1988Corvette

[Theodore K.]

My friend has now purchased a 1988 Corvette. He said it is equipped with an Bose AM-FM, Cassette radio. He is looking for recommendations on a good aftermarket radio with CD player that drops right in without cutting. I would appreciate any comments on this subject.
Thanks,

[Patrick H.]

Re: 1988 Corvette

Two things off the top of my head:

1. Although we may own newer cars, the NCRS is "currently" focusing cars built 1953-1986. It will be a couple of years before we get into 88's.

2. You can't really beat the Bose. Make sure the speakers are all working, and if not have them rebuilt by Bose. Shy of that, I wouldn't even think of replacing it. It's an area of diminishing returns, in my opinion. Others may differ in their thoughts.

Patrick

[Chas Kingston]

Re: 1988 Corvette

I recollect that my '94 Corvette had a Bose w/ CD. That might be a drop-in conversion; I'm not just sure of the '88 dash.

Geezer

[Tony Merendino]

Re: 1988Corvette

If it has a Bose system leave it alone or fix it. There is probably not a better system out there without paying thousands for minor improvements. If the Bose system is from the factory it is designed for the car and if you have to repair it it would be better on all levels than to replace it with another system.

[Joe C.]

Re: 1988Corvette

Theodore:

You are welcome here, no matter what year Corvette you are discussing. Any question is appropriate, and if nobody here is an expert, somebody will refer you to a better source of information. Here are 2 websites you might try:

www.corvetteforum.com
www.corvetteactioncenter.com

Good luck,
Joe

[Jim T.]

Re: 1988Corvette

Part #618-204 is a plug and play CD unit for early C4's from 84-89 from Mid America and fit your stock Bose systems's existing mounting brackets.

[William C.]

Re: 1988Corvette

If you want the easy way out, there are adapters that allow a portable CD player to play thru the cassette player. Works great on my '89

[Joe L.]

Re: 1988Corvette

Ted-----

There is no original Corvette radio dash unit that will work with the 88 if you want in-dash CD. The Bose CD unit did not appear until 1990 and the 1990+ units have a different face and mounting than 88 and earlier. So, that leaves aftermarket.

For quite a few years there was no way to retrofit a non-Bose dash unit into a Corvette with Bose unless you changed all the speakers and some wiring, too. Later, adapters became available and, later yet, complete dash units that retrofit directly.

The retrofit units will perform superbly and FAR better than the original Delco-Bose dash units. Even later C4s with Delco-Bose with CD are totally obsolete by today's standards. In fact, some newer CDs, especially home-recorded CD-R, may not work in the 90-96 CD players. So, from the standpoint of performance, a new aftermarket in-dash unit is the way to go.

Notwithstanding the above, an aftermarket in-dash unit will not look anything like an original unit. It will not fit anything like an original unit no matter what anyone tells you. Plus, as I say, it will look "different" and "out-of-place" in the car. The controls won't match the interior design of the dash and the lights and colors will be different and may "clash". It will look VERY "added-on".

So, one has to decide what's more important. Bill's suggestion offers a good compromise. Add the adapter and use the existing unit with an external portable CD player. These work very well. An up-to-date portable will play any CD, too. Plus, you can use the portable when you're not in the car, so it's quite versatile.

[Jon S.]

Re: 1988Corvette

If your friend is satisfied with the Bose radio and really just wants to add a CD player, as folks have already said there are several adapters that can be purchased. Most of them are FM modulators, so you connect it to the radio by hooking it inline with your antenna (remove the antenna wire, plug it into the adapter, then plug the adapter wire into the antenna input on the radio). You then tune the radio to a certain FM frequency to listen to the CDs. There is some sound degredation, but I just put one of these in my daughters car (non Corvette, non Bose) and it sounds great.

At one point Alpine made a direct fit adapter to use their CD changer with the Bose system that did not use the FM modulator. It wired in directly to the Bose head unit so that there was no digital -> analog sound degradation. I put one of these in my '88 back in about 1990, so I'm not sure if they still make it or not, but it worked and sounded great if you can find one. I mounted the changer in one of the storage wells behind the seat and the controller under the dash so there was no cutting or other evidence that it was in there.

[Chuck S.]

What I did...

On my 87 convertible, was to order a nice Sony six? CD cartridge changer from Crutchfield and mount it vertical on the rear bulkhead. If your friend does it this way, be ADVISED: the fuel tank/bladder is right on the other side of the rear bulkhead...drill or screw too far, and you will make a LOT of trouble for yourself. This may change with the coupe configuration.

I installed the changer wiring under the carpet along the driver side rear quarter and behind the driver seat to the console, under the console to the radio area behind the dash, and installed the FM modulator behind the radio. The push button control for the CD changer was concealed inside the console glove box, but the cord allowed the controller to be used outside the console.

The installation was completely invisible except for the black changer unit, which looked OEM, but was out of sight anyway. This unit gave outstanding performance until the car was sold. You can expect the CD sound to be no worse than the highest quality FM reception, which is excellent on the Bose. If six CDs aren't enough, you can always take along more cartridges.

The only disadvantage with having the modulator unit behind the radio was having to reset the circuit breaker on the modulator if needed. The modulator breaker had a very low amp rating for its' protection. I had to reset the breaker a couple of times after "disturbances" such as striking an arc during battery change. That part was a PITA.

Forget changing the Bose. It's the best system you can get. Anyway, if you try to change it, my understanding is that you will need all new speakers because the Bose speakers have individual power supplies, and they are not compatible with aftermarket radios.

BTW, your friend should also install a better antenna ground plane system behind the rear bumper while he's improving his sound system; Mid-America sells an improved antenna ground plane kit that looks flimsy, but makes a noticeable improvement in FM reception. Also, when his power antenna dies (and it will, if it hasn't already a couple of times), Mid-America also sells a nice Havarta? replacement that is more reasonably priced and more reliable than the GM replacement IMO.