Modern but Classic look car stereos.

[Rally Pack 2000]

I gave up on this a few years back but things have moved on a bit since then with some interesting devices now available. This mob has one they say closely resembles the original Escort one.

https://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/p/RetroSound-Premium-Ford-Escort-67-75-74-81/Bluetooth+Car+Radio+for+Ford+Escort+1967-75+Mark+I+and+1974-1981+Mark+II+Style

I tossed my original radio out years ago but I vaguely remember there being a bit of silver around outer face and the rear buttons? This Retrosound mob have a mix and match with buttons knobs and face-plates. Maybe this face-plate and knobs instead of all black? What do you think?

 

The even offer screen decals to make it look more original when its switched off so it doesn't look like a digital display.

Does anyone remebber the size of the dash speaker in a Mk2 Escort? I was going to get some stand alone Bluetooth speaker and just rest it on the parcel shelf but Im not out for hi fi just a reasonable sound a bit better than a mono dash speaker and this same mob have special dash speakers for that purpose. Not sure of the size I should get though.

https://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/c/RetroSound-Speakers-Dash-Speakers/Dash

Am I just totally crazy trying to get an original look at all? Its just when I get in the car I see the interior looks all classic until I look down at the console and see that LED flashing Alpine thing. LOL It just seems weird. If you have seen better alternatives please post.

[colr6]

I’ve got one but can’t up load pics, error code came up. Not had that before, it’s the blue thing again 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

185mm wide, 122 deep if that’s any good

saying unknown server when I try to upload pics.

Edited June 25, 2021 by colr6

[Rally Pack 2000]

3 hours ago, colr6 said:

I’ve got one but can’t up load pics, error code came up. Not had that before, it’s the blue thing again 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

185mm wide, 122 deep if that’s any good

saying unknown server when I try to upload pics.

There was a site upgrade a day or so ago so the glitch uploading images may be related to that. (Its still working for me though)

So does your original have a silver border around it? Do any of the buttons have chrome trim?

[colr6]

Just tried uploading again and comes up with error code 200

[Rally Pack 2000]

1 minute ago, colr6 said:

Just tried uploading again and comes up with error code 200

Thats no good. May be worth reporting at the support desk for Vista to look at.

[BaileyMex]

That looks nice! and I know what you mean about a stereo standing out like a sore thumb, half the time mine is off as I cant hear the bloody thing anyway 

[Vista]

6 hours ago, colr6 said:

I’ve got one but can’t up load pics, error code came up. Not had that before, it’s the blue thing again 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

185mm wide, 122 deep if that’s any good

saying unknown server when I try to upload pics.

It's probably too large a file size, how big is the picture?

[Vista]

2 hours ago, colr6 said:

Just tried uploading again and comes up with error code 200

email me the picture

[Vista]

I have no idea why it wouldn't let you upload that

[colr6]

test picture

[BROWNY 1968]

if you wanted some music but wanted to hide it, when i built my hotrod i bought a small amp with a 3.5mm input that you can plug an ipod into, hid a pair of 6x9 speakers under the front seats, works really good, and cant see any of it 😉

[colr6]

Edited June 25, 2021 by colr6

[Rally Pack 2000]

7 hours ago, Vista said:

I have no idea why it wouldn't let you upload that

Thats interesting thanks for the photo Col and Scott for posting it. There is approx 8in screw to screw which matches the holes I measure on my dash. So I need a 7in speaker with the other inch for the mounting holes so its 8in in total.  The issue with this is the mounting holes arent at the 3 and 9 o'clock but just slightly higher than that but not quite the 2 and 10 o'clock positions. The speaker I had in mind its one specifically designed to be used as a single dash speaker but has dual input to give a sort of stereo effect. But as you expect its mounting holes arent offset like the original so would require bracketing to centre it I think.

[Rally Pack 2000]

With regards to the stereo units themselves its seems if you want a green display to match the instrument illumination you have to go for the model 2 as the model one just has a basic blue illumination whereas the model 2 has thousands of different ones you can select even several shades of green.

