When we took the old (aftermarket) radio out, we did not see any brackets holding the unit in place. It was solely suspended by the bezel itself.
Should I purchase some of the original brackets? It’s not even clear to me what the advantage of them was, since they just appear to affix to the top of the bezel anyway. There is a clip on the bottom one but there doesn’t appear to be anything to clip it to. Perhaps it was intended to hold up the wires.
The front bracket is a structural piece designed to hold the front of the old style radio by the shafts through the holes and held tight with the shaft nuts. The rear bracket supports the back of the original style radio.
A din style radio will have to have a custom bracket made to support the body of the radio, or you can modify an original bracket to hold the rectangular sleeve that the din radio slides in and out of.
You will end up either cutting up an original plastic bezel for the din radio to go through, or getting an aftermarket one that is extremely flimsy and does not have the original burled walnut appearance.
Either way, it’s totally up to you and what you want the final results to be. Just keep in mind, they do not remake the original bezels and their number only continues to dwindle.
Maybe WCCC sells a burled walnut appliqué for the aftermarket din style bezel… I’m not sure, but they might if you called and asked them.
Wait, I just clicked on your stereo link and see that it is a shaft type radio and not a din type radio. You will still need the brackets to install correctly, but you shouldn’t need to cut up a bezel. I also see that you indeed said “din size” not din type.
The clip slides onto a metal brace over the HVAC system if I remember correctly. I ran a fox body Mustang without that brace and it really was hard on the shaft mount threads having all of that weight cantilevered off of the shafts. The newer unit you are running is probably lighter and the car smoother, but I would still recommend getting that rear support to be sure things stay where you put them and don’t introduce any new squeaks or rattles as things age.
Wow, thanks for the quick replies! I misspoke when I said DIN sized. It is indeed the original form factor. I guess I’ll get the brackets since they are inexpensive enough and WCCC has them.
I just installed a USA-230 Classic Car Stereo in my 68 XR7. Radio mounted in stock mounting in the the front without modifying anything. Radio comes with a piece of metal strapping that I shortened and attached to dash frame work to support rear of radio. I felt this was better than using stock mount that ties into plastic sides of console base. Was a pretty straight forward install.
Hi,
Iv just had to take out my radio to install a replacement repo burlwood bezel ( availble from several suppliers) .
There is a clip style bracket under the body which “clips” on to a support bracket behind the dash.
The biggest problem was putting back all the wiring so it does have the radio sitting on the wiring etc.
Every thing was a eazy fit, hard to do the first time, but having now done it its a breez to do.
Please give us updates about the change over as i am deliberating about what style and model to fit into mine !
Good Morning Cougrrr : Hope this reply isn’t to late to still be of assistance !
All the other replies to your situation have mentioned the factory brackets used in the installation of the original radio / 8-track tape player / AM-FM stereo. Yes they are required ( esp. if using an original set-up as the weight of the old units is FAR greater than any of the new / aftermarket products ).
The front bracket does have the holes for the knob shafts to protrude through, and the bracket is held in place over the shafts with threaded washers. This bracket is indeed structural and required. The rear clip is actually bolted to the back of the radio with a nut utilizing a threaded stem that protrudes from the back of the radio. It clips over the lower portion of the ( metal ) dash itself. It helps to stabilize the rear of the radio ( provides support for the weight at the back ) and helps to prevent up and down movement of the radio, when the car hits bumps. Without this rear clip the radio will eventually tear through the front bezel, if a front bracket is also not in place. Unfortunately both of these brackets ( front, basic p/n 19A004 and rear, basic p/n 18888 ) are no longer available ( MPC states to fabricate as required ! ) from Ford, and NOS isn’t too likely ( why bother, just get a good core zinc plated ) – a used pair of brackets is a better option. )
But more central to this issue, is the offset nature of the front faceplate of the radio / tape player / AM-FM radio. The left and right side are not parallel ! They are offset, and looking down from the top, as you might see if you had the radio in place, in the dash, the RHS ( passenger ) is indented more than the LHS.
This is accommodated for in the bracket itself. So obtaining another bracket to complete your assembly won’t address this design aspect of all the audio sources in the 1969 / 70 Cougar and Mustangs. You will need to alter the bracket to bring the two ‘arms’ into a parallel configuration; just bending them won’t work, as it will distort the alignment of the holes for the control shafts.
Here are some images from the MPC
You will need to alter the bracket to bring the two ‘arms’ into a parallel configuration; just bending them won’t work, as it will distort the alignment of the holes for the control shafts.
Right, I had forgotten they were offset. My old-ish aftermarket stereo actually came with an extra set of nuts that you threaded on to set the depth so you could square it in the opening easily.
