[north]

Originally Posted by Cammer-6

My 68 400 4 speed had an 8 track and AM radio.
4 speakers for the 8 track and one dash speaker for the radio.

1969 saw several changes for Firebird sound systems. As with all Pontiac's there was nothing standard. You could order an AM, AM/FM mono or an AM/FM stereo radio, and you could order an 8 track with any of those radios (but not without a radio).

Unlike 68 the radios and the 8 track were now Pontiac rather than chevy units. However, the speaker setups were still chevy spec rather than Pontiac. The radios differ from other Pontiac models in terms of the length of the pushbuttons and the use of specific unlabeled black knob bezels. If you had either mono radio you'd get a single dash mounted speaker. However, if you had a stereo radio and/or an 8 track player you'd get a four speaker set up (unlike other Pontiac models where you'd get either two or three speakers with stereo and/or 8 track). With the four speaker set up they'd tape a black piece of cardboard to the underside of the dash grill (same as they did for a car without a radio). The kick panels would each receive a small chevy spec speaker and the package tray or top well would receive two 6x9 speakers. Unlike the setup in a chevy where you could adjust the speakers individually the Firebird balance control had the left front and right rear two tied together so you had diagonal speaker control. Last tidbit is that if you had a mono radio and 8 track the 8 track balance control was used for radio and 8 track speaker balancing but if you had a stereo radio and 8 track they each control speaker balance independently.

Also unlike 68 the multiplex unit was not mounted under the dash with separate controls and was no longer offered separately as an upgrade to the FM mono radio. In it's place the stereo radio would include a much smaller multiplex that mounted above the glovebox insert and was controlled by the radio knobs and bezels.

Lastly a new option for 69 was a power antenna, replacing the previous manual rear antenna option. The unit is a truncated version of the regular Pontiac power antenna with a shorter mast and a significant exposed section of mast even when the antenna was in the lowest position.