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Putting a stereo in a '89 K5

AJMBLAZER

AJMBLAZER

Better to be lucky than good.
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So thanks to you guys I now know the stock stereo in a '89 K5 is a DIN and a half.:bow:
I can deal with that...


However...here comes my problem. I've almost exclusively used Crutchfield for the past 11 years since I started dinking with car stereos. Yeah, I know not always the cheapest and some folks hate them but well...it's car audio for dummies.:D

However they don't list any DIN and a half stereos that I could find (that size go extinct in the aftermarket?) and the DIN adapter they list gets universally ****ty reviews. 1 star out of 5 down the line from many folks. It's a Scoshe unit.

So does anyone else have a dashboard adapter that actually works? Where can I get it?
 
Put your truck into metraonline.com I used suburban to because no K5, gave a whole of options with parts #s, just put the # into Google and find a seller or go to your local audio shop... They also do make a 1 1/2 din deck, its an old pioneer model and was advertised for the chryslers, I woudlen't get one as they are over prices and out dated..
 
I'm sorta confused there as all of the diagrams and options they give me seem to show the old shaft style radios and regular DIN sized replacement radios with nothing about a bigger DIN and a half adapter.
 
See...I don't mind a regular DIN sized radio. I just want an adapter that apparently isn't crap.
 
Ok. Din and a half selection sucks.
Get a regular DIN. No idea which adapter i used, but they are all medeocre, and all will do the job. Fit/finish isn't great, but it WILL serve its purpose. Does this Blazer have the stock radio still? If so, GET the harness adapter. Makes install/troubleshooting way easier. Order if off of ebay buy it now from whoever has good feedback. Same with the dash kit. Metra will work, get the part numbers of the harness and dash kit elsewhere, then plug them into ebay and order cheap.

I often use crutchfield for research, but buy wherever its cheap. Etronics has crappy service, sometimes slow sometimes fast shipping, and cheap prices. Search online, and pick the cheapest company you are comfortable buying from. I won't preach about receiver brands, but look at what you will do in the future. if ANY chance of a sub, get a deck with sub preouts. Lets you adjust the level independently. And get a deck with AUX in. I say make sure it has AUX in addtion to ipod inputs. Many ipod input controls suck, and its easier to just use an AUX cord. Best sound quality? probably not, but not worth the hassle to connect the other way. I like the controls on teh sony's, and many others dont' have radio preset buttons anymore. I live by the radio, so i have to have those.

I have other various useful info, over the last 8 (wow, im that old?) years of messing with 12 volt truck/boat/car stereos, and most of my stuff is budget, so feel free to call me. I can PM me your number if you want.

I would get the infinity reference 3.5's for the dash, they are fairly cheap, will SCREAM on deck power, and fit stock locations. Scratch the rear 4x10's, cut for some decent value ( i say pioneer) 6x9's in the rear seat area, and be done with it. If you want to add a 4 channel amp, sub, i can direct you, but im guessing you don't.

Enjoy!
 
Why not just make a piece of plate to fit over the factory opening and the cut the opening for single din radio size?
Yeah, most of the aftermarket adaptor kits are pretty cheezy and feel like a cheap snap together model car kit from when I was like 5 years old.
I bought a really sweet aluminum mounting kit for my girls '00 Camaro from these guys but they don't list any older vehicles. Maybe you could get in touch and find out if they would do a custom one for you?
http://www.humount.com/

Blazer.jpg
 
dhcomp said:
Ok. Din and a half selection sucks.
Get a regular DIN. No idea which adapter i used, but they are all medeocre, and all will do the job. Fit/finish isn't great, but it WILL serve its purpose. Does this Blazer have the stock radio still? If so, GET the harness adapter. Makes install/troubleshooting way easier. Order if off of ebay buy it now from whoever has good feedback. Same with the dash kit. Metra will work, get the part numbers of the harness and dash kit elsewhere, then plug them into ebay and order cheap.

