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Aftermarket radio in 49 plymouth


Jokerace69

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Hello all and merry early christmas!

So let's begin.. My father has a 49 plymouth and since his ownership he has wanted a working radio in his car for his iphone and cd's. So i did some chistmas shopping and got him a pioneer dxt-x2669ui complete system. Here is the problem.

I have no wiring diagrams and am clueless about this car for the most part. I've done many audio installs but this one is a toughy. Once i get the stock unit off and out. Where do i even begin? I don't know what wiring it has. Surely it's not like todays modern cars with 50 wires to choose from.

Can someone please help?

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If your original wiring is there, there will only be a power wire, antenna wire and maybe a ground wire. The original radio had the speaker inside it, so you will need to wire your new speakers.

Just remember that the Plymouth is also positive ground , so unless this was changed, your new radio will not work .

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Why do you need to connect your new system to the old system? Just install it as if there was never a radio in the vehicle.

 

http://pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/UnAssigned-Content/DXT-X2669UI

 

Agreed. only things you can possibly reuse are the power and ground wire and the antenna.

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I would doubt very much that if the vehicle in question has been converted to 12v, that it was done so as a postive ground system..That said, you will just have to decide on a location for the radio..

A very common application is to remove the glove box liner, putting the new radio in it's place.. The modern radio is then hidden behind the glove box door, in lieu of hanging down below the dash..

Another tricky application is to purchase a 1940's style automotive hot water heater, a '41-48 Ford heater works great, has large doors in the front..Remove all of the heater parts, just keeping the case to use as a cover for the new radio.. If the new radio has a remote, the only time the heater doors need to be opened is when a CD is inserted.. Close the doors and everyone will think it's a heater..

Selecting a place for the speakers might be a challenge, the kick panels and/or doors usually work well, The original antenna can be utilized, however, in many cases modern FM radios do not need much of an antenna..I have a insulated wire running up through the windshield header panel on my '39 Plym, works very well..

I have a non-power consealed antenna in the left rear quarter panel adjacent to the deck lid for the AM radio in the '39 Plym.. It takes a special "key" to lift it...

Try not to over engineer the installation.... Bill 

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A very common application is to remove the glove box liner, putting the new radio in it's place.. The modern radio is then hidden behind the glove box door, in lieu of hanging down below the dash..

.... Bill 

 

 

If the radio is installed in the glove box where do you keep your gloves? :cool:

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The head unit will be mounted in the glove box, the 6x9's in the rear and the 6x1's in the door. As far as meaning to keep the old radio.. I meant disconnect the power/ground/whatever wires and hook them up to the new radio while still leaving the stock radio in place rather than fabricate/purchase a new dash mounting kit. But when looking at the wiring there is nothing to it so i'll just be running the power to battery with a 10a fuse, remote to cigarette lighter and ground to the frame and run a 2-3ft antenna wire. Progress is slow and other things are going on and i'm sure this will all come together well in the end. I've done many many many audio installs so this is old experience in an old car. Thanks for all the help and suggestions. Hope everyone has/having a wonderful christmas!

Edited by Jokerace69
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On a recent extended road trip when I was riding shotgun the driver causally handed me a pair of gloves to stick in the glove box. Made me feel good to use the box for its intended purpose. The only gloves I have owned for several years are welding gloves. But when I stepped out of the hotel room this morning into 6 degree snowy weather I sort of wished I had some winter gloves to wear.

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What I do is....

 

I have a guy that builds very high quality AM Modulators.  These sit under the dash.  They us an antenna "Y".  They have a single mono RCA plug.  You set DIP switches in the modulator.  You set the radio to the frequency you set on the DIP, and you plug whatever you want into the RCA plug.  I use XM radio or an iPod.  Some of the older models of Delphi XM receivers were actually 6 volt.

 

There is some outfit now making small units, but they are junk sound wise. My guy is a antique radio guy and his units have gain, compression, output and other controls so you can match the unit to your radios particulars.

 

I use these on my 1947 and 1949 Desoto.  All stock 6 volt.  I have friends using them on 1930's & 1950's Cads. 

 

The units are not cheep at about $275, plus what ever  you need to feed them.  But a XM digital signal with that warm tube amplifier and when listening to "The Shadow" you would think it was 1945!

 

If interested drop me a note at my email and I will hook you up.

 

James

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Glad you got the radio wired in Jokerace69. Any chance that you could post some photos of the unit.

 

I'd like to update some sounds for my Cranbrook but would love to keep the glove box for my  important paperwork, oh and my gloves, too. ;)

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I agree that keeping the glove box open for storage purposes is nice. That is what I opted to do. I wanted a better stereo with modern convenience, and didn't want it to be open visually. I didn't want to spend a small fortune either so I made a small metal box to install it into just under the glove box. It does show, but changing the station is easily done without taking your eyes off the road. I don't think it looks too bad. Some may disagree, but I'm happy with it. It can easily be removed and disposed of or it can be modified for new technology in another 5 or so years.

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Back in 1980 my dad and I put a "modern" 8 track am/fm in my 49 Special Deluxe.  We used a 12 volt converter and it all worked great.  I had a spare radio face plate so we did some minor cutting to get it to fit but it looked pretty good and could be put back to stock with no problem.

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