i just bought a 74 sting ray vert and it didnt come with a radio. Should i find a stock radio? or go for an aftermarket cd player?

 

Is it all original and do you plan to have it judged? If not, then go for a modern unit.
Glenn

BTW-Where's the pics! It's mandatory when someone gets a new Vette!

 

i know there will be pics asap, ya iam not planning on having it judged but just asking when i sell it if it would get more for having an original or aftermarket?

 

I would go with a modern, IPod-ready unit. This little Shuffle holds 500 tunes.

 

how much did that cost? wow thats nice

 

The price is $269.00.

http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb....Z5Z5Z50000050G

 

The choice is up to you, but my advice is not to cut an original cluster bezel. Hang on to it. If you go aftermarket, purchase one of the reproduction bezels already sized for a CD player.

 

ya iam buying a am/fm so it will be stock. I need to post pics its snowing here in seattle today so i will be posting here in a few days

 

You don't cut the bezel with the unit I showed. It is old-fashioned two post. Fits right in.

 

This is a very personal judgment call. So no one take offense. I hate aftermarket radios in our cars, they don't look right. The first thing I did to my car was put in a correct stereo...I never turn the thing on.
My daily driver does not even have a radio in it, but if you are the kind of person that likes to listen to the radio when they drive you should go with something modern, which has aux inputs.

 

I cut out a hole about 18 years ago in the original bezel because I wanted a specific AM/FM/CD player. A very stupid move on my part, regretting it now that there's better aftermarket radios available that use the existing holes for the radio post *****.

 

I enjoy a quality sound when driving.

 

I would actually say cut the original. The replacement bezels that are designed for a DIN stereo are more expensive than a replacement OEM style bezel. If you ever did want to go back to a factory configuration (which you probably never will unless you suddenly decide to do a complete restoration), you can just order a new one.

 

The stock radios are more expensive than a really good quality new unit. And you can find some that fit in the stock opening. If you install an aftermarket unit, you will want to change out the speakers for something better, too.

 

I have the factory radio in my 71, I dont even know if it works yet or not, if by chance it does still work correctly, will it even have a chance of sounding decent enough with some new speakers? or is it just gonna sound crappy no matter what?

 

This is just a heads-up as my knowledge of electronics is limited. The old speakers are 10 ohm and the new 4-8 ohm. Can you drive the new with the old head unit? Someone will know.

 

You can substitute one 8-ohm speaker OR two 4-ohm speakers [hooked up in series] for the original 10 ohm speaker with no significant downside...except for some added distortion when you turn the volume up. But the original Delco head puts out a measly 16 watts (equivalent to about 25 watts in today's "peak-watts" advertising language) and the output amp design (that's the 'convector' unit with the big transistor[s]) is an early transistor design that doesn't amplify the signal well. So you end up with a low-power, poor sound quality unit that sounds just like the 1970's! If you are into originality and not that much into loud/excellent sound reproduction, install the original unit. If you want to hear nice music, buy an aftermarket unit that will fit in your non-buggered gauge cluster. In either case, change the speakers! One of the ideas I want to try out [when I get done with the other work on my car] is to do away with the convector unit and run the output of my original Delco AM/FM/stereo head into an inexpensive solid-state stereo amplifier unit. It won't have any big-a$$ sub-woofer on it or be able to blow the windows out of the car next to me , but if I can get it hooked up right, the sound quality (and volume level) should improve considerably.

 

We need pics so we can guide you in the right direction. How important is sound quality to you? Some people like AM, I personally would buy a radio without it.

What are your tastes?

 

...and it's a Stingray.

 

Yep . Going on soon.