billyd52

Hello every one . newby to any forums so if I screw up just assume i am ignorant. I have an 87 with a crapped out head unit. It was a cassette which I don't want anyway. I want to use a stock cd radio so I have been looking at pre 95 gm radios. Looking at my manual a non bose radio looks to be wired the same as a bose radio except for the amp relay wire (pink) and the speakers are reversed,i.e. the right speaker wires on one is the left wires of the others. Seeing as my speakers and amps all are functioning, why can't I wire in a non bose radio and power the amp relay with the antenna feed?

maddogwyatt

I'd be interested too. My 93 has a non-Bose Cd/radio which works fine except for the aerial which stays down. I'd be interested to know if it's because whoever fitted the stereo just didn't sort out a power feed to it.
BTW, sorry to hijack your thread!! Tell me to p*ss off by all means.

Jig A Low

I just made the swap on my '85 with the Bose system, the biggest problem is that the Bose head unit runs on a different "ohms" than the more modern units. if you try to run a new unit while still using the Bose Amps you can blow the amps. Crutchfield sells a unit that you wire in between the head unit and the amps to prevent it.

billyd52

Thanks; good point, but I don't think a stock factory gm radio is running high watt output or anything more than 8 ohm resistance. I don't know what the bose units run but at a guess its a 4 ohm system. After I blow my amps I'll post on how fast it happened!

Jig A Low

actually, I think the Bose system runs a 2 ohm system

billyd52

Don't know could be I guess but the wiring seems too big for a 2 ohm system. Anybody out there know???

billyd52

No Problem on the hack. Most of the radios have a power antenna feed. You could check the pink wire at the antenna relay to see if it sees 12v when you turn on the radio. If the radio plugged right into the factory wiring i'm pretty sure the relay is getting power. I had to repair my antenna and its a pretty common problem. When I had my 84 it broke as well.

eutu1984

on my 1990 c4 i used a metra adapter that uses your RCA jacks on the back of your aftermarket radio that would go to an amp instead they go to your amps on your bose speakers, I would think that they have one for your 87.

FASTAZU

I run a non-Bose head unit in my C5 with the original Bose speakers.
Hope this helps ya,

http://www.corvetteforums.com/forum/...?page=2&t=7920

88-VETTE-L98

I actually have an original delco tape deck that's non bose but looks just like the original bose deck. It has an MP3/IPOD jack built into it. I put aftermarket speakers in and it sounds and looks great.

maddogwyatt

Thanks. I must admit I haven't really investigated the problem yet. I have a new stereo to fit soon (to replace an older non-Bose one) and I'll get into it all then.

CMIUC

Several yrs ago, I changed out the entire BOSS unit and it has worked out well!

When I chose to perform the upgrade, I had three options:

1. Install with after market DIN 1.0 radio and replace speakers!
(I chose not to do this, as a DIN 1.0 radio stuck out from the dash and looked tacky!!)

2. Replace with DIN 2.0 radio and replace speakers
(This option was doable, and requires the modification to the existing dash by a company up in WI. and I didn't have the time to pursue this option)

3. Replace with after market DIN 1.5 and replace speakers!
I was able to find a NEW aftermarket DIN 1.5 radio and CD unit. The installation went very well, and looks original as the radio unit is almost flush with the dash

My objective in performing the upgrade was to install newer speakers, and still use the existing BOSE speaker covers. ALSO, as a side note, I removed the door speaker boxes without having to totally disassemble the entire doors!

If anyone is interested in send me a PM and I can talk you thru it!