Is this a good idea? At one point I thought so. My double DIN stereo unit had a CASSETTE deck on the bottom DIN. A cassette deck!?! At one point I wanted to be nostalgic… but I’m not there anymore. At least not in entirety. I have a couple of single DIN CD stereo units that in some ways would be nice to install. I’m sure they’d sound better than the 25 year old Toyota unit, but flashing blue displays are bonerjams. Anything but that hazy green that Toyota is know for probably is… and since CD’s are pretty much as outdated as cassette’s it’s an easy justification.
My plan for the bottom half now is to fill it with switches. Finding the right switches will be a challenge… as will finding the right finish for what is currently bare steel. Maybe the music needs to go on the bottom. I’ve got a bunch of gimmicky things planned and a panel to control them all from is necessary.
Started by stripping the guts of the cassette deck from it’s box.
Made this new cover for that box out of 20 gauge steel. I was quite pleased with the set of aviation snips I got for Christmas, and used a small chunk of 2×4 and some c-clamps to bend it into shape. After that… I tacked it all together with the welder, and cut some holes in the box for access. Without the welder, I could have made the tabs of the cover a little wider so that it could bolt into place like the cassette cover did… but that’s more work.
im actually looking for an 8-track recorder so i can make new mixtapes to play in my Wagon.