For anyone who has done this or has seen a good installation I am wondering how people have handled the difference in size between the old radio and a new one. It looks like there would be room for a small storage area or is it best to blank it off or what? Is there anyone that makes an installation kit?

 

I picked up a pioneer from walmart then an installation kit from bestbuy with a wiring harness,now I have a radio with a storage space underneath it, yes there are kits you can get for certain stereos to make up for the smaller size

 

Put a pocket in there. Crutchfield has them, ebay has them....most likely your local audio shop will have one.

 

This is my stereo install from last Sunday. Pocket I got from my local auto parts store.

Sorry about the quality, was taken with my phone.

 

Nice. You guys are installing those radios and I just pulled one out of my car and put a SC-816 in. LOL

 

It was an SC-816 that I took out.... nothing wrong with it, but I wanted the bluetooth and mp3 options

 

Blue tooth for what? Playing music off your phone? I've been playing music/mp3's off my phone for years. Using the cassette adapter until yesterday when I did the phone jack mod that connects to the board.

I think the only thing that would get me to switch to a newer stereo is a DVD player/GPS.

 

Blue tooth on the new radios is for using your phone hands free and is a good option considering the fines and the amount of accidents caused by cell phone use

 

I wanted the bluetooth for the phone connectivity, I live on my phone with work, and got sick of having a bluetooth earpiece.

 

When I pug my phone into my cord or cassette adapter it plays the sound through the stereo and it turns the mic on for talking.

 

The main reason I am thinking of replacing the radio is the CD changer that is in the glove compartment. It takes up to much room and if I could come up with another location for it I would do that instead. I actually like the original radio.

 

Most of them are mounted under the deck behind the back seat (next to the trunk light). I'd get rid of the one you have and get a SC-815 or SC-816 that has the built in CD player. Get one that says "Premium Sound System" on it, they sound very good.

 

Ok can you tell me what a SC-815 or SC-816 is? This might be an answer to the issue. I have a wagon so the deck behind the back seat won't happen.

 

What is the phone jack mod? Sounds interesting. I currently use the cassette adapter thingy.

 

While I had the CD player out to remove the dash pad I tried fitting it in other places and it looks like it could go under the front passenger seat with out much trouble but does anyone know it the was any kind of extension offered for the connector cable?

 

Phil: The SC-815 and SC-816 are Volvo head units that are Premium Sound Systems that have built in CD players and stronger built in amps. Much better sound than the non-Premium head units.

As for the CD changer location, there are very long cables that go all the way to back of the cargo area. You may be able to yank one from a jy car. In the wagons they were mounted on the left side between the wheel hump and left corner. Some had them under the forward panel where the 3rd row seat would be mounted.

@Ajahn: Here is the link to the instructions:
http://atthetipwebs.com/technologyin...stereo_mod.htm

 

The SC815-816 sounds just what I would love to get my hands on. I'll start looking around for one and if any one has any suggestions of where to fine one please let me know. One question I have is will one of those plug into the existing wiring harness and does the unit slid into the existing space with out having to do a bunch of modifications? I have no problem with wiring but it would be nice if I didn't have to do anything.

 

The SC-816 will plug straight into existing wiring, and will fit straight into the hole from the current stereo.

On the left was the SC-811 tape player, and on the right, the SC-816 CD player that have both been in my car with no modifications.

 

I'm am looking for the extension so I can re locate the CD player if any one has one for sale. I would like to get a SC-816 if anyone has one of those for sale.

 

I just looked over the website ( Volvo Owners' Manuals | Owners' Manuals | Your Volvo | Top Navigation | www.volvocars.com/us ) and it appears that the SC-815 was used in the '96 and '97 cars (850's and 960's). The SC-816 was used in the '98 cars. Besides having the built in CD player, they also had the ASD system that adjusts the volume when the car goes above 35 mph automatically. Not sure if that works, I'll check my car tomorrow.

The only difference that I can tell between the SC-815 and the SC-816 is that the 815 has 20 watts per channel for 80 total watts (radio spec sheet says 80 while the car spec sheet says 100), while the SC-816 has 25 watts per channel for a total of 100 watts.

The '95 T-5R came with a 160 watt amp while the '96 and '97 R's came with a 200 watt amp.

I will say this, I don't have an amp hooked up in my daughter's car that has the SC-816 and it kicks. The system that was in the car when we purchased it was weak and sounded cheap (not sure of the model # but it did have a CD and tape player in it). I found a SC-816 premium sound system from a '98 S90 and swapped out the faceplate (850 and 960 faceplate is black while the S70 is grey).

I could not tell the difference between the SC-815 and SC-816 in my wagon, I think the amp in my wagon is bypassed. After I put this cruise / cluster problem to bed I'll dig into that.