Adding tunes to the classic

My 73 Volvo did not come equipped with speakers, a radio, or antenna. At some point a radio head unit was added, but not the rest for some reason. It has been pretty far down the to-do list to add music, but I keep thinking about how to do it.

The cheapskate in me says get a cheap used boombox and throw it in the back seat.

I could source speakers, cut the door panels, wire the car, and put in and antenna. But that's sounding like a lot of work.

The final option I have found is to purchase a Bluetooth compact battery-powered speaker, like the Bose soundlink, for about $200, and use my iPod with it. As a bonus it would work well at home and on the road in other situations.

Has anyone found a happy solution to this? If the Volvo made better noises I'd just leave it be, but anyone who has had the pleasure of driving a B20 knows it's more tractor than anything.

It's the lowest of the low in terms of automotive sound quality, but 6x9 speakers in enclosures available dirt cheap from wally world can provide more musical oomph than most of the current crop of anemic portable speakers/boom boxes. They fit in the space under the rear seat in my mini, and also act as an early warning system for charging problems as the 12 volt radio cuts out about five minutes before battery power is too low to keep ignition going...

In reply to travellering:

Wow,

What an interesting consideration to the value of a radio! My 200SX would sometimes lose tension on the fan, alternator belt. I could tell when the lights started getting dimmer. In fact I kept a pair of wrenches in the car for just that reason. Unless you have a tube type radio, the battery must be really down if you lose the radio while driving!

You know, I have also considered one of those bluetooth speakers for tunes in the wagon. Will it thump like a modern car with a giant subwoofer? Probably not. But it will give me some music for the drive--cheaply.

I'm with David on this - Although my classic has it's original radio equipment (am/fm with cassette) I have been loath to change it to something newer, however at Xmas we purchased our son a mini-boom box bluetooth speaker (approx 2" x 4") at Costco for ~$100 that provides amazing sound quality, and is portable.
I am so impressed wiht it that I'm planning to get myself one for the Z and everthing else that doesn't have MP3/USB compatibility (truck, boat, etc...).

I have 6x9 enclosures in the back seat of my Mini. The stereo simply can not get loud enough to be heard over the road and engine noise. So the whole thing will be coming out until I can strip the car down and add some sound insulation.

Fortunately, Volvos tend to be more quiet. In the ex-g/f's '73 ES, we installed cheapish 4x6 speakers in existing holes in the side panels behind the front seats. The car also has some additional insulation. These fed from a retro-type modern radio worked well enough on long trips, although front kick-panel speakers and a small sub would have been nice if a home could be found for one.

ggarrard wrote: I'm with David on this - Although my classic has it's original radio equipment (am/fm with cassette) I have been loath to change it to something newer, however at Xmas we purchased our son a mini-boom box bluetooth speaker (approx 2" x 4") at Costco for ~$100 that provides amazing sound quality, and is portable. I am so impressed wiht it that I'm planning to get myself one for the Z and everthing else that doesn't have MP3/USB compatibility (truck, boat, etc...).

Glad to hear that my idea wasn't so crazy. I was playing with those Bluetooth speakers while at Best Buy. Some of them have some punch.

Most classic car audio companies sell some sort of antenna that can be hidden and used in cars that may have never had an antenna to begin with.

Look down the page, it's only $39: http://classicautosound.com/accessories.php

One other to consider, and that's those single speakers you plug into your smart phone. I heard a jvc one at a car show once, confused me for a bit because I didn't believe the sound was coming from that little thing. I've seen similar at computer geek shows as well. One speaker, so no sterio sound, but I. The car I really don't generally care.

I've been kicking this one around for the harley. Smart phone on the handlebar for navigation and tunes, one speaker somewhere up there as well.

David,

That is exactly what I use in my barracuda. I have an IPOD nano that I use running a Jambox bluetooth speaker in the same red as the interior.

It gives some tunes and I can leave it in the car parked because it's the same color as the carpet and blends in.

The unit I mentioned above is a JBL "Charge" (the weblink is too long to post here). Might be physically too big for a mounting on handlebars... but does nicely in a car. I paid $89Cdn at Costco

I've been toying with the idea of one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Collector-Classic-Car-Hidden-iPod-iPhone-iPad-MP3-Player-Stereo-System-w-3-5-/360861329425?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item540502e811

That or an old tube radio modified with an MP3 input...