I put one of these in my Ford Ranger a while back. How hard would it be to leave any amps and speakers as is, but upgrade the receiver to something more modern ( Mp3 input, USB input, etc ). I actually only play off of thumbDrives in that one and almost never use bluetooth or external mp3 players.

Just time to graduate from the cd player.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_105KDX2...T.html?tp=5684

 

If it is the base model, nothing super special is needed. Just a new head unit... and possibly different speakers if you want something more than the stockers. The door and rear speakers are run from the head unit itself, and this is true on all stock versions of the '05-09 systems.

It is only if you have a Shaker 500 or 1000 where you need another adapter to figure out those amps that are involved with those systems for the subwoofers. They have to convert things to make the amps 'hear' the head unit properly and work the way it's supposed to.

Go here: Crutchfield's MyCar application:
http://www.crutchfield.com/Car/outfitmycar/mycar.aspx

That'll show you the types of head units and speakers that'll fit the car after you describe it to the website, and below each main category there is a little wrench. Click that, and the information you seek is right there for you to peruse. One of the better guides out there for this stuff.

You'll need a head unit (might I suggest a GPS one because?) and a conversion harness to make the head unit work on the factory wiring. Done right, it should just plug right in as if it were factory, when completed. Excepting 'outside stock' things like a GPS puck, bluetooth whatever, or a USB plug that goes 'elsewhere', that is.

If you do decide to replace the door and rear speakers, I highly recommend the speaker pigtails to convert the Ford harness ones to the speaker spade connectors. Worth it, so much easier. I hate cutting harnesses.

Hope that helps, good luck!

 

My mustang is a "base" model, meaning not GT. But I do think it has the shaker 500 system. Will have to double check. But thanks for the feedback. Yes, it's tempting to buy from Amazon or someplace on car audio but Crutchfield really "holds your hand" and makes them worth it.

 

I bought an Alpine UTE-52BT from Crutchfield and got it installed. ( have a friend who does this for a living ). The kit came with a 12 volt to 5 volt adapter which is supposed to stop popping in the speakers when the unit comes on, but we still hear that despite installing that adapter. Other than that I need to find a replacement 7mm screw. One of the six that holds the panel on around the radio is stripped.

 

I just finished replacing the shaker 500 stereo in my 2005 mustang with a Jensen vx 7022 double din unit.
Used the metra harness as well as mounting kit recommended on the crutchfield site.
The shaker 500 has the sub woofers located in each door.
Used the 12 volt to 5 volt converter and no sub pop on startup.
Used a RCA tee adapter to go to the red and white RCA connections on the second sub woofer harness since the Jensen vx 7022 only had one sub out RCA connector. ( note the third harness off the shaker 500 is for the steering wheel controls not used in the 2005 mustang).
The hardest part of the project was removing the connector for the lower right climate control.
It has a grey lever you need to get at and pull down to release the connector.
I removed the other 4 connectors first to gain access to the lower right one. Then by turning the panel towards the right and was able to reach the release lever.
I did crack the lever ( it is a bit flimsy) but it still worked.

Still need to set up the backup camera. I plan to route the wires from the license plate mount through a hole I need to drill in the bumper behind the license plate then run the wires through the rubber drain plug located next to the spare tire, then tap into the yellow and white back up light wire on the right side back up light using some 3 m wire tee taps so as to not cut into the factory wires.

The Jensen vx 7022 has navigation and is a major upgrade to the shaker 500 for under $300.

Sorry I did not do the upgrade sooner.

 

Apparently I was mistaken about the subwoofer pop. Not hearing it anymore. I've gone through all of the new stereo's setup and it sounds great. The only problem is I don't think the upper speaker in the right door is working. But I don't know for a fact it ever worked.
Since my friend wired it up, and has been doing this for a living for years, I'm going to have to assume a problem is in that speaker or the connections to it ( and not anything behind the new head unit, which I don't want to have to access again ) All the speakers are the originals.