KMK454

My car came optioned with RPO UL5 radio delete and U79 speakers, dual front, dual extended rear. It's a strange factory, but my B4C was ordered by a dealer for the showroom through cheating the system, not for the police; they probably ordered it that way to allow for an aftermarket system. If your car doesn't come with speakers, they're not that hard to add in. The speakers are still factory, but along the way a previous owner pulled the radio delete panel and plopped in an aftermarket Kenwood system.

It wasn't a spectacular sounding system, but what bothered me is how out of place it looked in the car. The radio stuck about 1-2 inches out from the dash and was a sea of green and white LCD lights. It just didn't look right.

Here it is starting; it doesn't look obnoxious but this picture doesn't highlight the stereo:


I was a little surprised by the surface rust on the plates to hold the radio unit in place. I wiped some off but it didn't improve much. I'll have to remove them at some point and polish them up some... everything else back there was immaculate, so those rusting metal pieces are kind of a drag.


And here's the system yanked from the car:


I installed a Digital Audio Amplifier... plugs into the factory harness. Bought the amp from a car stereo shop and they plugged it in for me so I'd have to get the PN from them. Then we ran an RCA to audio AUX input. System powers on with the ignition, but nothing happens until you plug in an ipod and play a song. All volume is controlled by the ipod and the amp drives the 4x speakers with plenty of power.

I ordered a used ashtray insert and will drill a hole in it to tuck the wire away when not in use.

Here are the pics:


See the wire coming out of the ashtray:


I picked up a NOS radio delete panel from Perrypam/Modern Muscle NOS parts. It bolted right in nicely and looks the part. It fits about as flush as you can expect 1991 GM plastic interior parts to fit, so I'm pleased. Here is the after picture, and it looks much better:


Here's what it looks like all closed up - stock and clean:


Out enjoying the new system:


The sound is good but nothing an audiophile would appreciate. For those few long cruises or drives in the car, the system meets the need of having ipod audio input. I like it.

Dmans85

Looks good. That's the best of originality and practicality. Good write up and pics.

Birdstheword

That's a nice setup, as long as I can hear it and the audio quality is tolerable, its good in my book. I don't need the whole world listening to my music.

redcamaro1988

I agree with everyone that is a nice set up and a nice car too

evo6z28

I would be interested in the part number for that "digital amplifier" I am thinking about doing something like this for one of my cars.

DarthBubba

iTrader: (1)

X2 on the PN for that "amp". Nice setup.

evilemokid94

iTrader: (6)

howd you get your seats that clean? i have the same set in my car and they look nothing like that!

KMK454

Thanks guys, the setup is working nicely. I got a used ashtray in and I'm going to drill a hole in it to clean up the cable-out, I'll post pics when I do that.

Thanks, the car has under 17k miles on it. I'm a little worried because the seats seem fragile, as in the fabric stretches and is susceptible to staining. I know they can be reupholstered but I haven't seen anything for the base bucket seats; I've only seen reupholster kits for the sport seats with the separate headrests.

travis401

iTrader: (1)

ive never been a fan of radio deletes. makes it look like the car is missing something. you can always wire in a stock radio or get a flush mount humount and put a good aftermarket deck in.....IMO the humounts look AMAZING.

SMKNTRS

I was just thinking of doing the same thing since my head unit got ripped off. Any update on the amp part number? I've been looking for a small enough amplifier all weekend.

84ws689bird

Hopefully without sounding/being commercial and providing a solution to members, I do carry a product that can be used in our cars. http://store.aquaticav.com/aq-dm-2bx.aspx

I have installed these in several custom classic cars where the customer either wants to leave the factory head unit intact (not working) or as a standalone unit alongside the factory stereo, with it's own speakers.. the waterproof case is removable and can mount nearly anywhere in the car, but I would recommend the center console for easy access to the Ipod.

I can beat the listed price.. PM for pricing if anyone is interested..

KMK454

Sorry about not having a part number, I should have thought about that before I closed up the dash.

Really all you're looking for though is a small amplifier unit; if you go to any car audio shop, ask for a small amplifier that can plug into an ipod/MP3 player headphone jack that has an appropriate pin-plug for a car wiring harness (or an adapter).

The piece I used was from a Stereo Shop and it was commonly installed in motorcycles, small watercraft like jetskis, and small boats. It's literally about the size of an external hard drive and has on the left side 4x cables in; those 4 cables come into a small aux-input for the headphone jack. On the right side, it has a pin-connector that fits a typical GM harness, and in that harness is a line that provides power keyed by the ignition. Volume is controlled by the ipod, and it has plenty of power.

Where it gets tricky is if you want to do this while integrating the radio; I originally wanted a hidden AM/FM radio in addition to the ipod input, but size becomes an issue. There were some solutions but my intent was to be as un-invasive as possible on my car, so I settled for a small ipod input.

VonKaiser

This topic is epic win. This will be something I'll need to look into doing. However, instead of just having the loose wire go through the ashtray I would probably just drill a hole for a 3.5mm plug either in the console glove compartment or at the bottom of the console ashtray.

The solution to this issue is to simply buy a cheap MP3 player WITH an FM radio tuner built in that will be specifically used for your car thus not needing to worry about bringing your expensive iPod around.

Baja B4C1LE

Nice car! I love the radio delete option look. Other than my non original Z-28 hood, it looks identical to my 92.

BluFBdy

iTrader: (1)

ive done that for a few people now, except i run a 4channel instead of the tiny amps, the ONLY downfall i see to them is the fact that youre running audio controls off the ipod, and that little amp isnt adjustable as much as a 4 channel, so sound quality can either be great or crap, its a hit or miss

Just a heads up to anyone if they wanna do this but with a 4channel rockford has a new set of amplifiers out there tiny as hell but still put out an excellent amount of sound, they retail around 270 or so and it can be hidden in the center console or in this case right where the OP's is behind the delete plate, run 2 y splitters (1Fto2M) to the channels plug the aux to rca wire in and viola

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/produ...en_US&p_status=

since ive put the first one in i cant keep them in stock, the idea of having excellent sound with little space is too great to pass up, especially for the price

88mm5ul5

By chance you have a pic of the sail panels? I have a (driver) 88 Iroc with radio delete and sail panels have no cut outs for the speakers.. Wanted to see if the 89 up with shoulder harness still had the uncut sail panels.. Thanks

88mm5ul5

Really clean car by the way!!

Toyota h8r

Thanks for the amazing idea! I've got a radio delete 87 z28 and want to run music

88fastgta

iTrader: (9)

i just did a radio delete on my trans am.... its not my daily driver and i my motor sounds beastly.. so my engine is my music, it has a nice bass (exhaust) nice drum solo (gm hotcam) rythm (idle)... what more do you need... when i swap to my t56 is really going to be a track oriented setup, i want to feel connected with the car and road and hear my motor as it shifts gears and going through the curvy turns with my suspension setup..

GILLIGAN

Sony makes an amp for just the Ipod it is wireless with a portable/removable docking station and a hand held remote. Its availible at Crutchfield for 399. It looks to be a good piece and easy to hide.

Sony XDP-MU110 Digital Link Sound System

PurelyPMD

iTrader: (3)

Neat solution but does anyone offer anything that will receive the bluetooth signal?

jwfirebird

iTrader: (2)

you can get a decent bluetooth HU for like 140-150. if you care about stock looks hide it under the dash, and leave the stock one in place. my clarion syncs to my hu button free and you can control alot just from the phone. and most have a remote if you left it stick down enough to "see" it