Im sure everyone who has purchased or considered aftermarket head units at some point can agree that having only 2 real options when it comes to choice in trim, is not exactly idealistic, especially when the one can be more than the head unit itself and the lesser of the 2 is still easily over 150! Now I have looked around for quite some time now and I was able to find some conversion and DIY threads, such as Wrathernaut's list of parts, but most discuss the 03s 04s and the 05s and up are clearly different in several ways.

I know it has been at least thought of by some of you to grab a dremel and start cutting away at your OEM trim to Mcguiver it into a double, but I have never been able to find any thread or post stating that someone ever has. My main question is if this is because no one in their right mind would want to take a dremel to their dash, or is it simply because its not in anyway possible? Is there any sort of electric board or housing that would be damaged in the cutting process that would ruin the remaining electronics? If it really isn't doable by any means, then don't waste your time reading the rest of what I am talking about.

I was thinking that if the OEM trim is able to be removed from the stereo, and if there is nothing important the dremel could damage if used carefully, then physically couldn't a head unit fit through the hole you created and then inserted into your dash? And Idk if there is or not, but I would imagine that there is some type of bracket out there that can be installed and used to suspend the new unit up and off of the probably imperfect looking cuts. Now if all of these things were doable, Im sure this has been attempted by someone, and that there would be multiple harnesses and wirings that would be necessary for proper installation. If you were able to get the unit to sit in your dash with the cut OEM trim, regardless of how poor your cuts were, wouldn't it be fairly easy to find a few high quality pieces of plastic to be placed flushed around it so that they could just kinda look like a small extension of the unit?

Now I'm pretty set on installing a head unit regardless of if this works, and since my factory Bose isn't in the best condition to make enough money off of it, if someone can just let me know what lies behind the area that would be cut and what would happen, ill be happy to buy what parts I would need and document my stab at it. I feel as if I could make a close enough cut in the trim to where I would only need very small cover up pieces.

If you have succeeded in anything like this, tried it, seen it, heard about it, know about it, or just wanna shed some light, any and all information received would be really appreciated. Thanks for reading Gs I hope to hear some responses soon.

 

no.. you would cut straight into your ac controls. the backing is a full circuitboard..

 

you need a jdm double din kit OR a cheap metra kit...

 

OP if it was that easy, you would be reading many stories from members that have done it. At least we can swap out headunits, the second gen G guys are screwed in that regard. ;(

 

You didn't read through the parts list and guide very carefully, because cutting up the factory trim IS covered in there, specifically linking to this post, where somebody did just that, resulting in this:


Also sticky'd at the top is the "THIS IS THE REASON YOU NEED THE JDM A/C CONTROLLER" post, which shows you the circuitboard that's behind the trim.

To add to those, I did actually take a hacksaw and cut the a/c control portion from the circuitboard off and plugged it in and tested it. No function at all.

So, you can get the jdm a/c controls for over $150 and add them to a cut-up factory trim and save yourself about $150. The existing factory radio bracket will hold your aftermarket radio the same as it does with the real JDM trim. Just as with that trim, you might want to re-drill the mounting holes on the bracket to place your radio where you want.

If you're going to do it this way, I recommend taking the trim to a place that does laser cutting and engraving to do the cut. For a simple cut, you're looking at about $5-10 if you provide them with the vector graphic of the proper size to cut the hole out.

 

still have to buy those expensive ac controls. Cutting the "faceplate" would only save you so much.
You have a nice car, buy something nice for it.