Suggestions on tunes for my 64

[Bill Stoneberg]

I want to put a CD / IPOD / AMFM reciever in my 64 Riviera. I dont really want to take out the stock one that is there or cut holes in the package tray.

Any suggestions on the way the rest of you have done it ? Is there room under the passenger seat to put a receiver ? What have you all done about speakers ?

I dont want it a big thumping boom box, just something I can listen to while driving it.

[RivNut]

Bill,

I have a MP34 WPA wireless FM transmitter I like for the same thing you looking for. You plug it into a cigarette lighter, or an aftermarket 12V source, and plug your ipod or cd player into it. It transmits to an FM station you chose and you can play your music through the original FM radio that's in the vehicle. In our case, the FM is mono, not stereo. You can probably update to a later FM radio to get stereo sound and not have to destroy your face plate, but you'd have one speaker in the front and one in the rear, not two right and two left.

I know quite a few guys who have a 5" or 6" round speakers on their Riv's door panels and have put a couple of 6"x9" speakers in the package tray; which will require some modifications you may or may not want to do.

I've always thought that the sides of the rear arm rests might be a good place for a couple of speakers but I've never tried it.

I once bought an NOS Motorola 8 track player off ebay for about $10.00. I took the face plate and glued all the knobs, switches, etc. to it. I then could remove it from the frame in which I installed a new FM/CD player and put it under the dash. The old face plate was just a false front for the new radio. I did this on my '70 Skylark and it just looked like a period 8 track player under the dash. I've also seen it done with OEM tissue dispensers. Not as easy on a Riv with the center console.

[CarlSchoemer]

How about putting the head unit in the glovebox? As far as speakers go... I think you may get 3 pair of 6 1/2 in each door, 6 6X9's in the package tay, Possibly some in the reear arm rests, A trunk full of subwoofers, and you still have the stock locations to work with. You need 4 amps. Digitally split the signal from the head unit into 5.1 surround. speakers in the doors are fronts, package tray, rears. Subs to the trunk and the 2 factory speaker locations woul be the canter chanel speakers.

Just I thought,

Carl

[my65riv]

what about tvs in the head rests,jack the car up like a 4x4 with some 26inch rims,velvet zebra interior,neon lighting,oh,i'm sorry,i got carried away.

[Guest 63riviera]

It's quite easy to do a SQ system without using a sealed box enclosure and an Aperiodic membrane set-up instead:

[Guest 63riviera]

It can be very simple:

The radio face plate can be cut into a DIN shape to accommodate a modern CD player.

a/d/s 300is speakers (rectangular plate speakers) fit perfectly in the lower corners of the doors (with the custom interior under the chrome molding where the lower door carpeting is.

Subs can be added by making a 6-8" hole in the package tray, covering it with a few layers of Dynamat, bolting a silicone-sealed (liberally applied) 3/4" plywood baffle-board under the package shelf in 8 places (the rear package shelf is MUCH stronger now), getting a professionally upholstered package shelf in vinyl with tastefully integrated speaker grille cloth,using a resistive AP "membrane" on top or under the speaker to control speaker cone motion and use the trunk as the enclosure for free-air response (which gives the most natural, lowest-extended frequency bass response). A 10" speaker is about as large of speaker which will fit. I've had many systems in my '63 and had excellent results with two 8" Nakamichi SP-80 subs. No speaker is visible from the interior. The only visible part is the CD player. A carpeted trim panel covers the amps/signal processors/alarm in the trunk.

Generally the simpler the system, the better the sound. Six speakers is the maximum # of drivers.Any more cause phase irregularities and incoherent sound. keep the speakers as far away from the listener in front to minimize path length differences to maximize sounstage imaging.Also, don't separate the tweeter form the mid/woofer too far, or incoherent, 'disembodied' sound will result.

