Radio questions

[inuitsessions]

hello, i'm a new owner of a mercury marauder. the way I got this car was through a lien sale, through my garage, so i wasn't planning on owning this vehicle. the only thing missing on this car is it's radio. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what to buy that would look okay, or if i should just purchase the factory radio from the dealership/store
i also wanted to know if it was possible to keep the steering controls avaliable, but I found the thread that talked about the universal kit.
thanks a lot for your help


p.s. i did not know a thing about marauders, butafter getting my name on this car and driving it around for a while..i can't stop reading about it! so...much...power.... :bows:

[jgc61sr2002]

Congrats. Welcome aboard.:D:welcome1:

There are many aftermarket radios available.
I would go with the factory radio which you could probably purchase on this site.

[knine]

Wow. A new guy that has found the "search" function. Make the rest of us look bad, doesn't he? ;)

Check the "parts for sale" under Forums, there is occasionally a factory unit in there.

:congrats: and :welcome1: to the site.

BTW I think it's hilarious that some people never invision owning this car, then ***BAM*** they're hooked for life. YOU WILL BE ASSILIMILATED. :D

Forgot to add, if it's other radio shtuff you require, check out John's Stereo, he's a vendor here. The Vendors on this site ROCK !! :rock:

[ckadiddle]

Magindat (Rich) and some others have already upgraded to non-stock units. I bet someone has a used stock radio they will sell ya at a very reasonable rate. They can also fill you in on what fits and what special thingies you will need if you go with aftermarket. Oh yeah..don't we also have a site vendor that gives us great prices on electronic aftermarket goodies?

[Pops]

That would be me! Johns Stereo

[ckadiddle]

That would be me! Johns Stereo
That's him!!! Couldn't remember his name, was having a bad brain day yesterday. :shake: Sorry, John.

[arejayesss]

Magindat (Rich) and some others have already upgraded to non-stock units. I bet someone has a used stock radio they will sell ya at a very reasonable rate. They can also fill you in on what fits and what special thingies you will need if you go with aftermarket. Oh yeah..don't we also have a site vendor that gives us great prices on electronic aftermarket goodies?

I did...and I do... I don't know what to ask for it though??? I saw one on Ebay for like 129.00 with no bidders. That's too high. What do you guys think??? I would rather it go to someone on this site.

[Bluerauder]

hello, i'm a new owner of a mercury marauder.

Congrats on your MM and welcome :welcome1: to the MM.Net.

[Richy04]

Uhh sir, you must post pics of this car or you cant post here. Rule one, go get the camera..:P

[knine]

That would be me! Johns Stereo
OOPSIE !! SORRY John, I meant to put you in my post above.

[inuitsessions]

thanks a lot for your help guys :o

knowing about the universal kit, it makes it pretty difficult to decide on either getting the factory radio, or something that can give me a little more room to operate on

after finally getting the papers in the mail from the DMV, I started to look through it. I popped open the trunk and it looks as if the old owner of this car had a monster system in it. Theres custom boxes taking up the whole floor my trunk (leaving behind no room for cargo), with 2 open slots to fit in subs. all the wires seem to be present too, it looks like the ex-owner just decided to remove his whole audio from the car before taking it to my shop. i'm starting to think that he was trying to get rid of the thing.... :confused:

anyway, seeing as though its already more than half-way done to having a killer audio system, i was wondering what you all thought of the performance of the factory radio and if it would be better(in my case) to get something aftermarket that will go along better with the rest of the audio.

i'm not sure how much factory radios cost, but i'd be more than willing to purchase one off of somebody on this site :cool:

[inuitsessions]

oh! and i'll get pictures up soon! it did have really, really nice chrome Lincoln rims, but I had to change them since they didn't fit. I'm really bummed about that. Thats another thing that made me think that he was just trying to get rid of the thing, the rims didn't even fit! i had to buy new tires/rims!

[magindat]

You need aftermarket. The factory radio will not have the appropriate outputs to run everything. I recommend a double DIN unit. There are many available. The car will take a double din with minimal trimming of the opening. This will provide a 'filled' look.
There are Navigation/audio systems available with touch screens and all kinds of stuff. You can go far.
To keep space and reduce weight, I'd recommend losing that "monster box" and building one that fits up on the tray where the spare is. This not only reduces weight but also centers what weight there is over the rear axle (where it belongs).

There's a couple of us stereo junkies here. We support John at John's Stereo. I have done several detailed write ups in his forum. I've been in audio over 20 years and done at least half a dozen Marauders.

Read. Learn. PM me if you need to. Post pictures of your situation and we'll comment on them to help you out.

If you're feeling REALLY froggy, take a trip to John's in Michigan or take a ride over to my place in FL and get done RIGHT!!!!