Ferrari Mondial (308/328) Radio/CD/MP3 Head Unit Installation Guide
My Mondial really does seem like it has come through a time warp in many departments. I already spent a few hours removing parts of an enormous 80′s style car phone which a previous owner must have gone to great expense to have fitted, even including a leather covered dashboard addition above the radio to clip the phone into (see pics below). Removing what I think is some kind of massive (probably 18in square and 10kg!) battery/transmitter from the boot certainly saved weight.
Though I love the purist idea of keeping the car as close to it’s original state as possible, one area of the car has been annoying me. I’ve only had my Mondial a week but I’m tired of having no music, the reason being the car still has the original Blaupunkt radio/tape player. It switches on and can get garbled radio reception, but it makes a very odd crunching sound if you try to put a tape in and doesn’t play them, not that I really have any tapes anymore anyway. Given that: all the Mondials I’ve been in (that would be five or so) have had CD players fitted, that I have a rudimentary knowlege of basic electronics, and I fitted a CD player to my old Ford Fiesta 10 years ago I thought I’d try getting an upto date head unit into the Mondial via a DIY upgrade! Although this guide is for a Ferrari Mondial it might also be applicable to Ferrari 308/328s. Indeed I’m guessing that there are few 80s Ferraris left with their original radios, so this guide will be of more use for people looking to upgrade a first generation CD player unith with a more current CD/MP3 radio with aux input for ipod or other external player.
Parts list for removal and installation (assuming original factory wiring and head unit):
- New head unit eg Sony Radio/CD/MP3 with Aux input (for ipod): £80
- Car radio release tools, see pic for tools needed to replace the original Blaupunkt. For newer head units check your local car accessories shop: couple of pounds
- screwdrivers, spanners, wire cutters/strippers, crimping tool (or pliers)
All my parts were purchased from Halfords.
New head units come with standard ISO connectors which are also found on modern day cars. My 1985 Ferrari isn’t going to have this standard ISO connector, so there are two options:
- Cut all the ends off the wires on the car audio leads, cut the ISO connector off the head unit and splice them all together. This worked great for my Ford Fiesta I did 10 years ago, but it’s messey and makes future upgrades more difficult, plus it smacks of dodgy workmanship
- For £20 more you can buy an ISO adaptor connector which has the plug one end and bare wires the other. These bare wires can then be crimped into one half of bullet connectors adaptors, with the other end going on the Ferrari wires (which will need to have their non-standard ends cut off), but the result it a neat, professionally done, and easily upgradable wiring system. You are working on a Ferrari after all. For this method you will need a couple more parts:
- 2 packs of bullet connectors (8 male/female connectors total): £6
- 1 car audio ISO connector adapter plug with bare wires one end: £15
Total cost of parts £100.
Step 1: Remove carpets and plastic covering panel
- Turn off you battery via the switch under the front bonnet (or if you do not have a manual switch then disconnect one of the battery terminal leads)
- a) pull back floor carpet
- b) pull away side carpet from velcro fastening at bottom
- c) unscrew big screw and 3-4 smaller screws along top of plastic panel covering the insides of the middle column
You should now be looking at something that resembles diagram 1b below.
Step 2: Unbolt old radio head unit and remove
Get your head down there in the footwell, you should now be able to see the back of the head unit. Look for the nut that’s keeping it bolted to a metal retaining plate (a good idea to keep it steady, avoid vibration and prevent it being easily removed).
- a) Undo this nut, be careful not to drop it as you may not be able to retrieve it!Thanks to Carl Verdi for revealing how to get to the bolt.
- b) Insert your head unit release tools into the pairs of holes either side of the front of the Blaupunkt. Push them in really far and then push them outwards to try to get a grip. It can be tricky as the radio is a tight fit in the metal sleeve. It’s much easier if you can get someone to push the unit from behind (where you just removed the nut from) as you pull the release tools.
