original radio installation

[old gm blues]

I purchased an oem am radio last year and when I tried to install it in my 72 jimmy,it seems to be the correct radio but the depth is incorrect.I had to grind out part of the radio to fit it in. (no big deal for a $10.00 radio with a black bezel)I have found an oem am/fm but I can tell that I will have the same problem .Am I missing some sort of installation kit?

[Davy]

Are you sure these radios are truck radios of the correct years.

Show us some pics and we can better help you.

Davy

[71Blazer]

I installed an original am radio and center dash speaker without any modification. Took all of 30 minutes. It's probably the ONLY work I've done to the blazer without some sort of complication. Hmmmm...

[1970blazin]

Here is a pic of my OEM radio- AM
No problems with my installation it fit right in.

[teamharvey]

Anyone have any spare control knobs for a radio they might want to part with ?

[blazerslave]

Does anyone know if someone makes a patch panel to restore your dash to accomodate a factory radio? Mine was cut to make room for a DIN mount unit. I imagine I could make one if I had a template and some steel.

Just curious . . . .

[old gm blues]

Thanks for the picture , My radio is exactly the same(but in 1972 the bezel is black) I can tell from the pic that the radio hardly comes out of the dash. I think that's my problem. When I put mine in the threads on the knob shaft don't surpass the dash. I am wondering if mabye I am missing some sort of special washer behind the knobs that allow me to put the shaft nuts on. If anyone understands what I mean, let me know, Thanks again.

[Davy]

I'm pretty sure 72 radios are identical to the one Diane posted. No black bezels offered on these trucks.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you are using the wrong radio. It should slide right in there.

Again, a pic would help us.

Davy

[old gm blues]

I found a picture on ebay of the radio. If you look on the side shot you can see that the threads are lower than the part that stop the radio on the inside of the dash. Is it because I should not be using the radio shaft for fastening purposes???

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

[old gm blues]

OK ,Thanks, found a picture of a radio and it looks like I am missing the offset washers located between the radio and the knobs.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ayphotohosting

[72c5]

Did any blazers have perforated holes in the top of the dash for a center speaker, I want to use my stock am radio, but there are no speaker holes........guess I gotta to the under dash thing?

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by blazerslave

Does anyone know if someone makes a patch panel to restore your dash to accomodate a factory radio? Mine was cut to make room for a DIN mount unit. I imagine I could make one if I had a template and some steel.

Just curious . . . .

You might try the OEM Radio Delete Plate for a patch panel. Depends on how big the cut in the dash is. I also have used the radio delete plate as an AM/FM cassette front panel. I cut 1" holes for the knobs and used a nibbler to cut a rectangular hole, it worked real good. My cassette deck was designed for this application (you can't get 'em anymore like that.) Only regret was painting it crinkle black -- it was the original 516 Orange that the truck was painted.

[chevy_fatman]

old gm blues, you use the radio shafts partially for fastening but there's a bracket on the back of the radio that hold it up from the back, also I've never seen an OM radio with black face, got a pic of it?


blazerslave, you can cut a patch panel in the junkyard for the area you need to replace, good news though, there's a board member that's having the radio area repoped to replace the hacked up factory radio area, but don't know when they'll be available

72c5, my blazer doesn't have any speaker holes in the dash, I don't think any blazers did being convertible and all, you might have to go with the original underdash bracket that came from the factory, I believe Gee Emm had a pic of one.

[tpi72blazer]

Originally Posted by 72c5

Did any blazers have perforated holes in the top of the dash for a center speaker, I want to use my stock am radio, but there are no speaker holes........guess I gotta to the under dash thing?

I know that the radio in my 72 is the factory original. It does not have holes in the top of the dash. Instead, it has the original speaker mounted under the dash, that surprisingly still works.

[chevy_fatman]

Found a pic of a factory am/fm radio, does your look like this one? if so it should fit in your radio opening without having to grind any off the radio.

[pound41]

On all the radios the depth of the radio is all that matters. You can be easily fooled on the AM/FM's because will find monte carlo/nova/impala etc radios that look exactly like the truck but they are too long to fit. The AM models are close in look but the cars have some sort of a noticeable difference in the face. But, the AM/FM's are hard to tell other than depth

[meathead95]

my 2wd blazer has speaker holes in the dash

[old gm blues]

Thanks guys, I found out in the end that all I was missing was the two cups that go in between the knobs and the radio. Also the am that I have is identical to the crome ones you guys are showing me but its going in the trash anyway, and I am going am-fm original (crome)
Again Thanks