Radio for 67 Alpine

[chimpodunker]

I would like to install a radio without butchering interior, dash, or door panels. Anybody have any ideas? How about a hidden antenna? I am going to replace the dash and saw a modified dash with a glove box door. Could mount inside the glove box area. Probably need surface mount speakers behind the seats. Let me know how you did yours.

 

[DanR]

Here are a few PIC's that might give you some ideas.

The radio and the hangar bracket is original Alpine.

There are lots of other pictures available for more exact details....

 

[Barry]

Why not do what would have been done in 1967? Just get a modern replacement "looks like an old pushbutton" radio.

Picture borrowed from the Gallery; think the car belongs to member 65beam?

 

[chimpodunker]

Barry, that looks good. Where did you get the mounting bracket?

 

[Charles Johns]

The "T-Bucket" guys built a box that holds the radio and 2 speakers right over the hump. I think Sunbeam put the radio there with one speaker. With a right/left stereo radio both can be installed with zero mods to the car panels. I think a pic is on-line somewhere.

 

[Ken Ellis]

On my list of alleged improvements. I'll probably go with under-dash speakers in their own boxes (small cast-aluminum hi-fi speakers) and a hidden bluetooth amplifier with perhaps a built-in tuner, via remote. But after doing that I will probably mount the non-working AM radio I have, too.
Those old Motorola radios sounded great, even though they were AM.

 

[Charles Johns]

Ken, ask any guitar player why they love the old TUBE amps and they will tell you they sound better but do not know why. My son-in-law plays in a band and I explained, If a signal is amplified as it passes thru a SOLID device (transistor) in todays amps, but that signal is amplified inside a VACUUM (as in TUBE) which will most likely add trash to the sound? Solid state amps "clip" or cut-off some of the signal to reduce the background noise...but not in a tube amp. No doubt more can be done with electrons with solid-state devices, but simple amplification in a vacuum tube is hard to beat.

 

[sunalp]

Where did you get the mounting bracket?

I have one of those brackets if you're interested.
Make me an offer and we'll take it from there

Cheers!
Steve

 

[Ken Ellis]

The Motorola radio I used to have, and have now, are alas solid-state. Several of my vintage hi-fi devices and TVs are sportin' the vacuum tubes, though. BTW, all amps clip and distort. Tubes mostly 2nd/even-order, solid state mostly 3rd/odd harmonic. Ear likes even better.

In a former life as a recording engineer, I recorded many location albums with completely tube signal path. Neumann U-67s, Ampex 4-input stereo tube mixer, Magnecord open-reel recorder at 15ips. Stuff weighed a ton, but sounded pretty good.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled Alpine mods...

 

[chimpodunker]

Has anyone hid an antenna? Saw one post about mounting one just under dash cover. Anything else? Thanks for the offer Steve but still looking at my options.

 

[Toyanvil]

I built my dash with a radio and glove box. but if I do it again, I will build a dash without a radio and install a hidden system like Ken is talking about. My series 2 had 6.5" holes in the kickplates on each side that my speakers fit in with out cutting, maybe the only thing I have not cut on my car.

 

[Ken Ellis]

Has anyone hid an antenna? Saw one post about mounting one just under dash cover. Anything else? Thanks for the offer Steve but still looking at my options.

Manual retractable in the windshield rubber next to the door 'wing'? If it's skinny, rubber could still compress to seal.
There are various "tune trapper" antennas out there (that I haven't used) that seem to have flexible mounting options.
Also a dipole type that's about a foot long that could go behind the rear view mirror on the inside of the windshield. Not invisible, but tucked away. Double stick tape the little center box to the glass, and run the cable in the windshield grommet.

 

[DanR]

Here is what I did

A remote antenna under the dash behind the kick panel. It runs up inside the post just behind the door hinges and then fills a hole where an antenna was installed by the PO.

 

[65beam]

Why not do what would have been done in 1967? Just get a modern replacement "looks like an old pushbutton" radio.

Picture borrowed from the Gallery; think the car belongs to member 65beam?

Barry,
The radio is the AM only radio that says" sunbeam" on the face of the dial. And it does have push buttons.The mount is the one most dealers used when they installed a radio. This radio now has a small speaker in the radio housing with two other hidden speakers. It works but I know of only a few AM stations in this area. There is a pre punched hole at the top of each kick panel for the antenna wire to come thru to the interior of the car. I have the pattern that lays on the body for cutting the opening for mounting the antenna base. This allows the wire to drop into the interior. FYI, I have an old Kreaco cassette / AM FM installed in the series 2 radio mount in the red Harrington.

 

[DanR]

I have the pattern that lays on the body for cutting the opening for mounting the antenna base. This allows the wire to drop into the interior.

Bob, In your picture, the antenna is seen clearly where the "hole" was punched in the Blue Boy V6. I utilized it for my remote antenna.

 

[Charles Johns]

The Motorola radio I used to have, and have now, are alas solid-state. Several of my vintage hi-fi devices and TVs are sportin' the vacuum tubes, though. BTW, all amps clip and distort. Tubes mostly 2nd/even-order, solid state mostly 3rd/odd harmonic. Ear likes even better.

In a former life as a recording engineer, I recorded many location albums with completely tube signal path. Neumann U-67s, Ampex 4-input stereo tube mixer, Magnecord open-reel recorder at 15ips. Stuff weighed a ton, but sounded pretty good.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled Alpine mods...

Ken, you can appreciate "clean" audio recordings and output of an amp, so you understand this discussion better than most. My old reel-to-reel 7" recorder (Philips) was great at reproduction and could play for hours unattended. My house was wired with speakers in the ceilings...and the garage. Vision is called 20-20 if normal and hearing is similar, 20 to 20K Hertz (cycles in my day), and I remember in the 70's and 80's many audiophiles saying their system could go up to 40,000 Hertz. WHY? My dog may appreciate it but human hearing can't hear that high. Low frequency can be "felt"...sometimes, so strong bass my be an advantage. I love my solid-state tuner/amp and my old Technics turntable...yes, I have many records and still play them. I even had a Quadraphonic amp with 4-channel tapes and a 4-channel record player (my Technics) and 4-channel records, but that experiment failed after just a couple of years. For the Alpine discussion, people just need to know to keep the speakers "phased" throughout the system. Look close at the speaker connections and there will be a +/- mark and at the radio output. Keep them "in phase". That is why speaker wires are also marked...usually with a line on one wire. As you said, Now back to our regularly-scheduled programing.

 

[65beam]

Dan,
That spot is directly above the inner opening for the coax wire to enter the interior.

 

[chimpodunker]

Great ideas everyone. Thanks, I'll let you know how I go.

 

[Ashfried]

I Built a box for radio and speakers below

 

[Ken Ellis]

Bonus points if that's an Alpine (brand) stereo.