Talk me out of cutting my dash

[Catbox]

If you do cut it...
Buy another dash trim piece that may have been cut already and save the cherry one you have currently installed.

You can weld the metal, but the plastic is a whole other can of worms...

 

[Rusty Nail]

Ya!
@ BobRoss kickin in!

 

[Rusty Nail]

They even got the Catbox! Sup dude?

 

[bigcountry78]

If you do cut it...
Buy another dash trim piece that may have been cut already and save the cherry one you have currently installed.

You can weld the metal, but the plastic is a whole other can of worms...

That’s a good idea.

 

[SDJunkMan]

Does any company make a "patch panel" to repair the butchered area? I fabricated my own, but it would be nice to have something that is more stock looking. Biggest regret I ever made with my truck was cutting out the stock radio area. I am the original owner and should have known better.

Never thought about that, but it would probably be worth saving that section of the dash on the cab I'm scrapping.

 

[Bennyt]

I saved that section of the dash from a '77 cab I scrapped if anyone needs it. PM/DM if any interested.

 

[Bennyt]

Also, there is a company that is coming out with a weld in panel to accommodate a double din. I think it is going to go where the ashtray is and the original radio location will be a storage shelf like the non-ac trucks have on top.

 

[Kiely]

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I plan to leave my dash intact. In order to upgrade my system I bought a headliner from Brothers trucks, see photo

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In that front square area, I’m putting a single din radio with a drop down screen. I can use Bluetooth, USB, a backup camera and extremely better sound. Since that is up there I am also installing one of those rear view mirrors that dim super bright light coming in your back window. I’ve had cataract surgery on both eyes and those lenses go crazy refracting that bright light. This leaves you with a classic looking dash and a barely noticeable system overhead.

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[Luisjp]

Thinking hard about cutting my dash for a CD player. I have a couple laying around from various cars. So it wouldn’t cost me anything. And yes I still have and listen to cd. I never jumped on board wit the mp3 stuff. On top of that, the knob on my alpine broke a while back so now it looks bad. And I know that if I cut it right, I can bend the tabs back and it will be repairable later if I decide to do that. I’ll never sell the truck so I’m not concerned about loss of value. So tell me what you think and why.

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[/QUOT

 

[bigcountry78]

Another option I've wanted to try is an overhead console. Here is one for a golf cart https://www.amazon.com/Madjax-Universal-Overhead-Stereo-Console/dp/B00O6AWXUU and one for a UTV https://www.amazon.com/ThunderBuckets-UNIVERSAL-OVERHEAD-CONSOLE-SPEAKERS/dp/B07B62Z48F .

I considered that at one point. Jc Whitney used to sell something called shelf it, which attached to the sun visor mounts to create a shelf. I was going to put the CD player there, but I decided not to. I have a custom deluxe with no trim. There was no way to hide the massive amount of wires needed. 8 speaker wires, two power wires, a ground wire and antenna wire all running up there wouldn’t look very nice.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

There are a **** ton of direct fit Bluetooth and CD changer control radios out there so you don’t have to cut the dash. Just my .02

 

[82sbshortbed]

I see what y'all are saying if they did a ****** job of it. But you were going to do the cutting and I assumed that you planned on doing a good job taking your time and make it look good and right @bigcountry78. Because I take my time to make it look good and right. That's why I don't see it as a big deal. I know there's guys out there that just like the factory look and don't want to change that look.

But, whatever you decide to do be sure and post it because I'd like to see what you decide to do.

I've already got a Kenwood 5 channel amp ready to go in mine. I'll get that $100 deck for Wal-Mart. I have one in my SS and love it. I'll be sure and post it in my build thread when I get it all and install it.

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I'm all about my jams tho. I keep my headphones in at work while I run my machine and be jammin. Lol

These trucks are so easy to install a nice system in. Dash be cut or not.

 

[82sbshortbed]

There are a **** ton of direct fit Bluetooth and CD changer control radios out there so you don’t have to cut the dash. Just my .02

Hey, honky kong is alive.

Welcome back bud. The sarcastic remarks around here has been missed. At least by me. Lol

 

[Galane]

If you want cheap, find a PYLE PLR14MPF. It has a USB port and SD card slot for playing MP3, but the tuner is analog. This company makes radios with digital tuners, some with aux inputs and/or ports for playing MP3 and WMA files. https://www.classiccarstereos.com/gmc-radios.html

Could rip your entire CD collection to MP3 then run them all through MP3GAIN https://sourceforge.net/projects/mp3gain/ so they'll all play at the same volume. Put the lot on one USB stick and never again have to fumble with tapes, or have tapes get eaten, broken, or otherwise damaged.

 

[bigcountry78]

I see what y'all are saying if they did a ****** job of it. But you were going to do the cutting and I assumed that you planned on doing a good job taking your time and make it look good and right @bigcountry78. Because I take my time to make it look good and right. That's why I don't see it as a big deal. I know there's guys out there that just like the factory look and don't want to change that look.

But, whatever you decide to do be sure and post it because I'd like to see what you decide to do.

I've already got a Kenwood 5 channel amp ready to go in mine. I'll get that $100 deck for Wal-Mart. I have one in my SS and love it. I'll be sure and post it in my build thread when I get it all and install it.

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I'm all about my jams tho. I keep my headphones in at work while I run my machine and be jammin. Lol

These trucks are so easy to install a nice system in. Dash be cut or not.

Yes I definitely planned on taking my time and doing it right. But there is a large group of people that don’t care about doing things right. Those are the guys that look like they cut the dash with an axe.