I was a nice boy this year so Santa brought me a new MP3 player for Christmas. I am going to put it in my '84 DL. I would like to put it in the top location for a bit easier access. Has anyone done this? I remember looking into this before and deciding not to. I couldn't get the antenna wire to reach or something and I was concerned about heat as the top vents are right there. Any suggestions or input is appreciated.
Thanks
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Ben

I mounted a CD player on top in an '83 245. I find it to be more convienent and more accesible. I had to do some trimming to open the space a little more, re-routing the wiring, and I made a bracket out of sheet metal to fit where the center speaker goes so I could connect the stabilizing bracket to something firm. I also used some kind of insulation, that I got out of a couple of shelf stereo system speakers, to help insulate and cushion the unit. It works and looks great.

"I had to do some trimming to open the space a little more" - I assume you are talking about the underside of the dash where it slopes down? How much trimming did you have to do?

Did you use a standard mounting kit for the front plastic to fit where the stock storage bit is? How far out past the heater vents does the face of the stereo go? Do you happen to have any digital pics?

Thanks
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Ben

No problem whatsoever, as long as you have the proper mounting plate.
If the front panel of your player is as bright and hyperactive as the one on my Sony, it'll be quite distracting, though.
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Jim McDonald

I just went out to get started over lunch. There's no way this is going to work. The heater ducts and dash don't leave enough room for the unit to slide in any more than about 2/3 of the way. My new radio is a standard size. Is yours? Did you have any problems like this?
Thanks
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Ben

Mine's a standard DIN; it sits on top of the ducts.
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Jim McDonald

Thanks for the input. I hope I don't have the same problem with my display. I'm a no-nonsense type. I don't like all that fancy crap. I did notice that there are three display light levels so maybe that will help.
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Ben

Ditto on the no nonsense. I have a nice Blaupunkt temp slaved into the lower position in my 85 244. Even down there I was distracted by this flashiddy flash, bouncitie bounce dual level meter. Lucky for me there was an option to turn the display off. I have a lower key Blaupunkt Aspen to install once I have the time.

As to the mounting locations. I thought about mounting my head unit up top but liked the out of sight element of the lower position. Part of the negative aspect of having the unit down there is addressed with my remote control.

Best of luck with your installation and congrats! : )

Ron
Wasatch Mountain Range
85 244 135k miles and just died on the way home tonight
89 245 240k miles and a maintainers dream..knocking on wood