DansGen1Alero
11-22-2003, 01:05 PM
This How to is not as easy as it seems. It toke me about 1-2 days to complete.
A steady hand is recommended.
I started with a 7in widescreen Clairon Monitor, A 6.4in monitor will fit as well.
Take out the dash trim around the head unit and remove head unit if neccessary.
Disconnect your climate control so the dash piece is completly removed. (I believe there is 4 or 5 wires to disconnect there might be a vacuum sound when you disconnect the A/C line. Also take out the trim with the pocket that surrounds the shifter. Do not forget to disconnect your ETS and light for PRND321 light.
Prepping
Take your TV and place it in the window of the trim to get an idea of where you will be cutting. With a 6.4 in little cutting is neccessary but you will have to trim top and bottom of the casing in order to fit in the trim (remember there are tabs at the top of the trim be sure the tv is under those in order to install trim back to dash) Take the actual monitor out of case before trimming. This procedure is very time consuming trim a little bit at a time. You do not want it to small or you will have a gap when looking at it. Plus it is also the main way it is mounted to dash. Take the HU/ Climate control dash and you may want to unscrew the White portion (this is your climate control) trimming the top of this piece may be neccessary. do not trim to much remember this is your climate control. You will want to try a couple trial fits just to see how it is coming. If you are using a 7in monitor cutting the window will be necessary I chose the buttom to trim, it is also impariative that you trim the sides where the opening curves inward so there is a flush panel for the tv to rest. This is a hard part because this will be noticable to all who look at your TV. Mine is a little choppy but I went around it with some electrical tape, door trim may also be used. Don't go over board because again it will look tacky and cheap.
Installing
Once the TV is in place and looks good from the other side reassemble the climate control and do a trial fitting to make sure it will fit back in the dash. Then take a glue gun and glue around the edges for a secure fit. (I tried brackets and there is really no way to mount in to the TV or dash). You TV should be complete and stable and look pretty nice.
Relocating the head unit.
The shifter piece was removed and the pocket was cut out from the back in order to slide the new HU into it. Again this is a "little bit at a time " procedure, because the left over trim will also be a portion of what is holding the Head Unit in. Once all cutting is done and the HU has a snug fit try it back in the car. You may want to mount a bracket behind the trim along the two horizontal sides sticking in from the upper and lower dash. Hopefully you know what I am talking about. it will be used for your HU to rest on. reassemble all pieces to see that they should all come together. There weill be a large gap below the H/U know where the pocket was removed, I had a custom piece of wood grain made to install there to conform the headunit into the rest of the dash. You can play with this step and maybe fabricate a smaller pocket or if you left the bottom part of the pocket you may keep half a pocket to store things. After all is in and appeases to you start hooking it up. I did not mention it but all wires should be run and it is plug n play. If you need assisitance please e-mail me.
I hope this helps I know I am not the best decriptive or instructional writier
Here is the finished product
A steady hand is recommended.
I started with a 7in widescreen Clairon Monitor, A 6.4in monitor will fit as well.
Take out the dash trim around the head unit and remove head unit if neccessary.
Disconnect your climate control so the dash piece is completly removed. (I believe there is 4 or 5 wires to disconnect there might be a vacuum sound when you disconnect the A/C line. Also take out the trim with the pocket that surrounds the shifter. Do not forget to disconnect your ETS and light for PRND321 light.
Prepping
Take your TV and place it in the window of the trim to get an idea of where you will be cutting. With a 6.4 in little cutting is neccessary but you will have to trim top and bottom of the casing in order to fit in the trim (remember there are tabs at the top of the trim be sure the tv is under those in order to install trim back to dash) Take the actual monitor out of case before trimming. This procedure is very time consuming trim a little bit at a time. You do not want it to small or you will have a gap when looking at it. Plus it is also the main way it is mounted to dash. Take the HU/ Climate control dash and you may want to unscrew the White portion (this is your climate control) trimming the top of this piece may be neccessary. do not trim to much remember this is your climate control. You will want to try a couple trial fits just to see how it is coming. If you are using a 7in monitor cutting the window will be necessary I chose the buttom to trim, it is also impariative that you trim the sides where the opening curves inward so there is a flush panel for the tv to rest. This is a hard part because this will be noticable to all who look at your TV. Mine is a little choppy but I went around it with some electrical tape, door trim may also be used. Don't go over board because again it will look tacky and cheap.
Installing
Once the TV is in place and looks good from the other side reassemble the climate control and do a trial fitting to make sure it will fit back in the dash. Then take a glue gun and glue around the edges for a secure fit. (I tried brackets and there is really no way to mount in to the TV or dash). You TV should be complete and stable and look pretty nice.
Relocating the head unit.
The shifter piece was removed and the pocket was cut out from the back in order to slide the new HU into it. Again this is a "little bit at a time " procedure, because the left over trim will also be a portion of what is holding the Head Unit in. Once all cutting is done and the HU has a snug fit try it back in the car. You may want to mount a bracket behind the trim along the two horizontal sides sticking in from the upper and lower dash. Hopefully you know what I am talking about. it will be used for your HU to rest on. reassemble all pieces to see that they should all come together. There weill be a large gap below the H/U know where the pocket was removed, I had a custom piece of wood grain made to install there to conform the headunit into the rest of the dash. You can play with this step and maybe fabricate a smaller pocket or if you left the bottom part of the pocket you may keep half a pocket to store things. After all is in and appeases to you start hooking it up. I did not mention it but all wires should be run and it is plug n play. If you need assisitance please e-mail me.
I hope this helps I know I am not the best decriptive or instructional writier
Here is the finished product