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So, since the car is down for the off-season..I'm mentally running through the list of things still to be addressed. I know I need to pull the seat to get up under the dash for a couple of things, so that led me to the radio.
The first question is...what kind do I have? (If I'm understanding the CSM correctly, its the Deluxe)
Secondly, assuming its bad it'll need to come out. The CSM has shown me how to remove it, but I also noticed that I only seem to have 1 speaker (Drivers side, rear package shelf). Can I reach up with the radio unit out and install a speaker? That also poses the next question..will I need to add/change wiring to accommodate a front speaker and 2nd rear speaker?
In a perfect world, I'd love to have the factory style (having "Oldsmobile" on the front is just cool) but having been retrofitted for bluetooth. I probably wouldn't use it much, but if/when the time comes to sell the car, a working radio is much more valuable than one non-working.
That radio is RPO U63, Radio, Deluxe Pushbutton. The other options were U69 AM/FM and U58 AM/FM Stereophonic. Apparently the bottom of the line radio was "deluxe".
Your rear speaker looks like it was added by a private owner rather than from the assembly plant. As well, I can't see your radio dial **** on the right side - does it have a fader dial (front to rear)? If not, your radio appears to be the basic AM/front speaker only unit that came from the asembly plant as the U63 deluxe push button radio and someone has disconnected the wires to the front speaker (middle, top of dash; it's probably still there) in favor of the personally installed rear speaker. It's possible to connect both speakers to the same leads if you want both speakers to give off the same sount and volume. If your front speaker is still there, it probably needs to be rebuilt.
If your radio has the fader dial on the right side, it's probably the U63 radio with the U80 rear speaker option. But I doubt that's the case, given the self-installed rear speaker with a disconnected front speaker.
Occasionally, vendors on this site have factory radios for sale. If you want to keep the OLDSMOBILE look, I would recommend looking for either a U69 AM-FM radio with the fader dial on the right side so you can connect both your front and rear speakers, or the ultimate for that year, the U58 AM-FM stereo radio which comes with the fader dial. Most of these radios for sale need to be rebuilt which could work in your favor as there are radio repair people who will refit a rebuilt radio with bluetooth.
Randy C.
'68 4-4-2 convertible (with AM-FM mono radio and rear speaker option)
'69 4-4-2 convertible (with AM-FM stereo option)
Better shot of the radio:
I'm almost certain there isn't a speaker in the front. It kicks on when there's power..but no white noise or anything. Just the popping on and off.
I need to get the bulb changed out. Maybe I can get lucky and it's just something dumb like the antenna unhooked or something. One of the massive mouse nests though the in and behind the glove box though..so it wouldn't surprise me if something has been damaged from the inhabitants.
One thing to note..this car was completely apart at one time. So the idea of the front speaker being pulled and put in the rear does hold some merit. I just can't imagine why anyone would go through all that trouble and still keep only one speaker.
The ***** are not original. The most common failure mode for these radios is the power output transistor - the large TO3 can with the heat sink. I've replaced them with generic equivalents and the radio has worked fine.
I discovered there is a thing called "gauge pod" marine radios, typically marketed for boats, that are small, light, and have lots of features. You could leave the factory radio where it is and install one of the marine radios and a set of speakers to have full sound and modern features.
I discovered there is a thing called "gauge pod" marine radios, typically marketed for boats, that are small, light, and have lots of features. You could leave the factory radio where it is and install one of the marine radios and a set of speakers to have full sound and modern features.
I discovered there is a thing called "gauge pod" marine radios, typically marketed for boats, that are small, light, and have lots of features. You could leave the factory radio where it is and install one of the marine radios and a set of speakers to have full sound and modern features.
oh, for sure. Thats half of the reason i was hoping the harness was the same for however the setup was. That way I'd just need to figure out radio output power and math it out for the speakers. Granted, it's been YEARS since I've done any stereo work..but between car stereos and church sound systems..I feel somewhat comfortable in basic systems. Haha
but if/when the time comes to sell the car, a working radio is much more valuable than one non-working.
Where did you get this idea? I have purchased something like 10 old cars over the decades, and in not one case did I give a whit whether or not the radio worked. If it did, I might give the seller an extra $5 on the $5000 car I'm buying from him.
