I would like to replace the crappy factory radio with a CD/FM radio. Any instructions or pics on this modification?

Almost every CD player will fit but it will stick out just a bit because of the adapter kit used. It all depends on your personal preference as to what color you want the lighting, the brand you want, and the functions you want it to have (one of mine talks to me and the other has a remote) Some CD players fits pretty flush but someone else will have to tell you which one.

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Lisa
86 gold 4 speed GT
86 gold 5 speed SC (For Sale)
Columbus, OH/Greensboro NC
AOL IM: FieroLisa
*As Always, Updated Website*http://www.geocities.com/fierolisa/

here is the one I use in my Fieros and the one we sell here at the shop.........fits nice, sounds great (especially when coupled with the stock Performance Sound System.......and even says "Pontiac" on it!!

how much for the deck and
adapter?

IMHO I'd go with a Pioneer Premiere CD/FM. The sound on those even with stock speakers is amazing, a friend of mine installed one(I think it was the 410) into his Corsica LT and even with the factory speakers it sounds awesome.

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p4n1c
Come out swingin'

There is a nice factory fit Alpine available. Not sure what model number, but I have it in mine. I will check tonight when I get home from work and take a pic of it.

Eric
Black 86.5 Fastback
Red 84 4 speed snow car

RossT, we sell that unit for $295 with the adapter + shipping..........call us if you want one -- 510-233-4376

The adapters that allow a regular DIN head unit to fit are cheap, but a little tacky looking, in my opinion. I know Jensen, Pioneer, and Alpine (maybe more) all make 1.5 DIN head units. Here is an older Pioneer unit in my Batmobile.

I've got a Kenwood single DIN in my Formula. It doesn't have that factory look to it, but doesn't look too akward.

I have a JVC Kameleon unit in mine. I sounds good with the factory seat speakers and new Kenwood 4x10s. I've been told that Alpine makes an installation kit to have the single DIN units fit in flush.

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Jeff
AOL IM : Only2xsess

el kameleon

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sQoaCh
sqoach@yahoo.com

quote Originally posted by tgowens: here is the one I use in my Fieros and the one we sell here at the shop.........fits nice, sounds great (especially when !!

Yours is a nice fit but for $300, I would rather go with something more modern looking and digital. What pontiac car is this one off of?

I'm guessing it's either out of Transport or GP. While the sound is nice out of the higher end Delco units, aftermarket head units(granted some aftermarket units sound a lot worse) sound so much nicer. The price of the high end pioneer, alpine, etc units is well worth it for the quality of the sound.

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-=-=-=[ p4n1c ]=-=-=-=-
-=[ Come out swingin' ]=-

That Delco head unit in the above pic with the built in equalizer is exactly what I have in my 98 Grand Prix. I like it, sounds great, but I've seen them for sell for about $100, occasionally on the GP forum. Anymore than $150 and I'd rather get an aftermarket one with better sound quality.

Actually the top end factory units are not as bad as you might think. Many of them are designed and built by big names you know. Did you know the OEM Fiero radios with EQ had a Blaupunkt tape mechanism?

I have the $400 Blaupunkt Munchen, man was I dissapointed with that one!! I'd trade it for that GP unit in a heartbeat. I'll never buy a Blau again, a new ///Alpine is on the way to replace it.

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Jon Lagler
'87 GT
4.9 liter V8 Testarossa Spyder (under construction)

quote Originally posted by batboy: That Delco head unit in the above pic with the built in equalizer is exactly what I have in my 98 Grand Prix. .

98 Grand Prix. Yes I think $100 is about right for a cd player like that. I will find one here locally off one of these GP's.
I gather they are hard to find though, especially at the boneyard if it is a 98 GP.
I saw a cd player on the crutchfield ws for
$129 that fits the fiero. that's not too bad for 35 Watts.

First of all, these are not refurbished Delco radios but rather units from new vehicles (not found in boneyards!) - Secondly, these have a feature called "Theftlock" - quite possibly you may find one in a boneyard (although they want around $250 for them aqround here) and it will have the theftlock code set making it virtually impossible to operate it when you install it. The Boneyards do not always know if the theftlock has been set or not. I do have a way of unlocking those but I prefer to deal with the newer and tested units.

If you prefer the aftermarket units that is fine too - as for me, I like the sound of this unit, all of the lights are in red to match the guage lighting, and it is a nice, almost stock looking fit.

Actually, it is a matter of personal preference I suppose but, you asked about the upper end GM CD player and this is what we sell here at the shop.......

hey tg. does the facory unit have any type of amp preout jacks to hook up an amp?
TIA

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JOEJOE 88FORMULA
KissMySSFiero@netzero.net

"There's a fine line between love and beer"

The real question is do you simply want good clear sound or are you building a boom box on wheels?

