Best Radio/Stereo AM-FM upgrade?

[Coley]

So what is the best upgrade radio for these trucks that offers AM/FM (or more) and fits in the original dash and looks stock?....any tricks to the installation? results? or?
suppliers? or the brand and/or type or?

....also what is the best in-dash speaker arrangement ? (supplied with the radio/stereo? or?)

...what about the best overall speaker arrangement and it possible to upgrade over time without too much work or disassembly, etc?

I know this has been covered for sure from time to time...but I still wanted to put the question out there for those that had either success with a particular brand or model.....or failure in their choice.

All good
Coley

[jessemthompson]

Check out retrosound. I have been pleased with mine.

[HO455]

I have been pleased with my Aurora conversion of a stock AM radio done by Gary Tayman. It has AM/ FM Bluetooth and a USB input. I have it installed in a Suburban so I can speak to speakers for a pickup, but if you are interested I have a write up in the WMB thread below on page 12. The black plate is my cover over the hole the PO cut for a din stereo.

http://www.tech-retro.com/Aurora_Design/Home.html

http://www.taymanelectrical.com

[el_fantasma]

Originally Posted by HO455

I have been pleased with my Aurora conversion of a stock AM radio done by Gary Tayman. It has AM/ FM Bluetooth and a USB input. I have it installed in a Suburban so I can speak to speakers for a pickup, but if you are interested I have a write up in the WMB thread below on page 12. The black plate is my cover over the hole the PO cut for a din stereo.

http://www.tech-retro.com/Aurora_Design/Home.html

http://www.taymanelectrical.com

I had Gary rebuild my OEM radio and was very pleased. I bought a dash speaker from LMC to replace the original, which was good quality but too large. In other words, the speaker magnet dropped so low that the OEM radio would not fit. I had to get a thinner radio which fit but didn’t offer as good a sound. You can find them both on page 94 of their catalog.

Rob

[Bearhawg]

Originally Posted by el_fantasma

I had Gary rebuild my OEM radio and was very pleased. I bought a dash speaker from LMC to replace the original, which was good quality but too large. In other words, the speaker magnet dropped so low that the OEM radio would not fit. I had to get a thinner radio which fit but didn’t offer as good a sound. You can find them both on page 94 of their catalog.

Rob

About how long does it take for the conversion and for shipping back and forth?

[hevy_chevy67]

Originally Posted by Bearhawg

About how long does it take for the conversion and for shipping back and forth?

I emailed directly as I had a couple questions and he told me turnaround was around a week, but with summer over radio's are coming in so it may be a bit longer soon.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by Bearhawg

About how long does it take for the conversion and for shipping back and forth?

It was about 2 1/2 weeks from when I shipped it until I got mine back.

[jjzepplin]

I just watched the Aurora demonstration. WOW! Nice unit! I will be sending them the 58 Bel Air radio when I can get around to removing it. HAHA! Thanks!

[4oldcars]

Anything but customautosound. They are pure junk

[Coley]

Originally Posted by 4oldcars

Anything but customautosound. They are pure junk

Interesting stuff....did you have one? What happened with it? ....was it under warranty or?

..as well, that Gary Tayman conversion looks pretty interesting.

All good
Coley

[Already Gone]

There is this one too. Looks stock and has all the features. I put one of the speakers in the link in my last truck and liked it.

http://www.mikehaganantiqueautoradio...reo-radio.html

https://www.retromanufacturing.com/p...nt=31329872270

[67 chevelle]

Originally Posted by 4oldcars

Anything but customautosound. They are pure junk

Totally agree , retrosound is great , I like 4x6s in the kickpanel vents , and tweets in the dash , with the gas tank relocated a sub goes behind the seat . with the tank in the origanal location , 2 6x9s in boxes work well .

[darrellyates]

Originally Posted by 67 chevelle

Totally agree , retrosound is great , I like 4x6s in the kickpanel vents , and tweets in the dash , with the gas tank relocated a sub goes behind the seat . with the tank in the origanal location , 2 6x9s in boxes work well .

I used the Retrosound in my truck. I agree, it's a quality unit. I'm running a separate 5 channel amp, with speakers in the kick panels and behind the doors in the sides of the cab. Replaced the stock tank with a custom sub box (shaped like the gas tank) using a 12 inch shallow mount sub.

Good enough for an old man. I like it!

And the Retrosound lets me use bluetooth from the phone for music, and take/make calls from the iPhone as well.

Only complaint?? Wish it had a remote for the volume and other controls. That's the only complaint I have. Sound is suitable for me!

[TBohne]

Nice

[57Suburb]

Installed a Retrosound Laguna in mine. I've gotten used to hands free cell phone operation in my everyday driver, so wanted that in my truck too. Works great and it was pretty easy to install. Quality product.

[jjzepplin]

My stereo has a remote but I don't ever use it. Any rough pricing on any of these units?

[darrellyates]

Originally Posted by jjzepplin

My stereo has a remote but I don't ever use it. Any rough pricing on any of these units?

Depends on the features you want. As an example, the Retrosound Long Beach can be found in the $150-$190 range using a Google Search.

If you want the Retrosound Long Beach, using the same Google search, shows up in the $320-$350 range.

Call several of the vendors from this site and look around. I ordered from a vendor on this site, and got a better price than I found on-line.

You can order the Retrosound units about any place. The big on-line vendors have them, you can order from people on this site, even direct (although you will pay list price ordering direct).

I didn't search for the Custom Autosound as that did not appear to be a unit of choice based on feedback.

My local guy wanted significantly more to upgrade the stock radio. Not sure I'm capable of that modification personally. Have never tried. For me, the Retrosound was a solid option. Everyone will have a different opinion. If you are interested, there is an audio section on this website, and/or call some of the vendors here who distribute the product and talk to them.

Good Luck!

[Coley]

It looks like the Retrosound units all have a digital display....do I have this correct?
Then you can attach a regular appearing 'dial' radio plate over it when not in use?.....is this correct?

If so, I'm not sure if I'm up for the digital stuff...although it sounds like the system from a sound/audio point of point will cut it.

Coley

[darrellyates]

Originally Posted by Coley

It looks like the Retrosound units all have a digital display....do I have this correct?
Then you can attach a regular appearing 'dial' radio plate over it when not in use?.....is this correct?

If so, I'm not sure if I'm up for the digital stuff...although it sounds like the system from a sound/audio point of point will cut it.

Coley

Yes. The Retrosound has a digital display. They provide several decals which mimic the original faces of the factory radio. That is, it sticks on the face of the digital display. I simply leave it on. They provide several, and I've used 1 (one) in the year or so I've had the radio. So no, it doesn't look exactly stock. But I like it better than a single rectangular hole in the dash, although a modern radio works well for sound as well. I simply like the original 2 shaft looking radio. But, again, it was much less expensive than having my original converted to include bluetooth, RCA outputs for 4 channels plus a subwoofer output.

Again, everyone does what they like, and it depends on what type of sound you like.

But yes, the digital display does not appear original.