Times Welding
Registered Member
I've scoured the internet for ideas on how to install a single DIN head unit in my dash without it looking like a complete aftermarket afterthought. I was also looking for ideas on speaker installs that didn't look out of place. I couldn't find anything that suited my tastes, so I came up with a few ideas of my own. I think that they turned out pretty nice, so I am sharing them with anyone who is interested in case they have come across the same hurdles.
For the head unit installation, i wanted it to be necessary to remove the gauge bezel in order to remove the head unit; just like the factory unit. I accomplished this by mounting the unit directly to the steel dash. I had to make a fairly simple plate from 1/8" steel to reinforce the dash to make the DIN sleeve more stable. I discarded the trim ring that came with the Kenwood stereo, and machined my own from 1/4" ABS plastic sheet. I made it a very close fit (approx .030" clearance per side) around the head unit and cut the outside to fit the recessed area of the gauge bezel. I then epoxyed the trim ring to the bezel, and it looks as close to factory as I could hope for.
As for speakers, I went with a pair of Infinity Kappa 6.5" components in the rear, and a pair of Infinity Kappa 5.25" components up front.
There is a design in the upholstered panel by the back seat, just under the ash trays, that is just tailor-made for a speaker grill. I made shaped a right and left hand grill from perforated sheet steel and painted them to match the upholstery. I then cut a hole in the upholstered panel just slightly larger than the grill and cut the vinyl fabric about 1/2" smaller than the hole in the rigid backing panel. I then wrapped that extra material around the edge of the hole and attached it to the back with contact cement. That gave the hole a nice finished look. Then, I installed the grills from the back side of the panel, protruding through. I then fabricated some mounting brackets for the woofers and tweeters from sheet metal and mounted them directly to the inner sheet metal body panel, independent from the upholstered panel.
For the front speakers, I decided to mount the tweeters in the stock speaker locations in the dash. This just required fabrication of a simple adapter bracket. I installed the woofers in the kick panels. I found that if you cut your mounting hole as far rearward (towards the door opening) as you can, the speaker will actually be in the A-pillar and not in the cowl vent area. That way it is not exposed to weather. I used the same perforated sheet steel to shape grills for the kick panels that fit into the recessed "triangular" area of the kick panel.
Mounting of the amplifiers was pretty straight forward. I mounted them to the interior sheet metal panel in the rear of the vehicle: opposite the spare tire. I also installed a small 12 volt fan above the wheel well, behind the upholstery. The fan draws cool air in through the speaker grills by the rear seat area, past the amps, and out the original 4X10 grill in the rear. Hopefully, this will extend the life of the amps. Also, I fabricated a small bracket to mount the fuses for both amps and a fused relay. The relay is triggered by the amp remote lead from the head unit and powers the fan as well as switching on both amps. The fuses and relays are accessed through the original speaker grill opening.
Mounting the sub-woofer was a bit more involved. I found that Kicker makes a shallow mount 8" sub, so I gave it a try. I fabricated a sheet metal enclosure for the sub that mounts directly to the inner sheet metal body panel in the right rear of the vehicle (behind the spare tire). I had to make it kind of an odd shape to achieve the required volume, but it's hidden so that didn't really matter to me. I had to remove the rear upholstery mounting bracket and incorporate it into the sub enclosure as it was in the way. I made a grill for the sub using the same perforated sheet steel and just painted it black, as it will not be seen. Since bass is, for the most part, non directional, I didn't make an "exposed" grill. It somewhat lines up with the factory 4x10 grill, so I left it at that.
All in all, I think it turned out pretty well. Nothing intrudes into the interior space, and nothing screams "STEEL ME!" to would-be thieves that may pass by on a parking lot.
For the head unit installation, i wanted it to be necessary to remove the gauge bezel in order to remove the head unit; just like the factory unit. I accomplished this by mounting the unit directly to the steel dash. I had to make a fairly simple plate from 1/8" steel to reinforce the dash to make the DIN sleeve more stable. I discarded the trim ring that came with the Kenwood stereo, and machined my own from 1/4" ABS plastic sheet. I made it a very close fit (approx .030" clearance per side) around the head unit and cut the outside to fit the recessed area of the gauge bezel. I then epoxyed the trim ring to the bezel, and it looks as close to factory as I could hope for.
As for speakers, I went with a pair of Infinity Kappa 6.5" components in the rear, and a pair of Infinity Kappa 5.25" components up front.
There is a design in the upholstered panel by the back seat, just under the ash trays, that is just tailor-made for a speaker grill. I made shaped a right and left hand grill from perforated sheet steel and painted them to match the upholstery. I then cut a hole in the upholstered panel just slightly larger than the grill and cut the vinyl fabric about 1/2" smaller than the hole in the rigid backing panel. I then wrapped that extra material around the edge of the hole and attached it to the back with contact cement. That gave the hole a nice finished look. Then, I installed the grills from the back side of the panel, protruding through. I then fabricated some mounting brackets for the woofers and tweeters from sheet metal and mounted them directly to the inner sheet metal body panel, independent from the upholstered panel.
For the front speakers, I decided to mount the tweeters in the stock speaker locations in the dash. This just required fabrication of a simple adapter bracket. I installed the woofers in the kick panels. I found that if you cut your mounting hole as far rearward (towards the door opening) as you can, the speaker will actually be in the A-pillar and not in the cowl vent area. That way it is not exposed to weather. I used the same perforated sheet steel to shape grills for the kick panels that fit into the recessed "triangular" area of the kick panel.
Mounting of the amplifiers was pretty straight forward. I mounted them to the interior sheet metal panel in the rear of the vehicle: opposite the spare tire. I also installed a small 12 volt fan above the wheel well, behind the upholstery. The fan draws cool air in through the speaker grills by the rear seat area, past the amps, and out the original 4X10 grill in the rear. Hopefully, this will extend the life of the amps. Also, I fabricated a small bracket to mount the fuses for both amps and a fused relay. The relay is triggered by the amp remote lead from the head unit and powers the fan as well as switching on both amps. The fuses and relays are accessed through the original speaker grill opening.
Mounting the sub-woofer was a bit more involved. I found that Kicker makes a shallow mount 8" sub, so I gave it a try. I fabricated a sheet metal enclosure for the sub that mounts directly to the inner sheet metal body panel in the right rear of the vehicle (behind the spare tire). I had to make it kind of an odd shape to achieve the required volume, but it's hidden so that didn't really matter to me. I had to remove the rear upholstery mounting bracket and incorporate it into the sub enclosure as it was in the way. I made a grill for the sub using the same perforated sheet steel and just painted it black, as it will not be seen. Since bass is, for the most part, non directional, I didn't make an "exposed" grill. It somewhat lines up with the factory 4x10 grill, so I left it at that.
All in all, I think it turned out pretty well. Nothing intrudes into the interior space, and nothing screams "STEEL ME!" to would-be thieves that may pass by on a parking lot.
