AT LONG LAST
June 26, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
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The HEAR & NOW
Installing A Custom Autosound Stereo Into A Vintage Chevy C10
Author
Matt Emery
Story & Photography
The Perfect Combination: Cars and Music
There are only a few things in this world that really get us going. A few of them are auto-related, but one of the things we love most is music. As far as we’re concerned, the only thing better than tooling down the highway in our hot rod truck is tooling down the highway in our hot rod truck while listening to music.
The Legacy of Cars and Music in Culture
Cars and music have been so intertwined in our culture that the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean virtually made their careers out of combining the two—well, these two things and a pretty girl, anyway.
Modernizing Classic Vehicles
While we love classic vehicles, there are some aspects that have to be upgraded for life in the here and now—or make that the hear and now. Though a sound system that provides the capabilities of modern vehicles may not be on par with upgraded safety features such as disc brakes, it sure does make life better to our ears, anyway.
Preserving Classic Dashboards
We like the looks of the classic dashes in early pickups. We did not want to cut up the dash in order to install a new stereo system. Thanks to the folks at Custom Autosound, those days are over, and have been for some time, as they’ve seen to it that nearly anyone can install a custom sound system in his or her vintage ride without having to do any damage to it, or without the need to be an electrical engineer.
Custom Autosound: A Legacy of Quality Sound
Since 1979, Custom Autosound has been producing state-of-the-art stereo systems that fit the stock radio opening. Custom Autosound owner Carl Sprague originally designed a unit that would fit into his ’63 Corvette without having to alter the stock console. Since then, he and his crew have expanded the products they offer to encompass systems for more than 400 different makes and models, ranging in years from the 1940s through the 1980s.
Installation in a 1972 Chevy C10
In this article, we’re chronicling the installation of a Custom Autosound USA-5 unit into a 1972 Chevy C10. The installation of the Custom Autosound unit is fairly straightforward, one that most folks with a base knowledge of their vehicle’s electrical system and stereo-based electronics can do at home. It just requires some basic understanding, and the ability to bolt things together and run some wiring.
Additional Options from Custom Autosound
Custom Autosound has units that can control the CD changer but do not have a cassette player. It also has a Secretaudio unit, which has a small and very thin faceplate that can be mounted in a visor or a center console while still being able to control a remote-mounted CD changer. The Secretaudio system is perfect for those who want to smooth the dash on their pickups.
The heart of the matter for this install is the Custom Autosound head unit. This model is the USA-5. It features an AM/FM stereo and cassette player and 140 watts of power, and it is capable of operating a CD changer. Don’t let the numbers on its dial fool you; they are only there for looks. It uses LED numbers to display the station and CD readout.
The Custom Autosound CD changer holds 10 discs that are easily installed in the insert. All controls for the changer are found on the head unit.
Custom Autosound has devised these dual voice-coil speakers to fit in place of the stock dash speaker. They are pre-wired, so installing them is simply a matter of plugging them into the main wiring harness (which, by the way, simply plugs into the head unit). They can handle 140 watts of power.
Gone are the days of having to cut a hole in your door panels to mount speakers. Custom Autosound has eliminated that drastic step with its kick-panel-mounted speakers. These units are black, high-density, molded ABS plastic, so they can be installed as is, or they can be easily covered with upholstery if the interior of your ride is finished in another color or a custom material. They feature a 6.5-inch coaxial (two-way) speaker that is capable of handling 80 watts of power. As with the other speakers, the units are pre-wired with male and female ends so there is no chance of a wiring problem.
This Chevy had been upgraded back in the late ’80s with a Jensen stereo. The unit was okay in its day, but the cassette player hadn’t worked for years and the owner wanted to have more of a retro look, so the unit had to go.
Of course, the first step when working on any automotive electrical system is to remove the negative lead on the battery. With that done, it is time to remove the old unit. To get to it, though, the heater controls need to be removed. This is done by removing a few screws from beneath the dash. The ashtray and its frame also need to be removed.
The control knobs are pulled and the nuts holding the faceplate on the old unit are removed. The unit is then dropped down and out through the bottom of the dash.
With the unit out of the way, the stock dash speaker (what is left of it) is unbolted and removed.
