Bluetooth Pioneer Head Unit In A 1973 Chevy Truck - Hands-Free Classic

1. The original radio harness was intact, so we soldered the 12-volt switched power lead from the Pioneer harness to the yellow wire in the truck's harness. We were also able to connect our black ground wire to the existing ground wire in the truck. For a 12-volt constant power supply, we extended the Pioneer's yellow wire to a hot terminal on the fuse box behind the dashboard. The only other connections we made were to the speakers, which currently consist of a set of cheesy 6.5-inch coaxials inside a cheap box behind the bench seat.

2. The hands-free mic can go anywhere close by that you can mount it. We chose the easy way out, which was to use the provided clip to attach it to the driver-side sunvisor. A zip tie was employed to keep the wire from getting caught on the sunvisor's arm. We then routed the wire down the A-pillar, behind the dashboard, and to the radio.

3. As with all contemporary head units, Pioneer provides a mounting cage with precut tabs that can be bent behind the dashboard to secure it. While this is a pretty sturdy arrangement, if you have an import truck or one with metal mounts that can attach to the head unit itself, we recommend using them. You can see the various mounting holes in the side of the head unit's housing, which line up with most OEM radio mounts. If you've got an old-school truck like ours, then you'll have to rely on the external mounting cage.

4. When you first power up the P7000BT, it will be in default mode, which automatically connects to Bluetooth products that have been configured to connect to the head unit. To link the head unit to your phone though, you'll have to either program the phone to look for the head unit or vice versa. The phone can be programmed using the options menu on it and so can the head unit. The P7000BT offers a ton of cool features like an Auto Answer mode, which shuts off the music and answers incoming calls as they arrive.

5a. Perhaps the most user-friendly feature though is the phone book transfer capability of the P7000BT.

5b. Once you've linked the phone and head unit, you can download your entire contact list so that when the phone rings, you'll see who's calling on the head unit.

6. In addition to the phone features, like all of Pioneer's head units this one offers supreme sound contouring and tuning for CDs, digital music files, and standard and satellite radio. The P7000BT is a head unit that can stay with you for years to come, with the ability to add peripheral devices such as amplifiers, MP3 players, and so on.