Thanks for the info - and will check out the Sunday editions...

Back around 2009 or so, there were stock looking radios that were modern day stereos/CD players they were advertised by Hagerty classic car ins company as well as all the classic rebuilding shows.
I bought one for my 66 Mustang GT Fastback but never got to hear it due to having to sell it because DeWALT powertools laid us all off because of the Housing crash.

PS posting the sunday editions right now . . .

And in my '69 I got the original - Am/FM 22/RN 681. Reception depending on where I am is ... spotty... but what the heck, right? When I get the brakes done, am going to look at getting a better sound without losing the original look or having to put holes in panels.....
But sounds like you have a GREAT system!!

I haven't tried it buy I think my Mini has a center speaker above the speedometer for phone calls and their seems to be a mike built in the roof console.
I double checked and they are not hooked up to the radio.

I once thought that an attenuated center speaker might add something positive to the overall system but it would have to be very efficient and able to take high volumes without distorting. (the idea would be to produce all the frequencies at low volumes.

Never got to play with that idea . . .

I built my systems at Designer Audio LTD in the 80s to let you hear all the music at low wattage outputs, (easy listening volumes) and stay equally clear at high volumes.

I sold my little pocket rocket about 10 years ago.
Ahh. let me think: I believe it was the traction control button.
I kept the stability control on, I could not see any advantage to disabling it.
I wasn't aware ABS could be disabled, again, not that I ever would.

The only decent driver was the rear door woofers.
While it only used a steel basket, It has a composite 6" cone and decent magnet size.
Everything else is paper and screams: cheapo.

Also, whatever aftermarket solution there us out there, that silly center speaker on the dash will get nulled out.

Never understood why they put it in there.
Kinda defeats the whole "stereo" thing.

Phone/navigation sound comes through the left/right dash speakers.

2 Ohm speakers? SMH. guess they thought it compensated for the 15 watt amp.

The many issues surround that tiny amplifier under the passenger seat.
1) 15 watts/chan is a pitiful amount of drive power.
2) The CAN bus runs through it, making replacement a non-trivial event.
3) The speakers are the cheapest paper cones they could source.
4) The speakers are two ohms. Most replacements are four ohms, if you try a four ohm replacement, the amp won't turn on at all.

Two solutions: The cheap one is reasonably DYI.
Infinity/JBL (same amp, sold under two names) makes a 8 channel in/ six channel out DSP amp (~60 watts/per). It plugs into the stock amp high level outputs using adaptor harness sold through Crutchfield. run him about $600. And you can use four ohm speakers should he go that far. The stock speakers aren't horrible if driven hard enough.
The other is a complete tear-out of all the factory components including the CAN bus interface module.(RockFord Fosgate).
Again, JL Audio is the amp of choice here. Five channels totaling 1K watt output does the trick nicely. My ears are partial to Infinity. Their component speakers are quite nice for the money. I spent about $3K in parts and close to a week removing the old and installing the new. Front door panels need to be modified. Lots of adaptor harnesses need be used if you don't want to cut off the factory plugs.
The dash wiring is more than a little convoluted. It requires some understanding if you want to retain the dash speakers (recommended)
If he doesn't have advanced tech skills, he'll be looking at an installation cost that will rival the parts cost.
I was getting estimates in the $5-6K range.
Given I have the skills, I gathered my parts and waited for a good stretch of whether (since moving to my comfy, but tiny cottage, I no longer have a nice dry barn to work in)

A supervisor at work has one of those trucks and he also, hates that JBL stereo, he like the sound in my mini.

For a moment thought you were referring to the "Sport Mode" button but I take it you meant one of these:
Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS).?

Agreed Completely!!

And now with AI (SI?), it's hard to believe what you see.

I'm beginning to think that some deer cannot read the signs to know where to cross. ;)

Will Rogers has also been cited as the origin of the quote, however, it's a variation of an Edgar Allan Poe proverb "Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see". :-))

Brings back memories of a professional race driver I once knew (long gone now), I got to drive an English Racing Green Mini Cooper, TR3, a Martini (his own design built on a bug chassis, looked like an amalgam of Lotus, MG, Ford Model T, ). I really miss my Mazda 2+2 with the Wankel.
I knew a number of Masons, in spite of my Catholic upbringing. I definitely do not see these folks as the Illuminati, but I do see that hidden from the world at large organization as real and dangerous.

Sound like you were way ahead of the curve on that technology.
In the1970's we headed over to Service Merchandise and bought a Pioneer Super Tuner and pair of Cerwin Vaga 6X9's. We got out dad's Saw-Z-All if the hole wasn't big enough. :-)

HK made some highly under-rated home stereo equipment back in the day.
As a vintage hifi repair guy, I can tell you they are the bargain of the used hifi market right now.
Especially their "Twin Power" units.

I love my Tundra pickup (1794 model), but the JBL stereo they put in it is right-right horrible.
My go-to amp these days is JL Audio, Your speaker choice is clearly a matter of what your ears say is right balanced by what you wallet can swing. Lately I've been using Infinity, but they are not the Infinity's of the 1980's (no EMIT drivers), these days they are an economic compromise.

There's a button for that...
I forget the acronym, but it disables the dynamic stability control.

Whatever "ism" is being touted, if it calls for government control, or worse, yet *total government control" it is against our
Constitution and everything this Republic stands for.

The DSA, as a prime example.

On the road traveling right now so I'll be quick. I suppose from an Ayn Rand point of view the masons are mystics because they believe in God. OK, fine., but beyond that "superstitious" doesn't fit. There is a lot of symbolism and ritual used to convey information the way it was done in the past when illiteracy was more prominent or membership was hidden from ignorant and even dangerous authorities. I've seen lots of weird interpretations and extrapolations of these symbols and rites on the internet to turn Freemasons into something nefarious. Some of it quite elaborate. We see the MSMM employ the same techniques to folks like President Trump every day. That is, take something he said and modify it into something he didn't say (usually by misinterpretation or wild extrapolation) and then chastise him for what he didn't say. Maybe we can revisit this later when I return.

Always the deer - I have to watch for them going down my driveway! Almost hit a fawn coming up last night - got it stopped in time, but dang....

Remember all of that from study in the early 2000's,
My brother in law was a member and he thought I was too. I am not but never said, one way or the other. He was an alcoholic and has since, passed.

Mine wispers to me: Come on Daddy, lets go fast! Bang my gears and chirp me wheels, please Daddy, go for it!
I often comply. LMAO

Mine seems to be close ratio, I can still accelerate and pass in 6th, I often drive the shore line Rt 1 in 5th and 6th in order stay under 30mph but it picks up nicely when tromped on.
I find the car difficult to drive at city speeds.

I owned and operated Designer Audio LTD back in the 80s during the Bose frenzy. Power by various quality stereos with custom piezo tweeters and passive radiators I always won the Carston Stereo contests until they bared me from competition, my basic set ups produced magic numbers and reviews at lower prices than everyone else. They didn't know that I invented "Tuned" speaker placements using advanced Bose like Direct/Reflecting sound for characteristics. (Harman Kardon didn't make a car stereo nor car stereo speakers) I did sell the home units though.

Me too, however, I get to drive it to work, 6 miles away on a hilly, winding state maintained road in the woods where there are no cops unless someone smashes up, short bursts to 130 are possible but with a weary eye out for Deer crossings!!!