matt69olds

Gotta vent, it will accomplish nothing other than maybe soothing my frustrations.

I try to avoid improvements/upgrades, whatever to the Olds during the summer. I prefer to use the cold winter months to spend in the garage. I’d prefer to drive and enjoy the car when the weather is nice.

Here is the (long) story: the old school stereo in my daily driver Neon quit. I installed an Alpine head unit in the Olds a few years ago. My wife and kids always said it looked out of place. I figured, now would be the time to install a Custom Autosound aftermarket stock looking radio, and take the Alpine out and install it in the Neon. Against my better judgment, I started on this project Monday. I figured how hard could a radio swap be?? 😁

Once again, I have to applaud the people who put these cars together. There is very little under the dash that’s easy to get to on these cars.

Step one: I needed to remove the custom aluminum radio filler plate a friend machined for me to adapt the dash to a single DIN radio, and install a factory radio bezel. Not the easiest project, with the drivers seat removed and taking out the glove box liner, and bending my neck into unnatural positions, I got the plates swapped. Unfortunately, I also broke the glove box light. I swear those things break just looking at them.

When I built the custom dash harness I had the foresight to include a modern GM radio plug, that made the wiring so much quicker and easier. Wire the new radio with a aftermarket adapter plug, bolt the radio in and plug the adapter to the “factory” harness. I’m almost done!

So I thought.

Reconnect the battery, turn on the ignition, the radio powers up and immediately switches to Aux 2. Switch to radio, try to tune in a station, no sound, after 5 seconds it automatically switches back to aux 2. 😡😡😡. Turn the turning ****, the radio tuned to a station, no sound, and after a few seconds switches automatically to Aux 2. WTF?

Call custom autosound, after some troubleshooting they determine the radio is defective and tell me to send it back.

What really chaps my ***: I have 3 fairly long distance car shows over the next 3 weekends, with no tunes. I’m certainly not swapping all that crap back. Guess I will have to suffer. Most of these cars when new had a AM radio only, on the bright side I will be a little closer to the “true” automotive experience of driving a late 60s car.

If I had followed my own “rules”, I wouldn’t be here complaining.

It’s times like this I can hear my grandfather reminding me “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”


Have a nice day.

oldcutlass

This falls into the category of sh.., stuff happens. It does help to vent.

Olds64

BUMMER!

Are you going to just swap the Custom AutoSound head unit or ask for your money back?

matt69olds

I asked if they would send me a replacement to minimize downtime, but they want the old one back first for a bench test. I guess I can’t really blame them for that, it just sucks because the end of summer is rapidly approaching. I offered to send a video showing exactly what it’s doing, they had little interest.

I’ll just cruise to my shows minus the tunes. Sometimes it’s nice to just listen to the rowdy 455 instead of the clasic rock I normally play. I have no desire to swap radio mounting plates again.

Loaded68W34

Sorry for the bad luck Matt. While you are waiting for the radio to get back, buy a cheap bluetooth speaker and use that in your car. I have been using a cheap bluetooth speaker playing Amazon music from my phone as my only source of music in the shop for several years. If you have Amazon prime, you can download the Amazon music app for free and load as many songs as you want on your phone to play without using data. I add 1/8" audio jacks to all of my original radios and Amazon music is pretty much all I listen to while driving (other than the occasional 8 track for variety).

72455

You could do what I do...I have a blue tooth speaker that I listen to through Pandora on my phone.

brotherGood

I'd love to get a working radio in mine. I hear the pop when I turn it on from the speakers, but can't even get so much as static. I haven't looked too deep into it though..my luck it's something simple like the antenna is unhooked.

Koda

Mine need work but do work.

If it helps, instrument panels are built up outside the car on their own line, then slid in and hung in one pitch with a big old assist. Pretty sure they did it that way back then, too.

matt69olds

I know HOW the dash is installed, someone still had to put the 8 nuts on the studs that hold the dash in position.

Im curious as to the process. Were the cars upside down, with the worker standing thru the windshield? Or did someone physically crawl under the dash to put the nuts and other parts in?

Until I started working in a factory, these are questions I would have never pondered. I have been involved in enough time studies with the process engineers to know that if you get good and fast enough to complete the required tasks in the allotted time, they will without a doubt find something else to add to the job.

matt69olds

Update to the stereo issue:

Im somewhat pleased to report the no sound issue was my own fault. I had the main power harness plug fully seated and locked into place, however the speaker harness plug wasn’t plugged in completely. Once I pushed the plug in and heard the clip snap into place the stereo would play.

Unfortunately, the stereo is still locked onto one station, and the Bluetooth is inop as well. This particular radio has FM 1, FM 2 and FM 3, on FM 1 the radio is locked onto a Christian music station, FM 2 is a talk radio station, FM 3 is top 40 stuff. Blah.

I have removed the radio to send back, hopefully the turnaround time is minimal. Now that the radio dash plate is installed it is pretty straightforward installing the new radio when it is returned.

Personally, I think my wife is kinda relieved the radio doesn’t work. The car shows will be playing nothing but the “doo woo” music all weekend.

Koda

Modern Toyotas "hang" with a couple hooks, then bolts are shot into the firewall before trim is put on. This is before windshield. I think GM flew it in, and shot two bolts to hold it on. A lot of automotive processes are "Get it on and just hanging, and the next guy will shoot all the bolts."

I do agree with car shows only playing doo wop.

My H/O's radio blasted some tonight, but needs a rebuild. Also need correct rear speakers.

cfair

Sorry about your radio trials. I love the alpine head units, but stash mine hidden in the glovebox.

Half serious:

For the road trips, you might see if you (or a friend) have an 80’s boom box lying around in the attic or somewhere.

Then just play the radio or see if you can find the tapes that went with it. Or CD’s if you used the 90’s versions.

Just get a bunch of batteries.

Chris

Jamesbo

Makes me glad I never listen to the crap on the radio. Every since Buddy Holy died music has gone down hill

Koda

I blasted Rainbow on the way into work today. Stargazer has possibly the best drum intro in rock and roll, and that's only because Judas Priest's Painkiller is metal and not rock.

Weezer

HAHAHAHA! I like to play Painkiller at bars that have TouchTune, and then watch all the faces people make when it kicks in.

Vintage Chief

Chromium Plated