What's inside?

[noKYspider]

I'm looking for a place to mount my radio that is out of plain sight for anyone that's interested in ripping off new radios out of old convertibles and think I have found a spot under the passenger's side dash. The part of the car that is pictured below is what I want to mount it to. The black sharpie mark on it represents where I want to screw in the right side of the mounting bracket.

When I tap on the pan it sounds like a hollow air baffle or something but I want to make sure it's not filled with liquid if I drill into it. Perhaps it's an overflow tank or something for the heater core? I highly doubt there's anything in it other than air because of the vent that's attached to it on the bottom right. The hose at the lower left concerns me though so I thought I'd ask the experts. If you have any thoughts I'd appreciate them.

[divace73]

what year is you car??

That looks like where the water flows just below your windscreen.?
My 1980 doesn't have the vent like that but come to think about it I have noticed some earlier cars do look different on the area under the windscreen.
If you drill in to that you will have many issues.....the PO of my car did and took me ages to figure out why it was always wet inside the car.

[Zippy]

My equalizer is mounted where you are talking about but a little forward. I can see it while sitting in the drivers seat. My car is a 78 and has a tray that all the relays are mounted in. I don't see that in your picture. Here are several pictures I took of my installation and links to the full size version in case you want a closer look.

http://cruzin.us/images/Equalizer.jpg

http://cruzin.us/images/MtgBottom2.jpg

http://cruzin.us/images/MtgBraketRight.jpg

http://cruzin.us/images/MtgFrt.jpg

[maytag]

yeah... so.... i wouldn't.
that area is indeed hollow. if you were to remove the cowl cover, you'd see that it's just a big dish, that catches the rain that comes through those vents and directs it out through that hose on the left of your photo.
You will ALSO notice at that moment that the space is filled with the Windshield wiper motor & etc, when the cowl is back in place.
You won't be doing yourself any favors trying to mount it there. sorry.

[Zippy]

As I mentioned in the other post, I put my tape deck under the front seat in my 69 Sport Coupe. It worked out really well as it was easy to put the tapes in and there were only a few buttons to push, like fast forward, reverse and stop.

[Divers]

FYI...I am planning on putting the radio and amp in the trunk and using a wireless remote to control.

Robert

[noKYspider]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. My car is a 1975 for those that were asking. I kind of thought it might be a pan to catch water from the cowling too, which is why I didn't go drilling into it last night. Guess that idea is out. As far as the other options go here are my thoughts. The trunk isn't a very good option for me because I need the infrared remote to be able to see the head unit to control everything (volume, source, etc.). There's a similar issue in mounting it under the seat because then I'd be leaning forward anytime I wanted to change anything the with the remote.

I think I'll try building a mounting plate from some sheet metal that can attach to the bar and then either be epoxied to the pan or held up in the back some other way. We'll see what problems that creates and if there are any work arounds. Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions everyone. They help keep me on track and from having a wet floor and shorted out radio.

[Zippy]

Does the radio you bought have a remote sensor jack? If so you can mount a button on your dash or some other convienent spot and mount the radio wherever you want. Here is a picture of the button mounted on my, apparently dusty, TV and of a spare I have.

[noKYspider]

Does the radio you bought have a remote sensor jack? If so you can mount a button on your dash or some other convienent spot and mount the radio wherever you want. Here is a picture of the button mounted on my, apparently dusty, TV and of a spare I have.

Something like that could open up a bunch of different possibilities and makes the trunk a much more practical location. The radio is at my house right now and so I can't go look at it to find out. What I looked up online says the following so I assume it's possible:

"Steering Wheel Remote Compatibility: The head unit features an OEM steering wheel remote control input on the rear of the unit to allow you to keep your vehicle's radio steering wheel remote controls when used with the optional PAC SWI-RC Steering Wheel Control Interface Adapter (541SWIRC, sold separately); or the optional Metra ASWC Steering Wheel Control Interface Adapter (120ASWC, sold separately)."

Would you be willing to sell the extra sensor and, if so, how much would you want?

[noKYspider]

After talking to Crutchfield they say there is no remote or wired remote option for the radio so I'm not sure if the remote sensor you were talking about will work or not. Where did you get yours?

[Zippy]

I just went through my boxOstuff and found the manual for my Comcast box. That is where that came from. I was thumbing through it and read the part about how to locate it away from the plasma TV because the light waves interfere with the signal. I haven't had that problem, but now I'm thinking infrared won't work in a convertible. Sorry, didn't mean to take you down that rabbit hole.

Al

[noKYspider]

I just went through my boxOstuff and found the manual for my Comcast box. That is where that came from. I was thumbing through it and read the part about how to locate it away from the plasma TV because the light waves interfere with the signal. I haven't had that problem, but now I'm thinking infrared won't work in a convertible. Sorry, didn't mean to take you down that rabbit hole.

Al

Yeah, I'm thinking it won't work either. I might try wiring up the radio out of the trunk temporarily and see how much I can control with the bluetooth from my phone. If I can get the radio to function as a bluetooth receiver and run everything through the phone that might be a viable option. The issue will be switching the receiver source to FM or iPod once I run out of cell coverage. Thanks for the idea.

[htchevyii]

I'm sure there are others, but here's the first one I found:
http://www.normansclassicautoradio.com/
I just mounted a small amplifier unit in my glove box that I plug my iPod into.

[noKYspider]

I've already got the radio if that wasn't mentioned somewhere else before. This is what I got http://www.crutchfield.com/p_070XML8150 ... ml?tp=5684

[Exit98]

noKY,

I see you said you want to put it out of sight. To protect from theft? If so then that’s your call and I can understand that.

But do you think there’s much chance of that in your area? That’s just not something I worry about. I live in a decent area and I park my car open all the time. If my radio did get pinched I would definitely be pissed and if they tore out the console to get to it that would be the real tragedy.

The PO had an original AM/FM in the console and a modern radio in the glove box and a remote. It just wasn’t for me. I wanted to use the glove box, and I found the remote with its tiny buttons frustrating.

So when I rebuilt my console I put the modern radio in there where it belongs and dumped the remote. It’s got the removable face on it but I never think to take it off. Maybe if I found myself parking somewhere creepy but that doesn’t happen. I do always disconnect the IPod and throw that in my pocket though.