71 FJ40 Stereo Mounting Options

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Tim71FJ40

Tim71FJ40

10 Year
Joined
Jul 30, 2011
Threads
89
Messages
754
Location
Fort Worth, TX
I have a 71FJ40 - no factory stereo....

I do not have a center console which seems to be most people's location of choice, so I am trying to come up with mounting options for a stereo. I think I am going to use 2 wakeboard speakers mounted to roll bar, but need to tap into the infinite ingenuity of the Mud community for stereo options.

Description is great, pics even better....
 
Are you looking for where to put the headunit, speakers or both? What does your dash look like? have a full cage with spreader bars over the driver / passenger? Pics of the interior of your rig would help us help you. :D

I have the tuffy center console with the stereo compartment for the headunit and I used KC fog lights for the speakers mounted to the cage.





 
head unit

Trying to determine a location for head unit. Not interested in cutting the dash. Going to mount the two speakers behind head on roll bar.
dash.webp
exterior.webp
 
in my truck, some PO had mounted the head unit under the front bench; nicely hidden from view - if you have space under your seat that might work as well - my toolbox houses the amplifier

I also have a plate welded at the roll cage that forms a shelf at the windshield - another PO had something mounted there, as obvious from holes drilled into the plate

Bang Bang's speaker pods look even better in person than the pictures can show :clap:
 
Tim, did you see my set-up at the west-side meet a few months ago?

Amplifier under the seat, speakers on the roll cage, ipod and speakers plugged directly into the amp. No need for a head unit - unless you just have to have a CD or tape player.
 
I was gonna suggest the same as 1911. I've got an Amp set up for a motor cycle. Mounted it in the glove box and ran the wire under dash for Ipod, Phone ect. I keep a Nano mounted on the dash with velcro.
 
Good suggestions. Which amp do you recommend? So the iPod plugs directly into amp, which is wired directly to speakers.....

Looking at a couple kicker wakeboard tower speakers that mount to roll bar.

Interested which amp y'all are using.


Unfortunately I don't remember your set up, but looking forward to more railhead BBQ and cruiser time with you guys.
 
In mine, although the dash is getting cut up.... I've decided to go with a motorcycle (most likely a 'Shark') stereo... they come with waterproof speakers that are essentially smaller versions of wakeboard speakers (I'm not sure it's necessary to have speakers in an FJ40 that are meant to overshadow the noise of the boat and be heard 50' behind when being towed on a wakeboard).

the unit is a self contained high powered amp.... there are external buttons that I'm guessing you can stick on with Velcro (or maybe something more permanent) that control a few things like volume....

the ones I'm looking at either have SD card slots for MP3's and/or aux inputs (from a phone/mp3 player)

They can be found on ebay for $100-150 for the unit, wiring, and 2 speakers

example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/shark-SHKMS...472304?pt=US_Marine_Audio&hash=item3cc6179630

the main unit will go in the glove box and at least on mine I will install an external aux input on the dash.
 
1972 Stereo & speaker option for stock look

Found places to hide a CD player & 2 6-1/2" speakers in my 72 FJ40. I didn't want to drill any holes and didn't want the modern stereo to be obvious.

Made a bracket out of sheet stainless, (panels saved from an ex-gas grill).

Stereo in top of glove box hanging from a bracket that rests on the top right edge of the box and bolts to the back side of 2 of the hood hinge screws.

One speaker angled under the top right corner of the cowl on a bracket mounted to a blower motor bolt, duct bolt and a windshield hinge bolt (used longer than original bolts for this, 30mm & 35mm).

One speaker mounted to a vertical bracket sharing passenger seat frame & drivers seat hinge bolts plus one unexplained threaded hole in the floor behind the tunnel cover. Under-seat speaker wrapped in trunk liner to protect it from damage.

The dash speaker is not visible in the finished installation & the seat speaker is hard to see. The stereo is visible & pretty easy to use from the driver's seat with the glove box door open.

I crammed a bunch of photos onto one so they may be hard to see.
sound pics_Page_1.webp
sound pics_Page_2.webp
 
im still working on mine, but essentially im moving the stereo head to the center tuffy between the two front seats, inspired by what they do in the TLC ICON :) i have two 6'x9' boxed under the seats and then two 5' mids in my doors. sorry for lack of pics but im still fabbing the tuffy
 
On my 72 - I had a nicely crafted box that was between the bench seat and the shifter. It just pointed straight up. Small, unobtrusive, out of the way and you can hit the buttons while driving.

