Hidden Radio Solution

[DMC_Farmer]

Like countless Delorean owners, I'm constantly trying to modernize my car while maintaining a (mostly) stock appearance. As far as stereos go, this can be a difficult solution to come up with. I finally happened upon something that I think will work pretty good.

Fusion is known for their nautical stereo equipment, and they make a hidden black box head unit that can be operated by small wired or wireless remotes, or a smartphone app via Bluetooth. Plus it's relatively inexpensive, at $289.99.
Here's a link to the one I bought:
https://www.fusionentertainment.com/marine/products/stereo-units/ms-bb100

It's much smaller than it looks in pictures (about 6" x 4" x 2.25") so I'll easily be able to hide it just about anywhere. I think I'm going to end up buying a larger wired remote, which has a lighted digital display, because I can easily mount it below the dash pad to the right of the steering wheel without it being in the way. It's $200, which is plenty, but it'll allow me to control everything on the radio without needing the smartphone app, which doesn't have the greatest reviews. This way I can keep my Craig radio right where it is, and even keep it functional if I want to show it off at car shows or whatever.

The box itself has good reviews, but I won't know until it's installed. I'm hoping to get it done sometime this summer, as soon as I get caught up with work and have some downtime. When I do, I'll post back on here and let you guys know what I think.

[gulwng3]

Anything marine-grade has got to be good! :)

Andy

[Pizza Joe]

Have you tried one of the Bluetooth cassettes? Seems like a good way to keep a stereo stock and get modern amenities. They're very cheap too. Just a thought

[mr_maxime]

It wouldnt work out of the box, but I'm thinking of using a raspberry pi zero with a hifiberry dac. Cost with the case would be $31. Then i'd use a regular 4ch car amplifier for the speakers.

I'm already using the pi for my touchscreen so it'd give it an extra function so i could play music over bluetooth.

[mluder]

I bought one of these - Way more powerful than those little FM adapter deals. No interference.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075DC75HX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cheers
Steven

[DMC-81]

If it helps, here is what I did to modernize the Craig radio while keeping it stock:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?13755-Craig-W460-repair-help

[DJZAM]

What started as just a replacement of my broken old original speakers became a quest to get some better tunes in my D. I went and used an older 4 channel amp and hid it behind the rear shelf wall. I ran new speaker wire from the speakers straight to the amp. Then I purchased a Bluetooth receiver (JL Audio MBT-RX) and a couple of 2 into 1 RCA wires (so I could input into the rear and front channels of the amp). Both items are on Amazon.

This setup works great and my phone connects the minute I turn the key. If you are simply looking to use only your phone to stream playlists then this is a good way to keep the cockpit "looking" stock.

I also found an amp with a Bluetooth receiver already built in. It is the JBL GTR-104. I like it because it also has a sub pre out (which would require a sub and a sub amp that may do in the future). The only downfall is that I read in the reviews that when you are hooked up to the internal Bluetooth, you cannot control the gains on the front and rear speakers. They will all blast at the same volume. I prefer to send more juice to the rear speakers that the front to balance the sound. My current setup allows me to do this. My amp is older and I would like to replace it with a newer one but I would need for it to have the sub pre-out and a front and rear input so I can control the gains on everything.

The cools thing is everything can easily be retuned to a stock Craig configuration if wanted.

I never did look into the marine equipment option! I would imagine marine audio equipment is more rugged due to its environment.