[chinkamon]

Such a great idea old look stereos,  I also went with hiding mine in my hot rods like browny in the past, everything from amps and speakers under seats and stereos hidden under the dash, if u want sound and don't want anything obvious they do speaker units specifically to hide under seats now, even active subwoofer ones to make enough noise over your exhausts 😂 I've been very clever with mine in my cortina and it's hidden in plain site now😎 at first glance you couldn't tell, 

[Nursebetty]

Ive gone one like this, it looks kinda oem but when you jump in it hooks up to bluetooth and lets me use maps/handsfree etc which is nice and handy. I also set it to green to match the rest of the console. It also has a small ford logo along with the numbers on the screen so when its off it looks non digital. If i was to be picky the ford logo is slightly blurry, im pretty ocd and ive let it slide but if you want everything perfect it wouldnt do. Not sure if its just mine or. Also the photo resolution is horrible, its def not that bad

Its not a cheap unit, although id imagine they wouldnt be that expensive to make but they are going for a niche market. 

Speakers wise i have some pods on my rear parcel shelf held in by the restraint holes/bolts. Tbh i didnt like them much but wasnt sure where else to put them and put a nice ford racing emblem on them and they are painted to match my car. ill get a photo next time im close to the car, i dont have any on hand

I got it from, they are australian based which is nice

https://www.retrosoundusa.com.au/index.php?l=search_list&s[title]=Y&s[short_desc]=Y&s[full_desc]=Y&s[sku]=Y&s[match]=all&s[cid]=0&s[search]=ford+escort



 

Edited July 2, 2021 by Nursebetty

[Nursebetty]

this may be of some worth, i pulled this clock console apart to put this stereo in. The two units side by side. It was from a Ghia i believe

And another shot with stereo included, to see how it all sits.

Didnt realise i did not have any decent photos of it installed

[BROWNY 1968]

On 30/06/2021 at 09:20, chinkamon said:

Such a great idea old look stereos,  I also went with hiding mine in my hot rods like browny in the past, everything from amps and speakers under seats and stereos hidden under the dash, if u want sound and don't want anything obvious they do speaker units specifically to hide under seats now, even active subwoofer ones to make enough noise over your exhausts 😂 I've been very clever with mine in my cortina and it's hidden in plain site now😎 at first glance you couldn't tell, 

you hid that well, where is it 👍

[Rally Pack 2000]

22 hours ago, Nursebetty said:

this may be of some worth, i pulled this clock console apart to put this stereo in. The two units side by side. It was from a Ghia i believe

And another shot with stereo included, to see how it all sits.

Didnt realise i did not have any decent photos of it installed

That's very helpful thanks. Its great to see the actual units in an Escort console to see how it fits and looks. The silver rimmed face seems like it it would be a good replica although as I suspected the original radio centre is raised above the outer rim so it doesn't appear as sunken in the console once installed. Having black buttons with chrome secondary ones would be most in keeping as well although I quite like the reversal of that pictured above with chrome main buttons with black secondary buttons.

I noticed you went with the Ford decal which looks great, yours seems to have an orange indicator needle as well which makes it really authentic. How do you find this limits your viewing of the digital display underneath?

[Nursebetty]

4 hours ago, Rally Pack 2000 said:

That's very helpful thanks. Its great to see the actual units in an Escort console to see how it fits and looks. The silver rimmed face seems like it it would be a good replica although as I suspected the original radio centre is raised above the outer rim so it doesn't appear as sunken in the console once installed. Having black buttons with chrome secondary ones would be most in keeping as well although I quite like the reversal of that pictured above with chrome main buttons with black secondary buttons.

I noticed you went with the Ford decal which looks great, yours seems to have an orange indicator needle as well which makes it really authentic. How do you find this limits your viewing of the digital display underneath?

I got mine from a different site from where your looking but im sure most can be customized to what you want.

