PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

J Wikoff wrote:It seems like there's good room under the stock radio for something taller.

Blue_Bonne wrote:Right I jus got to do sum cutting to tha trim to fit a double din

00Beast wrote:Dude, this is a forum, not a text. Please use full words and sentences.

Blue_Bonne wrote:Right I jus got to do sum cutting to tha trim to fit a double din

Translated: Right, I just need to cut some of the trim underneath the stock radio to make a Double DIN fit.

harofreak00 wrote:http://tinyurl.com/45aq9zx

randman1 wrote:I aquired an Eclipse AVX2404 yesterday. In dash touch-screen LCD with built-in DVD, MP3, ... all the goodies. The problem is, it's a double DIN unit. I first was thinking of putting it in my truck but that opening is slightly less than double DIN and would require modifications anyway. So I decided that it was going into the Bonny.

I grabbed the spare dash from the shed and the Dremmel and went to town. I needed to fit it into the dash to get an idea of where to cut the trim panel. Slung around some fibergalss... and here are the unfinished results:





Tomorrow I move into the Bondo phase to clean up the surfaces a bit more. The weekend will be when the mounting bracket is fabbed.

randman1 wrote:I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say "cover". If you are referring to the trim ring usually found around the head unit then no, it is missing. This will be an iso-DIN fit. I carefully measured the faceplate and cut a piece of 3/4" thick lumber the same size. Thiis chunk was screwed to a scrap piece of 1/2" plywood that was slightly larger than the OEM opening plus the cut at the bottom. The wood "plug" was prepped with shelac, masking tape and Carnuba wax so the fiberglass would release once dry. Using the top edge of the radio opening as a reference, the plug was clamped to the dash trim. I was looking for Kitty Hair fiberglass filler but ended up with a Bondo substitute. It too had fibers mixed in with the jelly-like goop. The hardner was added, mixed throughly, and the mixture was packed around the left, right and bottom of the 3/4" block. I did this twice with an hour or so between applications. Then sand, sand, sand....




I don't think this model is sold new any more as it has been replaced with a newer model. The all-in-one units like this usually go for $1000 to $1400 new. I wanted a Pioneer unit that was similar but was a standard DIN size. I couldn't afford it though.

It has two aux video inputs: Navi in and Aux for rear view camera or other video source. It even has a split screen so two sources can be seen at the same time.

randman1 wrote:I had a rather sleepless night last night thinking of how I was going to mount this puppy. I couldn't wait for the weekend so I started this afternoon. I came up with many ideas. Some of which required a sheet metal bending brake which I do not own (yet). The ideas gradually got more and more complex but in the end, simplicity won. The idea was to make the new radio the same width as the the factory radio and use the factory mounting brackets. The difference in width between the factory and aftermarket units was just over 3/4". I had some 3/8" polycarbonate laying around from an abandoned project that would work very nicely as a spacer. Here they are here:



The factory mounting tabs are fastened to the spacers using a flat head screw and a nylon locking nut. The spacers mount to the radio with four more screws. The holes are enlarged so slight adjustments can be made to the up and down alignment. Overall, the width is 1/8" smaller than the factory radio allowing for shims (washers) to be placed for left to right adjustment. It's ready to be installed but the weather might put a stop to this tomorrow. The dash trim still needs to be finished and painted so that can get done easily tomorrow. Hopefully I can have some completed pics before Monday.

randman1 wrote:The trim panel is now in primer. I will have to wait until Monday to find some texture and color matched paint. Heres a couple more pics:

After the Bondo step:


The back cleaned up a bit:


Unit installed after dash modifications:


Trim installed and all wired up:


Faceplate tilted to allow access to CD and memory stick slots:


The unit really sucks as a DVD player. The resolution of the screen is only 400 x 234. There is so much compression going on that the images are rather distorted. No big deal though. I like the ability to customize the wallpaper, it has navigation inputs and plays MP3's. These were the most important features for me.

Don't let anyone tell you that a double DIN headunit will not fit in a Bonneville :D

randman1 wrote:The HUD switch opening proved to be more difficult than the radio opening but I think I'm getting the hang of this. I tried to measure the original trim panel and cut the new one but I ended up being off the mark. Plus, the switch is recessed and the trim is noe flat. The best way to get it exactly right was to make a reverse mold of the original with an unmistakable reference point. The reference point is the vertical line in the trim piece. The piece was prepped with some masking tape and a lot of wax


Next, the fiberglass was glopped over the area paying attention to the vertical line and the curves of the opening. The following pic is the second attempt at the mold. the first one was nearly a disaster. The white thing in the opening of the first pic is a piece of steel that formerly was a scrap of baseboard heater. I tried to adhere it to the back of the trim with an adhesive that I could remove afterwards. I decided on some acrylic window caulk. Bad choice. It let go during the glopping process and the stuff was EVERYWHERE!. Fortunately, I used enough wax all around and the glass was able to be removed. In the end, it was duct tape to the rescue.


Once the mold hardened, it was released from the trim. I sprayed it with sheliac to seal the surface and waxed the snot out of it. This is how it looked fresh off of the original trim piece:


The new trim piece was cut oversized of the mold. This insured enough surface for the glass to bond. Once the opening was large enough, the mold was clamped in place.


More glopping:


Fresh out of the mold:


After some sanding:


I still need to Bondo the new orifice but tomorrow in another day. I bought a color matched paint today but will have to wait until Wed for the texture.