Job 1 or 2 on my 95 Viper is going to be some tunes. Car is all stock with an AM/FM Cassette. Plan is to do reversible stereo mods to it to make it a little nicer for driving.
Aftermarket components to replace the factory components in the doors.
Either aftermarket 6.5s in center sub location or custom box with 8" Polk Momo (already have)
4 Channel amp in the trunk running fronts and rears (remove and retain factory amps for later). I already have an A/D/S, an Alpine V12, a Fosgate Punch something something, a PPI Art Series, and a few other oldschool 4 channel 50-100 watt per channel amps floating around.
The hard part is the deck. Criteria is orange illumination or switchable illumination. Single DIN, not 1.5 DIN like later Chryslers, Single Disk with MP3 capability. No flap face/fold out DVD Screens. Bluetooth would be high on the list for Pandora, don't need handsfree.
So what are some decks I should be looking at?
Alpine CDA-7998/7897 are high on the list, I forget if they have selectable illumination but I think they do
Sony had a Mobile ES deck that had orange illumination but I forget the number.
Suggestions? Anyone have anything kicking around?
Ill have to look at the model number, but im running a single din kenwood in the miata that should be perfect.
Be back in a few
old_
HalfDork
12/13/17 9:17 p.m.
continental cdd7418ub-or (or one of it's variants) it comes in a few different configurations. With or without CD player, Bluetooth, etc.
Here is a PDF with the different models and options https://www.continental-automotive.com/getattachment/2b1d2ca8-43ca-4b23-90fa-24a553095ccc/Radio-Brochure_EN.pdf.pdf
They are popular in the Porsche, MB, etc groups
those would look good in my saab
Its the late 90's and you are building a stereo you put in a Panasonic ghost.
[img]https://images.crutchfieldonline.com/products/2002/133/x133HR1003-f.jpeg[/img]
Face goes dark black when you turn off the car.
Anybody know if that Continental unit comes with not orange back lighting? I think the orange would clash with the digital dash in my GTA, looks great otherwise.
Daylan C said:
Anybody know if that Continental unit comes with not orange back lighting? I think the orange would clash with the digital dash in my GTA, looks great otherwise.
The same radio as the Continental except different backlighting color is the VDO line of radios.
In reply to Cousin_Eddie :
Thanks, this information is much appreciated.
The Panasonic Ghost is the sort of stuff I am talking about!
Budget is really secondary, there is a used-in-box Alpine CDA-7998R on Ebay right now, ships out of Russia, how legit is that??!?
I guess when I meant flap face, I don't want the big 7" DVD screen. Motorized fold down regular decks are fine.
The Continental deck is close to what I am looking for, but I am a brand whore. Would really prefer Kenwood, Alpine, or Sony.
Thanks for linking up the Kenwood deck, thats more modern than what I want, I hate front panel usb
Cousin_Eddie said:
Daylan C said:
Anybody know if that Continental unit comes with not orange back lighting? I think the orange would clash with the digital dash in my GTA, looks great otherwise.
The same radio as the Continental except different backlighting color is the VDO line of radios.
It would be great to see that radio with a green backlight- which is what my Miata has.
Curtis
PowerDork
12/14/17 9:34 a.m.
When you're talking that era, the two names that instantly come to mind are JVC and Eclipse. JVCs definitely came with orange. Eclipse didn't, but there are hacks to change the LEDs. I would also consider Kenwood. They hold up well, but were never quite as good in the sound reproduction side.
If you're just looking for tunes and most of your sound is being amped remotely, take a look at the newer Dual stuff. Its junk, but some of their decks are so cheap because they haven't upgraded to the higher-definition LCDs and latest processors. They use cheaper, cast-off tech from the last decade to make inexpensive decks.
Personally I liked the slightly older Alpine CDA-7840 / CDA-7845 era better than the 7998 because they still had a black knob and a black face. The 7998's got the shiny silver metal look larger volume knob and some shiny features on the display face.
I ran a 7840 back when they were new in '99.
You could switch the display to Amber, but the digital readout was still always in green.
alfadriver said:
Cousin_Eddie said:
Daylan C said:
Anybody know if that Continental unit comes with not orange back lighting? I think the orange would clash with the digital dash in my GTA, looks great otherwise.
The same radio as the Continental except different backlighting color is the VDO line of radios.
It would be great to see that radio with a green backlight- which is what my Miata has.
I was hoping for green as well. But blue and green is less bad than orange and green. My Bravada has a different blues and greens in the same cluster so apparently GM wasn't very worried about matching this stuff in the late 80s/early 90s.
That 7840 would look right at home in a Viper.
Its really a challenge to build a period-correct stereo with somewhat modern features. Speakers are easy because for the most part, they are hidden. Amps are easy because firstly there is a glut of used old and midschool amps available in the power ranges I need, plus you don't see the amps as much. The deck is nearly impossible. Want something that looks great? Its 15 years old and doesn't even do MP3s. How about something with Bluetooth? It looks like it should be part of a Star Trek set, not in a minimalist interior like a 95 Viper, a car so simple it doesn't even have windows.
What about leaving the stock deck and doing a hidden setup with bluetooth? You could put an unobtrusive volume control somewhere if you wanted analog volume. Small standalone and easily hidden bluetooth receivers are really easy to come by.
yea, the kids want an all dancing light show on their aftermarket decks, and they drive the market, so it gets difficult to get a decent headunit that is not decked out like a console from the Star Ship Enterprise
It already has the perfect security system - a manual transmission.
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
It needs to beep and yell protected by viper. Stand back.
93gsxturbo said:
That 7840 would look right at home in a Viper.
Its really a challenge to build a period-correct stereo with somewhat modern features. Speakers are easy because for the most part, they are hidden. Amps are easy because firstly there is a glut of used old and midschool amps available in the power ranges I need, plus you don't see the amps as much. The deck is nearly impossible. Want something that looks great? Its 15 years old and doesn't even do MP3s. How about something with Bluetooth? It looks like it should be part of a Star Trek set, not in a minimalist interior like a 95 Viper, a car so simple it doesn't even have windows.
FWIW, if you want a period correct aftermarket head unit, you really only need to have something that has an Aux. input on it. The old Alpines had an "Ai-net" to RCA interface which converted what at the time was a CD Changer input to an RCA input. It takes a few cables, but you can use something like an MPOW Bluetooth Reciever (like $15 on Amazon) to receive the Bluetooth audio signal from your phone, and output via 1/8" jack adapted to RCA plugged into that changer interface. While it's a little clunky, it's all hidden behind the reciever so you really don't see any of it, and it's not something you need to plug in/unplug regularly. You do need to put the bluetooth receiver somewhere accessible to be able to turn it on/off (or find one that can be put on a switched circuit with auto on/off capability when fired up).
As dculberson noted above, whether stock or aftermarket head unit, small bluetooth receivers are easy to come by now.
For sound quality, see if you can find one of these:
No bluetooth though, and "only" Aux-IN.
