Installing an aftermarket radio in a old car

It is way easier nowadays (depending on your car). Buy your head unit from Crutchfield. It's a bit more expensive than other sources, but just do it. Even if you think you found a good deal, don't do it. Just buy from Crutchfield. You give them the details of your car. They will automatically get you set up with all the harnesses and adapters you need. They also include directions for how to do everything.

Typically you will need a head unit (duh), either single din or double din, depending on what your car supports. Then you have an adapter kit. This includes the physical mounting kit and replacement facia piece for your dashboard, depending on if your car needs those pieces. Then you have a wiring harness. This plugs into the wires that went into the original head unit. You solder the wiring harness for your car to the harness for your head unit. This way you don't have to make any permanent modifications to your car. If you have steering wheel controls and want to keep them, you need to buy an adapter box. It will have another harness that you solder into the car wiring harness you bought. If your head unit has a microphone for voice calls, you have to run that microphone somewhere. That is probably the hardest part of the installation. You can often stuff the tiny microphone wire into the facia around the A pillar on the driver or passenger side to get it up to the rearview mirror area.

I have installed a head unit in a 2002 Subaru Forester 3 times, and a 2011 Subaru Outback once. I would be happy to help out if you have any more questions.

It's been about 25 years since I replaced a car stereo, but back then my go-to was Crutchfield because they had a compatibility filter, vehicle-specific installation instructions, and (I don't know if this is still true) a harness that would connect the aftermarket harness to the car's OEM harness.

I'm not sure how they compare in terms of price competitiveness, but it looks like they still have the Compatibility Filter and include the vehicle-specific installation instructions. It looks like any adapters or other accessories are an additional cost, but it should help you narrow down your options even if you don't buy through them.

Crutchfield has a page that lists what you'll need by car model. I did this with an 03 Civic a few years ago. From what I remember, the main thing is you'll need a wiring harness for any aftermarket radio. The crutchfield page will tell you what harness you'll need.

https://www.crutchfield.com/car/carselector.aspx?lp=%2fcar%2foutfitmycar%2fmycar.aspx

I've done this before on this model, and it was not bad at all. I don't remember all of the details since it was around 20 years ago, but there are a few things I do remember.

Yes, wiring harness is required. As others stated, crutchfield is your friend.

Double DIN adapter is required. If you're not using a double DIN head unit. Again, crutchfield probably has them. It's a standard double length, so most double length will fit. It will stick out a small amount because the surrounding plastic of the dash is rounded.

The ford head unit removal tool is the easiest way to go, it's a 4 pronged plastic thing you just push in and the factory unit releases. I remember trying to improvise and it did not work very well, but using the tool popped it right out.

If you're wiring a microphone, there's a very convenient place to mount it if you drill a hole in the back of the small tray to the right of the steering wheel.

There's a decent amount of room once you remove the factory unit if you're installing any other accessories, like aux input/output, remote lines, or whatever else you'd want to put.

Factory speakers are not the greatest unless you have the mcintosh premium package. Most models did not have this. The speakers are very easy to replace, and they are common sizes. I think the rear are 6x9 and the front are 5in , but I'd check that first.

Do you have the standard or premium audio in it now? If it's the standard, you can use whatever's on Crutchfield, if not you'll need a wiring harness for an 01 Mercedes if I recall. The Blapunkt radio upgrade means that a lot of information on that model can be confusing.

Honestly, it's not that hard if you're comfortable pulling a bunch of wires out of the dash - I did it in a car parking lot in under an hour - but if you're not out shouldn't be too expensive a job to have someone do. Worst case, you don't have a radio installed while you drive to car toys with your tail between your legs.

I installed an aftermarket radio into a Ford Taurus 2003 during Covid. It took me an entire Saturday, after researching the right parts. Things I learned during the process:

• I needed certain radio removal "keys", looking like a set of prongs. I grabbed them from a nearby parts store.
• Using the prongs to remove the radio was tedious. The prongs have to reach deep inside the dash and depress some plastic tabs simultaneously, so I had to wiggle the whole setup for a long time before it clicked and came apart.
• I didn't know the plug for the speakers was in the trunk of the Taurus. So I had to run wires from the trunk up to the dash. The Internet told me to hide it under the carpet trim, which is only attached with plastic clips; so again, it was extremely tedious, careful work to pull up the trim along the driver's side of the car (without breaking it!) and hide the wire underneath. Some of the trim is still a bit warped from my impatience and yanking too hard.
• I needed some cable ties to tidy up the wires as they crossed from the trim to the radio. Otherwise, the wires would be hanging down into your gas&break pedal area, which is super dangerous.

Is that one of the models with buttons in the dashboard? I remember having an old escort and I would stare at it and just wonder why, why would you do that?