Need help upgrading system

[70Challenger]

I bought a 97 3.8l Firebird on Monday and I love it. It had one previous owner who took great care of it and it only has 57k miles on it. The only problem is that it has a tape deck and no cd player. The previous owner kept the original sticker from it, and it has the Monsoon system in it, just no cd player. I am unfamiliar with this system and am not sure how to procede in upgrading the head unit, and what else I might look into upgrading. If anyone can give me a brief description of the system of a whole and what I could do in terms of upgrading it, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Also, just remembered that the sticker says it has "remote cd prewiring". I tried looking that up on the internet and didn't have much luck.

[96firebird311]

Re: Need help upgrading system

First off, read the sticky at the top of the forum as well as the entry in the modifications encyclopedia.

Next, when you say "upgrade", do you just mean to a CD headunit? Or the entire system? Also, are you looking to just use a stock CD headunit from another f-body? Or an aftermarket player?

[70Challenger]

Re: Need help upgrading system

That was the first thing I did. I didn't see anything about what to do if I have a stock tape player with the Monsoon system. I want to get a new head unit for sure, but I don't know how everything will work with a 4 channel HU going into that system. I don't really even know much about the Monsoon system at all. I might like to add some subs someday, but I am looking to get a new head unit first and foremost. I want a new one with better quality, mp3 playback and so on. Also, I want to keep the steering wheel controls functional, and I don't know if that is possible with an aftermarket HU.

[96firebird311]

Re: Need help upgrading system

Ok, so aftermarket headunit. Any aftermarket head will work with the Monsoon system. Install just as you would any other unit. (That's in the mod encyc) And then, so long as your new headunit has RCA outputs, adding subwoofers someday will be a breeze.

The steering wheel controls will be lost when you switch to aftermarket. However, with the PAC SWI-X, you can regain them so long as your new headunit uses a IR remote.(also in the mod encyc)

[One Bad MOFO]

Re: Need help upgrading system

my headunit came with wires for the oe remote :banana:
too bad my car doesn't have one :(

[70Challenger]

Re: Need help upgrading system

Okay, I've been trying to learn as much about my car's audio system and what I might do but I'm still confused about a few things. I've talked to the reps at Best Buy and Car Toys and they seem to think I will have to go through a major overhaul to get everything to work correctly if I want to install a new head unit. The guy at Best Buy said I would have to run new wires because some of the speakers are 2 ohm instead of 4 and that the stock HU doesn't have a built in amp and it would be bad to hook up a new HU to the Monsoon amp. He also said that installing the PAC SWI-X is a huge pain.

So here goes some questions...
Will I have to do anything other than install the HU to get everything to work correctly?
From my understanding, only the two 6.5" speakers in the door panels are 2 ohm. Would switching those to aftermarket 4 ohm speakers solve that problem? Or is there something involving the amp or wiring that has to be done to resolve that problem?
If my aftermarket HU doesn't have a IR remote, will I be able to use the PAC SWI-ALP or PAC SWI-PS to retain steering wheel controls?
How complicated is it to install the PAC SWI-X, PAC SWI-ALP or PAC SWI-PS?

I'm sorry if this is beating a dead horse to yall, but I am confused about what is right and how to proceed. The only time I've messed with a car system is when I put in a completely new system in a stripped down car, which seems much easier than all of this. Thanks for your patience.