I had a very similiar problem. The guy I bought my car from it seemed "started" cutting up the dash to put in a custom stereo. Apparantly he changed his mind in between. It looked horrible, had cuts going up and someone had hammered part of the metal back to shape. I was going to weld in the repair panel, but we decided instead to do body work and fix it up. The nob holes were still there so there wouldnt be any stress on the bondo. It ended up looking very nice, as if it had never been touched. Depending on how bad yours is i would probably go ahead and put in a cd player, you can always weld in the repair panel later if youve got the money. I prefer the classic look though /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

Oh btw... I have pictures but I dont have anyone to host them. If you want them I would be happy to give them to ya.

 

I had the same problem. Since my dash was already butchered, I elected to pin a DIN style CD player into, and just repair the rest of the hack job the PO did. It came out looking great, and now I have the Alpine stereo that I wanted.

 

I went the custom audio route and and let me warn you that the head unit is just not that good. The controls are all not marked and it only has just the one knob for base and treble, turn clockwise for more base, counter clockwise for more treble. I'm seriously debating dropping it and getting an in dash mp3 player. With that i can also get rid of the cd changer which is nice to have but i tend never to change music because of it. Also where would you put the cd changer? i first went with the glove box but found i needed the storage too much.

The previous owner already made your decision, keep cutting and get the radio you want.

 

For a show car restoration, you'd really have no choice. It would need to be returned to stock.

But you have a straight 6, 65 coupe, right? It's not exactly a Shelby! Take advantage of that. Even restored to perfect, like-new condition, it won't be a high-dollar car (no offense intended!) I wouldn't think twice about making the hole bigger to hold the stereo of your choice. That's the joy of having one of these more common models...we're not ruining anything terribly significant by making them customized to our own tastes.

I can relate to an extent... I had a 65 fastback before my current 66. I would NEVER consider cutting holes in a trunk access panel (to hold speakers); but this panel was already cut. I installed a set of 3-way 6x9s as soon as I could, and enjoyed a great sounding stereo! If MY dash were already cut, I would install a CD player in the hole tomorrow!

If you want, take pictures along the way (to prove you weren't the culprit to cut the dash in the first place!). I think you'll be forgiven by even the most pure of the purists.

 

Unless your going for original apprearance for your car, your best bet would be to cut the larger hole for a Dim style CD player, like JohnPro also did. I am very happy with the look and sound of my new Alpine Cd/MP3 player. I used a Dremel tool to cut the hole, and that worked perfect. When I get some pics i'll let you know, I am planning on building a website soon. Good luck. James.

 

Given that it's already somewhat cut, I'd also vote for finishing the job and putting a modern stereo in there. I don't think you're a bigger dummy than the PO, just improving on what you were handed.

 

Since these cars are ridiculously easy to break into you may want to also consider an alarm if you choose the CD player route.

I have the stock AM radio in my car and it is mind numbingly boring. If my dash was already cut I would have gotten a better radio.

You may want to check the size of the radio repair plates they sell to make sure the larger hole you plan on making will be covered by the plate when the time comes.

Also, just in case you're still considering repairing the dash have you tried searching for the procedure here? IIRC it wasn't difficult although you have to cover the interior (or remove it) really well because of the sparks.

 

I just got my first 65 Inline a few months ago and wanted a better radio than the original also. The original radio was in the car and 'sort' of worked ok. The car is a daily driver and is NOT intended to be restored. The PO just neglected the car for many years. Anyway, after installing the aftermarket radio (AM/FM/TAPE) that fits the original location perfectly, I wish NOW that I went with a CD unit. With this unit I can put in an adaptor into the tape deck and use a portable unit. This is a safer way to go since the tape unit goes with me AND it sits on the LONG console so is easy to change CDs as needed. That is sort of a long reach to the radio (area) to change tapes/CDs (safety issue). Anyway, like the good guy says. It's your car so do what you want with it. They're good cars, fairly easy to work on, parts are available AND with this web site you get lots of advice if you need help..

 

My dash is already hacked from someone installing an aftermarket 8 track so i have to do the ole GM double din route....at least Pioneer makes a kick a$$ unit with lots of cool blinking lights /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

 

well, as pointed out earlier, since it isn't one of the rarer "better keep it stock" models, you can actually do whatever you want....

I opted to eliminate the radio opening completely, eliminate the dash pad, fabricate my own gauge package and eventually mount a CD player in the glove box. I simply used thin roof sheathing bought at Home Depot to epoxy over the existing radio opening, some two part filler to blend the edges of the roof sheathing to the existing dash and a little block sanding to produce a "factory" look. The dash gauge was modified using a beat up 65 piece that was gutted and model airplance plastic used to build a gauge pod holding 5 gauges. With paint that matches the outside of the car, it is definitely something of beauty AND it is very different from the typical show mustang....

http://www.bossman-motorsports.com/xtreme/dash8.jpg
randy