Fitting 2 Single DIN units - an alternative method

[GSB]

I've recently traded my 2001 for a new MR2 and one of the first things to modify was the cars audio system, clearly the Fisher Price audio system had to go... So within an hour of picking up the new car, the interior looked like this:



A lot of stuff was brought over from my old MR2, including the amp that I sunke below the luggage bay floor, and the Under Dash Subwoofer. Fitting those and all of their cables presented no real problems... I also fitted a pair of very nice Polk Audio / Momo component speakers to freshly dynamatted doors:



The major problem though, was the fitment of the Blaupunkt E1 Head Unit, and the In-dash cd changer. Previously, I'd read that many people had managed to fit 2 Single DIN units into the gap left be the removal of the double DIN stock stereo, a little like this: (picture courtesy of "Kendude" on  w www.spydermagazine.com w )


However all is not as simple as it seems, and those who have read my thread regarding the subtle diferences between ISO and DIN fittings will know that the Blaupunkt units cannot be fitted this way. If you want to know why, read my thread HERE. So I was left with a bit of a quandary... Hours of searching every forum I could think of and asking every audio dealer in the yellow pages files to come up with a solution...

In the end I decided to modify the dash to my requirements, as I didnt want to go to the trouble of buying an in dash changer, only to fit it in the boot. So I decided to fit the cd changer in place of the ashtray unit that I never use anyway. So a shopping list was drawn up:

1/ Blaupunkt TravelPilot E1 combined CD/Tuner/Sat-Nav unit
2/ Blaupunkt IDC-09 In-Dash 5 disc CD changer
3/ 2 Halfords type "RAV4 2000-on" dash fitting kits.
4/ A pair of spare dash struts to play with and modify while I was waiting 4 months for the car to turn up.

A few measurements taken in my existing 2001 MR2 revealed that the gap between the vertical steel dash struts that the ashtray/cupholder unit sits in is a little narrower than the gap for the headunit directly above it. So I bought a pair of struts with a veiw to modifying them to increase the gap. This was done by using a hydraulic press and a hammer to push some steel "bulges" (pressed into the struts to allow clearance for fitting screws.) back into the struts, doing this allowed me to increase the gap without actually deforming the struts.

The Halfords fitting kit for the Toyota RAV4 2000 onwards, actually cintains a shedload of bits to allow it to be fitted to MR2's Celicas, and god knows what else. Its actually made in the USA, which is a stroke of luck as Ibough one kit here on MR2-ROC, that had originally come from Halfords, and another from a shop in the US. They turned out to be exactly the same. While I was playing with them though, it occured to me that the upper "MR2 " mount on the kit to be fitted in the ashtray position interfered with the fitting kit, so it had to be removed, as did about 1/2" of plastic from the top of the kit to allow it fit under the head unit.  However the "RAV4" fitting tab was in just the right place, althogh it had a gap that needed to be filled in order to keep the fittin kit level in the dash. A spacer was duly made, by chopping a lump off of an unneeded bit of the kit. Easy! What made it even easier though, was the facr that the lower mount lines up exactly with the screwhole that originally secured the ashtray unit...

Heres a few Photos:





And heres the finished article: