Hello there, does anyone know if this model fits the 76 Olds 88/98/CC with no problem if you have the optional 8-track with the radio (the opening seems to be bigger than the radio)?
It's the RS-7385: http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/details/id/303
Thanks and regards!

 

you need to find out if they make a cover plate specifically for your application. I bought a retrosound model for my 70 cutlass, when I ordered it I got to choose the ***** and cover plate to fit my car.

 

I don't think they have a cover plate, the width seems to be the same but the gap is a bit higher so maybe I can just fill that with a custom blanking plate (just cut and grind an aluminum plate).

 

Ok, I bought mine a couple years ago so maybe they are different now

 

I know exactly what you're going through as far as putting a modern radio in a car of this vintage. The DIN opening concept hadn't arrived yet, so anything aftermarket had to fit into the two-****-plus-center-rectangle opening. This was OK when all you might want to do was insert a cassette tape or an 8-track tape in addition to using the radio itself, but it fell apart when we started wanting to play CDs in our cars starting in the mid- or late 1980s.

The only way to maintain the original look or at least not cut into the dash opening to make room for a modern CD receiver was to mount the radio itself in some new bracket hanging under the dash, sitting on the transmission hump, or perhaps putting it in the glovebox.

When I was looking for modern audio for my '73 Custom Cruiser, I decided that I didn't like any of these options when I coupled the drawbacks above with the fact that any of these specialty after-market radios designed to fit in a vintage opening cost an arm and a leg.

I decided to bite the bullet on my car and carefully cut into the dash to make room for a modern CD receiver. I know I've permanently modified the dash and that there's no going back short of replacing the dash piece itself with something from another car. But I figured so what. I drive the car all the time, I wanted modern audio, and I didn't want anything that looked jury-rigged or that consisted one of these $500 specialty radios that still won't let me play a CD.

Below is a photo of what my dash looks like now. I think it looks just fine, it works great, it's easy to reach, which is a consideration if I had wanted to put the radio in the glovebox, and, someday, when the car is finally sold by my estate, it will be their problem finding a buyer who is willing to accept a car with a cut-into dash. This radio not only plays CDs, but it has an audio jack and a USB port on the front face, and it also has built in satellite radio capability. All for about $200 (plus the monthly satellite radio subscription).

I realize that the dash design is different for the '75 and '76 full-size Oldsmobiles, but I'm guessing there would still be plenty of room to do something like this if you were so inclined.






Just for the sake of comparison, here's the "before" look with the factory-original AM-radio, which still worked.

 

This is temporary , but this is what I did . I removed the center vent under the dash , because I don't drive the car when it's cold , and the AC doesn't work , so I don't need the vents anyways . I'm sure there's somewhere else you can bolt the metal brackets to that go to the stereo itself , instead of removing stuff to find a place to bolt it too . I just used that flexible metal strapping that you use for holding up household plumbing pipes . Keep in mind , I did this as a spur of the moment thing . I had this stereo stuff laying around for years doing nothing , so I decided to put it in the Olds ....

BTW , the wire going up the dashboard is my antenna



Here's the rest of what I installed . This thing cranks good enough for me ....Huh ? did you say something ?

 

I was thinking about blowing out the speaker in the dash by hooking up 150watts to it that the stereo puts out by itself .

If you need any ideas or specs on this let me know