Changing stereo

[oscar]

how do you remove the old radio?

Have you got a Becker poul??  If so, you need to remove the faceplate.  To do that, pull the knobs off and the selector arms below that.  The faceplate is clipped onto the radio chassis and you have to prise it off.  You can do that with your fingers working from both left and right sides of the chrome trim.  Once that's off you'll see a bracket either side with a bolt like the photo below (there's two types but they look similar).  Look for the bolts and undo them, take the brackets out and the radio should pull staright out.

 

If you've got a modern radio or cd installed, a bracket that came with the radio/cd player would have been installed into the opening first and once the radio is slid in it locks on to that bracket.  In this case you'll need a specific key of sorts to unlock the bracket's grip.  Check "radio removal tools" on ebay and find one or a set that suits the brand that you may have.

[poul]

thanks, oscar! i'll try to follow your instructions.

yes, i have becker mexico. i'd keep it, but cassette player doesn't work anymore, eats the tapes...

[oscar]

There's a few sites that will have parts to fix the tape mechanism.   Check this one for example with tape mechanism parts down the bottom of the page LINK

But if you decide to replace your mexico, don't discard it of course.  Throw it on ebay and if you haven't seen the market lately, you'll be surprised what a mexico will fetch, even with a faulty tape mech.

[GreaseMonkey]

thanks, oscar! i'll try to follow your instructions.

yes, i have becker mexico. i'd keep it, but cassette player doesn't work anymore, eats the tapes...

Hi, I am looking for a Becker Mexico unit for my 1975 280SE, as I am restoring it to original.
If it does not work, ok, I can get it rebuilt.
If you want to sell it on, let me know.
Chris M.

[poul]

i'll keep the radio around for later restoration.

[poul]

decided to keep the radio, it works well with cassette ipod adapter.
now, can anyone tell me *exact* measurements for the front and rear speakers? i want to get something audiophile quality, and that means ordering online...

[oscar]

Are your front speakers low in the dash below the woodwork or up top and face the windscreen?  Under the dash you can only fit 4" speakers and most are only two way and have crisp trebel but no bass.  The rears are just 5-51/2" but I managed to put SONY 3way 6" speakers in.  They fitted the metal hole but sat high due to the magnets sitting too proud.

Here's the underside of a dash with cutouts to face the windscreen.  6x9" speakers might fit there if you're lucky. But then you have to get the dash bits or grills that cover the speakers unless you do some customising.

It's a real shame there's no decent factory holes to setup a real good sound system.  Others might disagree and say you can get good sound from those sizes (I'd be keen to hear from anyone, don't hold back) but IMO, to get decent oomph and sound clarity the OEM sizes are too small. The trick is to upgrade and modify whilst keeping everything hidden.  A hard ask.

[Maat1985]

just thought i'd say that i believ in keeping the car looking original as possible however something like a cd player is a must have for me.... it will be the only modified part as i am replacing the broken stereo with a kenwood mp3 cd player... replacing the front 3.5"x6" speakers with some JBL GTO6426 4"x6" 120W (40w rms) and the rear with New Rockford Fosgate T152C 5.25" 120W (60w rms) by doing so i can have great sound with keeping the original looking stock bar the head unit.... i will then be putting a 12" kenwood sub running of a kenwood amp in a box in the boot and possibly also kenwood 7"x10" in boxes in the boot just because i have them lying around..... BOOOOH YAAAHHHH!!!!!!!! will be sounding hectic.............

[TJ 450]

Hi Maat1985,

Do you have speakers on the dash top? If not, you would have 4" speakers facing rearwards on the lower portion of the dash. You may have trouble installing decent speakers in there, but I managed to get some 4" SoundStream Tarantulas in there without any mods.

The rear speakers are a approximately 5", but not a standard basket type... you can however fit shallow 5 1/4" speakers in there.

If you plan on installing a power amp in the boot, remember the fuel tank is behind the rear panel/firewall... you don't want self-tapping screws puncturing it.

Tim

[WGB]

Plenty of room under the passenger seat for a good amp.

Bill

[Maat1985]

realised that with the front speakers... damn..... but oh well... just purchased some cheap 4" speakers for the front.... something until i can afford the better splits i want..... if i have to i will use spacers to mount the rears a little higher.....i am aware of this with the fuel tank and i would put the amp under the front seat but it will power the sub in the boot.....i have yet to work out how to secure the sub box in the boot i was thinking angle brackets into the floor? or put some hooks on the side of the box and tie it off somehow... i'll work that one out when i get to the install....