Customized dash on 1st gen? Take a look at this situation

So i am very disappointed on the placement of the radio on the 1st gens, it is sooo low and very hard to use in that area, especially if you have a dvd player you got to crouch down to view it

Overview
Issue is low placement of radio din

Possible fixes
Construct new din
Im talking relocation of air vents, cabin controls, and the radio din to bring it up to a higher level. Idea would be to put the radio din where the air vents are possibly or place the radio below the vents and move the cabin controls where the radio din is now (but controls are wider then din so might be difficult) the airbag switch maybe not included altogether

Anyone seen something like that? Or want to chime in? Im thinking DIY project time... Looking for some input/ideas/constructive criticism

Pictures of horrible placement of radio din for people to understand

 

I've seen that movie

 

Buy a 2nd gen......

That sucks. I remember when I had my 89 4Runner. Same problem. So I never even considered a DVD style deck for this exact reason. If you do reconstruct the dash I would love to see it though. Relocating the air vents might be tough, but moving the A/C controls is probably your best bet.

Maybe consider modifying the mounts for the din to angle it upwards???

 

if i wasn't lazy, I was thinking about removing the center vents (cuz I hate them anyways) and shifting my radio up to the top and moving all of the fan controls to the bottom...one of these days I may do it, but that'll be when I have a lot more time to do all of the re-wiring and customizing...But I did remove the ashtray and cut a little to fit my scanner on the bottom.

 

That is a good idea... i thought about it but i was more focused on getting the whole unit higher.

My taco came with the player so i was just trying to make it work. Ive done some fiberglass gauge pods for Mazda3s before but i dont know if this will be worth it...

 

In my '04 I had a single DIN DVD and the screen came out and up to cover the AC controls. It never seemed too low to me then.

 

That would work, seeing it would be bringing it up to the a/c controls, but that would mean getting a new HU

 

I had the same dilemma when I switched out my single din flip out Alpine to a Eclipse 726E...but with it tilted upwards...it doesn't bother me.

 

I hate it, too...but you have to remember that Toyota designed the radio to fit a cheesy stock radio and not an lcd.

I wanted to stick my eee pc with a 9 inch screen somewhere for a carpc, but even for a tiny ass netbook it was huge compared to the cab/dash...so I just stuck with my AVIC-D2 because it would take waaay to much effort to fabricate dash crap...

Keep us posted if you're gonna do it, though. I'm interested.

 

I love the location of the stereo since I can rest my hand on the shifter to mess with the settings. ( in 1st, 3rd and 5th gear at least. lol)

 

Actually...you know what? Me too. I hardly ever turn my music up or down when i'm in 2nd or 4th gear, lol.

 

me too, too lazy

 

It was so far for me to reach i went the remote control route that i leave on my seat by the armrest to change the station/volume

 

lol. Sounds like we should drive automatics....


NOT.

 

Can you guys take those faces off when you leave the truck or is that face always in view?

 

Ive see where the face "climbs" back into the receiver when not in use

 

Should look into that then, because the scum I work with in the summer would have my truck broken into quicker then hell

 

shim the double din screen so that it points up by about 10 degrees or so. that might help with the viewing angle.