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Wed Dec 21, 2005 8:27 pm

I always buy my car stereos from crutchfield because of their great customer service. While looking for an upgrade for my vanagon I noticed that crutchfield only lists one stereo that fits the vanagon. When I called customer service they told me that only one stereo fits the vangon because it has a limited depth in the dash. I have seen a lot of vanagons with many different stereos. Has anyone heard of this before? Do you really have to modify the dash to get any other stereo to fit?

Wed Dec 21, 2005 8:48 pm

captainpartytime wrote: Has anyone heard of this before? Do you really have to modify the dash to get any other stereo to fit?

Crutchfield seems to be the only people who think this. I've had 3 different radios in my van, and all went in without a problem. I think the only thing i may have had to do was very slightly bend the rear support for the stereo (just a funky sheetmetal bracket).

I've never heard of anyone having trouble putting a stereo in.

-Damon

Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:41 pm

That sheet metal tab behind the radio is there to hold up the back of the radio. The stock unit on my "89 had a short rubber cap that threaded onto a stud sticking out of the back of the radio. When I put in the alpine unit I have now, I took the rubber cap off the stock radio, cut a bolt in half (to make a stud) and threaded the lot into a threaded boss on the back side of the alpine. Fits, looks and works like it should be there. I liked the alpine because it had a front that looked like it belonged in my black/green lit dash and it had an aux jack on the back to use my ipod in the car. Just pull the ash tray and plug in. I also have kenwood speakers all around and a 100W amplified bass tube under the back seat. Sounds good and no mods needed. Could put it all back to stock in 30 min.

Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:20 am

Bend that stinkin tab bro! Bend it now..... Lose the Crutch (field)

Also, eights or a ten will go real well under the back seat. I built a few boxes and they worked beautifully.
Behind the clove box up high is a great place to 'hide' an amp.....
I won't tell anybody :roll: :wink: :roll: :wink: :roll: :wink: :roll:

Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:38 pm

i just put in a kenwood F828 and love it.

this is the 928, cant find the 828 but its the same size and everything....

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-re4azP0277l/cgi-bin/P...play=L#Tab

Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:45 pm

Good topic. I've got an Alpine and love it.

I've got a question about speakers, I am probably going to buy a pair of Polk 6 1/2" speakers for the rear and a pair of 4" for the front stock location and use the stock grilles on the front.

I'm concerned the 4" will not sound very good, anyone have input?

Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:48 pm

lilweasel wrote: Good topic. I've got an Alpint and love it.

I've got a question about speakers, I am probably going to buy a pair of Polk 6 1/2" speakers for the rear and a pair of 4" for the front stock location and use the stock grilles on the front.

I'm concerned the 4" will not sound very good, anyone have input?

i would not put 4's in the van. go with the 6.5's, even if you need to put a larger cover over it than the stock cover it will be worth it. At first the covers i had on mine were too big and the window crank was hitting it... found another pair of covers for the 6.5's and they're perfect now...

def go w/ the 6's over the 4's

ian

Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:11 pm

Any ideas on makeing a custom grille to cover the front speakers?

Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:02 pm

lilweasel wrote: Any ideas on makeing a custom grille to cover the front speakers?

just look around, you should be able to find some that fit. i found mine at a local stereo shop, they had a whole bunch that were from speakers people have purchased but never needed since they get put into the door and on most of the newer cars those covers arent needed... they had a whole bin they let me go through and pick out a couple... just be really nice and they'll prob be nice to you...

Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:18 pm

NICE! Thanks a ton Ian

Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:31 pm

The best 6 1/2" grills I found are made by Coustic. Yea, that is spelled right. They are real low profile and clear the dash and window crank, just barely, but they work. I put the speakers behind the front door panel, and mounted the grills in front. Looks real clean and the bigger speakers make all the difference.

Thu Dec 22, 2005 4:17 pm

sc-surfer wrote: The best 6 1/2" grills I found are made by Coustic. Yea, that is spelled right. They are real low profile and clear the dash and window crank, just barely, but they work. I put the speakers behind the front door panel, and mounted the grills in front. Looks real clean and the bigger speakers make all the difference.

amen

go big or go home. I'm a big audiophile and like to have good sound in my vehicle(s)

i put an 800 watt amp and a 12" sub underneath the rear bench seat... i also have a 2nd battery and power inverter installed in the van...
the box for the sub was custom made, and cut a hole in the compartment so the front of the speaker would show through... wound up having to put a cover over the sub because i was so worried it might get kicked...

I've been meaning to take some photos.... i'll try and do that soon...

Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:09 pm

ianstone wrote:
I've been meaning to take some photos.... i'll try and do that soon...

First of all, sorry for the thread hijack...
I'd be curious to see your setup, ianstone. I've got 4"s in the stock locations all the way around (although crap speakers) and 6.5s down low in the doors. Yes, this made ALL the difference. I also have a 10" sub under the bench facing forward, but no box. This kind of muddied the sound a bit, but i just haven't spent the time to clean it up. I'm running one amp under the dash above the glove box for all the little speakers, and a seperate amp for the sub near it under the rear seat. Overall, a really clean setup with nothing but a big speaker under the rear seat (probably should have done that differently).

Anyway, to get back on topic, good sound is the best thing you can do for a road-trip-mobile.

Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:36 pm

I forgot to apologize for the thread jack.

Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:21 pm

lilweasel wrote: I forgot to apologize for the thread jack.

i will try to take some pics after the holiday. i am leaving tonight and will be in NY for a week. maybe i'll snap a few before i leave...

:)
ian

Wed Dec 28, 2005 10:22 pm

The grills on the stock speakers in my '89 GL were a non removable part of the speaker. It was all one piece and not a removable grill like on a conventional setup. I've had good luck with a set of Kenwood speakers (6 inch I think) with the grills they came with. I also bought a set of spacers to move the window cranks out a bit. I never had a problem but some passengers seem to pinch fingers more than not while openining the windows.

Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:40 am

Here's something about stereo's, I never did get around to writing part II
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=120292
Here's pics of my cheapy set up.
head unit

front speakers

Subwoofer amp and crossovers for the front speakers

rear speakers

Subwoofer in Z-bed

Thu Dec 29, 2005 4:49 pm

I have an '80 and I put 6.5's low in the door (where mightyart's are) with oval grills. I flush-mounted 4 or 4.5's in the upper rear cabinet on either side of the door (mightyart's are mounted symetrically, unlike mine) and they barely protrude inside the cabinet. It was fairly easy to run the wire along the driver's side, hidden behind the fridge/stove/sink cabinets and under the front carpet to the dash (I have no amps or x-overs - yet!).