Dumb Stereo question's..... (2 Viewers)

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

The cassette player died years ago and I can only pick up AM stations on the radio, so I was thinking of installing a new (single) CD player, with radio etc. This is on a BJ73 TLC.

My #1 dumb question is;
#1) Will the new stereo systems bolt directly into the soon to be vacant hole in my dash (see attached image), or come with an adapter to achieve this?
and
#2), Do the new stereo's have an amplifier built into them (I don't need much volume), or would I need to buy one of these as well?

Looking forward to your reply's (and also, being able to listen to more AC/DC, SRV, Johnny Winter, etc).

D'oh!
Homer

 

[FJ157]

most stereo's will have provisions to bolt in to the factory brackets, you will need to buy an install kit as most stereo's today are single DIN and yours looks to be a double DIN. Also is yours a 12v or 24v set up, it will take some wiring to make a 12 work in 24, and then it will be a constant drain on your battery. it very do able i have had it for a little over 2 years and no worries.

 

[ALEXY]

even the double din brackets should have at least one hole to match the new radio.I used one existing hole and punched a thread for the second one.
for single din radio like kienzle, the single din fascia is a bit narrow, I had to file bit of plastic out of fascia.
no matter which way you go, do not use an universal adaptor on the fascia. use the dash brackets you have allready, they are solid. Since you will fix radio first, then come with the fascia, u need to make them fit. Thats where I had to file.

also, the toyota harness normally needs an adaptor harnes to match modern radios.

 

[mohawk]

My original tape deck was like yours..it took a dump at the lights one day and the car stereo shop was strait ahead .....25 minutes later and $150 i drove off with a new cd/stereo and a shelf thingy under it fitted .......i replaced the stereo last year with a 2 for $60 supercheap deal and it was a slide in slide out job....Work a saturday morning homer and use the money too get the pros too do it , works for me more often than not

 

[mohawk]

Like this

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

Thank You to you all, for your informative and detailed reply's.
Very Much Appreciated!

I'll go have a look at whats available, and post a Before-After image, etc.

Regards
Homer

 

[Burbot]

Is yours a 12or24v? Sat radio turned out to be a great addition. Nice to not have to have plug anything in or worry about CDs etc. on multi day trips I always got tired of prerecorded tapes and disks unless I brought lots. They always get dirty,CDs won't play if the roads are too rough and tapes hate the cold in winter

 

[jblueridge]

I bought an Axis 24V car stereo with usb and SD card input.
A wiring plug adapter for a 1988 Toyota was available at the local parts store.
The software that accesses mp3 files on usb or SD is rubbish, but the stereo itself is rather small and is 24V.
No laser light show on the faceplate which is good for me.

This is not exactly the same model I have but I would bet there are factories all over China sqquirting these things out.
955BT Single Din Non CD Player Car Stereo FM USB SD Bluetooth Radio Stereo | eBay

 

[HomerOz]

Thank You for that info Burbot and jblueridge.

The Battle Cruiser has a 12 volt system.
I'm not quite up to speed on current technology, like satellite radios and mp3 players, so I have to stick to what I know (cd's).

Regards
Homer

 

[fantic]

Just did this a couple of weeks ago. Double din Kenwood. Unscrewed the brackets off the stock stereo and screwed right on to the new head unit. I bought a wiring adapter. I think from Metra? It was for a mid 80's corolla.Toyota made several different plugs in that era. Look at the pics and match to what you have. Also replaced the dash speakers. That driver side was a pain in the azz.

 

[HomerOz]

Thank You for that info Fantic, much appreciated.

Regards
Homer

 

[clintnz]

As above, it's a standard double-DIN size & the way the bracket comes out makes it really easy to fit up an aftermarket head unit. I replaced my original stereo with a single DIN Sony & then mounted my CB below it in the spare space. There are quite a few other options for filling the spare slot available, drawers, cupholders etc.

Most decent new stereos are 4x50W or so & will run 4 speakers quite well.

One gotcha - that I've seen on other cruisers too - when wiring in new sounds is that many Toyotas have a little amp hidden down the side somewhere that you may need to bypass. Mine has speakers in the back doors, the wire colours there weren't the same as at the back of the head unit which caused a bit of confusion until I found the amp.

Cheers
Clint

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Clint,

Thanks for those details and info, much appreciated.

Regards
Homer

 

[ALEXY]

an active subwoofer would be great. mine is kenwood

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Alexy,

Thanks for that info mate, much appreciated.

Regards
Homer

 

[Dprio34]

Homer,
I was just looking at your original post regarding the "built in amp".
I went with a Sony last year that claimed to have the highest output of a head unit.
It was Sony model no. MEX-XB100BT.
It is quite loud for a unit without an additional external amplifier (it runs 43 RMS out of the box).

It actually has too many bells and whistles that I will never use like CD, Blue Tooth, Pandora, and XM Radio.
I wish they used that extra space for a 50 RMS unit since I only use FM radio and the USB port.

Another down side is it has too many color options that need to be reset each time you disconnect the battery.

Other than that, I don't think you will find a louder "radio" without an additional amp.

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Dprio34,

I too was looking at a Sony double din model (part # WX900-BT), so thank you for that info, much appreciated.

Regards
Homer

 

[Dprio34]

You are most welcome, Homer! The unit I described is single DIN, but either way Sony makes a great product for the price and the pigtail is straight forward to wire in. Lots of tutorials on the web. Just look for the higher RMS values if you don't feel like hooking up an amp to your system!! Good Luck & Regards, Don.

 

[HomerOz]

Thanks again Dprio34, for that additional information.
Yes I will stick to the head units RMS output........ I'm already deaf enough, LOL!

Regards
Homer

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

I was finally able to work out how to fit and install my new stereo.
Pictures are worth a thousand words they say so...........

Rock N Roll!
Homer