cutting up a dash for a new style radio?

[463]

i need some of your thoughts on cutting my dash to install a new din style am/fm cd player or mount it some place else in the cab or leave the stock am radio in the dash so here i am ? cut or not ? thanks 463

[tcb-1]

I would strongly advise against cutting the dash. Just my opinion.

I have the same situation. I'm going to remove the original am headunit, install a radio delete plate, and mount a new style radio/cd/mp3 in the glove box. it's away from prying eyes, and behind a locking glove box door.

and, oh yeah. save your am just in case someday you want to go back to the factory look.

[clemson71guy]

thats a good point about putting it in the glove box but i would get tired of reaching over and opening the glove box everytime i wanted to change the station.
it really did not bother me to cut my, but i kept what we cut out just in case i want to sell it and they want to go back to original just weld it back in.
if you want to cut it then cut it, if your going for original then leave it alone and put it somewhere elese like the glovebox

[Palf70Step]

Since I am going to (eventually) have A Vintage or Old Air system, I have decided to put mine where the heater controls are and hide the digital AC/heater control in my console or glove box.

This is with the radio delete in, but I don't have the heater control slot set up for the DIN module. My idea is to take the original heater control and cut out the guts and put the din in there, that way the dash stays unmodified.

[corn]

Cut it. Repairing it isnt much different than repairing a rocker panel...

[CG]

Its your truck, just cut it. I never understood the ooooooooo dont cut the dash crowd. If you need to cut it and you do a nice job, (not a hack) it should be great.

[dave2953]

This has been a subject of great debate with no real consensus. I cut mine, but my truck needed lots of work so I figured what's one more hole? It's your truck, so I say do what you like. I don't see anything wrong with cutting your dash up as long as you do a quality job.

[bad6772]

cut it , i would suggest to do it right and cut straight lines....that way if it was ever big deal you could always weld it back.................

[JAKES 68GMC]

Just cut it. I cut mine, it looked like a hack-job at first, (I wasn't too happy with myself) but after some careful filing and trimming, I got the radio in and it looks great and works better.

[heavy71chevy]

cut it ans worse case you mess up make urself a simple styling ring to slide between the radio and dash to hide it..not a big deal cut it

[cameeks]

If your truck is completely original and numbers matcing I say dont cut it but if it is like almost every other truck out there and parted together with diffrent year parts and custom this and custom that then cut it and custom the radio. I have heard dont cut it from alot of people who say it wont be original but then they have fuel injection and 4 wheel disc brakes. I think that was on the option sheet

[Andy4639]

OK
The big ? is why don't you cut it. As long as you do it right what differance does it make? Even if you have a all number matching truck it's not going to hurt the value that much. The radio isn't a part of that except in looks. I doubt that it would stop someone from buying it.

You could make a center console to house it in but then you would need to take the factory radio out so it would look right. Two radio's in the truck just don't look right to me.
Here is a picture of mine.

[Darin S]

I just had mine done last weekend. I took it to a good installer and let them do it. $40.00 we'll worth it in my opinion. and I love looks great and sound even better. I also had 6.5 speakers put in the doors. cut them too.