Hey all - haven't posted NEARLY what I should be posting about all the mods I've either custom-fabbed, installed, produced, and what not about our Cs (but I'll take the public's request for my documentation if I get enough +1s). Anyway, just recently finished building a frame for my headunit project - finally stepping into audio!

Anyway, there was NO better deal than the one I received to get this specific headunit and I like the look and feel of it when placed in the center console to boot - so of course I went for it. I'm an extremely picky person when it comes to aesthetics, but here are some snaps of what I've come up with to make this look completely OEM:








I've recently just learned how to fiberglass hence the recent spree of projects that some of you know of :p. I then plan to prime with sandable primer - paint it flatblack and do tons of prep and finishing work. I should be done with it today..depends on how long I take with "certain" installs :p.

flip

looks good.. why paint it ? cover it with leather and save yourself the hours of making it look clean.. besides leather will cover the gaps between your new frame / HU and console. can't wait to see it finished.

that ain't OEM...

Yes, won't non-MB labelling kind of give that away?

what the hell is that?!!!

Is it a relay for bouncing satellite signals to the farthest reaches of Pasadena?

E

Leave it "as is"! It kinda has that "rustic" look...

jus playin', dawg. I'll check it out in person tonight.

What are you trying to do? It looks just like an aftermarket adapter kit.

If you want it to look integrated, why not do what I did

hahah...you finally got around to it...

u coming tonite?

Yup. C u there? Not gonna be over there until after 8. Planning on leaving around 730ish, but you know how the traffic is passing through DTLA.

let's have a meal ON TIME tonite....

The parts I'm using are OEM parts from an OEM radio - I've seen other similar executions of aftermarket din units but I wanted something that fits into the stock trim 1:1...hence stock parts (yes, it was a spare radio fascia - not the one I'm listening to now). This way, I can decide what I want to do for the stock trim (cf maybe like yours) or black...but at least keep things separate for now. Adjustments are necessary of course - I want to keep the lines as "even" as possible, from the top row of buttons to the bottom A/C controls.

I'm also sanding it exactly to the radius of the front bezel (which comes out and swivels, so I have to be extremely careful) so it hugs it uniformly and well enough so gaps are small all around. I have yet to see how far in and out I want it to be, though.

flip

looks good bro....but a $30 dash kit wouldv'e saved you a lot of trouble

but i'm sure this will look 10x better

It totally could've bro - and I probably would've glassed it too - but no dash kits protrude out like OEM buttons or fit like OEM parts... besides, spare radio was nearly the same price =D. AND the freakin dash kits were on backorder around these parts!

mig, nice work so far, but I'm still confused. It is still seems like it will be very clear that there's a double DIN navi unit with an adapter ring around it to fit in the hole where the factory piece was. How is your adapter different than using one of the $14 Metra kits?

Once it's filled, sanded, and painted, it should look great.

ah! jose, that will be perfect! cant wait to see it done!

so after your done with all this, were jus gonna trade cars right?

looking good, kudos for doing your own stuff, working on the car yourself is all that much more fun

kinda looks like the Crypto gear I get to play with at work !

Josefina strikes again !!

Seriously, awesome work Flip. Nice to see that 2001-2003 period OG customization & ingenuity in the W203 threads once again.

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

Oh don't even get me started, Carlos... you've gotta see the little intake scoop I've fabbed up for the 271s =). I have cleaner pictures of the aforementioned project when I get back form work - DAMN THOSE LONG COMMUTES!

Nice work! What did you make the trim out of?

(btw, anthuny85..new rims? nice..=))

OEM parts...

1) Took the faceplate of a stock radio (the one with the casette deck) and the shelving unit face and performed a dremel operation on both to have them evenly spaced on the BACK side. I epoxied the parts together.

2) Realize, the face of a radio is full of button holes that need to be filled and then dremeled, cut, shaped. Solution? Used industrial foam to form inside all the little cracks and holes. The mess looked like a huge blob.

3) Cut away at the bubbles until I arrived at a semi-flat surface...then got pretty technical with the sandpaper to create an arcing "bridge" to follow the frame of what was the original OEM radio (I can always look inside my car to reference).

4) Then came the glassing to make sure the frame holds structure - got into all the little pits - I OVERDID this part on purpose to have more to sand later (this turned out for the better).

In essence two stock parts that will fit into the stock trim that's "flush" with the protruding buttons and will have a matte-sheen to it in the end - at least, that's what I envision =D.

Nice! Hehe, there should be a DIY for this!