It’s always difficult to find a good looking modern radio that aesthetically fits an older car, which is why I was excited when RetroSound released the Grand Prix model. Until then, I had a vintage Nakamichi TD-35z tape cassette unit. The RetroSound Grand Prix looks vintage, but has all modern features. The one issue is that the radio was too wide for my DDMWorks radio and gauge surround. I wasn’t too sad to lose my surround, because it’s meant for smaller gauges than the AEM X-Series ones I have. This was part of a larger sound system overhaul for the Miata including an amplifier and rear speakers.
The Metra wiring harness kit is great and I’ve used it for multiple radios now. Heat-shrink crimp butt connectors are my new favorite way to wire projects like this, better than soldering.
The Grand Prix radio is too wide to mount behind the tombstone like the OEM radio. It would be possible to mount the included DIN radio cage directly to the tombstone, and I did have it like this for a while, but there is not much support for the weight of the radio. I decided not to glue the radio cage permanently to the tombstone bezel with JB weld or epoxy.
There are slight variations in the Miata tombstones across the years. I modeled this for my 1994 which has 3 mounting screw holes.
This way of mounting the radio and gauges makes the tombstone bulkier and more difficult to remove and install. It is connected to the car by all the radio and gauge wiring (with detachable connectors), rather than being just a trim piece.
Audio quality from the RetroSound has been good, and it’s very convenient having Bluetooth and a USB slot for charging.
