Stereo

[Guest RQB 2698]

Does anybody know of a good replacement stereo unit? I'm looking for a n AM/FM/cassetter player with better sound than the 6 watt per channel unit in the car and I don't want to tear up the dash to put it in.

[Guest Anonymous]

You may have difficulty getting an answer to this question, since the Avanti is very unlikely to be listed in radio vendor books and because radio models are constantly changing, so conversions done only a year or two ago are probably outdated. Today even cassette players are becoming scarce, while CD/DVD players are plentiful.

Perhaps the best bet is to remove the existing radio to take measurements, or find someone with an old Avanti radio who will loan it to you for that purpose. Then go to a radio seller with the measurements so you can compare to find one small enough. I have 2 Avanti II's with replacement radios, but only one has a cassette player, and it's an old model that would not be available currently. The other one received a Blaupunkt Berlin model many years ago, a model that has long since left the product line (and it didn't have a cassette).

Chances are you will have to adapt the face plate/surround trim panel to fit the new radio, and you may have to alter the radio cutout in the fiberglass dash a bit (I seem to also remember altering the speaker cutout years ago to allow the Blaupunkt to be inserted in through that opening). Most current radios are single or double height standard "DIN" models, neither of which will probably fit the Avanti very well, since most new models have a face meant meant to "fill" a rectangular DIN space without need for face plate/surround trim.

The existing radio is a very tight fit, especially if you have air conditioning... here's a webpage that describes how to remove the radio:

http://tinyurl.com/8fdyb

[Gunslinger]

Custom Autosound (http://www.custom-autosound.com) custom makes stereos for many cars and lists Studebaker and Avanti II's among them. They have several feature levels and styles with cassette players.

The only downside is I've heard they have a spotty reputation...I've heard some good and not so good reports from Corvette people who have tried their products. I've no experience with them myself.

It's at least worth investigating.