Radio suggestions ?

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FlDart360

FlDart360

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Looking for inexpensive radio suggestions for my 71 Dart swinger. What works the best for under $200 if possible? Enjoying the ride is more about hearing the motor and exhaust note. I just want to be able to check that box that says I have a working radio. FM is ok but not interested in much more than that for accessories.
 
For under 200, you should be able to find a block off plate for the dash for your make & model & weld up the antenna hole in the fender.

The only 'music' I need when driving is the sound of the engine though, so I may be just a wee bit biased. ;-)
 
I have an old AM radio with the round push buttons from a 64 Dart that I just finished bringing back to life. Let me know if you are interested and we can talk details.
 
spycam said:
I have an old AM radio with the round push buttons from a 64 Dart that I just finished bringing back to life. Let me know if you are interested and we can talk details.
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I thought about doing that my radio looks great just needs new
Capacitors.
 
spycam said:
Do you know or can you find out what model it is ? Model # is usually stamped on the right hand side of the radio.
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Would a picture help

IMG_1845.JPG
 
Do me a favor and send a picture of all sides.
Is this the capacitor you know is blown ?
 
Retro Radio in PA is a mom and pop business that installs new guts in your old radio - converts your AM to AM/FM with a plug in for whatever else you want to use.
 
You could hide some speakers in the trunk under the seats etc. And then get one of those bluetooth radios that play music off your phone and hide it under the dash or under your seat. Thats probably what im gonna do. I like the look of the original am radio in the dash I don't want to cut out my dash or mess with the original radio. You can get bluetooth radios for cheap and speakers are not that much. You can build your own boxes. Id say all for under 200$
 
dartfreak75 said:
You could hide some speakers in the trunk under the seats etc. And then get one of those bluetooth radios that play music off your phone and hide it under the dash or under your seat. Thats probably what im gonna do. I like the look of the original am radio in the dash I don't want to cut out my dash or mess with the original radio. You can get bluetooth radios for cheap and speakers are not that much. You can build your own boxes. Id say all for under 200$
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I think that is a great idea. You can buy Bluetooth stereos for well under $100. I’m surprised that more people don’t do this. It would actually be kind of “period correct” as I had an 8 track player under the seat back in the day. My dash was already cut up, so I just did a dash mount. I was going to Velcro the remote to the steering wheel and have radio controls on the wheel like my other cars, but the remote is infrared and has to be pointed at the radio to work. If the remote was RF rather than infrared, that would work for a radio under the seat too. Mine is a daily, so I love the modern radio!
 
Mike69cuda said:
I think that is a great idea. You can buy Bluetooth stereos for well under $100. I’m surprised that more people don’t do this. It would actually be kind of “period correct” as I had an 8 track player under the seat back in the day. My dash was already cut up, so I just did a dash mount. I was going to Velcro the remote to the steering wheel and have radio controls on the wheel like my other cars, but the remote is infrared and has to be pointed at the radio to work. If the remote was RF rather than infrared, that would work for a radio under the seat too. Mine is a daily, so I love the modern radio!
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Yea I have found bluetooth car stereos for 20-30 bucks on ebay. Granted they dont play cds but you can link them to your phone and play anything you want off your phone like iheartradio or spotify whatever you like. I plan on just building a small box to tuck under the passenger side seat that way my phone will control the music and the player will still be accessible but hidden so that it doesnt affect the original appearance.
 
I bought a used original am/fm for my Swinger. Fm is much better that just Am even if it's not stereo and just through the dash speaker.
 
toolmanmike said:
I bought a used original am/fm for my Swinger. Fm is much better that just Am even if it's not stereo and just through the dash speaker.
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What I want to do (but lack the skill and knowledge) is to install the bluetooth technology into the original am radio. That way all the wiring is in the dash and i could just run speaker wires to the hidden speakers. Then the original radio would control the volume and my phone would be the transmitter. I know it can be done I have seen ppl do it i just cant seem to figure out how its done. Electronics are not my strong suit! And its not cheap to have someone do it right for you. So a 20 buck bluetooth stereo will have to work. Although I have alot to get done before that is even a concern lol.
 
You can replace the sections of that large capacitor can with separate electrolytic caps. Modern capacitors are a bit smaller and since concealed inside the enclosure no visual impact. Just get the same or slightly higher values.
 
I actually started a thread on the bluetooth conversion someone had made there own but it was over my head. I may revisit the idea when i get closer to that point in the project.
 
Here is the thread I had. If you read down the board I posted was kinda what i wanted to do. Install that bluetooth board in the original am radio and use the remote along with my phone to control the music.
 
I bought the front kick panels that have been designed to accept speakers from Classic. No cutting anything and I still have the stock kick panels to go back to if I want. I bought the ones designed for the 4x6 speakers.

70534ED4-5C6C-47EE-8242-8F922F230C95.png
 
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