so i'm not having much luck removing the factory head unit out of my sl. i've read as many threads as i can here and no one really explains what is holding the cheap crappy original radio in there. i've shoved screw drivers down the sides, removed as much of the dash around as i can without getting majorly involved, taken out ash tray, used pliers to try and rip it out, but to no avail . i'd really appreciate some help on how to get it out. the last thing i wanna do is take it to some dope at bne car sound or similar and pay them $50-$70 to remove it. PLEASE HELP!!! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

its a pain in the arse.. if you hav patience you may be able to use a hacksaw instead of taking the whole dash apart.. been trying to find a VL with standard tape deck in it to do step by step instructions with pics..

thanks stoney, just a question, what part of the radio do i cut with the hacksaw? this thing is making me insane....

I say remove the whole dash, you take the part with all the gauges out first and work your way down, the two air vents on the side have screws on the upper inside of them, use a screwdriver poked through the vent to remove them, slowly work your way around the dash, undo any screws that you see, and dont use force that will break clips and lugs. Remember force wasnt use to put the dash in so no force should be needed to take it out. once the dash is out you will be able to remove the original head unit from off the centre part of the dash. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

me n my cousin just smashed mine out in the end. it only ended up breakin a little bit of plastic out that u dont see anyway, it didnt bother me that much cause i was there with him perservering for a SOLID 2 hours.... anyway once u get the deck out ull see why its a prik to get out - theres like a big bit of folded metal that hooks over the front bit of plastic to stop it from comin out (u's know what im talkin about), if u got a hacksaw blade u could slide it in and chop the metal maybe..... just an idea

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 Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

thanks for all your replies. ijd helped me remove the head unit on the weekend. we had to pull part of the dash apart, but not the major parts. in the end we removed the piece that includes the glovebox and that gave enough room to freely move the radio. We manouvered the radio up and down enough that it snapped the screw at the back, which as it turned out was the only thing holding it in place, no other brackets. ijd reckons the setup was quite different to his vl - mine is a series II if that helps. in a nutshell, it looks asthough there were various installation methods used for the factory headunit. pulling apart the dash had other benefits - was able to fix the glovebox lightswitch, and now my fuel gauge works also!!

My head unit had a bracket connected to the top of the head unit fastening it to the car while yours had the bracket connected to the rear of the head unit.

interesting, my 86 exec had 2 brackets holding it in place, but as anothervl said it is probably different for different series, also i remember my dads 87 berlina had a flip out handle so u could remove it from the car when u left it parked somewhere, dont know if all had it though.

I pulled all my dash out including the dash mat that way i got to clean everything in warm soapy water and then treat it all with dash seal plus i found a few dodgy wiring tricks by the previous owner to install teh alarm and turbo timer as well as finding that the insulation on part of my factory wiring loom had partially worn through definate fire hazard. and because i did it this way i was able to adapt the stock bracket to my head unit so it moves no where in a hurry. no ones stealling my deck.

My 86 Berlina had a bracket on top holding the HU in. I did the same as Pacemaker, just smashed it up till I could get to that bracket..

yer its a bit releiving breaking it out after ur in a stinkin hot garage rippin away at a bloody dash for a good 2 hours , anyway no damage done - not to my dash anyway Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: also i remember my dads 87 berlina had a flip out handle so u could remove it from the car when u left it parked somewhere, dont know if all had it though same with my calais

I remember going to tech with this bloke who had a VL which he got someone to "professionally" fit a head unit into. Their way of removing it was to literally bash the old unit out with a hammer which left a large hole in the A/C duct. Pretty stupid way to do it!

RB30DEVL, yeah thats what im worried about, coz ill be getting a new alpine HU soon enough and seeing as its a bit of a bitch to get the original one out, i'd rather pay to get it all hooked up as im not too good with electrics, but i dont want holes in my dash either ...

87_DeVL: dude if u want i could do it 4 u done plenty of vls now and its very simple, if u want PM me and ill organise somethin.

Lol, I just smashed the crap out of mine and ripped the bugger out Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

did this today.. or assisted in doing it ****ing bitch of a job basically pull almost entire dash apart to do it.. just undo every screw u can find lol

i jus recently pulled mine out with a couple of mates. i beat the crap out of it first and ripped all of its guts out, then grabbed the sides with 2 sets of pliers and pulled. that made it a little lose so i reached behind it and there was a screw in the back of holding the deck onto an upside down L shaped thing that stopped it from being removed. after i undone the screw the stuppid thing slid out easily. the screw is in the middle at the back of the headunit. Y do holden make such good security on such a piece of crap headunit. i left my door unlocked and hoped that sumone stole the bloody thing. i hope i helped ya mate

its really not that hard to remove the top part of the dash and unscrew it from there, saves bashing and bending to get it out...