Topic: getting ready to install radio in my 81. is there a wiring harness available?

[NeverEnough188]

so basically i am getting ready to put some tunes in this thing and i want to have everything i need to get it done smoothly. will i have to hard wire it into the truck or is there an aftemarket harness that connects the deck to the stock plug/s?

Travis

[DTB]

so basically i am getting ready to put some tunes in this thing and i want to have everything i need to get it done smoothly. will i have to hard wire it into the truck or is there an aftemarket harness that connects the deck to the stock plug/s?

Travis

depends on how good you are at wiring. if u can do it yourself then fine. if not then yes, any good car audio shop should sell adapter harnesses. Just be prepared to pay more than you would like $$$

[4inchToyotas]

It shouldn't be too difficult, just read what wire goes to where. How clean it is will depend on how much time you put into routing the wires. It shouldn't be much more than a power, ground, left +/-, right +/- speakers, and maybe some aux inputs. I'm going to have to do the same to mine soon.

[NeverEnough188 [OP]]

i have been doing installs for about 4 years now so i know what i'm doing. just wanted to know what i needed as i've never dealt with this model before. think the local wally world would carry the harness i need?

[DTB]

i have been doing installs for about 4 years now so i know what i'm doing. just wanted to know what i needed as i've never dealt with this model before. think the local wally world would carry the harness i need?

not trying to be but if u have been doing installs for 4 years i would think u would know where to get them

[NeverEnough188 [OP]]

yeah but who knows if they carry them for something this old. usually its just harnesses for newer vehicles. hell the dash doesnt even look like it will take a standard single DIN deck

[Hottrod81]

Make your own harness, it's not very hard.  All you need is a power wire, a wire for the deck memory, a ground, and wires for the speakers.  I doubt you will find the wiring harness you are looking for.

[79coyotefrg]

so basically i am getting ready to put some tunes in this thing and i want to have everything i need to get it done smoothly. will i have to hard wire it into the truck or is there an aftemarket harness that connects the deck to the stock plug/s?

Travis

NO,  you will have to actually  wire it yourself

[79coyotefrg]

yeah but who knows if they carry them for something this old. usually its just harnesses for newer vehicles. hell the dash doesnt even look like it will take a standard single DIN deck

picture it,  1981  Japan,  Little Japanese dude installs  radio into truck,  do ya think he knew what a DIN was 


um NO,  you will have to ,um  "clearance"  the hole 

[NeverEnough188 [OP]]

well i think thats all i need. thanks for the help guys! maybe i'll fiberglass a housing for the deck in the stock bezel. the wiring shouldnt be too hard either. i know the speakers are gonna get some special treatment with their placement in the doors. fiberglass pods ought to do the trick.

[cheap sunglasses]

my 6x9s settled nicely in the holes the previous owner cut in my b-pillars. Personally I like them much better there than in the doors. Out of the way. Oh and the wiring is easy just grab a haynes and a test light to see what wires do what.

[RynothealbinO]

I got a wiring harness from Crutchfield but the factory wires did not match up with what the harness needed.  To get the deck working you just need a ground, positive, and an ignition wire.  Just groung to a screw or fing a ground in a factory harness.  For positive I ran a wire with a fuse straight to the battery just for peice of mind.  I think I disconnected the lighter and used its positive to send power to the stereos ignition wire, just be sure that yours works off of the ignition.  Then you just hook up the antenna (should just plug in) and run speaker wire to all the speakers.  I wouldn't even bother trying to use the factory speaker wires.  So you only really have to worry about the ground, positive, and ignition wires and then it gets easy from there.  Good luck!

[kneedownnate]

I didn't think any of the factory wiring was sufficient in my first gen, so I just wired it all myself.  Ran my own fused hot to the battery, used a test light to find a switched power and ran a short ground to the firewall.  You wanna keep your ground as short as possible, less than 18" usually.  You usually get speaker wire when you buy speakers, so you're basically covered there, but I have a spool of bigger wire I usually use too.