- As the head unit comes out the aerial lead (usually on the back right hand side of the unit if you are looking at it from the front) may not have enough slack, so unplug it
- As the back of the head unit comes out of the dashboard, have a look at how the wires at the back are connected. You will have to unplug these to finally get the unit out, but if you have a non-original radio there may be a diagram on the unit which will help identify which wires are which (eg speak left, 12v constant, etc), so make a note
- Â c) You can now remove the old metal sleeve that the head unit was jammed into, as more than likely your new radio will come with it’s own one that you can slide in carefully, according to the manufacturer’s instructions
Tips:
- It’s a good idea to put a cloth down over your warning lights and grear stick gate as dust, etc will likely spew out as you remove the head unit
- The front plastic face of the Blaupunkt may rip off, and the buttons explode everywhere. Don’t be too alarmed by this, but pick them all up so you can piece it back together later if you are bored
- Warning: the metal sleeve and old head unit edges (especially if the front has come off) are razor sharp! Get the old thing out of the car as soon as possible. I foolishly left it in the footwell while I carried on and it managed to rub and scratch some of the surrounding leather (grr!)
Step 3: Re-wire old style connectors
If you have just removed the original radio you should see the connectors in the photo, else what you see may be completely different as the original wires may have already been wired into newer connectors. You should be able to see the original wire colours somewhere. Basically if the connectors you have look like they are compatible with your new radio you are in luck and you can skip to the next step (fitting), if not then you will likely have to proceed below as though you had the original connectors.
Do steps 1-4 below for existing Ferrari wires: 12v constant, 12v switch, 12v ignition, speaker front right (positive and negative), speaker front left (positive and negative). Do one wire at a time to avoid confusion:
- 1. Cut the ends off the existing car radio wires
- 2. Strip the wires to 6 or 7mm
- 3. Use crimping tool (or pliers) to lock ends into female bullet connectors
- 4. Important: Use a permanent pen or some kind of system to label each female bullet connector or wire, as those brown wires will look identical after putting the female bullet connectors on!
- Your ISO adapter connector should have pre-stripped wires, attach the male bullet connectors to these
- Plug the male bullet connectors from the ISO adapter into the corresponding female bullet connector of your car wiring. My ISO adapter came with a handy colour code diagram on the back, plus all the wires had what they were printed on them in tiny print
- Insulate any bare wire ends not being used (these should only be on the ISO adapter side, unless you don’t plan to connect, or don’t have, the 12v switch wire that sends the Ferrari aerial up)
Step 4: Install new CD/Radio head unit
- Inset the metal sleeve that came with your head unit into the slot, and bend up all the fins you can to lock it into place. Warning: Be really careful when bending those fins, especially if you are using a screwdriver. I slipped as I was trying to bend one that wouldn’t actually budge, and very nearly gashed my lovely black leather above the gearstick, or even worse I was pushing so hard it could have gone right through. So either push gently, or use something blunt & wooden, rather than a sharp edged screwdriver.
- You can now finally slide in your new radio! Don’t forget to plug in the aerial lead first. The radio will probably be a tight fit into the sleeve, but should fit perfectly. Catch the ISO connector as it comes out the back into the wiring area, then simply plug it into your newly wired ISO adapter setup.
- Remember the retaining nut and plate that held the original head unit in place? My radio came with a smooth, protruding bar at the back, and a tight fitting rubber nut, so I used this to secure the unit to the back plate. I actually had to loosen the nut that was holding the back plate in place, then rotate the back plate slightly as it was hindering the wiring block on the back of the radio, stopping the radio going back fully. You radio might come with a threaded bar at the back, so you could use the original retaining nut. Either way it’s a good idea to lock it in place to this back plate to stop vibration, and for security (though if someone broke into my classic Ferrari I’d be more worried about the physical car damage rather than an 80 quid radio!).
- At this point you can turn your battery back on, and give the radio a test! Check that sound is coming out of both left and right speakers, that the aerial pops up when the unit is switched on, and that it goes down when the unit is switched off. Put all your wiring back into the central column, and reverse step one to get all the carpets back into place.You should be left with something like diagram 4 and an upto date CD/radio/mp3 player!