My current system is:

Nakamichi CD700II

Nakamichi EC-304 electronic X-over

a/d/s 642ix/Ac-502 constant bass processor

Soundstream reference 300 amplifier

JL Audio 500/1 sub amplifier

Soundstream Reference SS-10RII's subs

a/d/s 300is front speakers

Monster cable Powerline 2+ sub speakerwire

Audioquest CV-4 full-range speaker wire

monster power cables

Monster Cable reference 2 interconnect

optima Yellowtop battery

Delco 12-SI "old reliable" 94-amp alternator

a lot of sound-deadeners, silicones, mass dampening, diffusive/absorption materials

Here's my newest head unit-- a $2,000 no-frills Nakamichi CD pre-amp-only CD700II. They don't sell them in the US anymore; so, i got one in Japan. I have an extra radio face-plate--- if I want to add the stock AM radio later. My trunk can be converted to stock very easily

[Guest 63riviera]

Here's a great system design diagram the has been used in a '63-'65 Riviera.

those "wave guides" (horn) speakers give great dispersion, but take some skill to integrate under the dash and glove box. they also require sonically-degrading EQ to tame their natural frequency response characteristics:

[Guest 63riviera]

Also checkout one of the first SQ (sound quality compettitoin cars from the late '80's--when I used to compete).You can get a lot of ideas fromthis car:

http://www.usdaudio.com/sw/cars/buick/

[Jayne]

Hey 63riviera , are you using your stock wiring harness in that car? I see that you put a better battery and alternator ...The reason I ask is that my wiring harness in my 64 is sketchy,lots of voltage loss throughout the car caused (i'm told) by stock connectors such as the bulkhead connector on the firewall.

[Guest 63riviera]

Yes, you're right.

To adequately power even a basic stereo system, you will need to upgrade the wiring on your early Riviera.

First- use a good alternator, a Delco 12-SI will fit perfectly, and is available in several output versions. Use at least a 4 gauge cable from the alternator to battery.

Second- make certain you have good grounds throughout the car. Many times the ground strap between the engine block and firewall is missing. You need ground the "-" terminal to the car's chassis, body, engine, engine to chassis, engine to body, etc. Another problem is that what may seem to be bare metal often isn't. Thoroughly scrape any paint, dirt, rust or grime at all ground points, make secure connections with lock washers, grounding washers that "dig" into the metal, and cover this area with silicone or battery grease to prevent corrosion. carefully plan the wiring in your car. Power wires should be kept as far away from low-level signals (RCA cables)as possible, or if they have to be in the same proximity, cross them at 90 degree angles. You can avoid many ground loop-induced noise problems this way. For RCA cables, use a twisted-pair configuration. Although balanced XLR cables would be ideal, few car audio products have them. Ground ALL components at the same point. Although I ground my head unit in that area, some people will use a low-gauge wire to ground the head unit to the central grounding point in the trunk. The difference in resistances in any ground will contribute to dreaded ground-induced, or accessory-activated noise (e.g., "pops" when the brake pedal is pushed an the brake light switch is activated. I've never had a problem with noise in my Riviera, because of all the metal and adequate ground straps.

Third: Power--fuse all wires from the battery "+" terminal with a distribution block or a high-current circuit-breaker (manually reset-able)less than 18" from the battery. Use adequately sized wire to compensate for the length of the wire and the maximum amount of current which the component will take.

Installing a car stereo is really not all that complicated. people in car audio circles have a saying-KISS: keep it simple, stupid.

[Guest 63riviera]

if you want to do something really cool for car stereo, add a vacuum tube amp. Yes, they are available, but a bit pricey. There's Milbert BaM-230 that about $2,500. I just bought a tube/solid state hybrid amp (a PPI/Butler/Phaze Audio MA2150) for another system in my '73.

Tube amps would be a really great combination with an early '60's Buick because they're both period-specific.

here's an unusual install with two Milbert BaM-235's and a Zapco solid state amp for the subs.

[Guest 63riviera]

here's another great location for mounting amps in a '63-'65. Some '63's had the spare tires on top of this hump, and others didn't.

