Aftermarket Head Unit in the Ash Tray
 

Has this ever been done? I saw all kinds of small uses for it, but never a full deck mounted down there. Is there room in the back for it? I'm not opposed to taking the dremel to the back of the dash, I'm comfortable with fiberglass and I have no trouble wiring in the deck from scratch. I plan a totally stand-alone stereo w/no interaction from the stock deck if I can do it.

so, can this be done or is there stuff in the way back there?

Get to it son! Be a pioneer. We will be waiting.

Edit: How strange.....after telling you to be a pioneer, I look at the next thread and you are talking about pioneering. Wierd!!!

You are going to run into issues putting a radio there.

1) Location in relation to the transmission. Behind the ash tray the floor comes up to give room to the tranny. There is a piece of plastic that may or may not be able to be removed that is just under the HVAC controls.

http://devilboi.crackmonkey.us/e107_...l_IMG_3221.JPG

2) It is hot as hell in there even if you find a way to get it in.

3) If you get it in there you will have a problem with replacing the existing radio. The HVAC controls are in the head unit.

4) If you have a BOSE speaker system it will be even worse.

5) There is a project underway to come up with a dash piece to replace the stock radio with a double din which could help you avoid the headaches here. Not to discourage you though....just a whole lot of work.

besides being a pain in the ass right in front of the shifter.

I didn't plan on disconnecting the stock deck from anything, so the A/C controls should be fine. I planned on running new power, ground, etc. to the aftermarket deck and only disconnecting the antenna wire from the stock deck.

Heat is an issue that could be overcome by a fan if it comes down to it. The deck itself shouldn't make too much heat since I will only be using the pre-outs.

I'll wait for a few more replies and hope someone has really gotten deep in there. If I get nothing back I'll just go in myself sometime this summer. I need to add some deadening and/or foam to kill some squeaks down there anyway.

thanks for the replies so far!

So basically you are going to rewire your car to have two car stereos? You've got bawls son. Good luck with that.

I think you are missing his point. He wants to add a complete aftermarket system, but leave the HU alone. Kinda like the ebay dash kit that goes where the stock nav is.

With that dash kit I thought you still moved the wiring harness up for the new head unit. Right?

Nope.

To the OP.... I really don't think it's worth your time and money. Fabbing in the headunit, installing a fan, etc.... versus just buying one of the headunit replacement kits and having a for sure fit with a decent look. If the cost of the corksport is the issue, just hold out for a couple months and see if either of these other companies pull through with a replacement for us. (Metra or guy here on rx8club)

If you're insistent on this, I recommend installing ONLY THE FACEPLATE in that location. Keep the player elsewhere and extend the ribbon connection. (Or make a ribbon connection) Ive seen it done many time. Faceplate in sunvisor anyone?

Not sure even a faceplate could fit without pertruding far out from the location.