modern stereo install
 

I am planning on installing a modern Pioneer stereo in the dash of my 79 T/A. I don't want to use one of the hidden or retro systems. That means cutting the dash and some custom fabrication. Any hints/tips from anyone who has done this before? Thanks all..

If your car has an uncut dash I'd find one that is already cut and swap dashes. Uncut dashes are getting harder to find.

my advice: don't! many of us do it and regret it. that modern stereo may look cool now, but it will be, without a doubt, an eyesore in a few short years. the best new way i've seen is the radio delete dash and a 1/8" stereo jack input that runs the amp, subwoofer, and a pair of 6x9s in the rear. that way, you can't see it, cleans up the dash, and you walk away with your ipod, zune, or whatever with nothing to steal left behind. just my 2 cents, of course. good luck with whatever you choose; you're the one who needs to be happy with it!

X2. Previous owner of my car installed a Pioneer/Clarion system. The modern unit doesn't look out of place, well, not that much I would say. It would definitely look better with the original radio... and use a mp3 player with a 1/8 cable to the amp, like suggested in the previous post.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...Picture026.jpg

I don't know guys. I like how mine looks. I think it blends right in. I even cut up an original dash that I had restored by Just Dashes. I guess I just don't care about originality, but that's not to say that I don't respect the guys who do care. On the contrary. My car was not original when I bought her and she's even less original now, but I love her none the less.

The system I devised has two 10" subs in a false wall in the trunk, powered by a 500w monoblock amp and 5 mfd capacitor. There is also a 300w 4 channel amp powering two 6x9's in rear deck, two 4.25"'s in a custom enclosure I built just forward of the console and two 2.5" built on a common mount and installed in the original dash speaker location. The head unit is an Alpine that I dialed in 512 points of equalization with my laptop and a microphone placed in different spots in the interior. This thing sounds better than the surround system in my home theater!

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...2/DSC02543.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...DSC02631-1.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...DSC02626-1.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...2/DSC02615.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...2/DSC02618.jpg

johnma22 your car is a monster!

i think you have done everything to your car that is on my wish list.

i really like the false wall you did in the trunk and how you mounted your amps.

i want to do something like that but i feel very uneasy about not having space for a spare tire.

In my car i cut up the original radio mount b/c it was broken on one side anyway and the orginal radio sat crooked. For my install i used a whole saw and just cut into shifter console, if you measure it just right 4 1/2 speakers fit perfect and the grills are just slightly too big but you have to look closely to notice. i also installed new 6x9's but used the original spacers and mounted inside the trunk like original b/c i didn't want to cut into the metal of the package tray to have them "drop in" from the top.

i have a 2 channel amp powering my 6x9's and was going to install subs and use the other channel for the amps but the deck doesn't put out enough amps to power the 4 1/2's and the 6x9's just over power them. so i'm going to run the other channel to the 4 1/2's and run another amp for the subs when i eventually install them.

johnsma do you just have you grills installed over the package tray ? and have the speakers mounted from underneath or did you modify the package tray to allow the speakers to fit ?

voyager77 another suggestion would be to install the deck under the ash tray infront of the shifter.

Obviously the WRONG place to ask that question.

If the dash isn't cracked,don't HACK it!

Modern stereos just look GOOFY in ANY dash.

I've got an 81 T/A here right now that somebody has "jack hammered" the rear deck/speaker shelf out of for some silly speaker box.

If you want to DESTROY the structural integrity (and resale value) of your T/A,that's a quick way to do it.

You might as well put in a sunroof while you're at it. JMO

You got it right. The speakers are mounted underneath the rear deck, in the trunk, with the grills over the package tray.

I think that's just a little over the top. Go sit in your T/A and take a deep breath, you'll feel better, LOL! Some of us didn't buy our Pontiacs because of the resale value. I don't ever intend to sell mine. I bought and restored it so that I could drive it. When I drive it I like to listen to music in it, loud, with great clarity and fidelity. I've tried all the two post head units that exist on the earth and none of them fit the bill. Not even close! I reluctantly, and carefully cut my perfectly restored dash ("hacked" and "jack hammered" are not in my automotive vocabulary) to accommodate a piece of equipment that can control my sound system without having to fish in the glove box or fiddle with an mp3 player.

Obviously! :rolleyes:

yeah, i had a sunroof in my camaro. you can barely see it in my sig pic. it is now gone with some expensive new sheetmetal. now i need spend even more money to remove the horrible kickpanel speakers and ugly stereo (it really looked good 4 years ago!) and buy a new dash and kickpanels. really wish i hadn't wasted money on that stereo and ruined my dash!

Put the stereo in the map pocket in the console....its neat and out of the way. They make repro map pockets if you need to cut it up to fit the head unit in.
My 77 T/A is set up like that and the original radio is still in the dash.

Better yet, have you seen these Leigh? Here is a thread on TAC from someone who is selling these Console Mounted Stereo Adapters. Looks like a nice way to do it if you absolutely do not want to cut your dash. If these had been available when I installed my system I may have gone this route.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i.../adapter-1.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...edwithcage.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...frontclose.jpg

Do you have their contact info? I really want a stereo in my '78 but it has the original dash and I want to keep it that way.

The info is in the link I provided. The contact info is [email protected] and it's $46.95.

Oh, duh sorry. It's early on a Sunday and my caffeine hasn't kicked in yet lol...

Now THAT'S the way to go!

PRETTY SLICK!

Thought I saw something similar to that on ebay a few years ago.

You don't even have to hack the console.

I thought you might like that. I really wish that piece was available when I did my install. This guy should make a killing once word of this very simple solution gets around.

I've put a couple in before. Your new stereo may come with a template to use to determine where you need to position the unit on your dash and the size of the hole to cut. If not, to make your own template, sit the front end of the metal mounting cage on a piece of poster board or thin cardboard, and trace the rectangular shape onto the cardboard. This would be the end of the cage that goes into the dash first...the end without the flange on it. Now, cut out the hole you just traced with a single edge razor blade.

Temporarily put your radio inside the metal mounting cage and snap on the faceplate. Take your cardboard with the hole you just cut in it, and slide it over the front end of the cage and up to the back of the faceplate. Now trace around the faceplate onto your cardboard. Slide the cardboard back off and cut around the faceplate tracing. Now you have a good template to work with, since it provides you with the shape and size of the faceplate, which you need in order to see where the stereo has to fit on the dash, and the template provides the size of the hole to cut.

Hold the template up to the dash, paying attention to centering it in the dash hole area, and making sure it's level. Then tape it in place. Trace your mounting cage hole onto your dash, and now you know where to cut. When cutting the dash, cut on the inside of your traced lines. I've used a small cutting wheel on a Dremel tool to do the cutting. Go slow and carefully when cutting.

Making a nicely positioned and neatly cut hole is the most important part of the job for good fit and looks. Installation is a snap after that.

the "map pocket" that's the area i was talking about. i've seen a few at local car shows installed that way.