Hello, I search past forum's on some tips or where to start on a radio replacement. I want to go back to a stock radio I picked up. Any tips, issues, what not and what to do's, etc.

Good question.
I, too want to put my old stock 8 track back in, so I'll be watching this post.
The late 80's ish cassette player just don't do it for me.
Jeffm2007-10-10 18:47:22

The  bezel needs to be removed and  it also helps to remove the screws in the console plate which will give you a little more room to get the bezel out. Don't remove the console, you just want the extra wiggle room. 2 screws fron behind under the armrest and 2 along each side. Don't forget the 2 screws into the bezel from below through the console. It may help to remove the defroster switch, also. The concern here is 30 year old plastic. You don't want to be bending it or forcing it. You also will need a support brace for the factory radio. Passenger side. Hopefully the mount will still be there on the tunnel. I made a support from 1/8"X3/4" aluminum stock, I THINK the holes were 2 3/8" apart.

If you don't have rear speakers, consider wiring the front speakers to the left front wires and the right rear wires coming out of the radio. That way you have some balance control using the front-rear fader as the factory unit most likely doesn't have balance(78-79 radios for example).

There will be 2 yellow wires going from the factory harness into the radio. Make sure to have the correct ones going to the correct place. One is for power, other is for power antenna. Things will work with them switched but little problems will arise. For instance, when I had mine switched, the stereo indicator stayed on when the radio was off. Seemed like power was back feeding into the radio from the antenna circuit. The yellow actually goes into the radio for power and then out of the radio to trigger the antenna.

here's a pic of what I took apart... http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-4/706755/radioinstall2.jpg

mkapp78792007-10-10 19:24:12

It's not that tough. I did it on my '69 and the '78 I used to own without instructions. It's pretty straightforward. Just look at the bezel and see what screws need to be removed. It basically obvious what has to be done as you remove screws and take the bezel out.

A hint...when you have the gauge bezel out, replace all the light bulbs as they're cheap and easy to do while you have the panel out. You don't want to do this any more often than absolutely necessary. It's kind of easy to damage the printed circuit if you're not careful.