hey everyone,

so lately i've noticed my factory CD player in my '97 LS is starting to skip every time i use it. scince the back lighting has never worked and it's missing the tuner **** (i've got one that pops off all the time) i'm thinking it's time to replace it.

now my question is, does anyone know if a newer ('00-'05 monte) style GM radio would be a plug-n-play mod? i'd really like to find one of the dual media (cassette & CD) ones from a newer GM truck if possible.

also if that plan fails, can anyone tell me what issues i might have (and how to fix them) if i bought a used older style "theft lock" factory radio? i'm kinda worried i'll buy one from the junkyard and have it not work.

last question, are there any other cool factory radio's (mabe from a pontiac or olds) that i could swap that might be a better option than what i've got?

 

Well, the 00-05's are double din where as the 97 has a 1.5 din, so it wont fit first of all, and i doubt it would hook up anyway. I have my original radio that came with my car that had a cd player, worked iffy when i took it out to put a cassette deck in(with even less lights) I could give it to ya for free if you want. Maybe it'll work a little better lol, if not atleast you'll have some lights.

Im not exactly sure how theftlock works, i didn't have an issue with the radio i got, so i'm not sure if theftlock has to be enabled for you to run into problems or how it works.

 

cool thanks for the info man! and i'll definitly take you up on the offer for the radio, scince it sounds like a step in the direction i want to go. plus you know my motto, if it's free it's for me! lol.

how bad was the CD player in your old one working? mine took a while to crap out but it just skipps all the time ever scince the high point meet. used to just do it over big bumps.

 

I remember i had it working, it was picky, i took it out a long time ago to put in a cassette deck so i could use an ipod adapter. Maybe pick up one of those cleaning cd's and see if it helps, i have one some where. We'll have to meet up one day

 

sounds good man. if you want pick a day that's good for you and we can meet up in mattamoras by jakes wayback burgers and i'll buy you lunch for your time.

 

I'll send you a pm

 

No fair! i want me some wayback burgers! i wanna try the 9 mile high one haha!

 

guy at work was talking about that, he said the girl behind the counter says they're a real pain to make.

 

for how much it cost, they shouldnt be complaining! lol!

 

I say go Aftermarket. Much more flexibility. Do you Keep music on your cell phone or have an MP3 or an IPod? I have a 32Gb memory card in my phone. And over 3000 songs on it. No CDs in my car. I plug my phone into the Aux Jack, hit Play on my phones music player, and Boom, more music from my phone then a hundred CDs could provide.
Then you have HD. If your favorite radio station broadcast in HD the title and artist of the current playing song scrolls across your radio. So you can download that song when you get home.
Thru the Aux jack or with Bluetooth you can talk on your phone thru the cars speakers. The Ultimate Hands Free.
An Aftermarket radio Also makes it easy to add amps and better Speakers. My Monte had a 2 amps and a Big Boom Box when I bought her. But I took them out and just run Head Unit to Speaker. (Too much weight in the trunk for me) The amps and a Good head unit work together to give you a much better Quality of sound. Not just make it Louder like most KIDS think.
At any rate, if you are sporting an older car, the new OEM radios give you all the, But you have to buy a new car to get it. When your old radio craps out on you, buy Aftermarket, they even have hanesses to make the Aftermarket radio Plug and Play for your car. And install kits to make them fit Just Right!
Plus, you only need a basic understanding of electricity and electronics to install a Really decent system. Piece of Cake!

(The above is just the opinion of Me, a child of the 60s & 70s. And should only be considered by those who want, not just music in their cars, But by those who want good quality music in there cars)