Eric Straub wrote:
Does anyone know a good source for car stereo's with positive ground? I
have a Mk 2 spit & I want to keep it original (eg I don't want ot convert
to negative ground), but I do want to put some decent tunes in it.
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Eric - you may be able to find them through some of the suppliers that
advertise in Hemmings. There are a number of companies that specialize in
remanufacturing "old" radios for classics or in stuffing a new radio into an
old style outer body.
With respect to your search, keep in mind that even if you find a positive
ground radio it will probably either be (a) very expensive and/or (b) not a
real high fidelity piece. My advice, if you are looking to maintain
originality is to go to your local Radio Shack or contact J.C. Whitney and
order a 12v pos. to 12v neg. converter. Note - this is NOT a conversion of
the entire electrical system. It is a small box with the necessary
electrical components that can easily be completely hidden way up under the
dash and will convert the pos. and neg. leads to just the radio so that you
can run ANY modern radio. The only drawback I know of is that most of these
converters do not handle huge wads of power, so if you want to run a big
power amp you'll probably exceed the rating of the converter and fry it.
Also, you need to ground the entire sound system to the converter, so
you'll have to run a few more feet of wiring - big deal in a Spitfire, huh?
J.C. Whitney has one in its current catalog for about $19. This will let
you run a better radio (read new) radio.
Last, why not convert to a 12v neg. ground system? I did just that on my Mk
I Spit and you cannot visually tell the difference unless you look at the
coil and see that the pos. and neg. wires are reversed. Period. That's it.
Everything else looks the same and operates the same. It is literally a
two minute job! Moreover, you save yourself the possible grief of having
some ham-fisted mechanic melt down your electrical system when he crosses
the leads due to his ignorance (which was my main reason for the
conversion). Unless you are entering a concours event does it really
matter? How many potential buyers/viewers of your Spit will (a) notice and
(b) care? Speaking of originality, I think you will do more to alter the
originality by sticking in a modern radio than by converting the electrical
system over to neg. ground. BTW, if you are interested, there is an
excellent description of how to do the conversion on the VTR web site. Good
luck.
Ross D. Vincenti
64 Spitfire 4
64 Porsche 356C Coupe
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