People's preferences vary greatly when it comes to old-car audio. Some people want an entirely original radio, others are completely fine with going totally aftermarket and modern, and some are in the middle and want a radio that looks vintage but that has modern internals. You might go to great lengths to get your old radio to work only to have the person who buys it from you immediately remove it and replace it with something they prefer more.
It's like someone who puts all new carpeting in their house in preparation for selling it only to have the buyers immediately tear it all out because they want a different color. It happened to my parents, and if they had known, they would have left the old carpeting in and saved $5,000 or something like that. But you can't know ahead of time who's going to buy your house, so the realtor says do it, and you do it.
Personally, I would not want an AM-only radio in my car, even if it was original to the car and worked great. I'd still replace it in some way to get FM/satellite/etc.
Speaking of your own audio preferences, here's one example for the ages.
This is what the right side of the dash on a '77 Toronado normally looks like:
Now this is what someone did to make the audio system more to his liking. This car was for sale on ebay a few months back. To power all this, he added something like two extra alternators under the hood.
Here's the extra alternators.
Fix the audio system the way you want it and don't worry about resale value. You can't predict what the next owner will want.
Last edited by jaunty75; December 6th, 2023 at 07:39 AM.
where did you get this idea? I have purchased something like 10 old cars over the decades, and in not one case did i give a whit whether or not the radio worked. If it did, i might give the seller an extra $5 on the $5000 car i'm buying from him.
People's preferences vary greatly when it comes to old-car audio. Some people want an entirely original radio, others are completely fine with going totally aftermarket and modern, and some are in the middle and want a radio that looks vintage but that has modern internals. You might go to great lengths to get your old radio to work only to have the person who buys it from you immediately remove it and replace it with something they prefer more.
It's like someone who puts all new carpeting in their house in preparation for selling it only to have the buyers immediately tear it all out because they want a different color. It happened to my parents, and if they had known, they would have left the old carpeting in and saved $5,000 for something like that. But you can't know ahead of time who's going to buy your house, so the realtor says do it, and you do it.
Personally, i would not want an am-only radio in my car, even if it was original to the car and worked great. I'd still replace it in some way to get fm/satellite/etc.
Fix the audio system the way you want it and don't worry about resale value. You can't predict what the next owner will want.
Fix the audio system the way you want it and don't worry about resale value. You can't predict what the next owner will want.
Agreed, which is why I wouldn't take the time to restore it back to just AM. IF I'd go through the process to restore, I'd add at the very least bluetooth capability. I guess you can blame the fact that I used to work at a dealership for the attention to things such as a working radio. I've had to try to explain stupid stuff such as a non-working radio, missing floor mats, windows that don't roll down, etc. All of which ended in either charge backs (in the instance of the missing floor mats that weren't my fault but I still had to pay for it) or a missed sale.
I get that the classic car market is vastly different than new/used, but still. Some old habits don't necessarily go away easily.
I do agree though regarding carpet in a house..its the same as paint. There's a reason they call it contractor white...haha.
I do agree though regarding carpet in a house..its the same as paint. There's a reason they call it contractor white...haha.
Unfortunately, most buyers can't see past paint and carpet, so if you want to sell the house, you do have to spend the money in new neutral-color paint and carpet.
Unfortunately, most buyers can't see past paint and carpet, so if you want to sell the house, you do have to spend the money in new neutral-color paint and carpet.
Yeah. Around here the big money question is...how many layers of wallpaper does it have?
I discovered there is a thing called "gauge pod" marine radios, typically marketed for boats, that are small, light, and have lots of features. You could leave the factory radio where it is and install one of the marine radios and a set of speakers to have full sound and modern features.
Chewed on this for a few days, and I think this is the route I may end up going. Either that, or just getting the radio back in working order (especially if its just that transistor) and just picking up a small bluetooth speaker and running everything off my phone.
Gonna probably see if I can find one of those transistors (maybe even ***** since they'll have to come off as well) and just hope to get it back in working order maybe over Christmas break. I've gotta get up under the dash anyway, so I'd might as well address it.
December 1st, 2023, 09:28 AM
