Vistabrat72

After almost a year of getting all the needed pieces, and with help of Allan R and Randy on the forum, the basket of snakes wires figured out too, there is finally a proper (or as near so) factory AM-FM stereo with 8-track player setup in the 1972 Vista Cruiser. Completely hidden is an aftermarket unit so CD's, MP3's can be played as well, as well as attachments for rear seat passengers to view stuff on the tablet, sound hooked up through the car's hidden extra speakers. I was fortunate enough to have the rear speaker and wiring original and unmolested/hacked in the car when I got it. As I learned and documented quite a bit on the ins and outs and the wire set-up for these things over the past year, if anybody is undertaking such a venture, please ask if you have any questions. Regards, Howie.

Vistabrat72

Some shots of what it was all about.

W70442

Hey Howie,

Congrats on getting it all together and installed. Looks great. Proud to be associated with such a nice car.

stevengerard

very nice, I just want to get my stuff working again as is but thought about splicing in an MP3 component and.or additional amps. How did you table test the system just with a car battery? Mine is all out of the car would love to test them.

Vistabrat72

Thanks very much Randy! I am proud to be associated with a group that literally jumps through hoops to help each other. And I will be sure to showcase the 8-track housing you made for me, and tell other folks about the sorts of housings you make for most any vehicle. Regards, Howie.

Vistabrat72

Hello Steven, thank you for asking. Perhaps with clear pictures of your connectors/unit I can really be sure what you have. It was with the help of studying diagrams very carefully and asking folks such as Randy for advice too that the puzzle got solved. Here we go, as simple (I hope!) as possible: For simplicity we will look at a stereo and multiplex adapter alone, if you do have the 8-track as well, we can speak of how it fits - simply, as long as you have proper unhacked connections - later on. First thing, please make sure you have two 8-ohm speakers. On the back of your radio you will have the three-slot electrical connector. One is the speaker ground, hopefully you have the paper tab telling you which it is. If not, a hint: You can see where the base of the brass blade connector is soldered to the chassis of the radio, then that one is your ground! The middle brass blade connector is the front speaker positive signal output. So far we have the black wire on one end, the blue in the middle. So as said, we have our front speaker taken care of. Please look at the picture with the unit spread on the floor. The power feed is the yellow wire, on the last brass blade closest to the edge of the radio. make sure the multi-pin connector from the radio is firmly attached to the multiplex box. This supplies the circuitry and allows the multiplex box to 'split' the signal, has the relay or transistor (depending on the year of your unit) to turn on and off the stereo light, and provides the internal grounding for the unit. Note you have one wire coming out of your multiplex box. This is for your rear speaker, the wire may be blue or brown, again depending on your multiplex/radio year. This is your positive wire for your rear speaker. You ground your negative speaker wire as I did for testing to the chassis of the multiplex box. Provide a decent antenna to grab signals. Grab the battery, fully charged please! ALWAYS make sure you have a 10-amp fuse in your positive wire, which will now be attached to your + on the battery. Take a piece of wire from the negative (-) on the battery and firmly attach it to the chassis of the radio. Bad connections will cause infrequent connections, and could lead to problems I have been made to understand. Now turn on the radio and look for stations. Adjust your front/rear fader on the right behind the station **** to check for both 'left and right' stereo operation. Be aware, the stereo light may be burned out, in is a little hard to replace, I can get bulb numbers if need be. But your ears will tell you if it is coming through in stereo. NEVER run the unit without the speakers properly affixed. Yes getting these units to run is a learning experience indeed, I just helped a friend to get a reverberator unit working for a 1964 Pontiac, a chore on its own as Pontiac seemed to have a unique idea on their wiring of one of these things. See, this was simple. Again, please look at the picture with the unit on the floor, and ask again if you are not clear on something. Regards, Howie.

Vistabrat72

Oh to mention, my MP3 and stuff is part of the hidden aftermarket stereo (behind the Kleenex box!), but the fellow who repaired the burnt out output transistor on the multiplex box does affix parts and connectors to allow MP3 use on the older radios like we have, he showed me a unit, so it can be done. Regards, Howie

stevengerard

yes, I have all the parts AM/FM multiplexer and 8-track with the original (or at least correct) connectors. I also bought repo 10 ohm speakers, mine is a 70 its just another item the body shop took out and didn't return to its proper working order.

Vistabrat72

OK Steve, it is good you got the proper speakers, 8 to 10 ohms is the correct specs. The 8-track is pretty easy to fit. First the three-terminal connectors: The connectors can only go one way. You will note your 8-track has one male three-way connector and one female three-way connector. One end will plug into your radio where the ordinary harness would connect to in a non-8-track set-up. The other connector will then go to the vehicle wire harness. Note that this vehicle connector is the one that would plug right into the radio sans 8-track. So all we are doing is 'splicing in' the 8-track. Now for the rear speaker. Note you have two single wires coming out of the 8-track. Again, one male, one female. Connect the connectors that fit each other from the multiplex to the 8-track. The one lone wire left is the one that now goes to the rear speaker. To ensure good testing, please ground the 8-track case. You can see in my picture now where to hook up your fused test wire, it goes to the connector that leads the wires TO the 8-track, the one FROM the 8 track is now attached to the radio. Note: The 8-tracks could also be used as stand alone units, they have their own output transistors, etc, and were wired into radio equipped cars so when the tape is put in, they cancel out the radio, and when the tape is removed, allow the radio to play once more. If you are really getting stuck with the whole basket of snakes, I will draw some sort of schematic to see you through. But as long as all your components are matched, and now connector has been hacked (mine were a real mess) it is basically a 'plug and play' proposition provided you follow the cautions stated in the thread with speakers and power connections. Sorry to hear your woes about the body shop not correctly putting back in the unit. A friend of mine has a 1969 Cutlass convertible that he entrusted a body shop to repair. The body shop got seized, many of his parts went missing, the car was finally released, but has been made into a real mess and may be looking for a new home. He has given up on the car. I may start a separate thread about this situation. Oh for shame when we entrust things to others in good faith by hiring a service and they cause more headaches. Regards, Howie.

Vistabrat72

Steve, here are a few more pictures i had laying around. The back of the radio has the connector that comes off the 8-track now attached.

Vistabrat72

And note the green and black wires go directly to the front speaker peeking out from just behind the radio.

W70442

Hi Guys,

Just to reiterate Howie's good advice, you can use a car battery but make sure you wire a 10 amp fuse inline with the positive terminal/wire.
I just had to replace a main rotory switch on a player because someone bench tested a unit with a car battery and did not have a fuse in the supply line. They had a short and burned up the main switch contacts.