When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Originally when I got my car I said that I'd never swap out the stock radio. Up to that point my only experience with aftermarket radios were the gaudy, crumpled paper esque, glowing monstrosities that were always were an eyesore in older cars. I had looked for a retro styled radio before but only found Retrosound with their $300+ 1.5din headunits. When it seemed like there was no other option but to shell out 3 Bennys, along came Continental's VDO brand with their series of retro 1-din headunits. At roughly half the price of the Retrosound and not made by some no name chinese brand, I jumped on the deal.
It's made to match the dash and interior of old mercs and porsches, so the orange LCD display and buttons don't quite match the red gauge lights of my tin-indian but it's close enough for now. The LEDs are all of the tiny surface mount variety so replacing them would be nigh impossible for me. Maybe when the warranty's up I'll open it up and see if there's any way to put red film over the back of the buttons. At any rate, it seems like a nice quality thing and sounds much better than my 35yo ETR. Of course it's got Has bluetooth, usb and all that gubbins.
As for mounting I designed and printed an adaptor in PETG since I didn't like the centered look of the metra 99-4700. I also didn't like that it doesn't have a mounting pin in the back like the stock radio. For ease of printing, it's made like a sandwich Just with layers of hard inedible plastic instead of delicious crisp bread and savory meat. The only thing stopping you from putting any old 1-din radio in is the front panel, which fits around the VDO's trim ring to give it a more flush mounted look. If anyone is interested I could make a universal panel too.
This took me way longer to make than I'd like to admit
Many hours of printing, several failures, some sanding and a spritz of SEM trim paint and I arrived at this:
It is held together with various cap socket headed M3 machine screws/washers plus 2 1/4-20 pan headed bolts with washers. If you were to make this you would need 4x M3x8, 2x M3x20, 4x M3x22, 1x M3x40, 2x 1/4-20 bolts which the thickness of the head+washer isn't more than 5mm. I had to grind the heads of my bolts down some for them to not interfere with the radio's cage. For a rattle free install I used fuzzy TESA harness tape to cushion the radio inside the cage and cage inside the adapter.
Finally, after about a week of design, printing and waiting, I got my new radio in the car. With the pin in the back it feels almost as sturdy and secure as the stock radio. Any play that I can feel is between the radio and the supplied cage.
What do you guys think? Does a it achieve the stock look or is it just another ugly aftermarket install? If you like how it looks and want to print the adaptor, here is the thingiverse link.
-
Last edited by Lykoloo; 11-05-2021 at 07:22 AM.
Reason: Typo
Yeah, It's more of an early 90's look; but there aren't really many other good options. Blaupunkt has a nice unit but that's even more expensive than the Retrosound.
I like it, nice design, and you are the only one that has ever kept the rear support pin.
Since the new radio is considerably shorter and lighter, I almost omitted the pin from the final design. I'm glad that I didn't, it really adds a nice sturdy OEM feel to the radio as you push the buttons.
I have seen the Blaupunkt unit you are referring I. Looks like it would be perfect in a older Porsche, but off for our cars. I think you're design looks great, nice job. When I bought my car a couple years ago, I pulled the cheapo single DIN and replaced it with a 2000s 1.5 DIN from a Grand Prix. Not perfect, but very functional and sounds terrific. Bet you are liking the new unit!
Yes, I really like having modern features in my car without having to ruin the looks of the dash.
On a related note, I got to try out the bluetooth calling today and the other party said that they could hear me clearly through the mic in the HU itself. That's saying something with all the rattles in our cars, lol.
Originally when I got my car I said that I'd never swap out the stock radio. Up to that point my only experience with aftermarket radios were the gaudy, crumpled paper esque, glowing monstrosities that were always were an eyesore in older cars. I had looked for a retro styled radio before but only found Retrosound with their $300+ 1.5din headunits. When it seemed like there was no other option but to shell out 3 Bennys, along came Continental's VDO brand with their series of retro 1-din headunits. At roughly half the price of the Retrosound and not made by some no name chinese brand, I jumped on the deal.
It's made to match the dash and interior of old mercs and porsches, so the orange LCD display and buttons don't quite match the red gauge lights of my tin-indian but it's close enough for now. The LEDs are all of the tiny surface mount variety so replacing them would be nigh impossible for me. Maybe when the warranty's up I'll open it up and see if there's any way to put red film over the back of the buttons. At any rate, it seems like a nice quality thing and sounds much better than my 35yo ETR. Of course it's got Has bluetooth, usb and all that gubbins.
As for mounting I designed and printed an adaptor in PETG since I didn't like the centered look of the metra 99-4700. I also didn't like that it doesn't have a mounting pin in the back like the stock radio. For ease of printing, it's made like a sandwich Just with layers of hard inedible plastic instead of delicious crisp bread and savory meat. The only thing stopping you from putting any old 1-din radio in is the front panel, which fits around the VDO's trim ring to give it a more flush mounted look. If anyone is interested I could make a universal panel too.
This took me way longer to make than I'd like to admit
Many hours of printing, several failures, some sanding and a spritz of SEM trim paint and I arrived at this:
It is held together with various cap socket headed M3 machine screws/washers plus 2 1/4-20 pan headed bolts with washers. If you were to make this you would need 4x M3x8, 2x M3x20, 4x M3x22, 1x M3x40, 2x 1/4-20 bolts which the thickness of the head+washer isn't more than 5mm. I had to grind the heads of my bolts down some for them to not interfere with the radio's cage. For a rattle free install I used fuzzy TESA harness tape to cushion the radio inside the cage and cage inside the adapter.
Finally, after about a week of design, printing and waiting, I got my new radio in the car. With the pin in the back it feels almost as sturdy and secure as the stock radio. Any play that I can feel is between the radio and the supplied cage.
What do you guys think? Does a it achieve the stock look or is it just another ugly aftermarket install? If you like how it looks and want to print the adaptor, here is the thingiverse link.
-
hmm invert the design, sacrificing the pockets for a 92-95 civic or 89-94 Toyota sr5 cup holder…
hmm invert the design, sacrificing the pockets for a 92-95 civic or 89-94 Toyota sr5 cup holder…
I'm sure something like that could be done with enough design fettling. Not by me, though, I've had enough of 3d printing for now. If anyone wants the step file to expand this deisgn, I'd be willing to provide it.
11-04-2021, 07:51 PM
Very well done. 
