The 32 Roadster project is moving forward and I am now deciding on the radio.It will be set into the dash and I am looking for a retro style that looks like the old 60's radios but with modern functionality ie CD player, Ipod input etc. I have found a few on the net but wondered if anyone else had used some of these. http://www.vintagecarradio.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=59 This one doesn't have CD facility unless you use a remote unit.I do like the flush fit on this one. http://www.retrosoundusa.com/
I bought a unit from Retrosound and I'll have to say that I am very disappointed in it. The first unit was DOA. I called to return the unit and they sent me a used one in it's place that also didn't work (the amplifier section was bad on this one). When I called the second time, they put me through to the Technical guy who was indignant and rude. I am an electrical engineer and I have been installing car radios since I was 14, I believe that I know how to install a car stereo. I would steer clear of Retrosound. -DV
the LCD displays in those kind of ruins the look for me. i have seen ones that people have taken an old car radio and cut the front off it to make a flip down cover for their cd player, they look pretty good.
On the flip side I'm very happy with my Retrosound radio. With the USB port you'll never need to carry CD's again.
"the LCD displays in those kind of ruins the look for me" Fuzzybear you're 100% right. I think the best bet is to purchase a modern deck with a port for an mp3 player, buy an iPod and stash the entire setup out of sight so it can't be seen at all.
I am all for the hide the modern radio concept, but that makes it a pain to operate while driving down the road if you are alone without using a remote. I prefer having a stereo that has knobs to turn to controll volume, tone, balance etc. It is just hard to find one that is worth a ****. For those of us that work on modern cars for a living, there is nothing worse than getting in a customers car and having some horrible **** blaring out of the stereo and not being able to just reach over and turn it off without having to figure out which little ****on does what. Screw that, I want knobs. Guess that dates me, but I'll bet most of us "older" guys would agree.
Made by Custom Autosound, pure junk. Here's another thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164063 Basically cheap units modified to 'kind of' look and fit as original.
Well if your electrical savvy and the radio you stash has a knob style volume adjustment you can take your factory one apart and put another same style internal volume control pot and run wires to the stashed deck. I dont like the digital look on knob radios... just looks like something radio shack was selling 15 - 20 yrs ago.. ugg... Maybe I just need to start taking in old skool radios and putting some modern internals in them and make my own amps... sounds like all these vintage radio places **** bad.
If I wasn't so lazy....I'd start making neat looking "radios" for old cars. I'm so damn lazy I haven't even gotten around to making them for my own car or truck. the ones from vintagecarradio sure don't look vintage. at all.
None of those look "vintage" to me. I have a NOS 8-track player in the box, I was going to put that in my '58 but I can't seem to find many tapes.
That's pretty much what I did with my old '52 Buick. I gutted the factory am radio/speaker unit and replaced it with 2 smaller speakers a miniature amp and an iPod. The volume controlled the volume and turned on a little light to light up the old radio dial. The tuner knob did nothing but the preset ****ons pressed microswitches in an ipod controller. Everything worked very well just took an afternoon to get it all figured out.
I was ***ured by the radio converter vendor that this old 2 piece radio could be converted into an AM-FM stereo inside the old housing and a Disc player could be added out of sight. The dials are remote and are connected by flex cables. He said no problem. Being a 6V unit was not a problem. The only part retained is the actual tuner and it is not voltage specific. Of course it was not cheap. Several years ago the conversion started about 400 bucks??? This particular vendor would bring original radios for popular cars that were already converted. You can not tell by looking at them. I can't stand the modern radios that fit the original hole but look like ****. They look like a one wire alternator on a flathead... a total eyesore.
I used S/M Electro Tech in MN to convert a 47 Chevy radio that I used in my 41 Chevy....still has the stock face, push****ons,etc and has a jack plug for an XM radio. They had a six week turn around on it and it works great. I had to have them cut the case down so it would clear my electric wipers and A/C unit also. I highly recommend them!
Well, I bought this one, if it turns out to be a POS, at least it only cost me $280, plus some install time... http://www.vintagecarradio.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=4&products_id=37 Anyone else use one of these out there?
I plan on converting a similar style unit to an amped iPod setup for my Tudor in the very near future. I will do a write up when I get to that point.
cool! glad im not the only one thinking about this stuff. i just picked up a 58 studebaker radio on here in unknown mechanical shape for the price of shipping. it doesn't work. so im thinking gut it for a hidden 1/2 din equalizer with usb and headphone input.
Music storage media always complemented the playback technology in pre-digital days. Nothing sounds better than an original recording played back from the intended player. The inexpensive AM radio's with their strictly Lo-Fi sound still complement the music. Their is a really nice AM radio in my '50 Chevy with the earlier - wider bandwidth repro'. Along with incredible rich tube sound to the music, the Superhet' circuits let stations from across the continent ( like PEI ) drift in and out as the atmosphere adjusts to the night. My tube radio in the '50 occasionally has a problem. When idling, the voltage to the radio can drop to the point where the ******** stalls and welds the points shut. ( especially with all those tube heaters glowing) I got pretty good at opening the ******** can and using a Points File getting it buzzing again. Try explaining fixing' an electronic device to a Computer literati with a FILE!...
I converted the original radio in wifes 50 Chevy to AM/FM/Ipod. There are dealers for Antique Auto Radio out of Florida in almost all states who can do it for you. I was able to get a kit and do mine myself. Not for the electronically challenged but it turned out well. Only non stock aspect is a small multi colored LED at the top of the dial that tells you if you are on AM/FM or FM stereo. No light when using Ipod input.
