<VV> LM Radio Conversion

[Tony Underwood]

At 02:18 PM 3/4/2013, Matt Nall wrote:



>If you have a modern radio/stereo that has shafts, you can fit them into the
>faceplate of the old Delco radio and get a factory look along with FM and MP3
>capability.  You'll have to cut up the newer radio for clearance of the
>electronics and shaft.
>
>
>I used a Dual cassette/FM/AM/aux input radio that I bought at AutoZone for
>$24.99.  If anyone's interested, I'll post the directions and details.
>
>Regards to all...Bill Hershkowitz 66 Monza Sport Sedan 110 PG A/C
>
>
>=================================================================
>
>
>   First..  ATTACH  some pics to your message!  Many have done 
> this.. but it never looks right..
>
>
>Matt Nall


I know, old post... but I've been behind in my e-mails and in this 
instance I thought I'd comment.


I've done this sort of thing a number of times using modern 
electronics installed in an original 2700 series gutted Delco AM 
radio chassis.  It's not hugely difficult although it does take some 
ingenuity and first-hand knowledge of electronics.  The trick is 
mounting the digital display of the donor radio behind the face/lens 
of the Delco radio so it looks stone stock but you still have a 
digital display.  Making the pushbuttons work is also problematic, 
what with modern radios using surface mount ptt switches to change 
stations.  It's doable but requires mounting switches on a piece of 
PC board with the appropriate connections going to the donor radio's 
switch board.  The original donor radios never have the switches in 
any sort of location where the Delco push buttons can be made to push 
them... and you still need to adapt links to make the Delco radio 
pushbuttons work the donor switches.

One that I did had no pushbutton functions at all, done on the cheap 
and easy, used the tuning knob to run up and down the band, although 
the scan function was still workable... didn't really need the push buttons.

The mod is not for the faint of heart.  I had the advantage of having 
at my disposal a bunch of factory later-vintage digitally tuned car 
radios to use as donors.  I did not do a tape conversion or CD player 
conversion, too complicated and the face of the Delco radio doesn't 
lend itself well to such trickery. But it does give you AM-FM stereo 
with some respectable power and better sound quality than the 
original Delco radios could ever manage.

I have an old '61 'Vair base model AM radio, no pushbuttons, that I'm 
thinking of gutting and updating with modern innards... stick it in 
my '60.  And, I must have a couple dozen factory AM-FM stereo 
shaft-mount donor radios people simply gave me after updating their 
cars with CD players etc.   So donor radios are no problem.


One I was given is a rare/scarce 1971 Chrysler AM-FM stereo radio 
that was simply discarded by the guy who yanked it to put a cassette 
tape player in the car.  It's a perfect fit in the dash of my '66 
Plymouth Satellite and looks stone stock.  And it works like new.  :)

...I also acquired via scrounging junkyard storage shelves two '60s 
vintage Delco AM-FM radios, one from a Buick and one from an Olds, 
that are a direct bolt-in for an early Corvair.  I paid 10 bucks for 
one, and the other cost me 20. Both work well.  This was about 14 years ago...

tony..