Hello, hello
Reply #15 –
While the factory EQ was offered as an option starting in 1985, I have never seen the factory installed setup in a car. I have seen a few '86 cars with it, but it seems that it wasn’t until the 1987 model until it became fairly common.
In addition Ford re-vamped their radio line for 1986, so the correct 1985 EQ radio is a one year only unit. The head unit looks similar to the radio you have except it lacks the bass & treble s as this is adjusted via the EQ and instead of “Electronic” printed on the face it had “Premium Sound”.
The correct 1985 EQ was slightly different in its appearance from the ’86-’88 EQ as well.
If you’re not worried about having a 100% correct factory looking radio and EQ, and just want a workable EQ in the dash, it should be possible to do with a little wiring detective work as the EQ was just a passive device in between the head unit and the Premium Sound amplifier.
There are even a few members here that have re-wired the factory EQ to work with aftermarket head units.