Stereo for GT

[davegt27]

My Pull-N-Save special is starting to go back together. i would like

to install the dash just one time and not have to go back into it --

So I would like to install a Stereo.

one where i don't have to cut up the instrument panel to get it in

I spent a few hours yesterday driving around looking for this old fashion type Stereo

anyone have any ideas? or recommendations


I don't need a fancy setup (I don't even own a CD) just a basic Stereo


thanks in advance

Davegt74

[davegt27]

Thanks Mark I could use the Stereo
just let me know how much you want for it.

I wont need the exhaust manifold or the heater core.

Turns out the control cable from my MR2 works on the Opel so that is all squared away.

I also ordered one of those Aluminum heater control panels from Gil at OGTS and let me say its well worth it


Every GT i have seen the Heater Control panel was broken.

On the exhaust I but a brass plug in the hole.


Hey so far I've seen three GTs in Aurora. one nice yellow one a red one and a white one at pull-n-save

the one at Pull-N-Save the guy pulled away before i could get over there to say Hi


I am not super familiar with CO but maybe i could head your way

Any Sonic's in your area?

maybe a short notice meeting would be the ticket
i wont be driving a GT is the only bad thing

what do you think

Davegt74

[davegt27]

yep sounds fine to me i will pick up the oil tomorrow at this race shop


how about this weekend


Davegt74

[Kristi]

Ok, actually I have the same question... I need to put a stereo in my GT. I don't want to alter the dash or put in anything that looks waasaay out of place, but I do want decent sound. Anyone have any suggestions??

[davegt27]

I am running low on money so i never did get the Radio from Mark


Hey Mark maybe you could sell the radio to Kristi

I was trying to hold out to payday


but that car is not even on the road yet

the brakes and the lights still need to be rebuilt so it would be better if the money went in that direction


Davegt74

[Kristi]

Thanks for the input.. and the vanity plate is gr8 except it has like 9 letters in it... lol.

As for the digital, I'm not really that psyched about it being digital. I just want it to look and sound "nice" - not heart thumping killer.. just nice.

As for the Noise Killer.. what is it and where do it go?

[oldopelguy]

A lot of newer stereos have available remote controls which will allow you to mount them almost anywhere and still use them. My Kadett has the stereo mounted in the glovebox, and the remote on the steering column. The CD changer under the passenger seat sure is nice for long trips! I use the radio delete plate, but I am probably going to put the AM back in for nights at the drive in theatre.

Or, if you have a lawer's wallet and you want to do it right, check out this link:

http://bwautoparts.com/html/custom_sound.html

I believe the one near the bottom is what you are looking for.

[Kristi]

Pretty dern nifty and just what I was looking for... however I noticed the ones listed show Ford or Chevy markings. Do you know if they have to come that way, or if they can come without that?

[dakotaguy]

O.k I'll weigh in. Over the years, I've had really good success with the folks at Crutchfield. They will probably need to know the deminsions of the shaft spacing, face, depth of a stock radio to help you. More than likely they are online and you'll probably have to call for assistance since are Opels are ancient. Who knows, they may have some models they you can just drop in. Give em a shot.

[oldopelguy]

The secretaudio one on the left on the bottom doesn't have any markings, and the actual stereo can mount under the seat with the display and control head on say the center console (or wired into hide behind a modified ash tray door for those that don't smoke.) I have also seen the display mounted on the rierview mirror stem, behind the sun visors, or just mounted to a plate over the hole where the radio is. Any good shop should be able to install it for you if you don't think you are up to the task.

Crutchfield doesn't sell anything that will fit the hole in an Opel. I don't think they even sell shaft mount radio's at all anymore.

If someone out there happens to be junk-yard saavy they can also get the AM/FM radio from a early 80's Toyota or Nissan. They are analog, or the old style pushbutton like the Opel, they drop right in, and the Nissan ones have a plug on the back to hook up an optional tape deck to. I did have a cd-changer hooked up through the plug on my old Kadett, but I havn't been able to find the cable (too much other junk in the garage, sigh)

The supplier in the link above also sells dual voice coil speakers so you can get stereo sound without cutting more speaker holes in the dash or rear deck. They aren't for the true audiophiles out there, but for a guy like Stanley who has gone through so much to keep his car looking as beautifully stock as he has, the dual coil speaker would be just the ticket!

[chuckspeed]

Aww, geez...

There's not better music than the song of a well-tuned Opel motor.

That being said, I'd meaure the dimesions of a stocker radio, then go on ebay to search for a vintage replacement am/fm cassette stereo.

Once it's in the dash (no cutting, please!) the volume may be 'pumped' by mounting an amp and an equalizer UNDER the backseat package tray OR in the space adjacent to the spare tire.

The speakers (you really only need two) go in the back panel below the spare tire flap. The enclosure (once soundproofed) does a nice job. If you really want 'surround sound', put a couple of surface-mount tweeters down low on the kickpanels ahead of the doors.

Just don't go choppin' up an irreplaceable dash to get big sound. You may end up lowering the value of the car in the process. Maggie the Opel came from the factory with a radio delete, so her dash has nothing but unbroken vinyl grain where the radio should be. When we get to installing a stereo in her for my daughter, she will get a remote system with 6x9's in the package tray , a kicker in the trunk, a 6 disc changer aside, and a pair of tweeters integrated into the vent outlets. The car will 'appear' to have no system - not a bad thing if you want folks to avoid stealing it. My 1st amp and speakers were stolen from my GT on account of they were in plain view. While stealing bugs me bigtime, it's the damage thieves do to get to the stuff that's really heartwrenching. Smashed windows and cut-up dashes are even more difficult to source today.

