1962 Buick Special: Installing Satellite Radio and an 8-Track Player
Thursday, August 18th, 2005
My brother, Brian, owns a 1962 Buick Special family sedan. This car is the first year Buick utilized a V-6 engine… the Fireball V-6. It’s also the last year Buick used a generator instead of an alternator. Not a good thing to have when you want to run modern-day car audio equipment! A 1962 generator isn’t going to have enough current to power what Brian wanted: An XM SkyFi Satellite Radio, an 8-Track player, and an amplifier to drive it all. Talk about both ends of the car audio spectrum! I wasn’t looking for creating a break-the-bank “boomin’ system”… just something that can deliver good sound, is cost effective, and won’t make your neighbors get upset. After Brian had his mechanic remove the generator and retrofit his Buick with a modern-day alternator, I got down to work. In the 1962 Buick Special, seatbelts and rear speakers were an option. For rear speakers, luckily there are holes in the rear shelf’s frame. All that’s needed is to cut speaker holes in the cardboard shelf. In the front is one mono speaker connected to the AM radio. Nothing like Lo-Fi!
