Hello Bill,
I have AM/FM stereo radios in both my Amphicars. If you want to
install such a radio without ANY alteration of the dash you need to
find a radio built in what's generally called a "mini euro" size.
There weren't well defined size standards back when these cars were
built but this is what it is generally called today. It's the size
radio used in old Volkswagens of the 50's and 60's. I'm not a fan of
most German radios but the Japanese made aftermarket replacement
radios for Volkswagens in the 70's and I've found several really good
looking radios for my Amphi's on Ebay. I've even found "good" AM/FM,
radio, auto reverse cassette combination units, BRAND NEW, OLD STOCK
on Ebay. They fit right into the dash with no alteration and have
analog dials so they look "right" for the period. Some of these
radios will take standard Amphicar knobs on their outer shafts and
look really correct for the car. All of these Japanese radios are
negative ground though so you'll either need to convert your car over
(like I did) or get one of those polarity switching units from Hugh.
None of the radios I found had partiulcarly powerful output sections
though and I added an old Alpine booster amp. in the trunk. Nothing
supersize here, mine are about 18 watts/channel but there's room for
more if you want it. I use large magnet 5x7" speakers and mount them
in the same general area that Amphicar has it's speaker hole
punched. I simply enlarge to hole to the larger size and punch a
similar hole on the left side. Not the best location for great audio
or great stereo separation but the speakers don't show at all and it
sounds pretty good. I use high quality 5x7" speakers with front
grills to protect the speakers for someone kicking into them. This
size is the largest that can be squeezed between the gas tank and the
back of the glove box and you have to do your cutting carefully.
The new stick radios built today for older cars don't fit right in
the Amphicar. Their adjustable stick centering can't be made close
enough to work. All the two stick Japanes radios not built for those
early Volkswagens all used a 5 3/4" stick spacing. This was a
standard for many years. The Amphicar wants to see about 5 1/4".
Let me know if you need more information or photos. If you spot
something that you think might work on Ebay, point it out to me and
I'll give you my opinion of it. I was in the electronics business
for 35 years and can tell a bit about these stero units just by the
seeing it and reading the listing.
John Friese jfriese(at)mindspring.com
67 White
67 Red
--- In amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com, "neemos64" <wtodd@e...> wrote:
>
> Has anyone been able to locate a recent model in-dash stereo that
will
> fit in the opening available? Also, does anyone use a CD changer?
Im
> attempting to build a " dry box" for one in the front compartment
if I
> can find a compatable tuner.
>
> While on the subject... Id be curious to thoughts about speaker
> locations and Weather or not to use marine grade speakers.
>
> Thanks,
> Bill Todd
> '64 red fiberglass special edition
>
