Best modern radio alternative

[dspur]

My thumb wheel radio for my 69 Bee is way beyond repair, functionally and likely cosmetically too. Pic is posted for illustration.
What is the best alternative for replacement? Have perused a couple sites that have aftermarket replacements but would like to hear suggestions and your experience. I need everything including antenna and speakers etc. TIA

 

[Rat Rod Al]

Check out something like this. .

 

[493 Mike]

Crutchfield usually has adapters that bolt in. They can set you up.
Mike

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Retrosound makes a decent radio. Looks close to the original. Blue tooth/USB/Hands free Phone.. etc etc

RetroSound® Redondo RT Radio

The RetroSound® Redondo-RT radio replicates factory radios in vintage 60s-70s Mopar vehicles that had thumb-roller controls. The radio’s display, thumb-rollers, and push-button assemblies can be adjusted independently during installation to achieve a factory-like fit. The Redondo-RT is the only...

www.retromanufacturing.com

Video I made.

 

[dspur]

Check out something like this. . View attachment 1486837

Need the entire radio …

 

[69Charger#2]

I went the Retrosound route. Looks pretty similar to the original style. I wanted SiriusXM and Bluetooth, which is about all I use. I got the Retrosound 4x10 dash speaker and 2 Alpine rear speakers (6x9?) hung under the package shelf in the stock locations. Sound is OK at low speeds, but you have to crank it up at highway speeds. An amplifier, which I do not have, might help. Unit is smaller and much lighter than original radio and the original antenna wire came up short of the radio. Thumbwheels come separate from the main radio, and I had trouble getting everything to line up correctly on the dash, but it may be that I was just getting tired of lying up against the console trying to make everything look right.

 

[91r/t]

Honeslty I use one of these. It sounds great just sitting on the backseat and then I can move it from car to car easily and play music from my phone. This saves the thousands spent on speakers and then the headunit and all that. Plus all the cutting and fitting of the components. Just a thought to consider.

 

[HawkRod]

I'll put in another plug for a converted original looking radio (like Retrosound, although there are other conversions - I think Aurora is one).

Personally, I don't like the look of our old cars with some new, whizzbang radio installed - they look out of place. Plus, you need to hack up your dash as almost all are DIN or double DIN mounts.

In my 70 Road Runner, I converted the original AM radio using a conversion. So it has AM, FM, Bluetooth, hands free phone calls, blah, blah. I love it except for the fact that when tuning FM stations I can't see the frequency. Having said that, 95% of the time I use Bluetooth and stream stuff from my phone.

Here's my radio. It is a converted original so it obviously fits exactly as an original. Note the additional audio jacks added to it.

Here it is installed.

I hid the microphone in the ashtray for the hands free calling feature.

As stated, I am super happy with the operation of this radio. If I had it to do over again, I would have converted an old AM/FM unit (rather than just AM), although those (for 1970) are hard to find and expensive.

Good luck whatever you decide

 

[Billccm]

My friends experience with Retro sounds radios have been mixed. I guess it's one of those products that you either get a good one or a bad one and nothing in between.

I used to be a proponent of restoration of the original AM and using Bluetooth speaker for other music. Now that AM broadcasting days are numbered I changed my mind.

I think upgrade of the original AM is the best route today. Most of the guys doing the upgrades are top notch. Expensive, but so is everything else in this hobby.

 

[dspur]

I'll put in another plug for a converted original looking radio (like Retrosound, although there are other conversions - I think Aurora is one).

Personally, I don't like the look of our old cars with some new, whizzbang radio installed - they look out of place. Plus, you need to hack up your dash as almost all are DIN or double DIN mounts.

In my 70 Road Runner, I converted the original AM radio using a conversion. So it has AM, FM, Bluetooth, hands free phone calls, blah, blah. I love it except for the fact that when tuning FM stations I can't see the frequency. Having said that, 95% of the time I use Bluetooth and stream stuff from my phone.

Here's my radio. It is a converted original so it obviously fits exactly as an original. Note the additional audio jacks added to it.
View attachment 1486991

View attachment 1486992

Here it is installed.
View attachment 1486994

I hid the microphone in the ashtray for the hands free calling feature.
View attachment 1486993

As stated, I am super happy with the operation of this radio. If I had it to do over again, I would have converted an old AM/FM unit (rather than just AM), although those (for 1970) are hard to find and expensive.