I went all black because black works with everything and being plastics i was worried the chrome would feel a bit cheap and or even flake off etc. That been said the car is a sunday cruiser and would never see the constant use like an oem stereo would.

Yeah i like the needle, wish it moved though.

The screen/display is very basic and pretty tricky to read in certain light, green is also one of the worse colours but you can change that but it does suite the rest of the console. Even though the display is pretty bad everything is run from my phone bar a few preset radio stations so its not that bad.

Hope these posts helped, im really glad i put this head unit in, looks good, performs well and it drove me nuts looking down and seeing some modern thing.

[chinkamon]

9 hours ago, BROWNY 1968 said:

you hid that well, where is it 👍

😎If I told u. I'd have to kill u I'm afraid. 😂

It's where the stereo would be if was ordered ( I assume was an extra) it's smack in the centre of the silver trim between the choke an the wiper knobs. The trim was all mangled when I bought the car so managed to find some more but had to use both bits to make 1 good, so this enabled me to use the old radio gap in the dash an put trim over the top on magnets 

[Rally Pack 2000]

1 hour ago, Nursebetty said:

I got mine from a different site from where your looking but im sure most can be customized to what you want.

I went all black because black works with everything and being plastics i was worried the chrome would feel a bit cheap and or even flake off etc. That been said the car is a sunday cruiser and would never see the constant use like an oem stereo would.

Yeah i like the needle, wish it moved though.

The screen/display is very basic and pretty tricky to read in certain light, green is also one of the worse colours but you can change that but it does suite the rest of the console. Even though the display is pretty bad everything is run from my phone bar a few preset radio stations so its not that bad.

Hope these posts helped, im really glad i put this head unit in, looks good, performs well and it drove me nuts looking down and seeing some modern thing.

Unfortunately the screen illumination has to be green so it matches the dash lights. It does look tricky to read behind the Ford decal which is why I asked.

My car still has the GL style dash facia like yours still does so I think the silver the rime of the stereo plate should look a match similar to what the original radio has. Im sway towards these buttons which sort of emulate that of the black buttons with chrome secondary buttons of the original radio as well.

Rather than use it Bluetooth which I guess most people would I was mainly going to just put heaps of songs on a USB drive and plug it in the back. That may prove a problem though if the display and navigation prove to be too difficult using it that way.

[Nursebetty]

The navigation of the screen is not too bad, its just i dont really navigate through it that often so tend to make the wrong movements but after a minute or two of playing i get what i want.

I think the style your going for will look really good and suit the car well.

Id imagine as you have a newer unit in the car now the console has had that metal support cut out to fit a single din? thats all i had to do to fit this.

[Rally Pack 2000]

2 minutes ago, Nursebetty said:

The navigation of the screen is not too bad, its just i dont really navigate through it that often so tend to make the wrong movements but after a minute or two of playing i get what i want.

I think the style your going for will look really good and suit the car well.

Id imagine as you have a newer unit in the car now the console has had that metal support cut out to fit a single din? thats all i had to do to fit this.

Removing the bar was what you did in the old days to fit a modern stereo in the console. I have at least half a dozen of them laying around the place I think half still have the bar and half not. I think the one it it the moment has been modified but its done in such a way that it doesn't sag like it does if you hack the bar outright.

What speakers did you end up using with yours. Having just replaced the rear parcel shelf with a rare and intact replacement there are no longer holes there or in the front doors so Im just going that single speaker option above. Sure it wont be cutting edge sound but just enough for some nice background music better than the mono radio ever was anyways.

[Nursebetty]

Speakers are just some 6inch random ones that were in there, i dont think they are anything special. Like you i just need some background noise and sometimes i just switch everything off to hear that 32/36 sing. lol

I wouldnt hack an intact parcel shelf either, they would be a very rare item.

I used the oem radio backing plate and some 3mm bar to help hold the radio in place to prevent sagging, i dont think the radio will fit with that bar there.