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I decided to do a double din install in my '87 Vert after reading and searching various posts in this forum. Previous owner had a single din that didn't work anymore so why not? Attached pics detail what I did. Some steps might not be necessary depending on the height of the double din you buy and whether you want a CD player. I opted for the CD player since I had it. It required some additional trimming of the AC panel and dash but it came out like I wanted. First off, I'd like to thank member ajp01 for providing feedback, guidance, and answering my numerous private messages during my installation. I'm going to eliminate the steps needed to remove the existing dash trim, radio and AC panel and any radio wiring required. This is the AC panel removed and gutted. There's a clip on each end of the panel that can be removed to dismantle the control panel from the housing. You can see the thickness of the long edges of the housing. I sanded the top of the flange on the AC control panel, if there's one on the lower side...sand that down too so it's flat to the housing. I'm trying to reduce the height here even though it's not much. This is after I sanded the top and bottom of the AC housing using the control panel inserted into the housing to sand down onto the housing to get it thin and not sand through the housing. I might of gained an 1/8" of additional height. This is what the control panel and housing looks like after sanding. The bottom bar of the dash is very thick. I notched out a relief in it so the AC panel could sit lower. I modified the AC panel lower mounting flange by cutting and notching it so it would fit into the notch I made in the previous pic. Slot any of the mounting holes to get it to sit as low as possible. Same thing where the J nuts are mounted. Every millimeter helps here. You can see how much lower the AC panel sits in the dash after the mods. For the radio opening the rear plastic bar needs to be removed and the sides widened to allow the double din to sit on top of the AC panel and as flush to the front of the AC panel as possible. I cut and notched the lower AC panel mounting tabs a little more to sit lower after taking this pic since there was still a small gap below the AC panel. I made some custom aluminum brackets from 2" aluminum angle. Front view. Rear view. Holes are slightly slotted for any angle adjustments in the opening. The radio sits directly on top of the AC panel and the holes line up with existing holes which may need to be modified with a J nut. I cut the cross bar out of the radio bezel and placed masking tape repeatedly while I sanded the nub of plastic flush with the bezel. Nub sanded down flush with the bezel I used a piece of the old cross bar and epoxied a piece as backup to fill the hole. Completed sanding the edges flush with the bezel. Used some two part bondo to fill the hole and blend into the bezel. After priming and using SEM plastic paint. Hard to tell it was modified. Here's the radio and AC panel installed. The AC panel lower control buttons are still accessible albeit a little lower in the opening. If you have a double din trim piece then use it and trim to fit. I had some textured plastic that I just cut and used a glue gun to adhere the sides to the radio itself. The glue won't damage the plastic. This is what it looks like completed. The CD slot and eject button are fully accessible. If you don't have a CD then some mods mentioned probably won't be needed. Obviously, you'll need wiring adapters to interface with the existing radio connectors. The previous owner cut out the connectors so I just hardwired the radio in.
Last edited by MrRenoman; Jul 25, 2024 at 01:42 PM.
I'm sure there are other ways to do this install. This is how I did it and I like to share some of my projects in hopes it will help someone now or in the future. I didn't see much on the steps to do the install so I thought I'd document what I did. Thanks.
Very nice install. It looks "factory" which of course is what we strive for, right?
Question for everyone... I want to also install a "Double Din" stereo in my 1987 Vette. I also would like to use some tuning software that I normally run on a tablet. One page of the software provides a "digital dash" for you to monitor things. Could this info be displayed on the double din stereo as well? I am thinking that the stereo is not a computer, per se, so maybe not. But if the stereo is capable of receiving video from a phone or tablet, could it not also receive and display the info from a tablet running the actual program?? Is there a way to "piggyback" them?
Double Din Install
