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Radio Replacement for 81 Subaru DL - HELP!


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I had a Clarion 8024 radio in my Subaru that has malfunctioned. I was told that due to the lack of clearance only a certain kind of radio can be used.

 

I was also told that very few vendors have such a radio. What does the forum do when a radio needs to be replaced in an older Subaru? I will probably be quoted over $200.00 to replace the radio later on today. I have a low end speaker in each front door, so I'm assuming the original Subaru radio cannot power that.

 

Help!

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you mean DL does not stand for DELUXE!!! :banana:

 

OK, so if I want a speaker in each door I have to get an aftermarket radio and put it near the bottom of the dash just above the carpeting. I did that, but that radio, a Clarion 8024R, stopped working.

 

So my options are either ebay or buying a new radio from an inventory source that my installer knows about, at a premium price because it's really just overstock of an item no longer made.

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So my options are either ebay or buying a new radio from an inventory source that my installer knows about, at a premium price because it's really just overstock of an item no longer made.

 

If you want to keep the console intact, that's pretty much it. Another option is to use a saw to cut a hole in the console and slip in whatever radio you wish, which is what a number of folk have done, myself included. I snagged a console from an '81, cut a hole in it for a radio/cassette player and put it in my '84.

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If you want to keep the console intact, that's pretty much it. Another option is to use a saw to cut a hole in the console and slip in whatever radio you wish, which is what a number of folk have done, myself included. I snagged a console from an '81, cut a hole in it for a radio/cassette player and put it in my '84.

 

Hmmm, I have removed the non-functioning radio and left the console off. There sure seems to be a lot of room under the console. Does the console serve any useful purpose besides the radio and ashtray? There seems to be a lot of extra space inside the console.

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I had an 81 DL and it had an old aftermarket shaft style radio. I replaced it with a single din cd/stereo. What I did was carfully cut out the portion with the holes for the shafts and I slid little cubby thing in the new hole. Where the little cubby came out, I cut all the way across, including the accessary square (I think the power mirror toggle went there-not sure though). Then I took some thin gauge aluminum and cut a whole sized for the stereo and then large enough to overlap where I made the second hole. I used sheet metal screws to attach it from the front. Now behind the console I used all the factory support brackets but I flattened them with a 3lb. sledge and then reshaped them as needed. Sorry I don't have pics or anything, I've since sold the car. If you want further clarification, just let me know.

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What's the little cubby thing?

 

What radio did you install?

 

Thanks for the info! Thanks for the ebay links.

 

thanks thanks thanks. :banana:

The little cubby thing is the small slot to hold cassettes or other miscellaneous items. The radio I installed was an in-dash Pioneer CD player.

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cubby thing is what the non-informed call the place for the stock tape player

 

http://usmb.net/gallery/album75/1982_brat_h?full=1 radio and tape player

 

http://usmb.net/gallery/album75/1982_brat_f?full=1 difference between dl and gl

The second link is the 81 DL dash but they cut off the portion I was talking about. The first link shows the portion but it doesn't look the same because the factory has already cut it out in order to accomodate the cassette.

This picture shows the accessory square w/the hole that is to the right of the "cubby" but they did not remove the square like I did. I'm kind of surprised that is the factory solution. Looks kind of crappy to me.

http://usmb.net/gallery/album72/1980_acc_c?full=1

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http://usmb.net/gallery/albuo85/rehersal_155

 

Here's a good example of what I was trying to explain. Below the cutout for the radio is the "cubby" I was referring to. I enlarged the original radio opening to accomodate it. Moving it up allowed for a little more backspacing to allow a modern (deeper) stereo deck to fit flush. I also enlarged the lower opening and cut out the square with the power mirror toggle. I then fabricated a face plateto cover the now too wide opening. It looked a little ghetto, but the dash was pretty grungy to begin with. Using the faceplate allowed me to center the stereo as well. If I would have tried to install the radio in the factory location, I would not have been able to use the ashtray (gum wrappers-not ashes) because the modern deck is much wider than the old radio.

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I may have my old Clarion still hanging around (from my 82)? If it's still around it's yours. It will fit in the stock radio holes!

 

I'll check and see if I still have it if you want it?

Glenn

82 SubaruHummer--no need for a radio anymore

01 Forester--Sony replaced Subaru--won't fit in your stock mount.

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