My suggestion: Leave your cool old radio where it's at. It looks great. Hook up a modern radio's earphones to a hidden amplifier in your car. In other words, suppose you have a pocket radio (or ipod) that you are listening to through your earphones. Simply unplug your earphones, and plug your car in. Instead of listening to music through your earphones, now your listening to it through your car's hidden amplifier and speakers. That way, you can plug in any device you like, so long as it uses earphones. Any radio, any mp3 player, your African-AmericanBerry, iPad, most cell phones, or even a geiger counter if you like. When it breaks, becomes obsolete, or you leave it somewhere, you can simply switch to any other audio device. You also have the freedom to plug in any of your friend's (or grandkid's) music. Here's how: Install a panel mounted audio jack somewhere incon****uous (or even in plain sight) on your car. It could be on the dash, on a bracket under the dash, in the ash tray, inside a defrost vent, or in the glove compartment so you can shut the door and hide everything. Use your imagination. Just make sure you can reach it without wrecking while you're driving. Once installed, you will only see about 1/4 of an inch of it sticking out. It's chrome, so it'll blend in well with other knobs and chrome stuff on an old car's dash. You can also find them in all black, if that would suit your car better. If you really get creative, you could even mount it on a bracket behind your dash so that all you'll see is a tiny hole. They are 2 for $3.90 at Radio Shack. Wire the plug up to an amplifier hidden under your dash. Now, get an earphone cord that has MALE plugs at BOTH ends. (I didn't know they existed until a few months ago!) They're $18.00 at Radio Shack, or less than $10.00 elsewhere. Plug one side of the dual male earphone cord into the panel mounted audio jack on your car, and the other side into the earphone plug on what ever audio device suits you. Control the volume and everything else with your audio device. Whatever you would be playing through your earphones, you can now play through your car's speakers. Or, if that's still to modern-looking for you, you could use the larger audio plugs like they used to have for the old "ear muff" style headphones. They could be considered more period-correct because they were around in the 50's (and still in use today). They sell adapters to plug the smaller modern earphones into the larger headphone plugs. They look about the same, only bigger. Or, you could get some retractable earphones to mount under your dash. Snip the earpieces off and wire them directly into your amplifier. Then just pull them out when you need them. Auto-retract them back to their hiding place when you're done. You could probably glue a cool Ford or Chevy emblem from a key fob onto them. The disadvantage of the retractable earphone is that the wire will wear out eventually and you'll have to crawl back up under your dash to replace it. With the double male earphone cord and the plug, you simply run to the store and get another cord when it goes ka-put. Good luck!
I know it isn't what you're looking for, but maybe it could be an alternative. Kicker just came out with an amplified iPod/iPhone hookup unit with a small keypad for volume, track, etc. It also has RCA outs for more amps, more speakers and an aux in for other media players. You could probably stash it all away somewhere and have the keypad on the cord on the seat when in use. There are other ways to hookup an iPod directly to an amp, but I think Kicker is making it easy for people with this one, and it also charges the iPod or iPhone. I just picked one up, but haven't installed it yet to know what it's like first hand. http://www.kicker.com/pxi502
http://taymanelectrical.com/ We sent a customers stock radio (57 fairlane) to that guy and was VERY happy with the results. great sound plenty loud and seamless use once installed.
If you have a little understanding , a friend who does, or just are willing to try anyway: Most volume knobs will simply be @ 10K Potentiometers controlling the line level receiver program output to the power amp section. Simply adding an A-B switch with AUX line signal ahead of this signal on volume pot SHOULD provide you with an "AUX" type input. You can install a jack or splice a mini-1/8" cable. A pair of series resistors in the 1-10K range should safely combine your stero Ipod output to Mono. RF transmitter for IPOD would keep it simple but no AM transmitters avilable AFAIK. I have an old FM converter for the AM radio in the '63. Even these are rare now. With FM converter on Am radio , I guess you could use the Ipod type FM - RF transmitter and couple it to your OEM - AM radio .... Whewww.. PS: There is a great AM radio station here in the Mid Hudson Valley region : WHVW AM - "The Killer of the Kilocycles". 950 AM on the dial. Check it out on the NY Thruway or I-84. It is mistaken that AM radio can't sound good. For local broadcast with music specifically made for AM radio delivery, a good AM radio can make those recordings sound great. AM radio sound quality was further band limited in the 50's and ****py transistor OEM car radios became norm . I have a big tube receiver in a 1950 Coupe. Old recordings on good AM are syrup' smooth and tonally rich out of the hot glowing tubes. Also stations from across the country drift in and out as the sun's energy changes the atmosphere at dark.
http://vintageautoradio.com/ We just used a a 58 Corvette wonderbar in a '40 buick. We are doing this for a corvette guy so he has used these radios in his cars in the past and was happy with them. They have inputs for ipod or satellite and an internal battery that will hold your presets for 40 years. You only need one ignition wire, no battery or constant hot. the only down side is that there is no rca outputs for an amp, but even that isn't a big deal as you can buy line level amps from almost anyone.
Thanks for all the input.I am not a full blown stereo freak and just want a nice sounding system that has the flexability of CD/Ipod. I know that there has to be a compromise with the look and the modern convenience but it will be highly visible set into the dash. In a channelled roadster there are not many places to put the radio and be able to operate it easily. The only one that seems to have all the bells and whistles is the one from Vintage Car Radio,USA-4 In Dash AM/FM/CD MP3. Will keep looking and thanks again.
Here's a couple of threads to give you some ideas in converting an old radio to modern workings like you're wanting: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=365962 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=548824
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