[dakotaguy]

O.k. sorry about the Crutchfiled thing. It's beeb awhile since I ordered from them. I did a quick search for some shaft style receivers out there here's what I found.

Audiovox AV3050
Audiovox AV2000
Kenwood KRC 2007
Kenwood KRC 1007
Legacy LR201
Pyramid 100S
Pyramid 25VL
Jensen CR-225X

These are are model numbers. I think all are AM/FM Cassette. One for sure has a built in equalizer.

Also try some places that sell Agriculture electronics or Marine electronics. Although ther may be some 12 volt issues here.
Acouple of sites to try are www.radioeng.com
and
www.specmo.com

Hope this helps

[Kristi]

Mark,

Your motion is overruled. I know what you are saying, but I'm just a STICKLER for keeping classic cars looking classic... interior-wise anyway. I want a radio that fits the car.. not one that screams "I'm so very aftermarket and not even conceived when this car was made" I'm just wierd that way.... (or wired that way...) lol I don't need a sound system that can be heard for blocks. I just want one that sounds decent and looks good in the car.

[chuckspeed]

if you have a buncha dashes, then you should send them over to the folks in Cali who all have cracked ones! Never saw a Cali GT with an unblemished dash.

Sure - we all have different tastes. that's not the issue. It all depends on where you're going with your car, and the original post had less to do with sound quality, and more to do with sound sans cutting - hence the reply.

I know sound systems - got a Nakamichi system at home, and have engineered 1000+ watt blaupunkt installations. You don't need to 'kick it' when the interior volume is less than half that of a normal vehicle - only a quarter of the normal wattage is needed to achieve similar sound quality - after NVH attenuation. Most modern car audio receivers come out of the box with more than enough wattage to drive a set of speakers at a high volume sans clipping in the teeny tiny volume of the GT interior.

[Kristi]

In fact I don't want a CD player and I'm toying with not even getting a cassette player. I dunno.. I'm just gonna see what's out there. My other car has enough "sound power" for me. I just need to Opel to be something I can listen to as I tool around town.

[Kristi]

Chuck: I agree.. and I've been told that if you get too powerful a radio in there you need to get a new alternator to handle the power drain. Is that true?

[chuckspeed]

Yeah - pretty much.

As long as you stay below 60-80 watts, the stocker alt *should* handle it, but it will impose a load. Don't remember off the top of my head, but the stock alt is in the 55-65 watt range. A car audio system relies on the battery as reserve to prevent peak clipping, so running an amped system will work - but be hard on the electrical system.

Modern cars are suppled with alts easily 3X the capacity of the Opel alt - this is why they can handle the load. I'll check the book when I get home, and report out the spec wattage. working backward from the connected loads (night driving) subtracted from the alt capacity is what's left over for the audio system - but you can over-run that number by 100% and still be safe with a good battery.

[chuckspeed]

Thanks, Mark - wasn't trying to cheese you off. As i've gotten older I'm less inclined to modify old cars, and tend to stick closer to stock. There's a lot of parts that are simply irreplaceable on old cars, so I try to keep modifications within 'returnable to stock' limits - for posterity.

[Kristi]

Ok so Mark, the real question is: If Dave doesn't want it (or maybe he does - then moot point...) do ya still have that Jensen???

[davegt27]

Musicians and Opel Nuts seem to go together

Mark like my other two Opel friends Marty and Paul are Musicians and are a wealth of knowledge on Opels


Marty could set you up with a 65amp one wire Opel Alt

I am pretty short on funds right now so i need to hold off on the radio (i just needed an excuse to bow out gracefully)

just bought some road race slicks and some Panasport wheels
not to mention i should get the race car back any day now


Chuck you should here the sound of an Opel motor at 9000 RPM

the only thing cooler is going up to 9k with a close ratio gear box

what a blast

Davegt74

[chuckspeed]

Dave -

Yah. it's a right brain sorta thing.

Usedta take my '73 WAAY past 7000 RPM just for the heckuvit. It would be fun to build an 8500 RPM streeter one of these days just to annoy the fart-tip crowd.

I'm thinking Emily needs a Sportwagon with a rev-happy motor and the back seat pulled to accept enough audio equipment to strip the paint off of the kid's Civic...

In the oncoming lane

Across the intersection.

I can do it - separate 175 amp alt from a Caddy hung down where the A/C compressor lives;a bank of four 12-volts in the rear seat footwells, 3 1200 watt amps, six 12" kickers...You get the picture.

Oh yeah - and flames. Gotta have flames. Black wagon, blue flames, blue neon kicker rings, blue neon chassis.

Yeah - that's the ticket.

[Kristi]

Three words Chuck:

Oh Dear God

[chuckspeed]

Aww...C'mon.

You gotta understand - I just took delivery of a PT cruiser for the Peebmonster (my wife, Pauline) complete with chromie wheels, tinted windows, cueball 5-speed, and:

Flames.

Yep.

Flames. My wife drives a flamed car. it would only be natural to expect at least one of her daughters to follow suit, yes?

Besides, Sportwagons got no resale. Can do the whole schmeer for less than the cost of a five-year old Chevy Cavalier.

Now I gotta find curb feelers for the PT...

[Kristi]

Oh Flames I can completely stomach.. its just neon ANYthing that makes me run screaming "Pimp!"

[chuckspeed]

http://www.pimpit.com

Got at least a dozen shirts hangin' in my closet, half a dozen pairs of shoes, and a PHAT 21 in the garage.

check it out

livin' large