Aftermarket Radios

[TURNA]

Looking for an aftermarket or "rebuilt" radio for the Cutlass that looks stock but modern internals.

Does anyone upgrade the original GM radios to a more modern type?

Modern turner/higher watts?

Was looking at this Retrosound

Anyone have one?

 

[DRIVEN]

Mine was upgraded in 1979 with the finest Sears cassette deck available. Dolby NR and everything!

I haven't used the one you posted but my experience with other "retro" units is that they're really expensive for the lame sound and cheesy looks. Retrosound thinks that one is worth $399 (I know it's way cheaper through other vendors). I guess it all depends on the kind of build you're doing.

 

[200kss]

I have the Retrosound Newport pictured. Yes it's expensive but it fits the build theme of my car and I like it. I'm no audiophile and am not using an amp, just (4) 16 year old speakers that need to be replaced. Honestly wish it had a cd player, showing my age here.

 

[oldsofb]

This is where I got mine. He can install an AUX port to plug in a phone or MP3 player.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/ccc87gn

Hutch

 

[TURNA]

This is where I got mine. He can install an AUX port to plug in a phone or MP3 player.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/ccc87gn

Hutch

I have seen him and his radios in the past but all he does is solder on an input jack.

Does he upgrade anything else?

 

[1320John$$$]

I put a stock 1993 Pontiac grand am radio in my 85 Monte Carlo

 

[airboatgreg]

I had a mint stock radio given to me. I added nice speakers, amp and blue tooth to listen to pandora

 

[AZRegal]

Looking for an aftermarket or "rebuilt" radio for the Cutlass that looks stock but modern internals.

Does anyone upgrade the original GM radios to a more modern type?

Modern turner/higher watts?

Was looking at this Retrosound

Anyone have one?

I bought one of these for my Regal. They look the part but the lighting isn't quite right. It is too bright and too vivid to match up to the antique lights in the dash. Even having the dimmer set to low, it still doesn't quite match up. The input jacks on the front look kinda cheap as well. Not quality wise just placement wise. There are a ton of things all the buttons and knobs do but nothing is labeled and it can get confusing. This wouldn't be that big of a deal if the radio was within reach of the driver without having to lean down so far to make adjustments. I didn't drive my car everyday so I forget what most of the buttons would change between trips in the car. Not that i needed to constantly make changes but if you accidentally hold a button too long and activate/deactivate something then good luck trying to figure it out. I don't think a few extra buttons for specific functions like track selection would have killed the look. They could have added buttons that looked like the old ffd rwd and stop bottons like the old cassette players and been just fine. I wouldn't buy it again knowing how it operates. It is not intuitive at all. This is just my opinion. That's all I have to say about that.

 

[Lowdollarbuild]

I bought one of these for my Regal. They look the part but the lighting isn't quite right. It is too bright and too vivid to match up to the antique lights in the dash. Even having the dimmer set to low, it still doesn't quite match up. The input jacks on the front look kinda cheap as well. Not quality wise just placement wise. There are a ton of things all the buttons and knobs do but nothing is labeled and it can get confusing. This wouldn't be that big of a deal if the radio was within reach of the driver without having to lean down so far to make adjustments. I didn't drive my car everyday so I forget what most of the buttons would change between trips in the car. Not that i needed to constantly make changes but if you accidentally hold a button too long and activate/deactivate something then good luck trying to figure it out. I don't think a few extra buttons for specific functions like track selection would have killed the look. They could have added buttons that looked like the old ffd rwd and stop bottons like the old cassette players and been just fine. I wouldn't buy it again knowing how it operates. It is not intuitive at all. This is just my opinion. That's all I have to say about that.

If you want to dim the display & the radio has a separate wire for display lighting, try different value resistors in series with the lead for illumination. If the unit uses bulbs for illumination you will need higher wattage resistors. Check amperage of lead first.

 

[Lowdollarbuild]

I bought one of these for my Regal. They look the part but the lighting isn't quite right. It is too bright and too vivid to match up to the antique lights in the dash. Even having the dimmer set to low, it still doesn't quite match up. The input jacks on the front look kinda cheap as well. Not quality wise just placement wise. There are a ton of things all the buttons and knobs do but nothing is labeled and it can get confusing. This wouldn't be that big of a deal if the radio was within reach of the driver without having to lean down so far to make adjustments. I didn't drive my car everyday so I forget what most of the buttons would change between trips in the car. Not that i needed to constantly make changes but if you accidentally hold a button too long and activate/deactivate something then good luck trying to figure it out. I don't think a few extra buttons for specific functions like track selection would have killed the look. They could have added buttons that looked like the old ffd rwd and stop bottons like the old cassette players and been just fine. I wouldn't buy it again knowing how it operates. It is not intuitive at all. This is just my opinion. That's all I have to say about that.

If you want to try dimming your display & have access to a multimeter, I can walk you through this & give you an assortment of resistors. Self addressed enveloped with 2 stamps required.