Radio Project Failure?

[Dennis_MN]

Long story with some good outcomes...

I was intrieged with the idea of putting the guts of a modern radio into the chassis of a 802. I had a Basic am/fm out of a Kcar sitting in my collection of stuff too good to toss but of no particular use. Jim Yergin send me a 802 chassis for this effort. My Kcar radio shaft distance for the controls fit the center distance of the holes in my dash. There was no way the parts of the circuit boards would fit into the chassis casting. My next effort was to add the face plate and push buttons to the front of the modern radio. It looked like I could build a cable and add the display into the glove box. Did that and by the time it got to the glove box the radio no longer worked. I couldn't even undo my cabling and make it work again. Oh well. I could have just as easily put the entire radio into the glove box.

What did I gain for a few days of work????

1. I did get a reasonable cost inverter($55.00 plus shipping)

http://www.casmfg.com/Accessories.htm manufacturer

http://www.rgclassictunes.com/ supplier

2. I now have power for my CB and for my GPS

3. I have a fake plate where the radio should go.

Guess I'll dig into fixing a original radio next.....

[Dennis_MN]

Here are some pictures from my radio project...

1. Kcar radio with the shaft spacing the same as the dash

2. added 802 face plate

3. Power inverter installation

4. aux power for GPS

5. Fake radio face......crazy glue works wonders

Dennis Sullivan

[Norm's Coupe]

What did I gain for a few days of work????

Dennis, the way I look at that is. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." At least you tried and you probably enjoyed trying it. If you had never tried you would have always wondered, "Can I do that". Now you know.

The radio for my coupe doesn't work either. Took it out of the car and put in a dummy head. Don't know if I'll ever try to fix the radio or not. Maybe someday when I get bored and have nothing else better to do. Here's the dummy head in my coupe.

[Thunder II]

I'm wondering if my interior will ever look that good! A bit of advice..... If you are concerned about longevity, DO NOT use wire nuts. In use, the wires will warm up, when they cool, they will draw in moisture, causing corrosion. For the long run, I solder the connecetion, wherever possible, then seal them with shrink tube. If you like the old junctions, with the studs & nuts, a bit of DIELECTRIC grease will minimize the problem in those areas. BTW... Nothing ventured, Nothing gained. It sounds like it was a cool trip.....

[Dennis_MN]

Thanks for the tip about removing the wire nuts. I'll take care of that today while I'm in the process of adding a on/of switch on the Inverter.

[Dennis_MN]

Thanks for the tip about removing the wire nuts. I'll take care of that today while I'm in the process of adding a on/of switch on the Inverter.

Added the on/off switch for the Inverter. I added it under the hood because when I'm using something with 12volts I'll turn it on. Most of the time I don't need to use the inverter, only when traveling where I have a CB and a GPS running.

Dennis

[dodgem48]

This has nothing to do with the radio or wiring. I noticed in one of the pictures the defroster hose under the dash. Since I have been searching without luck for it can you tell me if this is something you bought and where did you get it.

[Young Ed]

Should be available from Napa. I was able to get it for my coupe.

[David Mac]

Use Napa #BK 815-1000 for the defroster hose. I used 6' at $1.99 a foot. Hope this helps.

David Mac