i drive an 87 xlt lariat and recently i took the stock radio out which is quick and simple becuz i bought a cd player just soemthing that plays cd'[s nothing special and when i went to install it the end caps that all the wires flow in from the stereo and the stock plugs that the stock wires flow into werent even close to the right shape of lineing up ... so b 4 i go to my local circuit city / best buy tearing open 1000 boxes to c if theres one that would work , if n e one out there has or has had an 87 150 with an aftermarket cd player and could tell me what kind it was that fit or if theres a simple way to make any c.d player fit that would be great... thanks ( sorry for such a long post)

 

None of the after market stereos will have the same plugs as your old one. You'll have to most likely buy/make an adapter to make it work. These are not hard to make assuming you get the right parts. Any popular stereo retailer can help yoiu with this. Crutchfield.com comes to mind.

 

No need to tear open boxes. Lots of people have done what you are trying to do, and they have adapter kits you can buy and they will have listed what they fit. Basically what they will contain are plugs that will fit your Ford truck plugs. Then they will have wires coming out whose colors will match your aftermarket radio.

Now if you have a different year/model Ford cd player, and are trying to retro-fit it into a different Ford model year, then you are probably in trouble. I have done this before, but it's not easy. You have to:

Go to the junkyard and find a vehicle that the cd player came out of, and cut the plugs out of the junk car.

Then find a diagram that tells you what all the different colors wires do for the junkyard vehicle.

Buy the plug kit at the store that I was talking about above. It will tell you what the wires are for in the 87.

Then try to match everything up.

It works most of the time, but it's much easier just to buy an aftermarket cd player and the adapter kit at the store.

 

You need a wiring harness that goes between your radio and your truck. ANY car audio shop will have them. They are about $15.