i smashed mine ! simple, but very effective! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

just take it somewhere and pay $70.. many places wont go near it though cause they no how fu.cked they are.. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Start by jacking the car up and removing the wheels. Move onto the complete drive line and then start on the interior. Once you remove the last 3 screws the headunit should be easily removed. Oh don't forget to take the plug out at the back either. Intallation of the new one is just a reversal of these instructions. This way it will be installed as the factory did. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

lol, slight exaggeration, i doubt they put it in that early

I took on this job last week with my fingers crossed after reading all these horror stories and was pleasantly suprised to find that mine just needed a firm shove from the back after undoing the four screws at the front!!! WOO!! How the hell do you mount an aftermarket one though? I'm left with an empty space with seemingly nothing to use to mount a new system

Use the aluminium cage from the new headunit, check the alignment etc, then attach it using pop rivets or screws into the plastic left and right sides.

I find the unit will fit much easier if you cut the plastic triangular pieces on each side of the hole. This allows the unit to slide right back in and mount it flush! On another note removing the original unit is a joke. It would be harder to pinch than the car is!

i used a ruler and slid it down the sides and the top the only hard part was the bracket holding it in that eventuyally lossened up took an houur

vlt-025 as said, use the metal cage, mine fit in really tight so there was no need to mount it, and trust me, the dash will break b4 u could slide it back out. so yeh, jst forced it into the hole, and wallah!

After 4 hours of ripping my dash appart and trying everythign from a crowbar to a big set of vice grips i did what should be common practice, got a big cold chisel and a big hammer and knocked the bracket off the top and once i had the OE sterio out i unbolted it from the bracket and used some self tapping screws to screw the bracket back in adn used that to bold my new head unit in.

Quote: Originally Posted by 87vl theres no way on earth u would get a factory fitted radio out of a vl without taking the dash out unless u use a jimmy bar or smash the radio to peices. There r 2 steel brackets that hold it in and r bolted to the subframe of the dash. One is an L shaped bracket that sits infront of the heater core and behind the radio with 2 bolts on the top and one screw on the back of the radio; the other one is at the top front with 2 bolts and is a wider one thats about the same width as the radio. And yes it is a PAIN IN THE A*R*S*E. Ull also have to either unplug or chop the factory radio harness off and rejoin it. Most people just chop them as it is easier to adapt to other brands that way. P.S. i remember explaining how to do this in an older thread in more detail, but oh well i dont mind teaching people how to upgrade their vl's sound system Help me i cant do it.. lol I dont know if i should take the time to do it properly or just smash the **** out of it. i want the stocko headunit, and i want my new HU to be fixed in there, not moving.. Any advice? Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

I'm at the point where ill grab a chisel and start hammering it right into the c***

Hmmm, I'm about to have a go at mine in the new calais. Want to keep it as the car is basically original and anything I do I will be keeping the original parts for the next owner should I ever sell her. Sounds like I'm in for some fun. I will get it out without breaking anything (intentianally anyway). Well that's the plan, see if I get stuck and the temper fuse burns down, then it's bye bye stereo.

Has anyone smashing it had much affect? do any panels still need to be removed to do it?