This month we'll be talking about radios, speakers, and related items. To some people stereos are the life-blood of their project. To me, I just like to have something that I can listen to loud music on. We have in stock and can order several different radio options. All of the radios we sell are designed to fit directly into your dash without any modifications to the holes in your dash. Most radios that you buy at a local stereo shop or chain store will not fit directly into your ride.

The question we get asked the most about the radios we sell is if they have a built-in CD player. The answer is no. If you will measure a CD and the hole for the radio in your dash, you will find that it isn't large enough to accommodate a CD. So what we have done is add controls to our radios that will control a remote 10-disc CD player that you can mount in the trunk or under a seat.

We sell 4 different radios. The first is a USA-1 which would be considered the lowest level of radio. It is a 200 watt AM/FM cassette radio. The next is the USA-5 which is a 240 watt AM/FM cassette radio that will also control the remote CD player. Then there is the USA-6 radio which is a 240 watt AM/FM radio only that will control the CD player and also has input jacks for iPods, MP3, DVD, and Satellite radios. The final option is what we call the Secret Audio system. It is designed to be mounted inside the glove box, console, or other "secret" location. This radio is used when you want to keep your original radio in the dash but you want all of the modern sound and convenience.

Speakers are another item to think about while building your ride. Most of these cars did not have a good place, other than the factory location, to mount speakers. You can add speakers to the back shelf if you are in a car. Other options we offer are kick panels with speakers built into them. Wattage will range from 90 to 160 per speaker, depending on the model of your car or truck. This is a simple place to mount speakers that is out of the way and won't take away from your ride's interior. One word of caution-make sure that the speakers won't interfere with your e- brake assembly.

Another major problem people will run into with radios is not knowing how to adjust the side-to-side balance or the fade on the radio. Most of these controls are built into the tone and volume control knobs and people will get this adjusted all out of sorts and will think the radio is the problem and not what they've done to the radio. This is the #1 reason people will send radios in for warranty work and all it turns out to be is one of these adjustments.

Also make sure that you have a good quality antenna cable on your radio. Make sure that no insulation is missing and that the connection is good on the back of the radio and at the antenna itself. If you don't have a good quality antenna then you will have bad reception.

Well that's all for this issue. Next month we will have a couple of changes. We will no longer be doing a Ride of the Month. Instead, we will have an article about a particular year and model of car. This will be out in the October issue. So be on the look out for that new feature. Also, we're going to add a section on tech questions that you send in. We are going to try to feature that in next month's issue. If you have a question you would like us to address please send it to tray@hhclassic.com and we will look at it for the next issue.

Our article next month is going to be on suspension and brake upgrades.