Hi Randy,
Switching the radio's connecting wires is not enough; it is very important
to mount the radio chassis to an insulating material such as thin plywood or
Plexiglas so no part of the metal radio chassis or knob shafts can touch the
metal body work of the car. This is easier done than described in writing.
The non-conductive adapter must be cut out and drilled for the radio to fit
into, and big enough on the outside dimensions to cover the opening of the
radio blanking plate. What I did was make two of these adapters, one for the
outside of the dash, the other for the inside. The two adapters will then
sandwich the dash metal in between. In more than 10-12 years of sporty
driving, the radios stayed put.
If the radio must be mounted directly to a metal dash, a way to prevent the
shafts from touching metal, is to slide a plastic or rubber bush into the
holes drilled to accept the shafts. These used to be sold by Radio Shack to
reduce hole diameters when adapting a replacement radio into your vehicle.
Another word of caution concerns the antenna. I feel foolish for not
remembering to tell the list to be sure to prevent the antenna from
grounding to the body. Some antennas are designed to have their base
touching metal; avoid that type, or make a big rubber washer out of an inner
tube, hold it to the underside of the sheet metal, then put the antenna in
place and snug things up. I have seen some "high tech antennas recently that
require no metal to metal contact. A common example is the antenna tape that
can be applied to the windshield inside surface: especially nice when you
replace a fender and choke at the thought of drilling a big hole in it.
I hope I haven't forgotten something again. After installation and before
reconnecting the battery and powering up, check for continuity between the
car body and the radio chassis... there should be NONE! Install fuses in
power leads. All disclaimers apply... Yadda, yadda.
Mine were top end when purchased ~$150.00) with digital tuning, a clock,
memory select tuning, tone controls, fader, and cassette player etc. How
'bout make me an offer if interested. Remember, they are 10 years old, but
look new, and work fine. FYI, I have recently seen "period look" radios
(lottsa chrome) at Crutchfield (http://www.crutchfield.com).
Good luck!
Jim
Randy wrote:
> Hi Jim,
>
> Saw the post about radios. I had read that simply switching the
> connecting wires would not work and that all the grounds inside the unit
> must be switched. Another comment I read was that the radio chassie
> would be hot and if it came in contact with bare metal a giant spark
> would occur. If none of this is correct in your experience and the
> radios will work with a positive ground I would appreciate prices if
> Richard does not care for them.
>
> Thanks,
> Randy
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