CyberCholo

Hello guys, my 73 Omega still has the original radio but it is plagued with problems....

At first it wouldn't turn on at all, it was a blown fuse and I replaced that. It would work on the AM band but I also found out the dash speaker was blown so I couldn't make anything out. Now the radio doesn't want to turn on at all I think I pulled a wire or something and before that it would come and go. So its got some bad wiring for sure. Is there an easy way to troubleshoot if the old radio is the problem or the wiring or what, I'm not a big electrical guy at all, a radio install is a bit daunting for me as I don't like electrical really to begin with.

They make new radios designed to look like my old one but they are several hundred dollars, I don't have that kind of money at the moment and just wan't something to listen to the oldies AM station with very little commercials, and/or my ipod/cds/casettes just anything I can put my own music on. I don't want a new looking radio if I can help it.

The dash speaker seems like a major pain in the *** to replace, is it? I found replacement models online for not much money but it seems like a lot of work to get in under that dash, unless there is a trick to it getting it in and out and wired.

When going through some of my dad's things after he passed away, I sold his awesome stereo with his 92 Twin turbo RX7 which I kind of regret now, but I found an old Kenwood KRC-929 casette deck from what appears to be the 80s, now I am partial to this because 1)it was free and I have it,, 2) It suits the car, and is not a theft magnet 3)Am I right in assuming putting an aftermarket 80s radio in a 70s car is pretty much what it was designed for and will be easier than putting a brand new one in? Or am I wrong because I will need special connectors/wiring. Also this one has a casette deck which is nice, I have my dads collection of old casettes and mixtapes, I can make my own, and I can get a casette ipod hookup. I don't have the manual though the deck does not have a wiring guide of what colour is what, and I don't know what colour is what on my car

Found a pic of the deck

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...37eb057a29e6e9

I also found an amp to match, a KAC-901 with a very pretty black and gold colour scheme like the John Player Special racing Lotuses I am quite fond of, the problem is the cord where it plugs into the head unit seems to be very very short, so I'd need to store the amp in the front footwells somewere or something, is this normal for the era?

Now this stuff is old, but it has some sentimental value, it suits the car, and most importantly its free, and I'm sure with some decent speakers it would sound ok, now I found a guy on Ebay who sells new rear package trays with speaker holes in them, which is good as I didn't want to cut the original, but again ,I am broke, if the rear package tray being original is not that big of a deal I'd rather just make m own speaker cutouts, I imagine not only would this sound better than the dash speaker, even a brand new one, it will be much easier.

So yeah just a quick summary...

Will wiring up an 80s head unit be pretty straightforward? Or am I better off using a cheapo out of place new one? Is there a way to figure out the wiring?

Is that old amp even usable? I mean I'm sure it sounds alright but the weird plugs combined with a lack of instructions is confusing to me.

Is it worth even considering replacing the dash speaker with an aftermarket upgrade? Or am I better off just putting two rear speakers in with a cut/new package tray?

Thanks for the help guys, I don't know what I'd do without the internet.

72hardtop

CyberCholo,

just wondering if you ever replaced your Omega radio? I have an old Kenwood am/fm cassette that I was looking to put in my Omega, when I used the hardware from the old radio, (the two black cup shaped inserts that go in the holes of the dash, see attached pic), the shafts didn't line up right and the Kenwood radio didn't allow for the shafts to be adjusted out any further.

So right now I'm looking for another radio that has adjustable shafts unless anyone can offer any ideas.

Regarding the speakers, I wasn't going to mess with the dash speaker or the one I think is in the rear hatchback area, I was going to purchase some enclosed box speakers on e-bay and place them in the rear hatch back area, then perhaps some smaller speakers that are also enclosed and mount them on the kick panels or just under the dash.

Again if anyone has any better ideas, I'm all ears...

FYI, I did pull this Kenwood out of my '72 Delta and assumed it would slid right into the Omega but was very surprised when it didn't!

I might be messing this up myself where I don't need these parts from the old radio as the shafts do fit through the holes in the dash without these inserts. Using these inserts, i need a wider spread on the shafts. Perhaps I need to just not use them?