I had a few 1st gen NOS AM radios lying around and was planning on installing one in my car but decided to upgrade it to FM first.
I sent the immaculate radio out to a place called Electro-Tech where they remove the guts and replace them with modern circuitry. When done it converts the stock AM radio to AM/FM with 90 watts per channel stereo.
In addition, I also had them add auxiliary RCA jacks in the back for plugging-in a CD or MP3 player.
The look of the radio remains totally-stock (which was important for me). You cannot tell it has been modified except there are two small LEDs next to the "16" on the AM face that indicate whether it is in AM or FM mode.
When the radio is off, the LEDs are not visible. The LEDs also go out when the auxiliary input is used.
I also purchased a replacement speaker for up front that mounts in the factory dash position and another one for the rear that will mount in the factory optional mono position in the rear package shelf covered by the correct NOS optional rear speaker grille for the back since there is no way I'm going to hack my car up to install stereo speakers.
I had my 3rd Gen am radio rebuilt in the same way...you will surely appreciate it...it's awesome to have the options AM/FM and the iPod ...and still keep everything looking original .
Now that is pretty cool! I have been looking for a new radio for the convertible but didn't like the way they looked. This will work out perfect. Thanks,
Yeah for a restoration, I don't like the way any of the aftermarket radios look either. The only ones that even come close are the Custom Auto Sound units but even they weren't stock enough looking for me.
I have the entire NOS radio kit that includes a mint faceplate and knobs that I will be using to replace my original manual-tune AM radio that has some slight pits in the chrome on the face with this deluxe pushbutton model. The pushbuttons still work for either AM or FM after they modify the radio which is cool.
It's a chore to replace in a '65 SS with A/C and console though.
The under-dash A/C is in the way so I have to remove it, but the '65 console with the longer front has to be removed first to be able to unbolt the A/C unit. Then you can finally get at the radio.
That's why GM re-designed the 66-67 consoles with a shorter front section. So you could remove the A/C without having to remove the console first.
Oh well, it will give the the opportunity to clean everything up while it's out. I think I'll send the plastic A/C faceplate and ball vents out and have them re-plated while I'm at it. It's not something I want to do too often.
Jeff,
Did you have it done by Tayman Electric in FL ? he did a couple for me last year one is in 63wagonman's 4dr and other is in on my work bench...Joe
Tayman lives about 50-60 miles from my place in Florida. Last winter I took a drive up to his place and dropped off two original Acadian push button radio's I had bought in the last couple years. He converted the better of the two exactly like the one in this post which I will be installing in my 63 Acadian. After doing the conversion on the first one, he checked to see if the second was working. Someone told me the original radio had to be functioning in order to do the conversion. The problem with the second radio was something minor so he cleaned and fixed it for no charge. So when we drove back up the next week, I got two radio's back, one converted and the other reconditioned for just AM. I believe he told me the original radio's were putting out 12 watts and after conversion the new unit is putting out about 140 watts.
It is a little pricey but how cool is it to have an original radio in the dash that says "ACADIAN" instead of Sony.
Very cool, I like the hookups on the back. My dad had the same thing done to the AM in a '65 Biscayne...turn it off and on and it switches to the FM band.
WOW!
This got me thinking!
For me the $385 price plus $25 for ipod jack is a little steep.
good to know this is an option though because I was thinking of just buying a modern day radio and hiding it in the glove box and using it along with an ipod jack.
We did take a few pictures at the game. Although my daughter in law took more than we did. I will post a thread right now with some pics. Apologizes to the author of this thread.
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