Car Stereos: New Radio for Husbands Truck, metra kits, chrysler vehicle

Question
Hi - my husband recently bought a 1997 Dodge Ram - it's his baby. He only spent $2,000 and most of the truck is in great working order. The radio, however, doesn't work at all. So I purchased a CD/Radio for him for Christmas. Unfortunately I live in a very rural area, and while I could get the CD (and even speakers to replace his old ones), I can't find a mounting kit. Could you please let me know what exactly I need to get for him to install the CD player? I know I need a mounting kit, but what else will he need?

Thank you so much!! Merry Christmas!

Answer
Hi Randi,

To install the CD player in your husband's truck, you need two parts:  the mounting kit, and a wire harness adapter.  The mounting kit, as you probably know, allows you to fit the new CD player in to the larger radio opening in the truck; the wire harness lets you connect the new CD player to the vehicle wiring without cutting off the factory radio plugs, or having to guess which wire is which.

Just about every Chrysler vehicle from the early 80's until the 2000's used the same style of radio, so the mounting kit and wire harness are very easy to find.  They can be found at any store that carries any sort of car audio accessory, including many discount stores and auto parts stores.  The Metra part numbers are 70-1817 for the wire harness, and 99-6000 for the mounting kit (although there are other Metra kits that will work just as well).  Both of these can be easily found online, and there are other manufacturers that offer their own versions of these popular parts.

Hope this helps!

Brian