Topic: 8 track radio install

[6.6blackwizrd]

Hello I am new to this forum, so I hope im in the right spot.  I am a car guy at heart but I have never owned a pontiac .  I have had over 50 mopar muscle cars and can rebuild them in my sleep .  But im not famialiar with these and I wound hate to damage something. The car is a  100 percent original 79 t/a and I want to replace the original am/fm radio with a original 8 track.  My question is whats involved, do I have to remove the council and if so how do I get the shifter knob off.  This car is immaculate inside and I would hate to break something.  any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thank you

[brian c]

4spd or automatic?

If its an automatic the center button pulls out and then you'll need a set of snap ring pliers (or a good screwdriver) to spread the snap ring apart to pull the larger nob off. At that point you should replace the snap ring - a good hardware store should have them or if you prefer to pay for shipping they are available in the major repro catalogs.

Got some pics of this bird? Love to see them

[rkellerjr]

Welcome to 78ta, post up some pics of that poncho!

[6.6blackwizrd]

Ya its an auto car, I bought it for my wife.  Im a  3 pedal and 4 gear man personally, I competed in pure stock drag racing with a 69 sixpack 4 speed super bee for quite awhile and ran alot of pontiacs and they do run.   But I wanted an unmolested auto car for the wife.  I just brought it home about a month ago. Its starlite black with the the rare red carmine interior .  Im the 3rd owned with all the paperwork since day one with 72000 miles.  We are really enjoying the drivablity of 16 mpg and great handleing along with not having to run 5 dollar a gallon gas at 8 mpg.Thanks for the info on the council, but I still need to know if I have to remove it for the radio install.

thanks again Pics will be coming soon

[brian c]

I would think it would be much much easier to swap the stereos if you removed the center console. That being said you may want to post up some pics of the current dash/console along with the radio you plan on swapping in as it *may* not fit the way you're expecting.


If you don't mind me asking why swap in a 8 track player? Did the car have it when it was ordered? If it were me and I was going for a semi stock look I'd look at one of the Custom Autosound units that can control a CD player.

[jjr]

 In order to successfully remove/replace the radio, you
simply need the room to extract/install it. These units
are big and so "fishing" it through this and that probably
won't work very well.

 When I've done it, I "loosen" the console, the shifter plate,
set the parking brake and shift the trans aft of drive.
 Gently lift the shifter plate and rotate it, it will fit through
the console at an angle. Then I remove the console.

 There's really no reason to remove the shift knob.

 Next is the center and passenger side air conditioning duct,
be careful and watch close how it fits together.

 With both the console and ducting out of the way it's almost easy.

 Possibly you'll want the remove the ashtray mounting, but that's
not necessary, just adds even more room.

 There you have it... Holler, if you need more detail...

 Joe R 

[6.6blackwizrd]

Thanks for the info I really appreciate it.   The duct work I assume your talking about the black plastic cover by the passenger side.

thanks again

[ta78w72]

jjr is correct.  These units are really big and a PIA to remove and reinstall.  I hate pulling them out.  You do need to pull the A/C ducts if your car has A/C.  It's not hard to get the radio out, it's just a very tight squeeze.  And yes, you pull the radio out from the passenger side.

[6.6blackwizrd]

Thanks for the info, ill get into it in a few days.  I just didnt want to damage anything, I actually hate even messing with it since it's such a virgin car.  I really dig the 8 tracks, I think it totally goes with the whole image of the car .  Plus I have a bunch because my 69 superbee has one.  I know they sound like crap but their very cool in their own way.

[LTD]

Thanks for the info, ill get into it in a few days.  I just didnt want to damage anything, I actually hate even messing with it since it's such a virgin car.  I really dig the 8 tracks, I think it totally goes with the whole image of the car .  Plus I have a bunch because my 69 superbee has one.  I know they sound like crap but their very cool in their own way.

X2 man!  Keep on changing tracks!  There's nothing like an 8 track deck in a classic car!  Best wishes!

[6.6blackwizrd]

Ya in a world so overwhelmed with new tecnologhy it's kinda nice to go back to time when things were alot more simple.  8 track players were the cutting edge back in the day.  My 69 sixpack superbee listed for $3900 dollars and the 8 track was $395 option thats 10 percent cost of the car new.  I think on this T/A it was close to $500 that was a ton of money in 79.  My greatest time driving is listening to 425 horses of  V8 muscle and powrshifting to the sound of Black Sabbath or Zepplin through 21 watts of power as the track cracks and skips.  I thinks it great when you pull the 1 2 shift so hard that the tape comes flying out of the recorder or the glove box flys open and all the tapes land in the " glued to the seat"  passengers lap,  it's just kinda  something you have to experience.

 later

[Hitman]

You can also remove the radio by removing the glovebox and duct work as well.

[BANONECHOP]

This is a concern for me also.

I just Oredered the PHS for my car and it infact came with a UM1 Radio 8 track unit originally from the order line.
So I searched for a radio that was re- done and refreshed with a couple add-ons to it such as AUX input and RCA's in the
rear for add on amp.

So I am looking for the correct way for install on my 4spd Y88, and to find out if i need any brackets or other things.

If you are interested in the original radio for your T/A Let me know I will send you the information.

Chris.

[Rick]

If you're addressing 6.6blackwizrd, you should PM him.  He hasn't been on the forum for 18 months now.