radio and speakers

In the second generation firebirds, pontiac went a bit strange in their wiring of the radio. The left and right channels of normal broad cast were sent to front and back speakers. For Christmas, I got a set of speakers for my car. It very easily replaced the one in the trunk, fitting the same wires and mounts. However, the front speaker is hidden in the depths of the dashboard. I reached my arm up in there and fumbled around until the wire harness fell free, cut it off, and ran a wire on top of the carpet and under the backseat. In the trunk there's an oval hole on the passenger side to match the driver side speaker mount, but I had to drill 4 holes in the metal and cut through the package tray and insulation to install the second speaker.

Still unsatisfied, I got a really nice Kenmore radio out of a different car. It had AM/FM, colors, an iPod USB and aux plugs. I had read that Hitman at 78ta.com had an adapter that turned the map pocket into a spot for modern radios. I used screwdrivers and wrenches and broke the map pocket into sharp plastic pieces before finally managing to get out the screws and remove it. I bought the right wire harness and meticulously wired the new radio to it so that the old plugs would evenly split the channels between my newly installed speakers. I turned the key.... it didn't work. It took me another half hour to wire power into an accessory port on the fuse box near the pedals. 

The one thing the radio is still missing is an antenna. I dont get any radio stations because I can't for the life of me figure out where the antenna is on the old radio and how to get it off. If one day I ever remove the dash, maybe that will do it. In the struggle I knocked a plug off of the climate control unit and now the fan has no power. I think that I can plug it back it though.