Cost to Have an AM Radio Converted to AM FM USB Bluetooth

Is it cheaper to have an OE AM radio converted to AM/FM/USB/Bluetooth or to just pull the trigger and buy one of these?

I like the look of the stock radio, so buying an aftermarket radio is not an option for me.

Repro 1970 Camaro AM FM Stereo Radio with bluetooth​

IMHO it would far more cost effective to buy one like the one pictured. No old stuff, all new, and with a warranty.

Since I didn’t already have a radio for my 71 I opted to buy one similar to the one you have pictured from an outfit in Florida which has the Bluetooth and has more power output than the factory radio. I’ve been pleased with it.

Check out Mike Hagan antique radio, he's in Pa.

From my research, I have found it is about as expensive to have someone make this conversion to my OE AM radio as it is to buy the radio I showed above. That's NUTS!!!

I see all the boards are available from Aurora Designs, but I can't find any instructions ANYWHERE on how to do this conversion myself. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places???

In my heyday, I was a large systems CE for IBM and have worked on everything from mainframes to all of the associated I/O, so I am more than capable of this task IF ONLY there was some documented guidance out there I could find...

I mean, seriously, how hard could this conversion be to make???

Has anybody here done the conversion?

80WA7113 said:

From my research, I have found it is about as expensive to have someone make this conversion to my OE AM radio as it is to buy the radio I showed above. That's NUTS!!!

I see all the boards are available from Aurora Designs, but I can't find any instructions ANYWHERE on how to do this conversion myself. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places???

In my heyday, I was a large systems CE for IBM and have worked on everything from mainframes to all of the associated I/O, so I am more than capable of this task IF ONLY there was some documented guidance out there I could find...

I mean, seriously, how hard could this conversion be to make???

Has anybody here done the conversion?

Click to expand...

I found a video about adding Stereo Blue Tooth to a radio which was originally built with a tape deck.

Basically... You connect an external Blue Tooth unit to the pre-amp output of the tape deck and trick it into "playing" a tape.
(This mod will permanently disable the tape player.)



It's some good info, for a start.

A radio without a tape deck could be used if you can find the pre-amp output from the tuner.
You would also need to add an accessible switch to that connection in order to change the function from radio to Blue Tooth mode or use an auto On/Off Bluetooth board.

This method connects it to the antennae lead for input. (No radio mods needed but it's kind of clunky and it's a AM Mono connection.)
This method should work for stereo input if you use a stereo radio.

<Edit> I don't see the "RediRad" unit available anywhere.



Search YouTube for adding AUX input or Bluetooth to a car radio.
There are numerous ways to do it depending on the radio you are starting with.

There are many different Blue Tooth boards and gadgets so you need to know what will work for you, (voltage input/output, Auto On/Off etc.)

Ok, in doing a little more research, I came across several videos where the conversion was made using a board you can get on Amazon for $10-$20. For that price it's worth taking a chance. It sure could beat over $800 (with tax) for the radio I showed above...that is, IF it works good with speakers like 6x9 co or triaxials. Mind you, I'm not looking for ear drum splitting sound like back in the day, just nice, clean, undistorted sound.

Here's an example video I found:

Bluetooth Radio in a Classic Car or Truck for $10? I’ll show you how I did it.​

And here's the amplifier board I'm going to order to experiment with:




I can bench test it on a pair of spare house speakers I have to test for audio quality first to make sure I like how it sounds before installing.

As my father used to say: "We shall see..."