One of the nice things about the Custom Autosound twin-coil dash speaker is that it, too, is pre-wired and ready to be plugged into the wiring harness. The leads are marked L and R so that the wiring process is as easy as possible.
With the stock hardware reused, the new speaker is installed.
In another “upgrade,” the Chevy had been equipped with carpet covering the kick panels.
The Custom Autosound kick panel speakers are also pre-wired for you. They simply slide into place.
A few self-tapping screws are used to hold the units in place. Note that the panels fit most of the time, but there may be times when slight trimming is needed.
The Custom Autosound head unit is well packed with all of the pieces needed to complete the job. The faceplate is removed and the unit is prepped for installation. There are two sets of nuts on the control posts; the lower ones are used to set the depth of the unit as it sits in the dash. Make sure that these are set to an equal depth and deep enough so that the unit will be far enough through the dash.
A wiring harness that simply plugs into the rear of the head unit makes wiring the system as easy as these things can get. The first step is to separate the wires and gang them into their respective bunches.
Connecting the speakers to the main harness is simplicity itself. Simply find the right harness wire and plug in the speaker wire.
A few wraps of electrical tape ensures that the connections are weatherproof and will also help keep them connected during the installation process.
The only difficult part of the operation is finding the hot wires needed. Since the Custom Autosound unit has electronic presets, a constant hot wire and a keyed hot wire, these leads need to be located. The stock hot wire is keyed, so that one is easy. The constant hot wire can be found in the fuse block or even the headlight switch. Of course, you can wire both leads to the constant hot wire so that the stereo will play without the key being in the “on” or accessory position. Also, the ground lead should be solidly fixed to a non-painted metal spot on a frame member. A bad ground is normally the reason that an automotive electrical device won’t work, so take care when doing this step.
Two new tools were used during this install. One is a new type of wire stripper that makes this job much easier than in the past. Just squeeze and the wire is bare. The other is really a new take on the old wire nuts. These butt end connections are strong and simple to use; just twist the wires, slip on the connector and crimp.
With all of the connections made and the harness and antenna lead plugged into the back of the head unit, the unit is carefully slipped up, under and behind the dash.
With all of the connections made and the harness and antenna lead plugged into the back of the head unit, the unit is carefully slipped up, under and behind the dash.
A pair of plates was slipped over the posts to give the unit a solid backing.
Here is where some home installers make a mistake. The faceplate for the head unit actually goes between the head unit and the back of the dash, and not on the outside (or face) of the dash.
The other set of nuts is threaded onto the posts to hold the unit against the dash. One of the tools of the trade is this deep-throw nut driver. For those of us at home, fingers do a good job of installing the nuts and a small wrench is enough to tighten them down. Just remember not to overtighten the nuts. Using the rear mounting strap is equally important, as the act of driving will jostle the unit enough to possibly damage the posts if the strap is not there to hold the rear of the unit steady.
With the addition of the control knobs, the job is finished.
There is little question that the Custom Autosound stereo unit looks right at home in the Chevy. Even the control knobs match the rest of the knobs on the dash.
There is some prep needed prior to installing the CD changer. There are plates that cover the ends. These need to be removed to get to the things beneath.
Three screws secure the moving internal pieces together so that no damage occurs during shipping, and they must be removed before installing or the unit will not work.
There is an orientation knob that must also be set. If the unit is laid flat, the knob is set to “0.” If the unit is mounted in the upright (face up) position, then the knob must be set to “90.”
29 Mounting plates are also supplied, and they are affixed to the screw holes where the shipping plates were mounted.
For this install, the CD changer will be located beneath the bench seat. But due to a small rib in the floor, a spacer was needed to get the unit high enough so that the insert could be removed. This spacer was held to the mounts with small bolts, and a few self-tapping sheetmetal screws were used to hold the spacers to the floor (just make sure you look beneath so you are not screwing into anything that could be damaged—such as the fuel line!).
The changer’s lead wire is run beneath the passenger’s-side doorsill. Note that the changer gets its power from this lead, so there is no need to run a power or ground lead.
With the lead wire plugged in and the insert filled with your favorite CDs, the changer is ready to, um, change CDs.
33 With the seatback in place, the changer is easy to get to while still being out of the way.
ARTICLE SOURCES
Custom Autosound
1030 W. Williamson Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92833
(800) 888-8637
