My brother just aquired a '89 740 and wants to remove the radio/tape deck from the car; he's going to replace it with a different unit. Is it hard to remove the receiver? Is it a standard one DIN size?

Thank You
Sandro Seminara

Good advise from the others. I bent a piece of a coat hanger to make a small hook to pull the tabs inside the radio. Works beautifully.
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Paul '89 740 Turbo 102,000

The chassis of the radio is a standard size. Your faceplate will say something like CR-712. That's the model number, for reference.
Any normal DIN chassis stereo will fit just fine. The normal suppliers all make radios that fit perfectly. You do need a faceplate adapter. Most stereo install shops will be happy to sell you one- they're about $15. SOmetimes you find them on Ebay or similar places. It's a generic kit that fits virtually any brand stereo to the dash of a 740 and also includes the faceplate adapters for use in a 240 (both early and late).
All the adapter does is hold the stereo in the right location to fit in, and fill the edges out to the stock dash opening.
I just put a nice Alpine in-dash single CD into my 88 740 a month ago. One thing you'll find out is that there is a factory amplifier, most likely, up under the dashboard over the driver's left knee. Mine was a 4 channel 20W unit, pretty big and bulky. ALL of the stereo audio outputs go through the amp. If you remove your stereo, you'll find a 6-pin DIN (circular) plug on the back, and that's the cable that goes to the amp. All of the speaker outputs go to the amp, then the amp actually powers all 4 speakers.
What I had to do, since I didn't have any means to connect to the factory speaker wiring harness, was cut the speaker leads leaving the amp, and run those wires back into the stereo box, and connect that to the Alpine's short wiring harness. Everything did work perfectly once I figured out all the wiring. A multi-meter is a big help for this.
I will post the stereo wiring colors from my 1988 in another message.
TO remove the stereo:
Remove all the knobs, both center and outer rings.
Use a small screwdriver (1/8 is just right) to grab the clips just inside the knob openings. These are stainless steel spring clips, located just between the knob hole and the outside edge of the case. Pry them inward and hold that way while at the same time, pulling the whole unit out of the dash towards you.
Nothing else holds it in, but it is a tight fit and is a bit tricky to keep the clips pulled in. Second set of hands helps. I grab mine right in the tape door... maybe not recommended but you're chucking it anyway, right? Just pull straight out.
Disconnect the antenna co-ax cable, and the amp plug. If the stereo has a plastic connector right in the back, squeeze the release fingers and remove. IF it's a harness, like mine was, the plug is under the dash behind the ignition switch, and you need to remove the bottom dash cover to get at it. Couple of phillips head screws allow access to that.
In mine, the amp was connected to a separate plug-in wiring harness that then attached to the radio harness. The rear speakers had their own separate plug, and there was a completely separate ground wire to each unit, plus a power wire (memory backup) for the radio.
Good luck! (Hey I think this should go in the FAQ for next time).
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: "Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!"

It's not too bad. Get the knobs off and on the outside of either knob is a metal tab. Pull them inward using a small screwdriver, and at the same time, pull the radio out. Mine was a little tough to remove; you kinda have to pull the tabs in pretty far, but don't break them.

More detailed instructions are in the 740/940 FAQ section.

Volfro

It is not a standard DIN size. Crutchfield has an adapter. The hardest part about removing the receiver is getting something in the knob spaces after u pull them out to hook and pull a little tab that holds the radio.
Nathan