Well, I swear... the things we learn on FTE!

Come to think of it, Festus started running better after I installed the radio. Maybe a little Mustang blood was good for him.

The story is: When I got this truck in October, there was a Sanyo cassette deck half-*** installed in the dash, hot wired to the cigar lighter. I'm not sure if it was working, as it wasn't hooked to the speakers under the seat. I removed it in short order, and bought the radio you see on eBay. Come to think of it, I don't believe he said it was truck-specific, just an 80-84 fully functional Ford radio. So the question is, and I may never know, did Festus have a factory radio? On my thread I've already shown that there was no dash speaker inside... so, maybe he had no radio, and the Sanyo boat anchor was the PO's answer.

Anyway, here's the radio mounting plate I also got on eBay to finish the installation. It's coming off soon for a paint job.

 

Ain't that the truth!

Thanks for the history lesson on Ford factory cassette decks, 81-F-150-Explorer. My cassette player in my 1985 F150 has been shot for a while now, and I am seriously considering getting one of the older FORD shaft-style cassette decks. I personally think they look better with the big chrome *****. And now I know that the older ones can do everything the 1985-1986 models can do.

The face plate for the Mustang looks like it would also work for the stock din-size 1985-1986 radio bezel to hold an older shaft-style radio. (I bet you don't hear many people doing that!) Would you happen to have a Ford part number for that Mustang plate, 81-F-150-Explorer? (I LOVE that Mustang site you posted, by the way!)

Is one style or year group particular better than the other? I noticed on your 1981, in your gallery you are now using a 1983-1984 style radio. Personal preference or is it an an upgrade?

 

I'll make you a sweet deal on this Sanyo deck. In all honesty, I've been kidding about it, but it lit up/powered up fine - it just wasn't connected to the speakers, and I removed it without testing it. Found the manual in the glovebox, and includes the faceplate. (Or anyone else, PM me if interested in this.) (He said, hijacking Lariat's thread.)

 

Unfortunately no, I do not have those books. Numberdummy might though.

It was an upgrade as the original stopped working.

The 1983-1984 type is better constructed. I've rebuilt the one in my truck now and would prefere the guts in the 1983-1984 as there are less moving parts. The mechanisims are very simular to an old Video Cassette recorder on how the take up wheels function and how the cassette tape ejects.

The one in my truck currently has got a 1980-1982 faceplate on a 1983 radio to make it look year correct from the outside. That radio is fully functional but is about four seperate units to make one good one. Parts are hard to come by etc...

Radios are the first things that people and judges look at at car shows, and points are subtracted accordingly. Why people with older mustangs want that year correct piece. Having a 1983 radio in a 1981 mustang might cost you first place etc...

Not that I'm going to show my truck soon, I'm just obsessed when it comes to year correct stuff, especially on my own truck.

 

Thanks for the offer, but I insist on FORD parts!

I can certainly dig that. But my own truck is an early model 1985 (still had a carburetor when this was the year EFI came out for the 5.0), so I figured a 1984 radio could have still been possible.

Taking a closer look at the radios and bezels, it looks like it *may* not work. Although both radios are the same height, the opening for the 1985-1986 din style radio bezel doesn't look to be as tall as the earlier 1980-1984 bezels. So there may or may not be a clearance issue.

1980-1984 radio bezel:


1985-1986 radio bezel:


Notice that on the 1985-1986 bezel, the space that has the "XLT" emblem has a larger distance to the opening of the radio opening than the earlier 1980-1984 bezel. It would appear that the more narrow radio opening of the 1986-1986 bezel *may* cut across the "AM" and "FM" buttons of the earlier shaft-style radio. It depends on how much clearance there is from the top and bottom of the radio and the buttons.

I don't have an earlier 1980-1984 bezel to check the size of the radio opening to know for sure. The opening for the 1985-1986 bezel is 2-1/2" inches tall, and the radio itself is 3" tall. Can either one of you fine gentlemen tell me the the size of the radio opening on the 1980-1984 bezel, or how much room is there between the very top of the shaft style radio and the white outline of the "FM" and "AM" buttons?

 

The radio/cassette player in WilleyJoe's truck looks just exactly like the one that I also
bought off of E-bay and put in my 1981. I replaced the original AM/FM 8 track radio that
came in the truck. I used the same chrome ***** that were on the original radio and the
same bezel. The only issue I had was that the radio or the cassette player didn't work
well and I had to send it to a repair facility for rebuilding. It works fine now.

 

So... (just trying to figure this out)... you need the very small measurement indicated by the green square? And the dimensions of the opening in what Chilton calls the "cluster bezel" (the big plastic piece with XLT or Custom, etc.) .. ?

 

Good to know!

 

Yes, that is exactly what I need. And to be 100% sure it will fit, the small distance between the lowest white outline near the bottom of the radio to the bottom of the radio itself.

 

Alright, stand by. I have to put on all my winter gear and go out to the garage. I'll probably get attacked by wolves, but hey, no problem...

 

Whew! Made it!

I make the large opening in the cluster bezel to be 2-1/2" x 4-11/32". It's slightly smaller than the plate I showed earlier, which makes since; I had a concern when that radio arrived that it wouldn't fit through the cluster bezel, and it doesn't; you'll note that my later radio (now that I'm recalling all this, it was a few months ago) is slightly recessed. The nuts on the two stems tightened it up just fine to the metal mounting plate, then when I put the bezel back on with the *****, it all worked out fine - for me, anyway.

I make the upper measurement you requested to be 1/4", and the lower to be 1/16".

 

Thank you so much for going through all the trouble, WilleyJoe.62! You have been most helpful.

The odd thing is, the radio opening for both clusters is the same height, yet the pictures tell a different story. What am I missing?

As long as cluster openings and the radio are the same height, it appears that the earlier cassette deck *should* work.

 

No worries, really. The wolves didn't even get that close.

"..both clusters" - which two are you looking at?

 

See my post above with the pictures of the two different radio bezels (clusters) with the radios. The 1985-1986 radio opening looks obviously more narrow than the 1980-1984 radio opening. My truck has the 1985-1985 bezel.

 

Yeah, it's weird alright. If you look at the spaces above and below the radio, on the 85-86 it appears they moved the radio DOWN a bit - more space above (that strip of bezel above the radio) and less space below (bezel between the radio and heater controls).