figure 4: Yes, size matters Figure 5: Be sure to order the correct kick panels for your car. My car has A/C so the panel is formed differently on the passenger side to accommodate the vacuum operated vent door. Figure 6: My old kick panel. Please notice that my new ones do not have carpeting on them. They are hard molded plastic and quite a bit shinier than I thought they would be based on the vendors photo. I personally am ok with it but a stock purist might take exception to it. Figure 7: The wiring was very neatly done and perfectly labeled. Note the 10 amp fuse placed in power input in the bottom left of the photo. Figure 8: The back of radio. My favorite part of the solution was that my power input remained the same! I was expecting to have to splice my power wire (in my case it is yellow) into the wiring pigtail. The wiring was set up so that I simply plugged in stock power from my wiring harness in the back right-hand corner of the unit. Also in the photo you can see the two RCA jacks that run to the headphone output of any MP-3 player (such as an iPod). Figure 9: My stock connector from the wiring harness. Yellow is power. Figure 10: Note the diode in the face plate to indicate radio tuning. All presets work, even for FM (even though it was originally an AM radio). Figure 11: Installation complete. It worked the second I turned the dial. Note the damage to the dash from installation of previous after-market radio. The headphone jack for my MP-3 player is in the glove box. I may change that in the future, but right now it is working for me. I get AM, FM and music from my iPhone (including Pandora). Figure 12: Passenger side kick panel. As I said earlier, it is glossy plastic, but I dont really notice it because of the location. Figure 13: Drivers side kick panel. Sound: This is definitely not a boom-box, but thats not what I wanted. The sound is good, but it will distort if I really turn it up. My solution is simply this: I dont blast the music. It is driver quality and better than stock. It could do a lot more if you install rear speakers and choose a pre-amp output. Whether it meets your needs will depend on your music system preference, your cars body type (e.g. hardtop or convertible) and any options you may choose to add to your radios build. I hope this helps others choose the right radio solution for their classic Buick. Eric.
