So I have been working through the interior of my recently bought 72 Cutlass. Previous Owners have chopped up the dash and installed a Craig radio. Looks to me like they sawed part of the dash away to do this? I would really like to go back to an original AC Delco radio. I don’t care much about how well it sounds. I’m more into how it looks. So I am wondering what it would take to mount an old radio into this dash? A few pics.










I found these on eBay. I have a convertible, and have found the blue wire that appears to go to the rear speaker. Speaker looks shot, so will need a new one.




Or is bringing this back to a stock condition just not worth the headaches? I would enjoy hearing other ideas.

 

It takes a new lower dash, unfortunately. And even the one in this photo has been filed for a larger stereo.

 

I would fill the repair/replace the dash and fill the hole with an in-op stock radio. I have several classics, with no working radios between any of them. I bought a dewalt jobsite radio that runs off my 20v batteries. Its roughly the size of a shoebox and offers killer sound. It Bluetooths to my phone. That radio goes between five cars, a boat, camper and the garage. Its one of the best things I've ever bought. I toss it in the trunk when parked. Soooo much easier than trying to mess around with the factory stuff and much cheaper. Not to mention far superior sound quality. I'm all in for about 150 bucks and the install time was roughly 15 seconds!

 

as has been suggested, you'd need to replace your dash fascia with a non-butchered piece in order to put an OEM radio back in with the least problems. There's also a factory mounting bracket for the radio body that you'd need to source if you did go back with the OEM unit.

It's possible if you filed away the rest of the **** recess mount areas in your existing dash that you might be able to install a modern full-face radio (i.e. such as a removable-face unit).

 

Thanks Joe. At least I know what to look for. OPGI sells a lot of stuff, but I don’t think that is in the catalog. A search for the part may be in order, but I suspect that it will be difficult to find.

 

Yea, been thinking the same thing about trying to repair the dash. Nothing to lose really. I’m good with epoxy fiberglass, and a cabinet maker. So I may be able to infill the hole while I wait for a good dash to materialize. I do see that OPGI has the wood grain overlays available. I have a Dewalt radio as well. But mine is a big one. They do have good sound quality. But in a convertible zoomin down the road, I’m thinking sound is gonna be so distorted anyway, that I don’t care.

Well…..I’m in for an adventure! I bought a Delco unit off eBay. Nice man really. I explained the situation to him, and he included a wiring pigtail and a bracket. So, I’ll try to remember to post up the temp repair.

Thanks gentlemen!

 

With so many hacked up classic car dash boards out there I can't help but think the person who comes up with a patch panel would have a money maker on their hands.

 

Well…I would surely be on the Buy list! But I suspect that there are very few people interested in putting an original radio back in the car? I have thought about it, and I am going to create a mold to make a patch for the left and right **** areas, as they are responsible for securing at least the front of the radio. The man that sold me the radio on eBay graciously included a mounting bracket and pigtail to re wire into the original car wiring. I also bought a plastic hanger strap. Not sure yet how it is used to support the radio. Here is what I found and bought on eBay. Really looks nice. Will be a while before I can give it a try. Says right on the radio to not power it up without having it connected to speakers, so I will not do so.

 

I got back to this task and have made some progress. I created a two piece wood mold and using epoxy and fiberglass cloth, made a left and right side control recess. I carefully measured control shaft centers. I finished cutting away the small remnants from the back side of the dash. Trimmed up the molded pieces and bonded them in.






I bought a new 4 by 10 speaker and got it wired into the harness.



New speaker

I had to bend up some new mounting brackets

Wired up for 8-10 ohm operation


I now have the fiberglass patches bonded to back of dash. Have test fit the radio. Completed restoring the radio wiring harness. Installed a new rear speaker and connected it. Powered it up and it works!



Right recess is drilled for the front rear speaker fader control.

With control *****, a lot of the ugly is hidden. After this photo, I used body filler to get the surfaces planed out.


This has been a lot of uncomfortable work, under the dash with old man eyesight and aching bones. But I am glad that I didn’t just drop in another new radio. The original ones are pieces of art compared to the new ones. My feelings anyway.

 

Depending on the level of butchery and mutilation that your dash has endured, there are a few options for donor parts. GM used the same radio shaft offset and escutcheon opening for just about everything in that era. The radio bezel for a 79-83 El Dorado looks like a very good candidate.




71-72 Buick Riviera also looks promising.



Do a little research to make sure the opening fits your radio and you can cut the piece out of the donor panel and plastic-weld it into your dash. A new woodgrain piece will cover the scars. I'm sure there are other cars that would serve as a radio opening donor, but make sure they have the shaft nut wells and not just a flat cosmetic cover like a 80-90 Delta 88.




I'm not sure, but I think the 68-72 Skylark radio bezel is metal or it would be a great donor.

 

That was some great information for others in similar situations. I don’t know how you ever did the research, but it is good stuff!

 

A lot of people butchered up their cars when they were young just to listen to some sounds. My 442 escaped the madness

 

When you get a new wood grain kit for the dash, consider buying from one of the suppliers who directly supports our Oldsmobile hobby, H&H.

http://hhclassicauto.com/products.html

 

At least price wise they are competitive. I am concerned about the thickness of this overlay. I tried to bake in a little wiggle room with the depths of the control recess that I made. Have you used this overlay before? Right now after filling and painting the patched areas the patch is hard to see unless looking for it. I still want to make it better though.

 

Their overlay is the same thickness and grain pattern as the OEM overlay.

I have bought their products a few times.

They made a custom wood overlay to complete the console I adapted for my 6-speed shifter, which is 2 inches farther back from the Muncie position.

It matched the dash wood grain perfectly.

Whenever I see them at an Oldsmobile event, I always thank them for their high quality product and their flexibility in accommodating unusual requests.

 

I was a stereo installer for 15 years back in the '80s and '90s. I participated in the "butchery" that Bfg mentioned. Having done a lot of the cutting, I also know which parts can be used to repair such crimes against plastic dashes. 😎

 

So did you peel off the original wood grain lamination and then put on the new, or did you just add a new layer?

 

Well… I think you were doing the right thing for the moment. Back then when this dash cut up was going on, I thInk owners were more focused on their current music experience and never thought about where the car was going to be in another 40 years. I understand that concept. 99.9% of all 60-70 era cars are long gone from Iowa. Winter salt roads just eats them up. So just even owning one of the few remaining is just fun, and it seems like a responsibility to try and get it back to where it once was. I’m tryin!

 

I took off the old layer and added the new one. It's simple compared to what you have already accomplished.

You're being a great steward.

 

You can buy the 68/69 plate and then add it in for the 70-72.



-Joe

 

Here are some pics:

 

@71olds that is some nice work! To me, the original radios have an elegance that is worth returning to the car. You did a bunch of work to get it back.

 

Thanks! This was done by Frank Trimble when he was doing some work on my 71 442. It's an original 8 Track car and when we put the 8 Track back on it just didn't look right with the modern looking stereo. We struggled on options to go back to stock and then I found the 68/69 bezel in one of the parts catalogs. We still weren't sure it would work with a 70-72 set up but were extremely happy when it did. To be clear it was LOTS of work. These few pics don't do it much justice but you get the idea on what's involved. So happy to have the more original looking stereo with the 8 track player back where it belongs even with my custom dash gauges and 6 speed white cue ball size shifter, I think everything looks as it should now.



-Joe