Radio question for 1986 crown victoria.

[DrHax]

Umm not sure if this belongs in the audio subforum of the Box electrical... or here.. Umm mods if it needs to be moved please move it.

Hey guys. My radio is turning into hiss box central US. So since I have an aftermarket DUAL din radio I stuck in my saturn sc2.. and I am selling that I was curious to see just how much bigger it is then the ford stock one. Turns out the ford one is huge. The size difference is just a bit taller. So much so when I removed the stock radio and tried to see how the new one would fit it turns out that metal plate above the heater controls are the only thing prohibiting the radio from just sliding in like nothing's wrong.

Now my question. Since i left my shop manuals at my fiancee's house is that metal plate structural, or is it removable? Because I reached around and I felt some screws holding it, and I do not see where else it goes. It feels like it's purpose to just hold the stock radio up since all of the connectors were attached to to it.

So....is what I want to do even easily accomplishable without bringing out a hacksaw?

[DerekTheGreat]

I think I know what you're talking about as my '85 was similar. Original radio on my car used this other metal bracket which attached to the rear of the factory radio and essentially "clipped" into place as you slid the radio back into the hole. This also served as the ground. The metal plate must be the same you're talking about (pic #2). I think that's hard mounted/tack welded in place somewhere. If it were me I'd just buy a single din radio to avoid hacking up the dash. I went through the extra time to find harnesses needed to convert my knob & tube radio to the digital style for that same reason, I hate hacking stuff up and avoid it when possible.

[sly]

+1 go for a single DIN unit. mounting kits:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_003CFK510/American-International-CFK510-Dash-Kit.html

http://www.amazon.com/Metra-99-5510-Installation-Multi-Kit-Vehicles/dp/B0002BEUXK

You'll have to break off some of the un-used tabs. A pair of pliers is typically enough to snap them off, but a utility knife and scoring them first may work better.

[pantera77]

Replace it with a nicer, newer modern single din Ford unit, none of that ugly aftermarket garbage

[DrHax]

Bidding on a 1985 radio with a cassette deck. If i don't get it I'll see what I can do.

[86VickyLX]

I have an extra bezel piece if you want it. It's not in the best shape. But it's not horrible either.

[WagonMan]

I have a working 86 cassette and a working 86 AM/FM radio if you are interested. veightpete@gmail.com WagonMan

[DerekTheGreat]

I've got tons of radios too, as well as speakers & JBL amps. Need to do an inventory...

[DrHax]

I'd be curious to see the bezel pieces. From the "visual" measurements the older 2 hole radio trim would be perfect for cutting out a perfectly sized hole. If somebody has a 2 hole trim piece and the rectangular piece see how much smaller the holes are. Also the 2 hole does not have that silver raised edge which is obvious when you cut the trim. Every double din conversion I have seen has been a bit of a hack job. Though fitting for my name I would prefer a clean installation. I won the 1985 cassette for 23 bucks shipped to my door. We'll see how that works. I also got a metra wiring kit for the double din if I decide to go down that route.

Trust me guys if i go down the double din route I will do it correctly and as cleanly as I can. I am doing a lot of research on this topic. Trying to decide what is best.

[DerekTheGreat]

Glad I didn't take the ones I found at yards! Thought they'd go for $40+ lol. Not much profit to be had when the yard charges ~$20/tape deck. They do look cool though, wanted one for my '85 but of course I didn't see any worth taking until after I sold it...

[Bobcat]

I've been trying to find a stylish single din but can't find anything that's attractive and not excessively priced.

[DerekTheGreat]

Here's what I've got in my box:

http://www.sony.com/electronics/in-car-receivers-players/mex-gs810bh

It can be had cheaper through sonixelectronix but that link gives you the meat & potatoes plus other options to look at. I wouldn't say the sound quality & equalizer flexibility are as great as my old CDA-9835 but it sounds pretty damn good. Went with that over the dated alpine design because the Alpines felt cheap and weren't very intuitive. You can't change the color on the Alpine either, they're pretty dumb when it comes to that. Some years you can, some you can't. Anyway, the Sony lets you select colors & brightness for day and night settings. So during the day it is white like the gauges but then when you turn the lights on the stereo matches the other interior lights. Ugliest part about it is the knob. I wish that didn't light up and was smaller. It is less annoying when you have the display brightness down low as possible. It's also a shitty LED display when it should be Bio-lite or similar but since single dins are going the way of the DoDo many manufacturers probably think they're doing you a favor by making what they did. Some don't even have preset buttons!

[sly]

That Sony isn't too bad... though I still like my Kenwood x492 better. I wish they would make an HD radio version of the x492... but no dice. The real kicker for me with this headunit is the build in crossover is stepped in 20Hz steps from 40-120 hz for the sub (low pass) and 60-140 hz for the front and rear speakers. Makes it pretty easy to tune my car with the cheap pioneer speakers I have.

[sly]

Just looked through the manual for that Sony... it's got one more step (50Hz) and a 10 band EQ. That's a pretty nice head unit. Though it is still twice as much as the level my x492 was on. Less features, dang near same audio quality I'd wager. But that would be a consideration for me... and I'd use the "blue" setting as it's kinda more cyan than blue from the pictures.

[DerekTheGreat]

I like Kenwoods, they have a good look to them and the excelon stuff caters to audioholics. The unit I wanted at the time couldn't be had with HD radio, customizable lighting, crossover networks and an equalizer. To get all that stuff they wanted you to go double din touch screen.

Kenwood would probably sound better than the Sony. Sure, Sony has an equalizer but it doesn't seem to be as powerful as the Alpine stuff I'm used to and maybe it is just me but it's harder to focus on irritating frequencies.. I primarily went with the Sony because I was buying new and it was the only thing that fit all the criteria and didn't look stupid. Although right out of the box it does do that gay light show shit and has to be disabled, doesn't flash & induce seizures like the Pioneers though. If I could do without HD radio and didn't mind my Ipod's playlist being reset every time the radio shut down I'd get another Alpine CDA-9835, loved that stereo. Great look, bio-lite display, 8 or 10 band equalizer and multi step HP/LP filters. Con was stupid motorized faceplate but I never used the CD player anyway.