Aftermarket stereo's in a 71 B body

[70chall440]

I thought I'd throw this up and see what kind of information we can come up with.

I am currently contemplating stereo options for my 71 Charger, I am not looking for thumping base or an exceptionally loud system, rather I want good clean sound if possible.

As most of you know the pickings are slim unless you want to hack up the dash to a degree to run a single DIN head unit which I do not. I am not in anyway a purist but would rather not chop up yet one more fascia for an aftermarket stereo if I don't have to. So with that said I am looking at a Classic Car Stereo's 740 stereo/head unit which will give me BT and RCA out puts.

I have a Kicker HS8 subwoofer that I think I am going to use which is self powered. Not sure where I will put it just yet but am leaning towards under the back seat, maybe under the drivers seat.

I have not purchased an amp but am looking at some of the smaller ones out there. I know that which one depends on the speakers so I will keep that in mind.

As to speakers, I am planning to run a dual front center speaker and 2 rear speakers. I am not going to hack up my new door panels (whenever I get them) and I don't think kick panel speakers work all that well on these (and similar cars of the generation) due mainly to the parking brake on the drivers side. For rear speakers I am "thinking" about some 6x9's but haven't committed yet (what's every one running)

Now on to what's running what, I am thinking of powering the front dual speakers from the head unit and the rear speakers from the amp. I just did this on a 69 Ply wagon and it seemed to work pretty well.

At present I only have the sub, so I am still very open to suggestions and different approaches. Let me know what you are running and how you are running it.

 

[bee71]

I have a RetroSound unit in my 71 Bee. It works well and is expandable.
RetroSound. Modern Sound for Your Classic.

 

[YY1]

Don't remember the brand but there's one that has positionalble knob assemblies, including both on the same side.

 

[Ronnman]

Another vote for the Retrosound radio. I believe you can option Bluetooth to play from your phone. I did not opt for this and just use a USB drive to store/play my songs. I think the challenge is to get real good front speakers, since there is limited room on the dash.
Ron

 

[YY1]

Someone could probably make a buck or two reproducing cassette recorder pods.

That's a relatively easy solution to execute.

...that's unfortunately not too easy to find and not too friendly on the wallet when you do.

 

[YY1]

I've never had an old car with front speakers.

But I've had some pretty good sounding systems with either just 6x9's or with custom enclosures, or a combination of both.

 

[Paul_G]

If you want a decent head unit with some of the new tech like hands free phone usage you have to go with an under dash unit.

Amazon product ASIN B0002BEV9S

 

[71charger_fan]

I have one of these: 1971-1973 Dodge Charger Radio With Bluetooth USA-740
In the dash but I never use it. Instead, I have a modern single DIN media receiver in the glove box. They're both wired to the same speakers so I just make sure not to turn them both on at the same time

 

[70chall440]

Someone could probably make a buck or two reproducing cassette recorder pods.

That's a relatively easy solution to execute.

...that's unfortunately not too easy to find and not too friendly on the wallet when you do.

Actually I intend on making something that looks like the original cassette pod to house my Holley hand held controller, a USB port and a couple of switches, however I may built some type of console instead when I get to that point. My shifter is mounted in the forward position so I am using the mid length pistol grip and will be using a buddy seat. I will definitely mount something on the tunnel.

 

[70chall440]

I have one of these: 1971-1973 Dodge Charger Radio With Bluetooth USA-740
In the dash but I never use it. Instead, I have a modern single DIN media receiver in the glove box. They're both wired to the same speakers so I just make sure not to turn them both on at the same time

Thats exactly the stereo I am looking at using. Why do you have 2 radios? seems a bit redundant.

 

[themechanic]

I recently bought my daughter and son-in-law one of these for vacation. There are others for less but this is the best. Sounds excellent, it's rechargeable, no need to install or alter the dash, and it's portable.

Tribit StormBox Blast Portable Speaker: 90W Loud Stereo Sound with XBass, IPX7 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker with LED Light, PowerBank, Bluetooth 5.3&TWS, Custom EQ, 30H Playtime, Outdoor/Camping/Party https://a.co/d/58wTySg

 

[themechanic]

I have the smaller Tribit Bluetooth speakers around the house and they sound great, too.

 

[70chall440]

I think I want something a little more built into the car.

 

[T2R9]

I sent an original for both my cars to Gary Tayman and he restored the faces and installed a modern AM/FM with aux and bluetooth. They have amp outputs. I run the front dual 3.5 speakers off the head unit and rear Rockford Fosgate 6x9's off a Fosgate amp. Great sound original looks.

 

[diesel_lv]

Originally I had a MDF box built and carpeted that sat on the hump right under the vents. Had a tuner and EQ in it. I put 5.25" speakers in front doors, yes I did cut the doors and panels. 6x9's in the rear deck. 2 amps mounted on a board and then mounted in the upper shelf in the trunk. A Cerwin-Vega 8" self contained amp under the passenger side. Later I removed the box n tuner and got a Retro-Sound tuner. Kept everything else. Very clear sound and can hear it when I want to over the 496 at 3k+ rpms and 80mph wind.

 

[HawkRod]

I sent an original for both my cars to Gary Tayman and he restored the faces and installed a modern AM/FM with aux and bluetooth. They have amp outputs. I run the front dual 3.5 speakers off the head unit and rear Rockford Fosgate 6x9's off a Fosgate amp. Great sound original looks.

View attachment 1357119View attachment 1357120View attachment 1357121View attachment 1357122

Agree this is the way to go.

I had my original AM radio converted, and I run 5 speakers plus a subwoofer. Everything is hidden and looks stock, and the system sounds awesome.
My only complaint is the AM radio makes it hard to tune a FM station because you don't know where you are on the dial. If I had it to do over again I would have upgraded an AM/FM radio.

 

[T2R9]

Agree this is the way to go.

I had my original AM radio converted, and I run 5 speakers plus a subwoofer. Everything is hidden and looks stock, and the system sounds awesome.
My only complaint is the AM radio makes it hard to tune a FM station because you don't know where you are on the dial. If I had it to do over again I would have upgraded an AM/FM radio.

Agree with the AM tuning which I have in my 71. Still works great though. Went with the AM/FM for the 74.

 

[70chall440]

I sent an original for both my cars to Gary Tayman and he restored the faces and installed a modern AM/FM with aux and bluetooth. They have amp outputs. I run the front dual 3.5 speakers off the head unit and rear Rockford Fosgate 6x9's off a Fosgate amp. Great sound original looks.

View attachment 1357119View attachment 1357120View attachment 1357121View attachment 1357122

Did you make the plate for the front speakers or was that something you purchased? It looks great and I can certainly fabricate something like that as well but I do see there are a number of dual front speakers on the market. About how much was the conversion of the radio?

 

[T2R9]

Did you make the plate for the front speakers or was that something you purchased? It looks great and I can certainly fabricate something like that as well but I do see there are a number of dual front speakers on the market. About how much was the conversion of the radio?

The AM I did was $525 but I did not do USB or Bluetooth on that one. AM/FM was $625 with all the options he had. The front speaker mount I got from Turnswitch. They don't have them on the website but they sell a dual speaker setup so I emailed them and they sold me a couple for $11 each. Would be pretty easy to make too.

Tayman Electrical stereo solutions for collector cars

Stereo Conversions, new stereos, speakers and accessories, for antique and collector vehicles

garytayman.com

[email protected]

 

[HawkRod]

This is the speaker I put in front. Bass sounds are not directional, so it has one speaker for lower sounds, but also 2 tweeters. This is a direct bolt in speaker and I am happy with it. I recommend it if you are trying to keep the car stock looking.