a decent/or slightly above radio and speakers for back and dash on my 81

[done4fun]

I am disabled and a friend has took it upon himself to get some life in my 81 Vette...which im not sure if it makes it any more special but its a Canadian vette....the speepo is in Km on the main nand MPH on inside...and we are just putting new tires on(still has orginals....did all new powder coated red claipers..shock..rotors ...master cylinder and brake, gas,and tranny lines. so we are taking of the dry rot good year 255 60 r15 and new carpetall new headlight buckets and rings and vacuum hoses lights work great!!!....ive had it 12 years but after falling i was never able to restore so i friend and others have taken the lead for me. Im so grateful but the last request he wants from me to buy is a radio and speakers 2 for the dash replace and 2 for the back replace.......im not trying to have nothing but some tunes as i drive it maybe once or twice a week,,,,,,,I want a good set radio included but as i said needs not be over the top...i saw some decent priced rockford fosgate for both and a radio for 169,00 and its a Custom Autosound; USA-230....and was thinking the rockford fosgates for dash and rear....now im open to all advice....I could use it....i dont have a ton of money but if something is so much more worth another thing i try to buy it....i have looked at kicker but want speakers that are good and go right into existing openings just like ragdio....so thanks in advance from a happy guy who seems God sent some angels to nget my 81 just driveable and fun....i dont rip it up althoiugh like to punch on occassion!!!!....thanks you all for any help with my sound issue.......as you can see i was looking for a good bang for my buck as SSD dont help me much!!!...god bless youi all

 

[bill81vette]

1st Welcome to CAC!!!!!
Enjoy!!!

I'm not sure what radios fit in the void,you can measure the opening ams go from there,or buy another center console cover to cut up if you wish,should you find a radio you like but won't fit.
Btw..81 &82(?) Center panels are unique due to the oil temp gauge instead of the clock

 

[Antz81]

Welcome

Btw..81 &82(?) Center panels are unique due to the oil temp gauge instead of the clock

Partial credit. The oil temp fitted in where the clock would be, but there was no difference to the panel. They simply put in the guage and taped up the connections on the circuit board that would go to the clock.

 

[bill81vette]

Welcome



Partial credit. The oil temp fitted in where the clock would be, but there was no difference to the panel. They simply put in the guage and taped up the connections on the circuit board that would go to the clock.

The center gauge bezel for the clocks were round.
for the oil temp gauges they had a flat spot on the bottom of the gauge.

 

[Antz81]

The center gauge bezel for the clocks were round.
for the oil temp gauges they had a flat spot on the bottom of the gauge.

My apologies, you are correct about the bezel.

But out back on topic, I've always thought Rockford fosgate were good speakers. (Although the original positioning of speakers in the Vette wasn't the best, so they may not perform as you might expect)
can't comment on the radio, but did fit an alpine into mine.

 

[bill81vette]

No problem.

 

[kpic]

My daughter loves good sound in her vehicles and as we work for a smile, a father is cheap labor. That means I replaced plenty of radios and speakers. I am more than quite thankful she now purchases new cars and gets what she wants from the factory.

I even installed 2 Rockwood Fosgate amps bridged for 4X200 in (of all things) a Datsun 200SX.

What I did is start with places similar to Crutchfield to get an idea what is available; then hunt for the best deal.

All Car Stereos at Crutchfield.com

Crutchfield includes adapters for power and speakers plus a faceplate. Adapters are nice as they save sweat equity with a soldering iron in confined spaces.

Or search for "replacement stereo for 1981 corvette"

Make sure the radio comes with everything you need including a face plate or it will look nasty.

As it saves a lot of work, it is nice to have a service manual.