Speakers

[Matt M240Z]

I have a working original gt radio in my car that only needs an antenna. But I was looking at the side of the radio when I had one of the plastic panels off and to me it looked like there was a ground wire, a speaker wire, and one other wire. Does the original radio only have one speaker wire (green and black I believe)? or is there another on the passenger side?

Thanks

[Matt M240Z]

also, 2 fifteens are bout to be taking up some space in the rear panel, so i was wondering, on such an old radio , how many speakers would u recommend as the maximum for running off of one wire?

[baz]

1 speaker as its mono if its anythink like the delco that was in mine also mines an 8-10 ohm system not a 4 ohm like modern speaker

[simplemind7]

you could run as many speakers as you wanted in theory, but with each speaker added the power going to each is reduced, or the volume of one speaker is split across all of the speakers.... so its more or less pointless to add more, the only advantage to adding more speakers is that the sound would be spread out more thuroughly..... if that tired rambling didn't make sense then i'll try again tomorrow

[nobody]

also, 2 fifteens are bout to be taking up some space in the rear panel, so i was wondering, on such an old radio , how many speakers would u recommend as the maximum for running off of one wire?

2 15 inch speakers on an old AM radio begs the question. Why?

[Willy_g77]

15 inch speaker? sounds like a subwoofer.. and to power it your prolly going to need amplifier, along with a newer radio(tape deck or cd player).the stock one wont do it very good, or might not push the speakers at all... although, i wouldnt cut the dash cluster up, i would relocate the new radio some where and save your uncut dash.. but if you must have it in the stock location, some one might trade you for your uncut one for a cut one..
just my 2 cents..

[yiger]

The original owner of my GT had installed an FM radio and a couple of small speakers on the back dash. When I got the car, I didn't like the look of the FM radio (it was pretty ugly, and mounted beneath the steering wheel). So I came up with this. I mounted a small amp next to the spare tire and ran the speakers from the PO to it. Then I just ran an RCA cable from the amp to a small discman... It keeps the original look of the car since you don't need to remove the old AM... actually, the AM will still even work through the original speaker.

[simplemind7]

15 inch speaker? sounds like a subwoofer.. and to power it your prolly going to need amplifier, along with a newer radio(tape deck or cd player).the stock one wont do it very good...

actually using a stock deck isn't too hard, its just usually easier to use an aftermarket one... my friend has a brand new '05 sunfire, and if you don't know, they have a larger size radio from the factory, i believe they are twice as tall as most aftermarket ones, and also it has part of the computer that controls some things, some people said it was just the door chimes, some said it has air bag stuff in it too so we "had to buy this $120 relocator part" which is supposed to relocate the foctory deck to the trunk so all these still work and we can put the aftermarket one in. anyway, what we did to set up his amp since we're poor is we went to futureshop... i think they're only in canada, but they own... or are owned by Best Buy, which i'm pretty sure is in the states, and we got this device (which should be at both stores) that takes a speaker input and makes it into an RCA output, which allows you to plug in the amp. i believe it was $50 canadian after taxes

next was the problem with the remote turn on wire, since all it needs is a +12V signal going into it to turn on the amp, it is easy to just tap into any accessory circut, this makes it so that the amp will only be turned on when the key is in the accessory, or the on position, i believe we used the windshield wiper circuit.

anyway, this worked out fine for us and that subwoofer could really pound, and still using the stock deck, so i would assume you can use this same technique on the stock opel am radio since all you need is at least 1 speaker output. oh, and also if you don't want to loose the speaker(s) then you just leave them connected and connect the speaker wire-RCA box in parallel.

hope that helped... and made sense, and yeah... i kinda do this stuff in my spare time

[Lindsay]

My 71 GT still has original AM Radio. Installed replacement antenna that is similar to original factory, but not happy with exterior looks. Not sure if I will buy OEM antenna from Opel GT Source or an electric; up/ down.

Installed 5" dia. speaker for AM radio at original rear location: Radioshack, P/N 4001041, 8 ohm, 20 watt RMS, approx. $10 USD. I made simple adapter from 3/8" plywood and spray painted, black color.

Not much radio listening selection, but good enough for now.

[Matt M240Z]

Wow, feel free to call me an idiot, but i had no idea that the original radio was am only. Yes, i can see how 2 fifteens on an am radio might raise some questions. I'd love to install a cd player. The only thing is removing the non-interference bolts to drop the steering column does not look fun (and i have no money at all). That is the only option for removing the instrument cluster right?