Good luck whatever you decide

Thanks. I am more interested in keeping the original look. I have had all the gauges etc completely rebuilt at considerable expense along with other things. I want to keep this car as original as possible, some day I do want to do another as a restomod.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

The retrosound radio has lenses that mimic the original lenses with Plymouth,Dodge and Chrysler script. So when the radio is off they look like a stock radio.
They are found on this page. Vintage Dial Screens

 

[70gtx440dana]

Dspur....I can help you with a conversion of a factory 69 thumbwheel radio. As mentioned above.....BT, FM stereo , aux jack can all be added to stock AM radio. Message me for more details. By the way....the radio in your first post above is a 68 B body radio. All 69 radios had Chrysler Solid State on the face. Joe

 

[1966Canuck]

my car has a retro look replacement radio that looks pretty good but its not really a good sounding stereo.

I would leave the old unit in place and install this unit up under the dash and mount the small power and pair button in the glove box.
Then choose speakers that fit your rear holes that look nice and mount small speakers under the dash (hidden)pointing down on left and right side or replace the single upper dash speaker with a newer more powerfull one
Heavy Duty Amplifiers - ASA - Jensen

we install these in boats and they sound great your phone and playlist do the rest !!

 

[1966Canuck]

you wont see anything out of place but you will enjoy the simplicity and the sound !

 

[HawkRod]

my car has a retro look replacement radio that looks pretty good but its not really a good sounding stereo.

I would leave the old unit in place and install this unit up under the dash and mount the small power and pair button in the glove box.
Then choose speakers that fit your rear holes that look nice and mount small speakers under the dash (hidden)pointing down on left and right side or replace the single upper dash speaker with a newer more powerfull one
Heavy Duty Amplifiers - ASA - Jensen

we install these in boats and they sound great your phone and playlist do the rest !!

So I have questions, but want to challenge my own thoughts on this topic:

Most of these systems then demand you change volume with your phone. Is that correct? My phone (like most) locks and/or is laying around in an inconvenient spot. For this reason, I wanted to control it through my radio. In my installation (see post #8 above), I can quickly and conveniently control the volume using the radio volume knob, and I can also skip forward or backwards using the tuning knob by "flicking" it forward or backwards while listening to a playlist. I find this convenient. Mostly, the volume is a big deal since my car is "louder" so I find myself changing the volume frequently due to either speed or songs I really like.

I have also stayed away from hidden stereo systems (like in the glove compartment) for the same reasons. It just seems inconvenient to actually use the thing.

Having said that, I realize I am may be "stuck" on my type of solution. How do these remote amplifies work while using them? Are all the controls through your phone? To give me (and perhaps more importantly to the OP) an idea of how you interface with it, could you describe how you set yours up?

Thanks in advance,

Hawk

 

[Billccm]

You can keep your AM radio and have somewhat modern connectivity with a redi rad

RediRad – Rediscover Your Radio – Rediscover your radio by adding auxiliary input to port music into the existing audio tuner.


Sound quality is lacking, but they function well.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Retrosound works and you don't have to use your phone. Pretty sure his radio doesn't work at all. So all of the add on/modified stuff wont work on a dead radio....

 

[dspur]

Dspur....I can help you with a conversion of a factory 69 thumbwheel radio. As mentioned above.....BT, FM stereo , aux jack can all be added to stock AM radio. Message me for more details. By the way....the radio in your first post above is a 68 B body radio. All 69 radios had Chrysler Solid State on the face. Joe

Thank you. I may need to source a 69 first. This was in a box when I bought the car. Funny I just discovered that my ignition switch is a 68 or earlier. I purchased new keys and a cylinder for it and when I got it would not fit After researching a bit I discovered that. I have a 69 on the way. This is an AC car and had a non ac middle dash pad on it, so I'm guessing somebody did some scavenging from a 68....
Anyway, regarding the radio, I will pm .....

 

[dspur]

The retrosound radio has lenses that mimic the original lenses with Plymouth,Dodge and Chrysler script. So when the radio is off they look like a stock radio.
They are found on this page. Vintage Dial Screens

View attachment 1487150

View attachment 1487151
View attachment 1487152
View attachment 1487153

Leaning a bit this way as it looks new, but still original. Thanks for posting

 

[Sinitro]

Since the 69 SuperBee has the ralley dash, the front plate comes off to the front with (4) Philips screws. I took a repro plate for radio delete available from Classic or YearOne, several minutes with a Dremel and cutting wheel I cut out the opening for an aftermarket Pioneer CD AM/FM single DIN head unit. The Pioneer has a rear panel USB jack for either a thumb drive(w/MP3s) or an iPod mounted in the glove box.. Since the plate mounts from the front, very easy install , even the OE chassis support braket lines up nice. And U can re-install the OE in the future if desired. The install looks clean/sano and U just keep the OE radio, all done for >$200..

Just my $0.02...