Retrosound Radio System Installed in 71 Roadrunner

[Ronnman]

I had been thinking about upgrading the sound system for a while. When I purchased the car, a 1971 Roadrunner, it came with an AM Radio and a FM converter. I had the original front speaker and on of the previous owners added a round speaker in the left rear of the package tray. To say the least, the system left a lot to be desired. Changing FM channels was touchy since it was accomplished my a small knob and the FM scale was not very visible.

I started looking at sound systems of which there are many choices. I had a few ground rules. I did not want to cut the dash, nor did I want to mount the system in the glove box and I wanted to play songs that I have recorded in MP3 format. I then came to realize that the original placement of the radio was where I wanted the system located. So I had a few options. One, purchase and install a new radio that would fit in the dash and was available on eBay for just under $600. Second, remove my AM radio and have it converted for FM and 1/8” plug for input from a MP3 player for around $400. If I wanted to play songs from an MP3 player, these options required they be routed through a 1/8” headphone jack. This meant I would have to power theMP3 player for extended use. The third option was the RetroSound Model One. The problem was no one had apparently installed this model with the optional bracket to move both knobs to the left of the system faceplate. It was asked if anyone had installed the RetroSound system a few times on several websites. But no one responded that they had installed the system.



I bit the bullet and purchased the RetroSound Model One with the special bracket. I also purchased the RetroSound 6 X 9 speakers for the rear and their 3.5” speakers for the front. Additionally, I purchased a bracket from 74Sport here on Moparts. I purchased the speakers from Crutchfield and they arrived first, so I started the rear deck installation. I installed the right rear speaker with #10 sheet metal screws.



The left speaker was installed using 10-24 X 1-1/2” long screws and cutting the heads off. Then I put a nut from the trunk to line up over the 6 X 9 holes and threaded the stud into the nut. Then I ran a jam nut the lock the stud to the rear shelf. The opening on the drivers side is for the rear defroster, but there are holes that line up with the 6 X 9 pattern on the flat section just outside the stamped metal flange.



Next I moved to the front speakers. I removed the front speaker metal grille carefully stuffing rags into the defroster ducts to prevent losing a screw. I used a few 1/4” extensions and a universal to get the front screws out. The rear are phillips screws which can be removed with a stubby screwdriver. The I exposed 40 years of dust.



Next I mounted the two 3.5” speakers to the aluminum bracket.


Painted the bracket flat black.


And installed the assembly in the front speaker opening.


Then, I mounted the radio in the dash opening, made a few adjustment and installed a metal bracket included with the kit to brace the rear of the radio housing. The system came with a remote mountable SD Card/ USB port/ 1/8” input jack housing. In the pic below, you can see it at the lower lip of the dash board below the right side of the radio face plate. I attached it with double-sided tape. This allows you to play MP3 songs via SD card or USB thumb drive media. Additionally, the system came with a hand held remote which works through a RF signal.



I am pleased with the system and look forward to listening to tunes from all sources. This is a workable option for the 3rd generation B-Body cars with the somewhat unique configured radio.

[471Magnum]

Great info. I've been eying one of these set-ups myself.

I've made the 3 1/2" adapters myself in the past. The fit of the head unit was the big question.

My black 71 GTX had an after market unit from one of the companies that specialize in classic cars. Can't remember the brand. Anyway, the opening for the face of the unit had to be modified slightly to square the corners. Didn't want to have to do this on my Roadrunner.

[landon1]

finally someone installed this system! caught my eye year and a half ago i think...looks good from here anyway

[Ronnman]

I like many had been looking at this system for over a year. My concern was the fitment of the face plate to the dash. My measurements confirmed that the dash would have to be modified for the face plate to fit flush. I did not want to start cutting into the dash. I removed the original radio and saw that the dash was a lot thinner in this area than I had originally thought. That's when I figured the new radio face plate could be mounted close behind and still be accessible to push the buttons. So I figured I would take pics along the way to show others how it looks installed.
Ron

[471Magnum]

I just ordered a Custom Auto Sound USA-630 head unit and a 4x10 dual voice coil speaker for my 72 Road Runner. Hope to receive them in a few days and installed next week. Should make for a good comparison.

Still debating on whether to put speakers in the package tray, or go with some Undercover under seat boxes. Need to confirm that they will fit, but I’m leaning towards the latter. I don’t have the speaker perforations in my package tray which would require replacement, and I think the under seat speakers will be more efficient. My experience has shown that the package tray speakers just can’t get the job done when rolling down the highway with the windows open in a relatively loud muscle car.

[quapman]

How much was just the in-dash unit?

[471Magnum]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0328247682

[72RoadRunnerGTX]

the package tray speakers just can’t get the job done when rolling down the highway with the windows open in a relatively loud muscle car.

