Supercharged-ZQ8
12-19-04, 03:11 AM
Has anyone ever installed an aftermarket head unit in a 3rd Gen J-Body? To translate: anyone ever put a stereo in a newer Cavalier?
OMFG!!! I've got MANY years of install experience, but I've never done one of these. 1) The adapter is $120 (GM, in their infinite wisdom, integrated a couple vehicle systems into the stock radio), 2) The entire front and TOP of the dash need to come completely off -- as in laying in the middle of the garage floor, 3) I've never used a HAMMER AND CHISEL to install a head unit before.
1) If you install an aftermarket unit, you lose your door chime, and a couple other systems that are helpful to have. SOOO, you've got to get this $120 adapter that comes with a C-PROM box to keep the car happy and keep those systems functional.
2) Is that dash easy to dismantle? HELL NO! With most cars, you only need to remove the bezel/dash facing and remove a couple bolts holding the head unit in. Grand total in elapsed time, maybe 1 hour (30 minutes if you're a pro) -- TOPS. Do the J-Bodies work that way? HELL NO! After looking at this thing for a while, I started taking bolts loose. The two side panels come off and the defroster vent comes off. Under those panels are four bolts. BUT WAIT, there's more! Open the glove box -- in there are two more bolts that come out. Done yet? NOPE! There are two other bolts buried WAY up in the dash behind the glove box -- so far that I needed a 12" extension to get to them. Ready to pull the stock stereo out? HELL NO! The entire top panel of the dash comes off -- THEN you can get to the three bolts holding the dash face in place. Can you get to the stock radio yet? Yes, FINALLY!
3) After going through all that nonsense, and getting more and more pissed off with every bolt I had to remove, I finally get the stocker out of there and am ready to slap the new source unit in. Will it fit? NOOOO! Most aftermarket head units are deeper than the stock GM units -- but most other models have at least a little extra room so fit isn't too big of a problem. Does a Cavalier? NOPE! So, P-Oed beyond belief at this point I just said "WTF" and got the hammer and chisel and MADE enough room by breaking out some of the panel behind the source unit. Does it fit? BARELY -- but enough to FINALLY have it all back together. . .
Total elapsed time for an aftermarket head unit and swapping out door speakers: almost 5 HOURS!!! Any other vehicle and I would have been done FOUR hours earlier.
All this for a daily driver! I MUST be insane!
But, with all that said and done, I've now got something at least a little better than stock in the *****. . . Pioneer DEH-P1000 CD-player, Pioneer TS-A4670R door speakers, stock 6x9s in the rear, and an MTX Thunder 6152 amp running an MTX T4512X2D enclosure (2 12" subs). Was it worth the aggravation and swearing and TIME? I'm not certain yet. . . But it MUST be because factory systems SUCK!
Sorry for the rant, but I really needed to get it out of my system, and my poor wife has been listening to it for most of the evening already, so it's everyone else's turn now!
OMFG!!! I've got MANY years of install experience, but I've never done one of these. 1) The adapter is $120 (GM, in their infinite wisdom, integrated a couple vehicle systems into the stock radio), 2) The entire front and TOP of the dash need to come completely off -- as in laying in the middle of the garage floor, 3) I've never used a HAMMER AND CHISEL to install a head unit before.
1) If you install an aftermarket unit, you lose your door chime, and a couple other systems that are helpful to have. SOOO, you've got to get this $120 adapter that comes with a C-PROM box to keep the car happy and keep those systems functional.
2) Is that dash easy to dismantle? HELL NO! With most cars, you only need to remove the bezel/dash facing and remove a couple bolts holding the head unit in. Grand total in elapsed time, maybe 1 hour (30 minutes if you're a pro) -- TOPS. Do the J-Bodies work that way? HELL NO! After looking at this thing for a while, I started taking bolts loose. The two side panels come off and the defroster vent comes off. Under those panels are four bolts. BUT WAIT, there's more! Open the glove box -- in there are two more bolts that come out. Done yet? NOPE! There are two other bolts buried WAY up in the dash behind the glove box -- so far that I needed a 12" extension to get to them. Ready to pull the stock stereo out? HELL NO! The entire top panel of the dash comes off -- THEN you can get to the three bolts holding the dash face in place. Can you get to the stock radio yet? Yes, FINALLY!
3) After going through all that nonsense, and getting more and more pissed off with every bolt I had to remove, I finally get the stocker out of there and am ready to slap the new source unit in. Will it fit? NOOOO! Most aftermarket head units are deeper than the stock GM units -- but most other models have at least a little extra room so fit isn't too big of a problem. Does a Cavalier? NOPE! So, P-Oed beyond belief at this point I just said "WTF" and got the hammer and chisel and MADE enough room by breaking out some of the panel behind the source unit. Does it fit? BARELY -- but enough to FINALLY have it all back together. . .
Total elapsed time for an aftermarket head unit and swapping out door speakers: almost 5 HOURS!!! Any other vehicle and I would have been done FOUR hours earlier.
All this for a daily driver! I MUST be insane!
But, with all that said and done, I've now got something at least a little better than stock in the *****. . . Pioneer DEH-P1000 CD-player, Pioneer TS-A4670R door speakers, stock 6x9s in the rear, and an MTX Thunder 6152 amp running an MTX T4512X2D enclosure (2 12" subs). Was it worth the aggravation and swearing and TIME? I'm not certain yet. . . But it MUST be because factory systems SUCK!
Sorry for the rant, but I really needed to get it out of my system, and my poor wife has been listening to it for most of the evening already, so it's everyone else's turn now!