Sound system choices are totally a matter of personal preference mixed with the individuals hearing and perceptions created by advertisers.

The biggest thing killing the OE radio in Fiero is the crappy speakers that are in there. Put in some decent coaxials and the diferance is amazing. You'll likely need to replace at least the front ones anyway. Every front set I've seen so far is sun toasted.

I've been shopping for a new radio off and on for awhile. So Far I hate every aftermarket radio I've seen. The entire control set of most "modern" radios stink. The buttons etc are way to small and too close together. The OE radio is hard enough to reach where it is. Having to use tweezers to work the controls is right out. I don't care how they sound if I cannot easily work the controls when I'm driving.

If you look at the history of Delco Electronics you'll find they are no slouch at building car stereo. Delco has a long, long, history of working with other top companies in developing these systems. They have worked with Bose and just about every other maker there is at one time or another. Delco also knows how to build a radio/stereo that you can actually use without pulling off the road to fight pea sized controls.

Even if you don't like the one Terry illustrated above look at the size and placement of the controls. Then compare that to the aftermarket. There is also another GM CD radio that some people have. You can see them here. www.aatechnologies.com (UP3 is the other one.)

The simple fact is a car, especially a fiero size one, is a horrid venue for good sound. There is no posiible way to get good stereo seperation. The speaker seats at least help. The other speakers are placed with the listeners so far off center that if you do manage to get the separation right for the driver it sucks for the passenger. Without proper separation the sound you hear will always end up mono or otherwise screwed up.

If most people are blindfolded and stuck in the same type car, with the same music playing on diferant head/amp gear most of them can't tell the diferance between one system and another. They can tell you if one has more bass or treble maybe but that's usually it.

I've got a little ole Sony DIN unit in my 88. Not really sure of which one it is. I'm not all that much in to super sound systems. I actually get kind of annoyed at those people that play their music so loud that you can hear it two blocks away with the bass thumping in your stomach. And a Fiero is only a two-seater car anyway! hehe

Besides, I listen to country music and you don't need to play it loud for it to sound good! heheh

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I like the pontiac UP3 the best. It looks the most stock.

If I went to CD that up3 was the one I was thinking of. I like things that look like they belong there. Things that look like they belong are less of a target.

Now that my cassette deck will take a tape again the priority for replacing the thing has been dropped. I use an adapter and my walkman or a MP3 player with it. It's a bit of a pain but they sit out where they are easy to mess with.

I saw an MP3 player recently that was built into a cassette adaptor. You can use it like a walkman or shove it in the deck and play it thru there without any wires. Too expencive right now tho. I bet the price will drop on it allot soon.

quote Originally posted by TheFiero64: I like the pontiac UP3 the best. It looks the most stock.

$240.00
Model #: 16170212

Do you need any special wiring harness to hook this up or is it bolt on with the fiero's stereo wiring? I like your suggestion the best. It seems to fit perfect with the fiero stock looks.

You just need GM part # 16140051 it is an adapter to fit the newer radios into an older car. It was $18.25 + tax. Here is a pic of it. I love this radio. I even make my own CDs and listen to them. It has never skipped yet.

Fiero64, I have one like yours in stock too, I replaced mine with the UP3 because of the clock - the UP3 lights in red also -- we also carry the other model (the U1C) which does not have the equalizer.

KissMySSFiero, no, there are no pre-outs on this unit - there is, however, a plug for an external multiple CD changer

theogre had some very good and practicle comments and I agree - it is a matter of personal preference in the end.

Verticalspeed, not sure where you got that price.........with our radios you get the adapter kit as well as a warranty, not what you get from a boneyard, eBay or from an individual.

I really like the looks of the Up3. Looks very stock, even the placment of the knobs and controls, with the exception the CD slot in place of the tape insert. I dont know if I would pay that much for them though. I would definatly consider a good aftermarket if I were willing to put that much money into a "stock" cd player. I love Pioneer/Premier. Stay away from Alpine if you like listining to the radio, cd players are great, just crappy tuners. I have a Pioneer/Premier DEH-P900R in my Fiero. I did remove the peskey rear support because, natrully, the RCA pre-out fell right in that area. But, since I used 3 pairs of RCA cables, I needed the extra room back there, so I used the kit that lets it stick out a little, not flush mount. I dont mind it, I think it looks well, better then flush mounts. If you are going to use amps, factory headunits are great, just use either: 1)An amp that accepts speak-level inputs, or 2)Use a line output converter. They will allow you to put the headunits speaker outputs in one side and RCA cables out the other, then hook to your amps RCA inputs and your good to go. If you want the stock look, use the factory headunits, if you dont mind it looking out of place, put in a good aftermarket (Pioneer/Premier, or Kenwood). If you want a high-end stereo system while still using a stock unit, put some amps on there. Good Luck.

