Santa left a new JVC CD/Receiver under the tree this year. Luckily, Santa shops at Crutchfield.com, so he also left the din adapter and wiring harness.

I didn't know what I was going to find when I pulled out the existing unit - the previous owner had replaced the OEM with a Sony tape player/receiver, and I was concerned that the installer may have butchered the factory wiring harness. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found the exact same adapted harness behind the Sony, with the exact same plug to the unit. It seemed all I would have to do is plug it in, and turn it own. Nah. The speaker wiring on the Sony was reversed, left to right and vice versa. So rather than just swapping the speaker wires, I decided to take the extra half hour and crimp up the new harness.

The JVC unit has IPOD capability built in, just plug the IPOD cable in the back, and get the music, controls,and readouts on the unit. With the unit mounted in the top slot, and after removing the glove box, and passenger kick panel, and moving the heater control console out of the way, I found I could snake the IPOD cable down behind all the existing wire, and through a large opening in the top of the lower storage area, where I can push it in and out of the way if not in use. Took a little time and patience, but no cutting or hole punching.

Now for speakers. I just have the two door mounted in the front, some vintage Boston Acoustics. One has very weak output, the other has no bass response whatsoever. So I'm in the market, and looking for recommendations on replacement 4 inchers.

While I am it, I'm thinking of installing rears, in the deck, and I'm adverse to cutting metal, so I'm looking for recommendations for something that will bolt right in to the existing openings. I looked on Crutchfield's website, and everything they list for the car's rear deck all say "modified fit", whatever that means.

I'm not looking to energize the neighborhood with my sounds, just some decent bass response from the rears, and clear tweets and mids from the front.

Suggestions welcome.