I often use crutchfield for research, but buy wherever its cheap. Etronics has crappy service, sometimes slow sometimes fast shipping, and cheap prices. Search online, and pick the cheapest company you are comfortable buying from. I won't preach about receiver brands, but look at what you will do in the future. if ANY chance of a sub, get a deck with sub preouts. Lets you adjust the level independently. And get a deck with AUX in. I say make sure it has AUX in addtion to ipod inputs. Many ipod input controls suck, and its easier to just use an AUX cord. Best sound quality? probably not, but not worth the hassle to connect the other way. I like the controls on teh sony's, and many others dont' have radio preset buttons anymore. I live by the radio, so i have to have those.

I have other various useful info, over the last 8 (wow, im that old?) years of messing with 12 volt truck/boat/car stereos, and most of my stuff is budget, so feel free to call me. I can PM me your number if you want.

I would get the infinity reference 3.5's for the dash, they are fairly cheap, will SCREAM on deck power, and fit stock locations. Scratch the rear 4x10's, cut for some decent value ( i say pioneer) 6x9's in the rear seat area, and be done with it. If you want to add a 4 channel amp, sub, i can direct you, but im guessing you don't.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...
I just want a decent radio with a CD player and speakers. Nothing big. I've done a lot of stereo and speaker swaps over the years (including starting from scratch with Big Ugly) but everything has either been DIN or had a decent kit to make a DIN fit. I was a bit surprised when the reviews of the kit on Crutchfield said it sucked universally.

No sub or amps here, just whatever was stock replaced with better stuff. Deaf enough as it is.

Would you believe I don't have an iPod? Big thing of CD's still and I just bought a truck that doesn't even have a CD player. Bone stock factory AM/FM radio.:doah:

5280k5 said:
Why not just make a piece of plate to fit over the factory opening and the cut the opening for single din radio size?
Yeah, most of the aftermarket adaptor kits are pretty cheezy and feel like a cheap snap together model car kit from when I was like 5 years old.
I bought a really sweet aluminum mounting kit for my girls '00 Camaro from these guys but they don't list any older vehicles. Maybe you could get in touch and find out if they would do a custom one for you?
http://www.humount.com/
Click to expand...
Thanks, I sent them an email.
 
You may also want to keep an eye out for the metal kits that mine is using. Don't know who manufactured it, but it is really similiar to the one that 5280 posted. Basically it amounts to a piece of aluminum that is shaped to cover the spot that the factory radio sat in, and it allows a DIN stereo mount. Granted mine never had a 1.5 DIN stereo, but the mount works really well and keeps the stereo firmly in place.
 
The kit I got for Big Ugly comes with an aluminum plate that covers the hole up and "pretties it up". I thought about just getting the kit for an earlier model but then I realized that still wouldn't locate the radio in the bigger hole.
 
At this point, ipod or not, get one setup for AUX in. Then when you join the times, you will not have a problem.
 
iPods cost money.

Good money I could be spending on my dogs, guns, or trucks. Technology bah!

The UPS guy was trying to show me one like I was a caveman or something yesterday. I had him totally stumped when I explained I knew what they were and had seen them before...I just didn't want one. He was confused by this for sure.
 
AJMBLAZER said:
iPods cost money.

Good money I could be spending on my dogs, guns, or trucks. Technology bah!

The UPS guy was trying to show me one like I was a caveman or something yesterday. I had him totally stumped when I explained I knew what they were and had seen them before...I just didn't want one. He was confused by this for sure.
Click to expand...

Not trying to convince you to get one, just trying to convince you to keep your options open :D

Plus, AUX in lets you hook up about anything, be it a friend's ipod, some sort of MP3 player, sat radio, HD radio, GPS output, or a portable tape deck when you want to bring out your classics :D:haha:

Its really a mute point though, just about every deck has AUX now.
 
Yeah, I gotcha.

The Dual in Big Ugly that I installed two years ago has iPod hookups. They're wrapped up behind the stereo if I recall correctly.

No cassettes here, I'm a child of the 90's!

(Okay, well, I can remember the 90's.)
 
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