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Sean's Fiero Page
Sean Heberly
Silver 86 GT 2.8 Auto
Going on to 3.4 in Jan.
"It's always in the last place you look." Of course it is. Why would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they?

The cd player I've been eyeballing lately is the new Aiwa MP3 player. It looks like any cd player, but it'll play MP3's on cd. Since you can fit about 150 songs on a cd in mp3 format, it's like have a 10 disk cd changer in one head unit. Since space is limited in our fieros, this is a nice little function if you have access to a cd-burner. Check it out at crutchfield.com, it costs about 300 bucks, but I really like it. The only downfall is it is lit blue, which clashes with stock colors. I'm going to figure that out later though

Bryce
88 GT

Verticalspeed, not sure where you got that price.........with our radios you get the adapter kit as well as a warranty, not what you get from a boneyard, eBay or from an individual.

[/QUOTE]
I got that price for the UP3 from aatechnologies. Part number and price is off their web site. I think they all have a manufacturers warranty also. I am sorry, but I don't think your prices are reasonable for the age and type of unit you offer. The only benefit of your unit is the flush mount and stock look but for the price, I would rather go with something newer, whether it is as flush mount or not. My choice is the UP3 or a Pioneer headunit.

Just for interest sake
www.empeg.com

expensive but cool , my brother ordered one for his pathfinder
I have a pioneer DEH6000 deck , 1 year old. Pioneer is one of the best manufacturers as they use all their own parts. only skipped twice since I put it in , this is with a hard as nails suspension too

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Jonathan M McCreery
86 GT
New Custom White face gauges 17" Tr motorsports Typhoons Ground Control coil overs , Big bars front and rear , Mustang scoop , accel coil , no cat , 4spd , short shift , poly dog bone and bushings momo pedals and shift knob , round headlight conversion , Geni stainless steel oval exhaust tips. Pioneer 6000 CD player , Sony Mobile Amp. Currently doing big brake conversion...

Terry.. or anyone?

1. Does the newer UP3 cd/eq deck (like the one tgowens is talking about) have more watts per chanel than the ones that came stock in the fiero?

2. Also with the gm adapter that connects new decks to older cars, how do you wire in the stock perfomrance sound subwoofer??

Thanks

Do the GM CD decks have pre-outs? With the Pontiac logo, red backlighting and similiar knob layout they look by far the best. I agree with theogre, newer decks ergonomically suck and are much more theft prone. Plus, they look kinda "ricey" with all that multi-color display action going on.
No Siree, the GM deck's for me!!

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CozmoPooky
Suncoast Fieros
'87 Duke Coupe (soon 4.9 Caddy!)
'85 2M6 Targa

tgowens, see if you could give a canadian a deal on the cd player + adaptor you show at the top of the page, I love the looks, its flush, right colors, and its not all hyped up with big lcd screens and whatnot. If i did purchase that kit, would it have everything i need, all i need to do is install? thanks

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Seein Red
'85 Fiero GT
ICQ#: 56708070

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RossT - 1. the Delco UP3 has a pre-amp which will push the factory subwoofer amplifier - I am not certain of the wattage per channel. - 2. There is a little trick to wiring the factory sub to this system but it is simple.......if you decide to get one of these (whether you buy it from us or not) I'll be glad to tell you how to wire it. Basically it is plug and play but it does take one small wiring modification.

CozmoPooky - no, there are no RCA pre-outs on these units. There is an additional plug on the back, however, for the Delco remote multiple CD changer.

Notchit - yes, we can work out a deal for you and yes, it is plug and play - ours comes complete with the adapters..........call me at the shop if you wil at 510-233-4376........

Just bought the little woman a brand new
GrandAm GT1 w/the monsoon CD/cassette.WOW!
200 watts,kicka** speakers,and it looks like
it would fit quite nicely in my fiero,but
that would mean a divorce,sooo....

tgowens, Thank you for your information and offer. I did a search of the forum and found several of your threads talking about a simple splice of the pink wires to wire in the sub. I still may take you up on your offer.

Thanks. Ross

My Fiero came with a nice CD/Cassette player. Some people have told me it's worth about how much I payed for the whole car.
This is the only picture I have, I dont have a digital camera.
[img]www.qn.net/~mattb/cd.jpg[/img]

Tgowens,

I would rather talk via e-mail because its simpler, and free i am really interested in your CD player, lets see what we can work out. (ryan138@email.com)
thanks

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Seein Red
'85 Fiero GT
ICQ#: 56708070

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