DIY Reproduction Radio

[Gene-73]

Here's my solution for a very low cost and period correct car stereo. It's a 3D printed faux radio that I designed a while back. It looks nearly identical to the real thing and it's now functional with the addition of a very inexpensive bluetooth amplifier.

I posted about this pre-crash, but that post is no longer available so I'll start from the beginning. Came up with this design a few years ago and had the intention of pairing it up with some electronics but had never sourced anything. At that time I had also found an inexpensive 1-DIN, 2-knob style modern stereo that had a small LCD monitor on it's face so went with that instead. I was generally happy with the looks but it always had an annoying hum through the speakers. I should add that my dash had been cut by the previous owner so any modern stereo would work but I wanted it to have the 2-knob design so choices were limited.

I recently ran across a small bluetooth amplifier that would be perfect for this build so decided to resurrect this project. Originally saw the bluetooth board on Etsy for around $95 but decided to shop around and found it on AliExpress for under $11. These are also available on Amazon for around $18 but I was on a mission to do this as inexpensive as possible so went with the AliExpress one. This is a case-less board with a single on-off/volume knob that mounts perfectly alongside my 3D printed faux radio. I was able to make the reproduction knobs work with the board to complete the look, the left knob is functional and the right one is fixed. Sound quality is great with plenty of power, and it doesn't have any more hum like the previous head unit did. It's driving two 6x9 rear speakers and a dual voice coil single front speaker. An additional benefit is that since there is a physical on-off switch and no stored memory settings or clock, there is no need for the yellow unswitched wire connection. This means no phantom power draw like the previous stereo had. IMHO, the whole thing is a simple solution that functions and looks better than the expensive reproduction radios on the market.

Since my dash was already cut I had to get creative in mounting, so I fabricated a bracket that fastens to the rear ashtray brace. If the dash wasn't cut, mounting probably would have been far easier.

If anyone wants to try this solution the 3D printed faux radio is posted on Thingiverse (with over 700 downloads so far) - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3758294/files
Note that you need to use the single hole 1978-1981 style radio bezel with this design. The 1970-1977 2-hole bezel won't work.

Here is the link to the Bluetooth Amplifier on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086GDNR72
There are actually several boards in this style, with some having additional functionality like AUX or USB connections for just slightly more money, so you may want to shop around.

[Wallington]

Haha love it. Is this controlled via phone or something? I can barely operate mine yet.

I had a similar idea a while ago as I had an excellent front on a non-working radio unit. I thought it could easily be stripped down to become a face only sticking through the dash and not have all the extra weight, albeit also no radio. I didn't work that bit out, I don't understand all these new music options, my daily driver still has a tape player and no cup holder!

[Gene-73]

Is this controlled via phone or something?

Correct, the phone is the music source. Bluetooth was the only way I was using the previous head unit. You can get aftermarket Bluetooth amplifiers that have a small remote panel for controlling the device but then you need to find a place to mount the main unit and the remote. Something like this - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IBI518Y

I like my solution as the single knob controls the on/off and volume and the placement is natural.

[b_hill_86]

That is awesome! Had I seen this before my setup I would’ve gone this route aside from the bezel not working in my 77. Still, what a great inexpensive solution.

For the record, I ended up using a Bluetooth amp similar to the one you posted from Amazon. My factory red dot and console 8 track player are both run through it and I have the remote hidden in the ashtray so the radio and 8 track work as they should or I can control my phone music with the remote (or phone). All of which is powering 2 6x9s out back and a dual coil speaker up front.

Again, nice work!

[stros]

This is fantastic Gene.  If my Pioneer stereo kicks the bucket I will try this out.  Our radio stations are horrible around here now so I’m always using my phone for music these days.  Thanks for making the effort to repost this.  Very cool what one can do with 3d printers now.

[ryeguy2006a]

Very cool! I'm going to try that when I get my Nomad going. Just gut a stock radio and use this!

[TA301]

I saw a 1986 Caprice at a car show that had the original stereo. He was playing current music but through the phone. The owner had installed a nice JBL Bluetooth speaker on the rear package tray using a Velcro double sided tape, making the speaker removable. I thought that was the best of both worlds, original stereo and current music not available on cassette tapes.