I'm going to have to take exception with that, in my past extensive experience designing and installing high end audio systems into vehicles of all types, a pair of good quality, high power-rated three-way 6x9"s, backed with some watts, can easily drown out the loudest of streetable exhaust systems under most conditions. Matched with enough power they can produce plenty of bass at high levels, without any other interior mods, the package self is the only suitable speaker mounting location that provides any sort of mid and high range imaging, with the assistance of glass refection. Very stealthy as well when using the perforated shelf panel. A note about these cars and running 6x9's, the driver's side speaker opening should be opened up from the 5x7" dual mounting original configuration. Some of the first patch work I did to the RR/GTX was grafting in a pass side 6x9" speaker mounting, removed from one of the donor cars, in place of the driver's side 5x7 mount and tacking in place mounting screws/studs to allow for speaker replacement from underneath without pulling the interior.
When driving my car, I frequently find myself having to choose between listening to the I-pod cranked up though this system or being able to hear the sweet noises of the motor, even through the 3" Super Turbos.

[Ronnman]

Jim,
Please post some pics of your install and let us know how it sounds. I'm interested on how the 4X10 fits in the front. I my RR the rear 6X9s provide plenty of volume with the windows down going down the road. As 72RoadRunnerGTX stated the rear window reflects the sound from the rear deck speakers forward. I think it's a good option!
Ron

[transamman]

Ronnman- that's the BOMB!!!!!! Neat, Clean, plays modern music formats... Looks like it grew there!!!! I just found my system for my RR clone when the time comes. For what it's worth, I just installed a dual voice coilspeaker in the dash of my 79 T/A and a set of 3.5's in the dash of a '87 Chevy truck that I was building, both powered by Delco factory units. The two speakers win in sound quality hands down. Can you tell me more about the bracket that you got from another nester? Was it something special or was your original bracket from your car missing and you got another one and modified it to work with your new unit? This is a great sight... Thanks for the info, Horace.

[CtownRunner]

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/sho ... w=1#UNREAD

Hope the link to Moparts works.

He has the brackets,

I just emailed him and used the order form from this moparts thread for my 71 RR.


Chris

[Ronnman]

Ronnman- that's the BOMB!!!!!! Neat, Clean, plays modern music formats... Looks like it grew there!!!! I just found my system for my RR clone when the time comes. For what it's worth, I just installed a dual voice coil speaker in the dash of my 79 T/A and a set of 3.5's in the dash of a '87 Chevy truck that I was building, both powered by Delco factory units. The two speakers win in sound quality hands down. Can you tell me more about the bracket that you got from another nester? Was it something special or was your original bracket from your car missing and you got another one and modified it to work with your new unit? This is a great sight... Thanks for the info, Horace.

Thanks for the compliments. The system works great, better that I would have thoght. Plenty of volume nice sound quality and ease of operation. The bracket that I bought from 74Sport on Moparts needed modification in my application. The rim of one of the 3.5" speakers was touching the dash opening. This was causing the bracket with speakers to not lay flat. It did fit below the speaker grille without problem. I just though it was affecting the front speakers sound. I emailed 74Sport to advise him of this. I think the 3.5" holes were too far appart. If one opened the holes up, you could mount the speakers from the top. I'm not sure if this would interfere with the speaker grille since the speakers tweeter will be a little higher. My solution was to make a new bracket from 1/4" MDF (medium density fiberboard) and moved the speaker holes slightly to the center. Now no clearance issues at all.
Ron

[transamman]

Okay... When you were speaking of a bracket, I was thinking of a factory bracket that was dashmounted to support the radio itself. I will do like you and make my own speaker bracket out of thin stuff. Most definitely using 3.5's... I am pretty sure that mounting the speakers on top will create interference issues with the stock speaker grill. Bodywork and paint is coming soon (week or two at most) and I am literally starting to tingle when I think about getting back to work on my car. After this wreaks havoc on my finances, small things like that speaker mount, restoring the headlight mounting brackets and the bumper brackets front and rear will keep me busy as I build funds again for the motor and suspension rebuild. Except for the carpet, headliner,and package tray, I have everything for the inside. Oh- and now the sound system!!! I have a factory am-fm but I want more. I am kinda old school but I really like the ipod mp3 revolution. Can you imagine hauling 20 gigs of music in cassette form???!!! What would that unit cost me, please? Unit only with no speakers but with the adapter bracket to put both knobs on the left in true Mopar fashion. Thank you for sharing this info and the pics. Horace

[471Magnum]

I've done the 3.5" thing on several cars in the past. This time I'm going with a dual voice coil 4x10. Should be an easier install, and the 4x10 cone makes better use of the available area. Only $55 to boot, and no adapter to purchase or fabricate.

Going to start the installation today. Here is what I've got to work with.

Original factory AM

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Custom AutoSound US 630 and DVC 4x10

P1090331.JPG (94.06 KiB) Viewed 24326 times

[471Magnum]

I hope no one considers this to be a hijack, but this is probably a better place to document this rather than starting a new thread. These are two very similar options for updating your 71-up sound system.

Anyway, I started with the speaker install. Actually, I started with the removal of the old speaker, which was a 4x10 Radio Shack unit installed by the previous owner. The Radio Shack speakers require four mounting holes, one at each corner. The factor speaker just uses two. The previous owner had drilled the dash for these screw holes, and this must have been done with either the windshield removed, or the entire dash out of the car. These screws were a b!tch to remove.

Original R-S speaker installed

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As you can see in the photo, the height of the R-S speaker and Custom Autosound DVC speaker are almost identical. Should be no problem there.

R-S vs CAS DVC

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