[markandson]

Yes, you have to drop the steering wheel to get the instrument cluster out, but it really is not to bad. On the speaker thing, if you use the original radio it was probably set up for 8 ohms back then. The problem with running multiple speakers in parallel is that the impedance drops in proportion to the number of speakers you use. So.....two 8 ohm speakers in parallel will yield an impedance of 4 ohms. If the radio is supposed to see 8 ohms then the transistor on the output side will run hot, and eventually burn up. The way to avoid this is to run some of the speakers in series which causes the impedances to add rather than divide. Anyway, all of that said it does not sound like you are of the mind to run multiple speakers with the old AM unit anyway.

[Lindsay]

If (2) of the (4) bolts securing steering column to dash structure are button head, steering column has never been lowered to remove dash. To remove, drill hole in the center of bolts and use largest EZ-Out that will fit inside. EZ-Outs are not the most successful in 50% of their usage. Just might have to grind the bolt heads off, using CAUTION not to damage metal mounting plate. Not a fun job!

Suggest you eventually buy OPEL Factory Service Manual on eBay. Service Manual provides good instructions and illustrations.

[Matt M240Z]

How comlicated is the instrument cluster setup? Most people have not complained about it, but i have met one man who is very willing to put in work for something her wants yet he said that he gave up on his first instrument clustor removal attempt and claims he will never try it again.

[greensmurf20]

search the forums, its really not hard to do

8 screws, a few plugs, and 4 bolts to drop steering column is all. gotta unplug flasher can unit too.

[simplemind7]

How comlicated is the instrument cluster setup? Most people have not complained about it, but i have met one man who is very willing to put in work for something her wants yet he said that he gave up on his first instrument clustor removal attempt and claims he will never try it again.

its actually quite simple, 5 plugs for the wires and a few screws/bolts

[simplemind7]

you beat me to it smurf...

[soybean]

As greensmurf20 and simplemind7 said, dropping the steering column is not bad at all. The cluster is another "Fun" chore. While it is out check all your grounds, clean them up. Make sure to take the 3 grounds off underneath the fuse box on the left side. Clean up the instrument cluster light dimmer with contact cleaner. If you can do it, install a separate ground wire for all the instrument grounds from the chassis ground to engine block.. While you are there at the fuse box, clean off the bus bars.Opeldean had a post about that a few weeks ago. As far as the Stereo is concerned, I installed an Alpine 7854 in mine. It took a little while and a Dremel tool, but if you take you time it will come out well. There are pictures of mine in my photo gallery. To run the wires to the back, the drivers seat will have to come out. It is a lot easier that way. Take the sills off, peel back the carpet, and run the wires down the side. While all that is being done, add a ground wire all the way from the front one from the instrument cluster to the back. That way you can use it for your rear light grounds. If you don't need it now, do it anyway, you will need it later.
Now isn't that easy to install a stereo? and don't forget, we're having FUN. HTH, Jarrell

[simplemind7]

i just have one question for you Matt.... where are the 2 15's going to fit? i've never tried it, but it just doesn't seem like it will go

maybe if you got rid of the spare tire or don't want to put anything behind the seats again..... i wouldn't recommend either though

[Matt M240Z]

yiger The original owner of my GT had installed an FM radio and a couple of small speakers on the back dash. When I got the car, I didn't like the look of the FM radio (it was pretty ugly, and mounted beneath the steering wheel). So I came up with this. I mounted a small amp next to the spare tire and ran the speakers from the PO to it. Then I just ran an RCA cable from the amp to a small discman... It keeps the original look of the car since you don't need to remove the old AM... actually, the AM will still even work through the original speaker.

Ok, I have just finished installing the new antennae on the car. It works just fine but i really dont like listening to am. So yiger, what exactly did you do? Did you use the original radio at all for the discman? Or did you basically come up with a whole new cd player unit (portable cd player plugged into the cigarette lighter, amplified to regular speakers)? If you have "paint" on your computer, could you please sketch out a real quick picture to layout what you did?

To everyone else...when you say that you "took out your instrument panel", did youy actually take it out of the car, or did you just kinda pull it out as much as you needed to to get whatever you were doing done? I got mine pulled out just enough to plug in the antennae and then tightened it back up. I think some of the wires were hooking on the sheetmetal panels behind the dash.

[soybean]

Matt, When I installed my stereo, I took the whole instrument panel out of the car. Tidied up loose wires, changed light bulbs, etc. Then installed stereo. It was a lot easier to do with the whole thing on the workbench. Checked everything involving stereo as to power, speakers, lights. Then re-installed the instrument panel in the car. HTH, Jarrell