AM-FM Stereo Installation Questions 1969

Q: AM-FM Stereo Installation Questions 1969

Can anyone shed some light on this question ? Do the AM FM Stereo Radios for the 1969 F bodies need to have the amplifier unit installed or were they made to stand alone also. Also, when using the factory 8-track player, do you need to have the amp unit installed ? Any insight you may have on these radio installs will be greatly appreciated. Have you converted your bird to factory AM-FM ? If so, drop me a note, I have some questions.

A: The 1968 radio had a removable plug to add the multiplexer, but in 1969 they went to a separate radio for stereo. You need to have both units, and they are supposed to be a matched set. The label on the side of the radio will identify it, but here’s a couple clues. The 69 Firebird radios, all 3 of them, had longer pushbuttons than other Pontiacs to reach through the angled dash. The AM and AM/FM had black pushbuttons, while the stereo radio had chrome PB’s. On both the AM/FM and the stereo units, the left-most button had AM molded into it, and the right-most button had FM molded in. The AM and AM/FM radios worked by themselves, meaning no external components except power and a speaker. The AM/FM Stereo requires the external multiplex unit to function, it mounts above the glovebox, and has a cable with a connector that has 9 pins, and the cable is on the radio, plugs into the MPX. (That is opposite the 1968 design, the MPX had the cable attached to it.)

Since you could buy a Firebird with AM/8-Track only, I assume the 8-Track is also self-contained. The 8-Track used kick panel speakers like the AM/FM stereo system did, but with the AM/8-Track combo, I believe the AM played through a dash speaker, and the tape played through the kick panel speakers. There are special harnesses for each application, and they are available repro from many Pontiac parts vendors. I don’t own a 1969 Delco Radio manual, but I know a couple folks who do, and might be able to get more info as you need it.

I have a couple 1969 AM/FM Stereo systems that are currently on the shelf, but both systems came from cars that did not have the tape player, so I bought a harness to connect them. I have not tried to make the system work yet. If you have a Stereo radio that is missing the MPX, I have at least 1 unit spare, maybe 2, but a radio restorer would probably have to calibrate them to your radio.

A: I had a 1968 400 coupe that had a factory 8 track and an AM radio it used the 4 speakers for the 8 track (kick panels and dual rears) and a single speaker in the top of dash( same as all Other single front speaker radios) It didnt have any switch to cange from one system to the other so you could play both at the same time.

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