Music in nice on long trips but mostly I wanted to fill the hole in the console with something that would pass for a sound system w/o spending too much to get there.
The car came to me with a behemoth CD player that I assume was ‘professionally’ installed based on the amount of hasty hacking done to make it fit:
I could have possibly gone one size up but deemed these ‘mostly likely to fit w/o a fight’. I made some mounting rings from a thin plastic cutting board:
A J-L thread on the subject of radio mounts in AC cars was invaluable (@MartinScherz and 3 guys named Bob) but I did one thing differently.
The car came to me with the shifter housing screwed down to the gearbox cover - seemed like a hack but it greatly simplified the R&R of the console plus it got the housing as low as possible to maximize room for the radio (a tight fit under the evaporator plenum).
Geo
I am always interested in an alternative radio to the $20. one I have, and this one looks good?
The only problem is the original housing is recessed on an A/C car. My faceplate measures about 2" x 7 1/8" and is inset to the housing. As a radio mine is worthless but it does have a jack for an ipod.
Glenn
I had the retro stereo. It is a beautiful classic looking version w Bluetooth. I was about to fit it to my series 1 after I installed AC, however there was barely any room.
I know AC cars have the stereos jammed in there, but I wanted the extra space so I can pull down the center console panel at any time. So I made some custom pieces.
I have made 3 or 4 different versions. Wasn’t sure what I would be happy with. I am actually still making alternatives just in case.
Presently, I use that center section only for 2 toggle switches, and got smaller 3.5” speakers. They cost like $10-20 at Walmart. They are cheap but they actually work fairly well. I got some original style embossed aluminum material to make face plates.
I put a double din stereo into the glovebox.
True - the recessed portion of mine had already been destroyed so the way was clear to install a DIN mount. But it would be a shame to cut up a good original so you may be limited to traditional shaft mount units.
I didn’t bother to disguise them - I could have painted over the brand name or used black cloth but it is really hard to see what’s in there unless you can look straight in.
