This is in my 1974 El Camino. Head unit is an old jensen 15w/ch shaft style tape deck. I just got new 6x9s in some enclosures for the behind the seat. A previous owner had been running some radio shack 8 ohm cone 4x10s in the doors.

Everything seems working but sound is very muffled from any channel. The new speakers work fine when hooked to another source.

Radio seems to be wired properly as far as it only comes on when the ignition is, etc.

I checked the radio fuse in the panel and the inline fuse and both are good. It seems to share a common ground on the left and right side between front and rear. Any thoughts?

I'm torn between trying to possibly find a new head unit that wont require cutting the dash or try hooking up a small amp using the inputs off the head unit.

Any ideas of other things to try? So far the only place I've found that still sells the old shaft style units is AZ has 3 different ones and only the "high end" one has a digital tuner and runs $69.

did u try hooking up an amp to it and see if it works? or was it just an idea you were going to try. because the jensen h.u. might not be putting out enough rms wattage to push the 6x9s.

If your speakers sound muffeled when hook up then I wouldn't be checking fuses. Obviousdly its getting power so that is not the problem. I'd say it is time for a new Stereo. If your not wanting to cut and custom fit a CD player then look at these units that are made specifically for Classic Cars and Trucks (retro stuff). Some have CD Changer capabilities.

They list the El Camino as one of the "fits in" application Here: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ProductDisplay/c-10101/s-10101/p-215896/mediaCode-ZX/appId-473927

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ProductDisplay/s-10101/p-5920/c-10101

Good Luck

how difficult is it and what has to be cut out on a 4th gen dash to make a>'Ae modern head unit fit?

custom auto-sound.com has all their models on the web-site. and you can call them for any advice or technical help to see what compatible with your car if have doubts with the info on their site. i was scared to experiment on sizing and cutting my dash so i payed a profesional( $85 was very well worth it ) since me making a mistake would of been way more expensive.

how difficult is it and what has to be cut out on a 4th gen dash to make a>'Ae modern head unit fit?

Big pain in the rear. Problem is you have to cut out enough room for the unit to slide in and cut not only the dash bezel but some of the support structure behind it. I first had a BLAUPUNKT ISO-DIN head unit installed in my dash and now I have a kenwood unit. I had to use a dremel to cut the opening straight without butchering it. For most modern DIN style Radios you will find that you will have to trim more than just the flat parts of the radio openings (where the shafts normally come through) and actually cut back the part of the opening that slopes back toward the radio opening by about 1/8 ". You will also have to rig up a way of supporting the back of the receiver. I did it using part of an electronics project box and a fabbed up bracket made from an old piece of scrap metal strapping attached to the project box half. Industrial strength velcro was also involved. And I am not talking about the stuff in the auto parts store either. This is the stuff you get in a big roll at home depot and is about 2" wide.

The easiest part is cutting the hole. The hard part is figuring out how to support the deck since you cant rely on the front of the dash anymore. What I had to do to make it work was way more than any of the custom shops would even consider. I can see why now. They would have had an easier time just building me a whole custom dash and told me so. 8O

If you can find a shaft style radio like one from Custom Autosound or through a phone call to crutchfield ( They say they still sell em but don't put them anywhere on their website or catalog) Then go that route to keep your life simple. Besides, it's really hard to find a nice dash bezel and I almost cried when I had to hack mine up to make the radio fit.

8)

If you're worried about having to hack up your old dash bezel, Crutchfield has a universal underdash kit (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-kQH39KFs1XC/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=752&I=120999000) for about $25 (or free if you purchase a receiver or equalizer). Then, you could put whatever CD player or cassette player you'd want to. I'd try to bump it up to 45 w/ ch. and, if it still sounds muffled, you'll need an amp for those 6x9's.

I found a pretty low cost 30w rms/60 peak amp that I'm going to try hooking up and see if it helps. If not I can return it :)

I really don't want to mess with my interior too much cause I like the stock look of the SS.

If I had a classic I'd just put in custom buckets and a center console but I'm not pulling out my swivel buckets and factory console.

don't blame you for not wanting to mess with the SS interioir. got a pic of that radio? just curious about it.

ok its crazy but I was having all those issues with out the car running. I took the camino out to try and see if I can get a safety sticker on it and the radio works fine.

granted my motor/exhaust is still probably louder than the radio. :)