thats sweet!!!!

So, you have RCA in?

Straitor: This would work perfectly. We'd need a bigger one, of course. However, get something like a 10" flip up, touch screen with RCA in, then on the other end, have a ****** card that has an RCA out.


-justin

The trim panel is now in primer. I will have to wait until Monday to find some texture and color matched paint. Heres a couple more pics:

After the Bondo step:


The back cleaned up a bit:


Unit installed after dash modifications:


Trim installed and all wired up:


Faceplate tilted to allow access to CD and memory stick slots:


The unit really sucks as a DVD player. The resolution of the screen is only 400 x 234. There is so much compression going on that the images are rather distorted. No big deal though. I like the ability to customize the wallpaper, it has navigation inputs and plays MP3'*. These were the most important features for me.

Don't let anyone tell you that a double DIN headunit will not fit in a Bonneville

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.....yummy

are you gonna have a problem with opening it while in park?

No. It opens with about an inch to spare. I was more concerned with it scraping the sides or bottom while opening after the fiberglass. No problems at all. A little bit of luck always helps.

hahaha unless he'* got a column shift ( i dunno I didn't pay any attention the the car Trim level) he will....I think he would have to put it in at least reverse to get the screen to open all the way.

Gorgeous! That is really sweet looking. How long did it take you for the whole installation proccess? That is an awesoem modification.

I started it Thursday afternoon. The fiberglass was molded and shaped then. Friday night, I worked on the mounting brackets and Saturday was Bondo and paint. The weight of the new unit was a concern so I also worked on a solution for that but ended up not using the additional support. Then I installed it today.

I can pick up the texture and paint tomorrow but the trim panel still needs work. It came from the SE parts car I had. I was so focused on the radio opening that I didn't realize that it didn't have the opening for the HUD controls. I nearly broke the switch trying to get it on. So it might be a couple more days until it'* totally complete due to the bonehead mistake.

The HUD switch opening proved to be more difficult than the radio opening but I think I'm getting the hang of this. I tried to measure the original trim panel and cut the new one but I ended up being off the mark. Plus, the switch is recessed and the trim is noe flat. The best way to get it exactly right was to make a reverse mold of the original with an unmistakable reference point. The reference point is the vertical line in the trim piece. The piece was prepped with some masking tape and a lot of wax


Next, the fiberglass was glopped over the area paying attention to the vertical line and the curves of the opening. The following pic is the second attempt at the mold. the first one was nearly a disaster. The white thing in the opening of the first pic is a piece of steel that formerly was a scrap of baseboard heater. I tried to adhere it to the back of the trim with an adhesive that I could remove afterwards. I decided on some acrylic window caulk. Bad choice. It let go during the glopping process and the stuff was EVERYWHERE!. Fortunately, I used enough wax all around and the glass was able to be removed. In the end, it was duct tape to the rescue.


Once the mold hardened, it was released from the trim. I sprayed it with sheliac to seal the surface and waxed the snot out of it. This is how it looked fresh off of the original trim piece:


The new trim piece was cut oversized of the mold. This insured enough surface for the glass to bond. Once the opening was large enough, the mold was clamped in place.


More glopping:


Fresh out of the mold:


After some sanding:


I still need to Bondo the new orifice but tomorrow in another day. I bought a color matched paint today but will have to wait until Wed for the texture.