A few weeks ago I started a thread about satellite radio for in our corvettes.
Many members had thougths and I appreciated every comment and sugestion given. I have decided to add satellite radio  once the weather breaks. Before I do this I will be updating my radio. I dont want to take from the original looks of the stock radio so I am going to send out my radio for an update. There was 2 recommendations of places that did this type of work, the first one is S/M Electro-Tech, I spoke withthem today for the 2nd time and they seem extremely knowledgable. The 2nd company is Tayman Electrical, I tried contacting them but did not get an answer yet. My question to this forum, Has anyone used either company for an update and how happy are you with there work.
The work to be done would be to remove and clean the dial face and buttons, they would strip out all old circuitry and replace with modern boards and componets making this a modern day radio with an original stock look. They will also add  2 RCA jacks so I can hook up an additional add on like a cd player, I-pod or the satellite radio. The cost is just over $400 plus shipping. I didnt think this was all that bad. The radio would have 180 watt output with 4 speakers. This means each channel will have 45 watts.
The gentlemen I spoke with today said he has no speakers that would fit into the front dash of my 74 without making modifications to the mounting area and recommended purchasing original speakers for the dash. He recommended I purchase 2 additional speakers for the rear compartment that he would recoommend putting them in their own boxes since I didnt want to cut or add speakers into any panels.
Another question I had was about the replacement speakers for in the front dash. Has anyone bought any speakers from any of the corvette suppliers that fit into the dash to replace the origianl speakers without having to modify and cut? If so where did you purchase them and are you happy withthem. I don not play my radio loud but with TTops off and wind blowing through the little hair I have left, I want to be able to hear it.
Last question is how long does it take to remove the radios from a 74 Corvette? Everyone I talk to says how bad it is to remove a Corvette radio. Can it be that bad?
In advance thanks for any suggestions you can make.
Thanks
Rodney

Contact Retro Radio Restoration. Their website is under construction, but their e-mail is <MFrenchek@retroradio.biz>. His phone is 717-367-1428. I don't know if he does the work you want, but it's worth your finding out.

Removing the radio shouldn't be that big a hassle, but you do need to take your time and be careful.

The radio itself is in two pieces...the tuner section you see in the console, and the amplifier/heat sink, which is mounted behind the passenger side of the dash.

I removed the radio out of my '69 without an assembly manual and it wasn't bad at all. It's pretty much obvious what you have to do.

Work from the passenger side...take off the dash panel...you have to anyway to remove the heat sink. From there you see what screws need removed and how to remove the gauge bezel. You have to be careful disconnecting the gauges, but as I said...just be careful.

While you're at it, replace all the gauge lights...they're likely the originals and you don't want to do this a lot. It's a small expense to not go ahead and take care of.

Let us all know how it works out.

Rod,