Dash cutting from stock shaft radio hole

[Panther]

OK, it's almost time to buy a new CD player for my truck and I want to do this right.

It's a 73 with the stock dash for a shaft style tape player/radio. My biggest question is about choosing a size DIN CD player so that I only cut this thing once. I have no problem cutting the dash, but I want to cut it for a fairly generic size so I'll have options in the same size if I want to replace it. Are there a few "standard" sizes I could choose from?

One other concern is that in my 90 K5 (and it appears the same way in my 73), the rear of the radio or CD player was supported by strap steel (the 1/2" wide metal with the holes in it). This was not the most secure setup and made for a lot of skipping CDs. Is there a better way to do this. Perhaps a sleeve I can bolt in more securely and then the radio just slides and screws into that??

Thanks everybody. (BTW, I did a search and got some great info, but I don't think the size/modularity was discussed.)

 

[Greg72]

The radio size you are probably thinking of is called a DIN-mount. I can't recall the dimensions of the hole, but that should be easy enough to figure out since MOST decks are DIN size these days.

When you swap decks, all you do is swap in a new "sleeve" that matches the deck, so you only cut that FIRST time to make it fit.

As far as the strap is concerned. I think you'll find that skipping is MORE likely to happen if that strap is loose or if you try weird solutions to add rubber isolators, etc. The decks have their own "suspension" inside, and are designed to work well based on having a rigid outer mount. By "soft mounting" the deck, you can acutally degrade the performance of the deck.

 

[Panther]

Thanks Greg. So DIN is a specific size then? I (mistakenly) thought it was more of a type of radio than a size.

So once I pick my deck, buy a sleeve that it fits into to and cut to fit that?

So the strapping is about the best solution for bracing the back? I saw it in my 90 and kind of figured it was a rigged setup since the dealer put in a CD player for the PO. But if that's the best solution, I have no problem with it.

 

[Greg72]

Every "DIN" radio will use the same size mounting hole. When you buy the deck, the sleeve will come with it. The sleeve is what the deck "locks into" to hold it in the dash...so each company can make their latch setup a little different. Otherwise, one sleeve would work for everything....

The strap in the back (sometimes called Plumbers Tape) is a fairly standard technique also. If you are feeling motivated, you could try for something more rigid to hold the back. That will help the deck do it's skip-protection better over bumps and will also make it "feel" more secure when you push on the faceplate areas.