Don't have access to the car now and am looking to replace the Becker asap. I have an old Alpine 7905 or 7903 and the same vintage Alpine amp I want to use. I need to replace the speakers also...

Does anyone know the speaker setup in the 87 420? I know there are two in the dash, two in the deck, and are there two in the front doors?

Also would appreciate any experienced advice on what sizes will work best in these enclosures for a factory look. Reading the posts makes it sound like everything is oddly fit...

Thanks!

John
87 420SEL
00 C230
00 A4 2.8

I know this is 2 months later, but did you ever get the help you needed on the 420 sel radio upgrade? If not, I can help you. I just rewired my stereo with new deck, changer, and changed a speaker out. Scott

Scottfish,

Lookin' to rid my ears of the terrible Becker Curse in my "Tuna Boat"....tell me , if you please what should I replace it with...specifically, what did you put in yours?

My Becker took a dump this AM....nothing but a series of horizontal dashes on the screen?????

Remember what the dashes indicate?

Respectfully,
Harp

Harpman, I replaced my becker with a Sony 7900 am/fm/minidisc and added a Sony 10 disc cd changer in the trunk. On my wife's 89 300se, we added a Nakamichi am/fm/cassette and added a Sony xm satelite. In order to get the sound you want from the new stuff, you need to rewire the speakers and cut loose from the factory wiring and amps. The new deck you add will in most cases have more power than the old Becker with the amps, so naturally you will not need the amps. The amps seem to cause a noise in the system that you cannot get rid of until you cut loose from them. I ended up having a dead speaker in the rear deck and did not notice it until I replace the becker deck and got rid of the amps. When you get ready to change out the deck, email me at scottfish@peoplepc.com and I will give you details of what to look for and how to do it as far as what colored wires go to what. If you have never done this before(like I was) it may take you between 3.5 and 5 hours to do the job, but when you are done, you will be amazed. I will tell you that if you are going to do the job, you will need to get a spool of 50 feet of 14 or 16 gauge speaker wire that you can pick up at your local Walmart for around $8. Email me when you are ready and I will walk you through it step by step or you can call me with any questions at 423-817-0952. Good luck! Don't be fooled by the time it may take you to do the job because it is really a very easy job and you want to take your time so that you don't have to go back later and correct something. Scott

Damn, everyday I'm amazed at the generousity of this group!

Extremely kind of you to offer your help...give me a few weeks to round up the pieces and parts and I will be chattin' with ya!

Should I start lookin' for the units locally, i.e., big chains or local audio shops or did you buy of the net?

Peace,
Harp

Harp, unless you just have to have brand new, I would go to ebay and find the units you want and try there. I bought the same unit that I had in my car that I sold for $100. It was the Sony amfmminidisc that I paid in my other car new about $300. Another place to look is discountcarstereo.com . They sometimes have some good deals on new stuff. Just yell when you are ready. Scott

scottfish@peoplepc.com
423-817-0952 cell