Old school radio for my track-y Foxbody

A few weeks back I took over the Mustang from this thread https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/cars-sale/89-fox-body-with-ls-swap-save-my-project/153431/page1/

I haven't done much, yet, but I am working on a long list of parts and mini-projects so that when I do start buying and projecting it will go smooth. Or, at least, smoother. Currently, my mind is occupied with stereo options. I intend for the car to be a road legal track day car that will probably see some weekend cruising so I want to have decent audio. Of particular consternation is the selection of a head unit for my planned setup of 6.5" and 6"x9" speakers from Skar Audio. Aesthetically I prefer an old school look to radios, I think it works better with the car, and on the practical side I don't like bright lights in the cabin or touchscreens. To make things difficult, I am trying to come in under the $100 mark for the head unit. To make things more difficult, I also want a cassette player. No serious reason for that, but given 2 similar options I would lean towards the tape deck. I am an electronics tech by trade so I am not put off by needing to do minor updates or repairs but less work is better. I do intend to incorporate, at the least, an aux port somewhere in the system.

I am aware of the RetroSound units by Crutchfield and the AutoSound units by Scott Drake and I like the looks but I would rather spend less if I can and maybe even get that cassette player. Ebay seems to be my friend but, if I were to buy an old Blaupunkt, how much refreshing would I need to do to get contemporary quality sound out of it? Something like this https://www.ebay.com/i/123583354809?chn=ps is a little up there in price but definitely doable if it really hits all the boxes.

So, for anyone that shares my leaning, what advice or suggestions do you have?

You can get either a VDO or Continental single DIN for $100-$200 new it seems depending on which features you want and who is selling it.

Somebody suggested this last time somebody asked for something that would look ok in a 1st gen Viper.

I personally went with this Pioneer DEH S600BS in my SN95 because it looked simple and I could set the backlighting to a shade of green that was fairly close to the stock gauge backlighting.

Probably slightly more modern looking than what you want but I was ok with it in my car and I think I paid like $70 to get both CD and Bluetooth.

I can't help you on the cassette deck. I've been accused of being a hipster but I've pulled them out of 3 of my cars now.

Maybe check out the Clarion m508? It’s technically a marine headunit, but it’s a lot less flashy than most of the other stuff out there. Here’s one in a 964 for reference. 

I just pulled a late-1980s vintage Kenwood cassette deck with matching trunk-mounted 6-CD changer out of my Saab project. If you're interested you can have it for cost of shipping - I have no use for it. I'll get you the model number later today.

I like the Clarion for its big knob.

Alpine CDA-983x series is really a sweet spot of MP3, satelite radio, bluetooth add-ons, Ipod add-ons, switchable illumination and still old enough to look the part.  

CDA-9835 is where its at but they bring big money.  

Wow Turbine, that Clarion looks great and period. Are there any others like that?

Turbine said:

Maybe check out the Clarion m508? It’s technically a marine headunit, but it’s a lot less flashy than most of the other stuff out there. Here’s one in a 964 for reference. 

That looks really good! 

The tape deck might fall by the wayside, I just think that it would be really cool to have in this car and it also makes it pretty simple to describe what I'm looking for in a radio.

In reply to Daylan C :

Those are a little more modern than what I was looking for but, I am open minded and I appreciate the recommendation. The VDO looks very inoffensive, I like the defined buttons and knobs and that it seems to make better use of the space than the Pioneer.

In reply to Turbine :

That Clarion looks good. It looks similar to the VDO up top, and I like that. I haven't looked at marine units, that seems like it might have been an oversight. The M508 is a bit more than I was hoping to spend but I am still in the exploratory phase so my budget might have to shift.

In reply to 02Pilot :

CD changer and a cassette deck is kinda primo. I am interested in that part number when you have the time. Thank you.

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Not that I know of off the top of my head, unfortunately. It’s been a while since I’ve looked though 

the only thing to dislike about the Clarion units.. the display is white with black lettering. It might clash with Ford's green lighting and might get a bit obnoxious at night

It's a Kenwood KRC-501 with a KDC-C504 CD changer (I lied - it holds 10 discs, not 6). Cable is in the box, so you should be able to use all the controls on the head unit as designed. Let me know if you want it and we'll figure out how to get it to you.

If you do go for a radio that's called a marine unit, make sure you order one that's 12 volts - some of them are 24 volts.

If you want a cassette deck, cruise Craigslist, or Salvation Army stores, or anywhere that sells used stuff.  Salvage yards used to have piles of them for a few bucks each, but they're old enough that they have gotten rid of them by now.

In reply to 02Pilot :

I am interested in that stereo. I noted in your build thread that you changed it out for a working, modern radio so am I to assume that this one does not function? What else can you tell me about it?
 

mad_machine said:

the only thing to dislike about the Clarion units.. the display is white with black lettering. It might clash with Ford's green lighting and might get a bit obnoxious at night

Like I said earlier. Literally the biggest reason my SN95 got that Pioneer.

Error404 said:

In reply to 02Pilot :

I am interested in that stereo. I noted in your build thread that you changed it out for a working, modern radio so am I to assume that this one does not function? What else can you tell me about it?
 

I was told it worked, at least the head unit; the CD changer was not hooked up when I got the car. I simply wanted a more modern unit in the car. If you like I'll put 12v on it and see if it powers up. I don't know anything else about it, unfortunately. If you have specific questions let me know and I'll try to answer them as best I can.