Hey all. After much debate, and going back and forth, I finally settled on using the Retrosound radio available for our trucks. I still think that the Custom auto sound unit is better looking, but there are just too many bad reviews out there. Couple that with their somewhat shady customer service practices(I.E. Once the radio has been connected, you cannot return it [that is to say, you are not allowed to hear the sound quality of their product and use that information in your purchase decision])

On the flip side of that, although I have not sent anything back to Retrosound, their attitude(and 3rd party forum reviews back this up) is much more accommodating to the do-it-yourselfer. Their kit, as you will see in the pictures, is completely modular. It takes a lot of fitting to get a clean installation, and both over the phone, and in writing in their owners manual, you are encouraged to modify their kit to fit your needs. There is no warranty exclusions for doing so, and they have a simple restocking fee for all non warranty returns. The ONLY downside to their product, is that it does not have the same "factory" look as their competitor.

I chose to go with the retro classic model. This has all the features of the model One(their flagship) with the exception of the remote and usb/sd reader. They have a new model, that has a more vintage look to it, and it just started shipping. However, I don't like to be a guinea pig, and would rather let others try out 1st gen items!

Here is my stock dash bezel...


And this is the beautiful little piece of plastic that helps give a clean install look. This is a bezel, not a faceplate. Meaning, that it mounts from behind the factory bezel instead of sitting in front of it. A full faceplate would definitely make installation easier, as mounting would be simpler, but it would be at the expense of aesthetics.


This is their kit, after unpacking. There is NO shortage of hardware supplied with the kit.
It includes the head unit, wiring harnesses, universal control shafts, "infinimount brackets", support bracket and hardware, all metal inner and outer ***** in the style and color of your choosing, and a bunch of nuts, screws, and various washers to install it all. (note: the above mentioned bezel also came with kit, but somehow got camera shy in this photo!)


A very cool feature, though I did not need it, is that the entire face of the radio can be disconnected from the head unit allowing even more flexibility in installation. It is connected via a ribbon cable that gives you approximately 4" of play.


After making sure I had everything I needed, I started by installing the brackets. There are a ton possibilities in mounting both the bracket to the radio, and installing the shafts on to the brackets. It will take some time mocking it up to figure out your best route.
Also, fear not! The brackets mount very firmly to the head unit and are fully load bearing. While this unit is considerably lighter than the factory unit, I am sure that once installed, these brackets would hold any reasonable amount of weight without a problem.


Next, I installed the shafts. Again, you have a lot of adjustment here, and the more time you take at this step, the better your finished product will be. Once you decide on the mounting location, lock them down with the supplied shaft washers and a couple nuts. They plug into the head unit using a snap type connector much like a standard radio wiring harness.


Now it was time to tackle the wiring. If you have read any of my other threads, you will be familiar with my disgust of the previous owner. I have yet to find an area of the truck that they did not butcher the wiring in some fashion, and the radio was no exception. It took a while to trace all the wires back to their respective sources and eliminate them. At the same time, I labeled all of my connections and installed a fused circuit to supply 12v memory. (side note: the wiring that you see here, was done in such a way that whatever radio the PO had in here would only work if the fan switch was on! I swear, I want to punch this guy in the throat sometimes!)



At this point, the install was pretty straight forward, other than adjusting the unit for alignment and depth. I used a Scosche radio installation kit to mount the radio to the dash. That removes all stress from the factory bezel and you end up with a cleaner finished product. It did take quite a while to get it right, as you must mount and uninstall the unit over and over to adjust it t your likings. I think I pulled it out and reinstalled it 7 or 8 times before I was satisfied with its fitment.

And here is the final product.





Final Comments:

I cannot stress enough, that the more time taken in fitting this radio, the better your final install will be.

The radio itself is fully electronic. It includes preset EQ mapping as well as user tunable bass and treble. Fading, balance, Loud mode etc. are also fully adjustable.

Because the above mentioned parameters are controlled electronically, it does render the larger inner ***** useless. They are just there for appearance. They turn, but they do not control anything. These ***** would have controlled bass/treble ratio and balance on a stock unit, but would not have provided anywhere near the sound adjust ability that is afforded to you in the digital control the radio offers.

The radio has TWO 3.5mm aux inputs. One on the face, and one on the rear of the unit. I chose to use the rear input and have a 6ft cable running under the dash to the seat to connect my iPod or phone to it.

There is also a 8 pin DIN connection on the rear of the unit that allows a CD changer or the model one SD/USB reader to be attached. I am not sure if there is a block in the circuitry to prevent its use, or if they just assume that without supplying theirs to you, that you will not be able to use it. I plan on ordering a usb reader from monoprice.com to test it out.

All in all, I am happy so far with this unit. It is a little pricey when you figure that a standard din cd player can be purchased for less than a hundred dollars, but I wanted to retain the shaft style. It has great sound for not having any sort of external amplifier attached. It also has a remarkably sturdy feel to it. The entire kit has a much higher feel of quality than I expected.

 

Congrats. Too bad we can't hear it.

 

Nice but i have to ask. The shift ****....... Where did it come from. Also how does the stocker come off. Im thinking just pull up but i would like to know incase i ever try to change.

 

Yes, just pull up. It can be a mother to do though. I recommend a wrench or pickle fork and a mallet from the bottom. And as for the source of the ****.....i guess i can tell you..
Flameball.com

 

Great looking aftermarket install there. Very impressive, and looks really good. Congrats...

As for the shifter ****, it depends on the year model.

1983-1986 are as you describe AZ_Ford_Guy, and 1980-1982 are screw on type with a locknut. Do not know which year Jayzdaddy has etc...

Anyway, great looking install. and rep points for sharing!

 

Thank you sir.

 

Good write up, thank you! I was wandering about this kind of radio for my truck.

 

Thanks for the comment. So far, I am very satisfied!