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[Atrox Caeda]

Personally I prefer to have a separate GPS mounted off the windshield in the lower driver side corner. Way easier to see that way and you can keep the space for other electronics in the dash. That's my $.02... with that said, some of those units look really nice too.

 

[dgoll75]

I too am interested how you held the head unit securely? One of the biggest reason I never did this.

Thanks
Russel

Ahh, I used a small "L" bracket from the side of the radio down to the bottom plate of plastic that lines the place where the cup holder used to be just under the hazard ad defrost buttons. Had to trim the plastic plate a bit with my Dremel to make it nice and flat. Also rested the sheet metal radio box I made on the plastic piece too. Even if the "L' bracket was not there I don't think it would slide out. I made the hole pretty snug with the bondo.

EDIT: I am not really sure how the guy did it with the 99 and up bezel. There is a metal bar that the old A/C duct mounts to just behind where the "new" radio spot is. He must have utilized that some how to hold it in place.

 

[RussToy]

I forgot I had this picture of a guy a met online. He totally redesigned his dash to put his Nav in. He makes a good point...it's so hard to see our radio where it's located. He installed the Nav and couldn't never use it...so he did some modifications! Now works great...I've been thinking about it, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. It's one of those...there's no returning once you start...

Is this guy on T4R or have his own website? wow!

Yea what Ed said ^^^^^

[MENTION=75868]Ed_C[/MENTION] and [MENTION=64040]dgoll75[/MENTION] ...Hey guys, sorry it took so long to get back to y'all with this link. I guess I hadn't realized how much stuff I have bookmarked...and of course, I kept coming across really cool sites that I just had to look at...well, less just say...my ADD got the best of me...lol!!

Anyway....I finally found the posting. For the dash build...it starts on page 2, post #38. But I'm telling you guys now...you're going to want to wait until this weekend to read it. If you're anything like me...you're going to want to get some "me" time, some ice cold beer...then get ready for 2-3 hours of 3rd gen 4Runner porn!! This guy builds his own IFS, redesigns his dash, changes the rear end, and throws in a LS V-8!! This guy has mad sic skills!! The best part...he's very easy to talk to...likes to share his knowledge and mishaps.

Dual Sport 4runner - Page 2 - TTORA Forum

Hope this helps y'all! Enjoy the show...

Russel

 

[dgoll75]

Finally had some time to get the Toyota Matrix vents installed. Done for now. I will eventually do one more coat of bed liner spray just to even out the top finish around the vents. Made a bit of a mess touching up the paint after trimming the holes. Its not quite as pretty as the other one in this thread, but I am very happy with my results. And so much more user friendly.

 

[RussToy]

Finally had some time to get the Toyota Matrix vents installed. Done for now. I will eventually do one more coat of bed liner spray just to even out the top finish around the vents. Made a bit of a mess touching up the paint after trimming the holes. Its not quite as pretty as the other one in this thread, but I am very happy with my results. And so much more user friendly.

Dgoll75 I think you did a great job! Yeah you could work on your finish work, but the actual mod is awesome!! Gets the radio/GPS up where you can see it and actually use it. Congrats my friend! I have to try this this winter! I've been a big scarty cat!!

How is your head-unit held in? The other guy I talked to used bolts to hold it in. My goal was to make it where it still clipped in, so if I needed to remove the panel...I can still do it as easy as OEM.

Thanks...

Russel

 

[dgoll75]

Thanks Russ! I firmly believe it is totally worth it. I used an "L" bracket to the side of the head unit down to the plastic former cup holder. But there is a metal bar that has a screw hole already for the a/c duct you will remove that may be easier to utilize, well its in the 97. I imagine its in the 99 and up too. I will do a bit more finish work when I have some more time for sure.

 

[drei4runner29]

I still have my old Pioneer AVIC N1 nav unit that slides out. Unfortunately the screen went kaput on me and doesn't show anything anymore along w/ the fact that it's very tempermental where sometimes the screen wants to come out while at times it doesn't. I also have a dvd player installed right under the nave unit since the nav is a single din and not a double din like the stock runner radio. I have two screens behind my headrest w/ one also not working.

My suggestion to you, if you decide to go get a nav unit, get a double din instead of a single din that slides out as you'll save yourself a lot of headaches, plus you don't have to add extra parts as almost you can just slide it in to replace the stock radio. Also, if you have the funds, purchase new headrests w/ monitors installed already instead of cutting out your OEM headrests.

One bad thing that I've noticed having an aftermarket nav unit is when the screen goes out, I can't make the necessary changes to my unit as it requires the touchscreen to work it. I found this out the hard way when my battery died on me while I was injured and wasn't able to drive my car. Now I'm unable to use my iPod/iPhone wired connection to play my music on my car stereo. This is a problem since my unit was one of the first ones to come out before smart phones and mp3 players became popular and you can connect a wire straight to the unit itself.