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I have a 79 and need to put a stereo and speakers in. I don't want to cut out the console and would rather get one that fits with the two holes for volume and tuning buttons. Want to get one with blue tooth and all that. Any suggestions on where to get one and good speakers for the dash and the rear that sound really good.
Google Corvette radios....their are several companies selling replacement radios that fit the faceplate of your Corvette....so no drilling or cutting of the factory installation area.
From: Central Kansas – early 1977 L-48 Coupe in Classic White, aka the Sunset Stripper
2023 C4 of the Year Winner - Unmodified
Originally Posted by kurtis2244@gmail.com
I have a 79 and need to put a stereo and speakers in. I don't want to cut out the console and would rather get one that fits with the two holes for volume and tuning buttons. Want to get one with blue tooth and all that. Any suggestions on where to get one and good speakers for the dash and the rear that sound really good.
I don't want to cut out the console and would rather get one that fits with the two holes for volume and tuning buttons.
and good speakers for the dash and the rear that sound really good.
Now those two statements are an oxymoron. I hear those Retrosound direct fit radios are garbage and the 5x7 speaker being the largest you can fit in the rear can't hold a candle to 6x9s. Dash speakers, fuhgeddaboudit. Why they even bother to put speakers from a Speak and Spell in there is beyond me. If you do decide to go with a modern din1 head unit you don't need one of those overpriced special center dash bezels made for din1 head units. The less expensive reproduction bezel can be cut with a dremel (rotary tool) and the head unit will fit perfect. As far as the rear speakers go, you'll have to figure something out. And an amplifier definitely helps too.
That's what I was wondering that if those retro direct fit radios are any good. I want a high quality system. The 4 X 6's in the dash are very shallow so I have to find some that will just drop in. I believe the ones in the rear are 6 X 9's. And to be honest I don't like the look of those retro head units. I'd probably rather dremel out the existing center dash unit. Do I need to buy a reproduction bezel to do that?
I won't swear to it but I'm pretty sure you can cut the original bezel. I know the reproductions you definitely can. I was wrong about the rear speaker size. I looked at my order history from Crutchfield and these are the speakers that the magnets barely fit in the Corvette: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_575R16...te-R169X2.html
To be honest they don't sound as good as my Pioneer 6x9 that I have installed in my Cuda but that may something to do with the car having a trunk. I don't remember what Pioneer speakers I have but they were 2 way speakers.
Thanks. I'm not that familiar with head units as far as wattage output I should have OR speakers but thanks for the input. I'd like to put a sub in. I used to have a sub with a built in amplifier way back when in the day in an older Firebird I had but haven't bought a system in a very long time and don't want to short change myself and not be happy with whatever i end up installing.I pulled the front 4 X 6's out but haven't pulled the rear 6 X9's out yet. I probably should to see how deep they are and how deep I can go.
I'm not audio expert so I'm not going to recommend anything. I would recommend calling Crutchfield. Their staff is very helpful. Here's a picture of my head unit installed in a reproduction bezel.
I wanted to save it along with the original radio and speakers which will probably never go back in.
A lot of the replacement radios I've seen say "Corvette" across the top which makes my skin crawl. Most 60s and 70s GM AM/FM stereo radios used the AC delco radio with the bar that slides left and right for am or fm. My buddies early Monte Carlo had the same radio. When I bought my '73 Corvette a few years back a PO had removed the original and put in a cheesy "Corvette" radio. I later learned that was done to accommodate a Vintage Air ac unit which occupies the space behind passenger side dash where original radio's "convector" was located. Long story short I put the original radio back in after having the guts replaced with Aurora design components (no longer needs big convector box).
I have a shallow mount Kenwood blue tooth (4-4.5 inches deep) makes easy for hook sub/amp. It does require modifying the bezel. Highly recommend a powered flat or under seat subwoofer , mine sits in the rear compartment it is a 10" and makes a world of difference.
It also has a controller that will adjust the bass level that is mounted by double side tape to the console along side of the drivers seat. Makes easy to adjust on the fly.
My dash speakers are Kenwood and not hardly worth having hooked up so I used receiver settings to adjust more toward rear speakers which are actually located in the kick panels. It is not an over the top system but rather effective for listening to in a some what rowdy sounding vette!
This is the stereo in my 1979, similar to Fly_Skids_Up. I didn't want to carve up my original console bezel and bought a used original one on ebay for around 50 bucks. A 1U radio fits great with minor cutting, are inexpensive and can sound as good as you want to spend. For example, that radio a few years ago has bluetooth, sirius, usb, am/fm, aux inputs and cd as was about 100 dollars.
My car had the original rear corner speakers and had a hard time finding something that sounded good in the space. was not happy with the sound. There is no baffle space isolation. I ended up buying a prebuilt box specifically for the C3 with a 10 inch sub and 6x9s. Does take up abound 5 inches of floor room on the already limited behind the seat space. The fronts are 4 inch, think the stock size is 4x6. A 5 channel amp in the passenger size cubby. Sounds really good for cruising tunes with the T tops off. Probably more than you were planning but a direction one can go.
You can find on Fleabay some old style radios where someone has added a Bluetooth function that is activated when you select AM radio. I have one, older Yamaha with cassette player, but now instead of AM it has Bluetooth. Haven't installed it yet.
I used to suggest a hidden Bluetooth amp, and leave your stock radio for looks. That's still a great option.
Now, I wouldn't even bother with that. I'd get another Bose Soundlink (Amazon Link) and not worry about wiring or speakers. The older version fills my crew cab truck with books from Audible for long drives. If I want to listen to music, I drive my EV.
Where did you get this speaker box from? I need one! Thanks!
Originally Posted by kirkm
This is the stereo in my 1979, similar to Fly_Skids_Up. I didn't want to carve up my original console bezel and bought a used original one on ebay for around 50 bucks. A 1U radio fits great with minor cutting, are inexpensive and can sound as good as you want to spend. For example, that radio a few years ago has bluetooth, sirius, usb, am/fm, aux inputs and cd as was about 100 dollars.
My car had the original rear corner speakers and had a hard time finding something that sounded good in the space. was not happy with the sound. There is no baffle space isolation. I ended up buying a prebuilt box specifically for the C3 with a 10 inch sub and 6x9s. Does take up abound 5 inches of floor room on the already limited behind the seat space. The fronts are 4 inch, think the stock size is 4x6. A 5 channel amp in the passenger size cubby. Sounds really good for cruising tunes with the T tops off. Probably more than you were planning but a direction one can go.
stereo
