heh, great... one more thing to pick up for this project. i see ill be spending a whole lot more time and money on this then i originaly planned.

somehow that seems to be the way most of my projects turn out....

 

I just did mine yesterday. I bought a new bezel from Willcox for $79, then bought my head unit, speakers and install kit all from www.millionbuy.com.

That bezel is a bastard to cut though. Use masking tape on any area not to be cut incase you slip with the dremel.

 

That's clean. Good job.

 

I did the same thing on my 68.....

Thanks,
Joe

 

Yes. I used the bezel cover as a template and as the final cover. A picture of the bezel from millionbuy.com is posted above by another-user. The bezel cover is plastic and can be used for 2 shaft radios or din radios (rectangular opening for modern cd players). To use the bezel from millonbuy for a cd player, the plastic bezel needs to have two shaft area cut out. There is a scribe line on the back of the plastic bezel that is the size of the din opening. I used a dremel with a cut off wheel to cut through the plastic making the rectangular opening on the bezel. Once that was done, I simply placed the plastic bezel over the stock radio bezel and then scribed a line by following the inside of the retangular cut. Hope that helps.

 

Thats exactly how I did it. Cut to the inside of your lines and then file it out to where you need it. Measure twice and cut once. I to used a dremel and cut off wheel but it was a PITA.



Thanks DB!

 

I used a cut-off wheel on mine, made the opening a little smaller and sized it to fit with a file. In my opinion jigsaws vibrate too much and you run a risk of cracking something.

You can see it and all my car-audio installs on my homepage

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Don't buy those Autosound units listed by Eckler's and other Corvette vendor's. They are junk, sound like crap and only last about 6 months. I have had 2 and one was worse than the other. The only thing they do is fit the bezel.

I finally broke down and cut the bezel and installed a Pioneer unit, best thing I ever did. Sounds great, works great and its been in for 3 years without a hitch. I cut the bezel and fabricated a front facia and it looks great.

 

Pics please.

 

I have seen these bezel covers like the one from million buy, and I might end up going that route. How are you guys affixing the cover to the center console? Just with the tension of the head unit in there? Also, what about the actual mounting of the head unit itself? How are you attaching it physically behind the dash?

 

The CD player comes with a rectangular "cage" that the actual unit will eventully slide into. To secure the plastic bezel, slide the cage into the bezel and then into the stock radio bezel that has been cut out. There are tabs on the cage that will need to be bent out on several places that will hold the cage and the bezel securely to the back side of the radio bezel. Once all the wiring is complete, clip the wiring connection together, plug in the antenna and then slide the CD player into the cage. (The CD player will also come with two metal pieces that slide along the side of the CD player, should one need to remove the CD player at a later time.

 

He explained that perfectly. Those tabs he mentioned are what hold everything in place. Make sure those tabs are bent out so that everything is tight, and nothing wiggles. If it wiggles at all, the head unit will move around as you drive, and may cause wires to come loose or even skipping CDs.

Something I recommend, is a block of soft foam behind the stereo, on top of the trans tunnel. When the head unit is pushed in for it's final resting position, it compresses the foam, and rests it weight on the foam instead of dead air. Also, the pressure that foam applies as it pushes up on the bottom of the head unit, helps keep everything tight and secure.

One more tip. Make all your wires, including the antenna wire, long enough to pull through the bezel, and attach to the head unit. You'll want to test it before inserting it for good. Make sure it plays and has a radio signal.

To help with splicing into the harness, these are the important wires from the back of the head unit.

Red - IGN lead. Important so the stereo is only active when the key is in the IGN position.
Yellow - Always hot 12V source. This keeps the memory of the head unit.
Black - Ground. Just as important as the power wire.
Antenna - Also a ground, and this is your radio signal.
Blue/White stripe - Remote wire for turning on amps.
Blue - Remote wire for turning on power antennas.

If you have a multi meter, check all the wires before installing. Find and mark which wires from the car's harness is the 12V, IGN, and GRD.

Let me know if you have any other install questions.

 

Just buy the bezel

 

I bought the aftermarket gauge cluster bezel with the DIN opening. I think it was around 200.00. Prettyn expensive, yet it does look nice and new!!!

 

The only downside is you have to transfer the vents over, and sometimes they need work, and you have to re-apply the foam to get them to seal properly.