Stereo Removal

[A1980GMC]

My newly aquired 73 Blazer had a stereo in it but no speakers. I bought some speakers and found what appear to be speaker wires under the dash. I pulled them out thinking if they work I could get some tunes without having to pull the stereo out. Well that didn't work. So now I need to pull the stereo out. How do I do that? It's an after market Pioneer stereo with post controls so the dash has not been cut. Is there something holding the stereo in? How do the knobs normally come off for it to push back through the dash? I tried to "unscrew" them but that didn't appear to be the way to do it. I didn't want to force them.

I can see the screws holding the dash bezel in, but does the pull for the headlights come off or the wipers?

Until I can figure out how to shrink pictures from my iPad, I don't know how to upload a pic.

Thanks, Ryan
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[A1980GMC]

Here is what I am working with.
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[BaggedRanger]

If I remember the knobs used to pull off.. In order to get the stereo out you will need to remove the whole dash.

[68Timber]

Pull off the outer R and L outer knobs. Slide the inner selectors off the R and L shafts. Back off the nuts off the L and R shafts. A pair of needle nose pliers works well here. There is a hard plastic duct pipe between the center heater vent just above the tranny hump at the firewall that runs to the lower left dash vent. It has a support strap that attaches to a stud on the back of the lower center of the painted metal dash panel beneath the steering column. Remove that lower center screw to detach. Slide the pipe left as far as you can and disconnect from the lower center heater vent. Remove the hard plastic duct pipe down and out. There may be a stud on the back of the stereo with a support strap attached. If so, just back the nut off the stud and bend the support strap off the stud. Disconnect the antenna. Disconnect the wiring harness. Back the stereo out of the dash until the shafts clear then pull down and out face-first. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's most of it.

[franken]

Short answer is just pull the knobs off, unscrew things and disconnect the wires.

A better idea since you want tunes is to figure out how to make them work rather than rip out the tuner.
We'll assume the rig worked at the start.
Chances are there are 4 or 8 speaker wires. Find them.
Connect them to speakers.

[A1980GMC]

It's funny today when I went to pull the knobs off they came off real easy. I didn't put a lot of force on them yesterday. I have broken a lot of things that way .

It's a 2 channel receiver. Previous owner told me that the stereo worked, but he didn't put speakers back in when he put new wood panels in the rear. I found the speaker wire that went to those speakers. I hooked the wire up to my brand new Pioneer speakers and nothing. The receiver is not very powerful, but I expected something.

All I want is to be able to play the radio and play tune off my phone or MP3 player. I would like the dash to look stock, but I don't want to shell out $200-$300 for a retro radio.
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[motornut]

most knob nuts are about 5/8ths size ive seen(spark plug size)
ez to over tighten /strip
be sure to get the speakers neg/pos right for good sound
you might get it to fit without the pioneer plate ,to look more stock

[A1980GMC]

I can't get any sound out of the Pioneer. I pulled it out and checked the wires on the back. I hooked them directly up to my new speaker and nothing. I am thinking about installing a Jensen marine radio in the ashtray. The Jensen MS30 is about 3.5", in a circle. I think I can plate the ashtray and install it there. A real clean look as the ashtray will still close. The Jensen has inputs for an MP3 player. It puts out 4x40 watts. That should be enough to power my speakers until I get an amp.
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[motornut]

Originally Posted by A1980GMC

I can't get any sound out of the Pioneer. I pulled it out and checked the wires on the back. I hooked them directly up to my new speaker and nothing. I am thinking about installing a Jensen marine radio in the ashtray. The Jensen MS30 is about 3.5", in a circle. I think I can plate the ashtray and install it there. A real clean look as the ashtray will still close. The Jensen has inputs for an MP3 player. It puts out 4x40 watts. That should be enough to power my speakers until I get an amp.
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interesting havn't seen one

[68Timber]

You can also power your speakers directly off an amp. Just mount it under your seat and you can use your smart phone or media player for tunes. There is a cable that is RCA red and white plugs on one end and headphone jack on the other so you can hook a media device directly to an amp. This is the route I'm going in my 4x4.

[A1980GMC]

I thought about the RCA plugs directly to the amp. I listen to the radio a lot, so I want to have a good radio. I don't want to have to rely on my phone for that. Here is a picture of the Jensen MS30.
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[A1980GMC]

If there is enough room, this would be cool to mount where the cigarette lighter goes!
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[68Timber]

That is pretty cool, I'd like to see how that turns out.

[A1980GMC]

So would I!

I am currently living at my in-laws until our new house it built, so it may be some time before I can start on it.
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