Right, drilled two hole in each of the stereo brackets so the flap pocket will fit. I used a 6mm drill which gave a bit of adjustment to allow for my bad workmanship. It took a bit of time with my rechargeable drill and some (apparently) universal drill bits - they heated up a lot, so alow cooling time in between holes. The screws from the old stereo fitted both the new head unit and the flap pocket (which was an amazing £13 from my local dealer);




This is a front view (as if I needed to label the picture...). The flap opens fine, and the whole assembly is slightly less tall than the original stereo so should fit into the dash just fine (MY05);




So, which one would you prefer?



Tomorrow it's wiring time...

 

I take it from the pictures that you can only put the pocket below the HU?

How easy was it to line up the pocket holes to drill in the right place? I assume you just pushed both units into the bracket as far as they go?

Regards

 

I didn't even consider putting the head unit at the bottom. Looking at it, the Alpine could probably fit at the bottom, but the top angled bracket bit which screws onto the dash is set back - this would mean the flap pocket would have to be pushed back slightly to allow room for the screw. Not sure it would look okay.


I mounted one bracket onto the head unit, held the pocket as close to it as it would go and marked the edge with a pen - joining these up gave me the centre points. I then held the other bracket onto the first one (now removed from the headunit) and transfered the marks across.

I then bashed a pointed wood screw onto the centre points with a hammer (no centre punch...) and then drilled. One of the rear holes (for the spigot thing) was a bit lower than it should've been, but I forced the front level and tightened the screws and it's fine. If I can be bothered I may file out that hole to raise the rear slightly, but then I'd have to buy a file...

 

It sounds like we have the same tool collection

I'm getting all the components together myself, (Alpine HU) and will need all the help I can get. I'll be starting in a couple of weeks when I get some time off so it's preparation time at the moment.

The only reason I thought of the HU at the bottom is my HU comes with a flip out screen, and will end up blocking the air vents if left out continuously when on.

As you have a MY05 as well I'm interested how it all works out.

Thanks again

 

In which case having the flap alightly recessed may be a good idea! If you drill the first hole as close to the top bracket bit as possible, it could work. It won't hurt even if it doesn't work out as you want; no-one will see the holes.

 

The one thing I remember doing wrong was not putting the pocket far enough back into the "cradle" first time. This meant the fascia wouldn't go back on properly - it had a bulge in it. So had to take it all back out again!

I also had a flip up screen - it really didn;t affect air flow into the cabin - not all of the vent area is obscured. Also if you put the head unit on the bottom you won't be able to access the pocket with the screen out!!!

Ian