I've been installing car audio for the last 10 years and have always hated the way vintage look or factory conversion radios sound. I have come up with a way to modify most factory radios to function as a remote control for nearly any aftermarket stereo system. The conversion requires gutting out the original radio and is a little spendy but it beats any other solution I have seen yet. Is this something anyone would be interested in?
I've done one for my 49 pontiac. The exterior of the radio is unchanged so I haven't bothered with pictures. Currently it does on/off, volume up/down, seek/track up/down, and source select.
they put out a pre amp that lets you run your ipod with out a head unit.... be cool to do that... I don't have any more cds just mp3 for ease and vinyl for quality...
There's a guy in Wisconsin that does some radio conversion, he's an electrical engineer by education and trade. Goes by the name "engine-ear" on the Chrome Czars message board, perhaps is his name here as well.
What I am doing is modifying the stock radio to control any aftermarket radio. Giving people the option of having a very high end system with unlimited source options and expandability. Amp, satellite, HD, iPod, usb, navigation, you name it!
There are more than a few people out there that do conversions of this type. None of them are cheap. It's labor intensive. Good luck, but there are a few that have beat you to market.
He done one for my 55 Ford today and now the dash looks better,I mounted the stereo under the drivers side of the seat so I can put in CDs with a marine remote in a original block off plate to control the radio. Now with the marine remote gone I cant tell what station its on but its well worth it to have the dash looking correct again,I am thinking about mounting the marine remote in the glove box so if I need to see what station its on I will just have to open it and look. Now I have to get him some beer for making the remote.
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