Ok so I removed the stock tape player and used a Schosche install kit... the metal retaining bracket fits nice but I couldn't slide the deck all the way in. I see there is a metal bracket in the way.. mostly a metal ear/tab sticking up with a hole in it. I checked my other 3rd gen and I see that bracket was flipped upside down.

No big deal. I found my jigsaw would fit into the hole so I cut the metal tab/ear off. Now my deck clears that metal bracket but it is now hitting plastic from the console. There is a plastic buldge sticking out from either side of the consoles outer edges and the deck is hitting that... now what?

I can probably ram that deck in there.. but it would be hell to get it out.. what have you guys done? (If you can't visualize what I am talking about.. I'll shoot an image or two) Thanks.

 

I don't recall a camaro having any obstructions other than the metal bar. On firebirds the center console heater ducts get in the way, but you have a Camaro right?

In any event, this is why most dash kits for these cars stick out a mile.

 

ya. my firebird it stuck out pretty far. If you want it to fit flush your gonna need to probably do some hacking....

 

did u make sure its the right dash kit. I know they come with various components u dont need.

 

when my deck was installed, there were two plastic pieces on the inside that had to be sawed off so that the deck would fit. it wouldnt slide in otherwise...

 

ya thats where I am at right now... I'm trying to install an Alpine 9833 deck and the unit itself if quite deep. I know I'm not hitting that metal bar (or at least quite sure) perhaps I'll try dismount it and flip it upside-down.

as for those two plastic pieces.. how did you cut them off? they are quite deep inside the console part and I can't think of anything long enough to get in there and cut it.. aside from a hacksaw blade..

oh ya and I went with the Scosche kit because it was made for my car and no others... so there was no plastic tabs or other pieces to mess with. just one install piece moulded for my car with a flush mount.

 

thats good. good luck with it. hack saws are always useful hahaa

 

so how did you cut yours? Heres an image of the plastic bumps/tabs/ stuff in the way!!

 

dont cut that metal bracket out just unbolt it and throw it away or hit sum1 with it... really its easy... as for the plastic obstructions... my 91 RS camaro only had the metal thing and after that its like a cave inside there .. i could prolly live in there for a while lol

 

Wow.... I am surprised no one has come up with the real answer yet.....

Here's the deal. That metal bracket is what keeps the back of the factory deck stable. If you are puting in an aftermarket deck, then that bracket is useless.... Cut it out and throw it away. Be sure that if you cut it tho, that your wires arent going to rub any sharp edges.

As for the 2 plastic bulges behind that bracket.... Do you see the vents on either side of your shifter plate on the side of the console? Those 2 bulges are the duct work for those. If you cut them out then the hot air that would be pushed out thru the console will now be pushed behind your deck, possibly making it overheat.

The proper way to handle this situation is to use the proper dash kit. From the picture above, you are using a flush mount or surface mount dash kit. This will not work properly without cutting those plastic ducts. I used to run flush mount kits in my Camaros for the looks. I think they look way better than the 1 1/2" extended kits, but those are what are needed if you don't want to cut......

 

Some people (myself included) prefer the appearance of a flush mounted deck. I took it a step further and flushed my faceplate. I don't recall needing to cut the side vent thingies in my Camaro, but if you do, epoxy a piece of plastic over the tubes that send the air to them, otherwise you'll have hot air blowing all over your head unit when you have your heat on. Blocking those will just cause a slighly higher airflow to come from the other vents, so you'll still get the same overall heat.

Oh, and don't cut the metal bar out. Unbolt it.

 

it takes less time to unbolt then it would to cut

 

but cutting is so much more fun. i plan on using a cutting torch myself.
on my firebird, 2 of the 4 cheap plastic tabs that the deck mounting kit screws into are snapped off, so im stuck with the top one on one side, and the bottom one on the other. deck seems to be mounted ok but im screwed if another one breaks. anything i could maybe mount in there to mount the mounting kit to, because i dont really want to buy the entire piece there, let alone install it.

 

when i installed my last deck, in addition to cuting out that bar, i had NO factory mount points. and no mounting kit. i tooka bunch of random scraps of metal and totaly fabbed somthing up. it is bolted to the deck EVERYWHERE! a few screws thorugh the outside of the radio pod too (allready there when i got the car) when i get my new deck (soon!) i will be installing a non gutted radio pod.

anyway, if you have any mount locations left you should be able to make somthing work. drill holes through the internal bracing of the radio pod/console and attach homemade bracketry. i would fit it with cardboard first (brackets made of cardboard, easy to bend/ cheap) and then once you have the right fit make the pieces out of metal.

good luck

 

damn, these things stick out FAR!

even with this kit, I still have a horrible time getting it in there with all the wires, RCA connections, and in-line fuses/power boxes for the dang headunit...

 

I wish I took pics of my Kenwood installed in my firebird. That kenwood is one of the deepest decks on the market, and I had the face plate FLUSH with the plexi trim panel that I put behind the factory trim piece. That took a lot of work.

It was such a tight fit, I had strings attached to the wire harness and I had to pull on the strings from behind the console while I was sliding the radio in. Depending on how well I did pulling the strings, it typically took between 5 and 45 minutes to get the radio in all the way.

 

I have to take out the console and pull the wires down through the opening... push the radio in, then cram the wires back up as well as I can... then I slide the console back into place.

annoying.

 

Well I just took out the non-flush mount kit in my other IROC and I used it... it fit, but it was very tight and I was just able to get the deck to lock in. It doesn't stick out that far.. but its not flush either. I'll live with it... cause I didn't want to hack my vents.

 

I'll dig around and see if I can find some of the pics of my old setup in the RS with my flushmount kit. The das kit was ABS plastic just like the dash, but this one had been cleaned up really well and looked like it was there from the factory. The color of the plastics matched and the grain was right on....

I've got one heck of a pile of pics to look thru....

 

herrrs mine