johnfin

What other cars used the same monsoon as the camaro

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

Outside of the Firebird / Trans Am / Firehawk, I'm unsure if any other vehicles used the exact same radio part numbers. There are many variants of these Monsoon radios which can be found in the Pontiac Grand Am, Grand Prix, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and virtually anything made by GM between 1995 and 2005. Additionally, if you aren't necessarily concerned about having the exact part number, and are going for the factory look your options open up a lot. I currently own three versions of the radio. My factory 2001 Camaro SS's head unit, one pulled from a GMC truck and another which came from a Pontiac Grand Prix. The one pulled from the truck was ordered off Ebay because it had an auxiliary input. I never use CD's these days as Spotify via my phone is my go to method for listening to music.

I ditched the factory unit in my Camaro SS for the tape unit because it has the auxiliary input. It's the only version I've found that has it. The other two I have are the standard CD versions. One of which I believe actually came from a vehicle that had the changer option. It looks like the one that was in my 2002 Firehawk Trans Am, which had the 12 disc changer option. In some cases, the back lighting might be a different color than the gauge cluster in the Camaro. There are plenty of articles on how to change these bulbs and colors to suit your application.

johnfin

I need to find a unit that has the same cd player. The one in the firebird is different.

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

Why? All those Delco units are compatible with each other. You could throw practically any GM/AC Delco unit in your car made between 1985 and 2005.

johnfin

I noticed the units in the trucks have a fan on the back on the units. Monsoons dont. Wonder why.

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

I'm unsure as to the reason, but the truck units may be made that way due to heat / ventilation issues with the dash in those vehicles.

williehank

I think the Firebird Monsoon is a double-DIN height, but the Camaro is 1.5 DIN. The factory Monsoon head unit is crap. If you have the time and will, scrap it, buy an aftermarket, and replace the amp in the rear right quarter panel with a new amp. I gutted the whole system, and have some info, if you are interested. The head unit can be anybodies, you just need the right converter to make the steering wheel controls work. I also tucked a small amp above the head unit to power the front speakers, and added a woofer with a Camaro-specific trim kit in the left side T-top well.

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

The Camaro and the Firebird both use a 1.5 DIN head unit.

williehank

Compare the aspect ratios (Trans Am on top, Camaro on bottom):


I was just looking at a 2002 WS6, and that was the first thing I noticed.

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

I don't recall it being that large in my 2002 Firehawk Trans Am.

williehank

Like I said, it stuck out like a sore thumb when I was looking at a 2002 WS6 convertible a couple of weeks ago, no way that Monsoon would have fit my 2002 SS dashboard. Maybe there are different interior trim levels within the models. It is odd they are different. One other thing I also noted is it had a tweeter in the driver and passenger door next to the main front drivers, mine doesn't. I always wondered why the T/A advertised 8 speakers, when the Camaro only advertises 6 speakers. Bottom line, if I was going to replace a Monsoon head unit, I would double-check, first. But, like I also said in an earlier post, I would not buy another Monsoon head unit. Why go with outdated technology.




Cheers!

TechCam97

iTrader: (5)

That top one is not from a Trans Am. It's from a Sunfire / Grand Am from the mid 2000s. The one that would have come in the Trans Am looks like this:



The 93-02 Firebird radios are the same size as the 97-02 Camaro radios.

Spamfritter

iTrader: (1)

That's what I thought. The radio you posted a picture of is what I recall being in my 2002 Firehawk.

williehank

Okay, my bad, that Trans Am radio is definitely 1.5 DIN. I checked some dashboard pics of both cars, and they appear the same cut-out size. In fact, I now remember the WS6 I looked at had the mini-equalizer on the right side, which I also recall was different from mine. I now have a single DIN aftermarket unit with a filler panel, so my perception is probably skewed. I still would refrain from replacing a Monsoon head unit unless you are looking for something low-tech and easy.

Y2K_SS

I replaced my head unit with a Kenwood double din touchscreen with nav. Sounded like absolute crap with the stock amp & speaker setup. I am not interested in upgrading the entire system as I just bought upgraded speakers for it designed to work with the factory amp before buying the Kenwood. So I pulled the kenwood out and put the factory head unit back in.

So I would stick with a factory radio unless you want to rework the entire sound system. I learned an expensive mistake.

williehank

I would agree to gut the entire system if going with a new head unit, new pre-out cables, new speakers, new amp. I was able to mount a JL Audio XD500/3 500 watt 3 channel amp to the existing amp bracket in the right rear fender, just by drilling some additional mounting holes in the bracket. I wired the rear and hatch speakers in parallel to achieve 2 ohms (at 50 watts each), on the 2-channel 2 ohm-stable amp, and used the 3rd channel for a sub in the left rear sub trim kit. I ran the front speakers off the new unit, but 22 watts each was not enough, and found the smallest amp I could find, a Rockford Fosgate PBR300X4, and stuck it over the head unit to drive the front speakers. I am only using 2 of the 4 channels, and have the gain turned down, but it was the only small footprint I could find. I could drive another two speakers with the front amp, I just don't know where I would put them. The hatch speakers were an odd size (maybe F-body specific) and I ended up die-grinding the plastic to get a larger speaker in, don't remember what size, but definitely not 6x9 (too deep).

lbls1

The Monsoon system is a good OEM set-up; The speaker quality, especially the door speakers, are the weak link. My system is 15 years old, and it handily out-volumes the other systems in my fleet (the other systems are top of the line OEM systems as well). I added an aftermarket subwoofer to my Monsoon system, and it really improved the sound.

Just be mindful of the speakers, and if and when they blow, try to find good quality 2 ohm replacements.