These amps are Harman Kardon H/K 260's (they aren't made anymore). They only put out 60 RMS watts x 2, but they sounded phenomenal and much more powerful than their spec's indicate:

[Guest 63riviera]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I want to put a CD / IPOD / AMFM receiver in my 64 Riviera. I don't really want to take out the stock one that is there or cut holes in the package tray.

Any suggestions on the way the rest of you have done it ? Is there room under the passenger seat to put a receiver ? What have you all done about speakers ?

I don't want it a big thumping boom box, just something I can listen to while driving it. </div></div>

Okay, there are a few ways to go about this. You don't have to go the whole nine yards and get an elaborate system. I often wonder why old car owners put so much care into restoring their Riv's and then put in crappy new audio equipment. This really can be done simply with some good quality components.

Many companies make pre-amplifiers(which can be mounted anywhere out of sight), which have inputs for iPods and the factory radio. Some have remote controls for volume control and source switching. I'll provide a link to a device, which uses the car's original radio as a source unit, uses a DSP to make adjustments automatically via microphone to compensate for the car's acoustics. There are inputs for other devices, like iPods, and RCA outputs for an external amplifier.

Probably the best, most cost-effective upgrade you can do for any type of stereo system is getting better speakers. They can be stealthily installed under the door panels, the package tray or in the rear arm rests. generally a set of good quality components is all you need (5 1/4" woofer, 1" tweeter). The benefits with components is that they allow for more installation flexibility. Some brands to check out are MB Quartet, Focal, Dynaudio, Diamond, old a/d/s, and many others. This one area you don't want to skimp on, because the speakers are what you listen to; they produce the sound. You can have the best amplifiers or source unit, but with crappy speakers, you're going to have crappy sound.

The FM transmitter is not a great idea. It defeats the whole purpose of incorporating a better source unit because it will have the same fidelity as your old radio. It's like someone wanting a newer engine in their Riviera and replacing its Nailhead with a Yugo 4 cylinder

[Guest 63riviera]

here's the link for a JL Audio "clean sweep"--which uses the factory radio, and can incorporate iPods and other equipment. You'll get better sound out of your factory radio and the most out of your iPod:

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_cleansweep_pages.php?page_id=79

"CleanSweep® CL441dsp:

Add an audio source:

Add an aftermarket audio source of your choice:

Today, audio enthusiasts have a huge number of choices when it comes to storing and delivering audio content? but, if your vehicle is not aftermarket-friendly, you often have to resort to low-fidelity options like FM modulator devices to add sources to your system.

With CleanSweep® installed, you can add almost any aftermarket source unit to your system through high-quality, line-level inputs? you can even add more than one with the addition of a simple source selector switch.

The possibilities are endless: MP3 players, satellite radio tuners, DVD players, game consoles, cassette players, computers, even that old 8-track player in your attic... Well, let?s not get carried away."

All you have to do is mount a volume knob--which could be disguised as a the factory cigarette lighter, light switch, etc.

many amplifiers can be mounted under your seat, making them totally invisible. I know what you're thinking--you don't want a huge, complicated audio system. It doesn't have to be.

One bit of knowledge I can pass on based on my mistakes over putting in sound equipment in my '63 since i got in '83: Don't skimp on the quality of your audio gear. You'll end up spending MORE money upgrading that "inexpensive" add-on, which will inevitably have to be replaced.

I started with one component at a time, saving up to buy the best I could. Some of my equipment is still in my system.

Put the same care and thought into an audio system as you would with restoring your classic Riv.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Back to the top as I have another question...

I finally bought a head unit and speakers this weekend. They are expandable so I can add Poweramps later on.

My idea is to mount the head unit out of sight and put the detachable face in the center console. My problem is thqat I need a cable that will attach the two. Any ideas on where I could find the correct type plug and soket for this application ? Audio shops say they can build them, but I would rather do it.