Best option to add CD to 95 Riviera and keep things stock?

The 95 Riviera I may be purchasing has the AM/FM/Cassette, but not the single CD player.

I would like to add CD capability to the car, but don't want an aftermarket unit.

I was wondering what the best options were, and what is even possible as a plug-and-play option:

1) Install the factory 95 single CD player: Is the single CD player reliable and will the wiring and brackets be found already in the dash, and will it plug into the existing AM/FM/Cassette head without modifications?

2) Install one of the 96+ (like my 95 Roadmaster) AM/FM/CD/Cassette head units. Will this even fit? Is it plug-and-play?

3) (really 2b) I thought I read that there was a 96+ four CD changer that goes in the space where the 95 single CD player went. Will this fit and can it be mated to/with the 95 AM/FM/Cassette head, or if #2 fits, with the 96+ head unit? If it can work, is it reliable?

Would want all to work with the existing steering wheel controls as well.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Al

the plugs are the same so no worries there.
its a cd holder not changer just a bad storage area is all.
the other questions i have no idea about

joshuadalegrimes wrote:

the plugs are the same so no worries there.
its a cd holder not changer just a bad storage area is all.
the other questions i have no idea about

So if I understand your answer, it sounds like installing the 95 single CD player would simply require finding a used one and mounting and plugging it in?

It sounds like you might have been saying you weren't sure if the 96+ head unit would be plug-and-play though?

Thanks
Al

they will plug and play. just not sure if they fit tho. mines a 97 and i still have the working original at home thats cd/cassette. they plugs are the same on all gm models from mid 90s- early 2000s i think

Thanks.

So does anyone know if the 96+ Riviera AM/FM/Cassette/CD head unit will install in the 95 dash, physically with no modification and just plug right into the harness also with no modification.

I have a spare unit from my 95 Roadmaster that uses the same as the 96+ Riviera.

Al

OK, I've now answered some of these questions myself:


First, the 96+ Riviera AM/FM/Cassette/CD head unit that also was common on other 95 GM cars like my 95 Roadmaster is not a drop-in affair for a 95 Riviera. It MAY physically fit in the 95 dash, but I really can't say for certain as I never got that far. Comparing the connectors on the rear of the 95 Riviera radio and the 96 style, they use different connectors. One MIGHT be able to get a later unit to work with some custom rewiring, but it definitely isn't a drop in replacement.

I've also discovered that the single CD player is apparently a factory only option as the dashboard wiring harness for a non-CD equipped car does not have the wiring needed to install the CD That seems somewhat weird to me though, as it makes adding one by the dealer as "extra cost" option nearly impossible. Most old cars I've worked on had a single harness that included hookups for common options, but it seems like newer cars have custom harnesses.

One could in theory build that wiring between the head unit and single CD player, if you had the connectors but it definitely isn't just lying there waiting to be hooked up. I have the connectors and both units, so I may try this at some point.

Or more likely, I'll just keep an eye out for the AM/FM/CD only head unit that was an option. I haven't seen any of those in the flesh yet though except one on eBay and it was from an older Buick model, not a Riviera.



Al

Will answer my own question:

Here are the radio part numbers for the 95 Riviera:

AM/FM/Cassette (will control the slave single CD): 16200314

AM/FM/CD (may control the slave single CD, but not sure why one would want to): 16200324

Slave single CD: 16149084


For most, if not all, of the console equipped 1995 Rivieras, I suspect the option package that gave one any CD player had the AM/FM/Cassette and the slave CD. I bet few had the AM/FM/CD, but I have no data other than suspicion.

I bet the AM/FM/CD unit was an option for the column (non console) shift cars in 95 if one wanted a CD.

Of course, the radios completely changed in 96+ to the ubiquitous Buick AM/FM/CD/cassette 2DIN radios that were found across the line.

Interesting trivia, all were made in Kokomo, Indiana. Good USA made electronics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delco_Electronics

Al