And for speakers - I used two 6x9 boxes mounted to the roll bar with exhaust clamps. Worked just fine.
 
Tim, nice rig. I'm looking how to add a system too, some good and different ideas. I like the amp only idea since I almost always use my ipod anyway
 
DSCN2507.webp DSCN2505.webp DSCN2509.webp

The purists will cringe at the sight of this dash board but many of us have no control over what has been passed down over the years. In December 12 when I bought this rig it had two radios, one installed in the dash and one under the dash. Above the right cup holder (that I added) were two simple on/off toggle switches to operate the radios. Of course the installation was twisted wire and black tape. So now that I have the rig completely rewired (American Autowire Hwy 15) and operational for a month it was time to add some tunes. I did some work at the rear support of the unit to at least slow down the potential thief. The rig came with a pair of Kicker speakers, 6 x 9 3 way, that I had no idea if they even worked. But I cleaned them up, corrected the wiring and they sound great.
 
I like the idea of just using a amplifier. Seems like head units should go the way of the dodo bird. With the new phones, tablets, and ipods being so powerful, I would try to maximize their use. My Cruiser has been in storage for 10 years, when I tried the stereo the speakers were shot. I love the sound of the the mighty 2f so much though, I don't care when I get new speakers really-seems like it would take away from the enjoyment of the driving experience. But to each his own.
 
One of the reasons I retired at 62 (64) was feeling like a dinosaur. I guess the Dodo bird dates to that time. You younger fellows know all about I-pods and the like. I have a few hundred CD's:).
 
cuencanolenny said:
One of the reasons I retired at 62 (64) was feeling like a dinosaur. I guess the Dodo bird dates to that time. You younger fellows know all about I-pods and the like. I have a few hundred CD's:).
Click to expand...


I have no interest in a I-pod. It took me a while to switch from cassette to CD. Maybe it's something to do with older eyes and that tiny screen the play selection is on. I get a big kick out down load and watch a movie on your phone. Today with huge flat screens TVs and surround sound why would you watch a movie on your phone. If I have free time I search mud on my phone.

Looks like the OP is still using the vacuum shift for 4WD. That was my toughest decision when I installed a radio in the dash on my 68. I had switched to bucket seats out of a 74 FJ40 years before. I installed a radio to the front edge of the center console and made a bracket to support the back of the radio. I had switched to a floor shifter for the transmission by in 74 shortly after buying the cruiser but kept the vacuum shifter. In 94 I switched to a four speed and moved the transfer case shifter to the floor. At that point I moved the radio to the dash in stock location for the 73 and later models. I removed the lower long padded dash and installed two padded dash pieces out of a 78. I then cut a hole for the radio. On the back side of this piece of metal is a bracket for the high/low shifter rod run from the left side to the right since on the firewall it's on the right side. I sure I kept this piece in case I ever decided to go back to stock. Because it would be under the padded dash it won't have to be perfect like the exposed part of the dash. A few years ago I bought a 1970 FJ40 from the original owner. It is still stock three speed. He mounted one of those trays just behind the windshield. Nothing was in the tray and not sure what he used it for. On that one since the top we never be removed I will install some kind of radio there. No holes were ever cut to install a antenna so I will use one of those I can install on the tray. As for mounting in the glove box or further to the right on the dash personally won't do it. I like it in close reach like the stock location. As for a remote I would need it with large buttons permanently mounted close so I won't have to take my eyes off the road. Since 2000 I have had four Toyotas with basically the same head unit. All have easy to find buttons. I installed one of these in my FJ62. My new DD is a Sequoia with navigation. I do not like the touch screen for the audio. It's 2010 I bought used and everything else was what I wanted so I'm dealing with audio.
 
Well I quickly found out that a CD player in an FJ40 works great as long as you are sitting still. So I did some investigation and quickly realized what the story in the news about Apple being awash in cash is all about. They have a very high opinion of those items. But research indicated that if all you are interested in doing is playing the music there are numerous, less expensive, alternatives. For a guy who has never owned a cell phone, let alone a Smart Phone, this sounded good to me. So I ordered a SanDisk from Amazon for $42 and a charger to go with it. Downloading CD's to the computer to create the MP3 items is very easy, found a YouTube presentation showing how to do it. There aren't many smooth roads here in Cuenca, Ecuador and pretty much zilch once you get out of town and that is why I have The Beast, to go up into the mountains so hopefully the SanDisk approach will work. Takes about a month to get it down here to me so I'll let you know once I have it.
 
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