On some of the other threads I've talked about ripping the dash apart to get to the leaking heater core, biting the bullet on depressurizing the AC system, and then starting to put things back together again. As I've gotten into it, I've found some really awful wiring by the PO's. I also have to accept responsibility for some hacking by my mechanics in Dubai who I asked to install a modern head unit and a lock/unlock fob. I decided I was going to try to clean up things as much as possible and do the wiring in a more sensible fashion. One thing has lead to another and I seem always to find something else that needs doing.
Most recently, I decided to add one of those new-fangled 12" monitor rear view 'mirrors' that hang on the stock mirror, which then requires adding another camera to the back and snaking wires from front to back in the headliner. This got me looking at the speakers in the back. Which got me looking at the old amplifier installed next to the subwoofer at the back rear right corner. I knew I had to replace the speaker, and looking at the amplifier, it looked pretty doubtful that it was in working order, and anyways hooking into it looked pretty complicated. That got me looking at the little 2.5 inch rear speakers that are driven by the OEM amplifier, and lead to a decision to delete those speakers and use a conventional amplifier for the subwoofer speaker. Seemed like a waste not to put something in place of those little speakers and after talking it over with my son, we decided that putting a couple more switched lights in the back would be a good idea.
Here's a photo of the stock speaker grille, a the start of the conversion:
I then used some tin snips to cut out the hole entirely:
And press in the remaining tabs of steel mesh to make a relatively smooth opening:
The hole happens to be just the right size to accept a nice little white LCD 12v light source:
I looked at putting a switch on the back pillars of the truck but decided it be better to put the switch on the fixture itself. This required a little more drilling and then fettling with a dremell moto-tool, but after painting I think the result is very nice:
Most recently, I decided to add one of those new-fangled 12" monitor rear view 'mirrors' that hang on the stock mirror, which then requires adding another camera to the back and snaking wires from front to back in the headliner. This got me looking at the speakers in the back. Which got me looking at the old amplifier installed next to the subwoofer at the back rear right corner. I knew I had to replace the speaker, and looking at the amplifier, it looked pretty doubtful that it was in working order, and anyways hooking into it looked pretty complicated. That got me looking at the little 2.5 inch rear speakers that are driven by the OEM amplifier, and lead to a decision to delete those speakers and use a conventional amplifier for the subwoofer speaker. Seemed like a waste not to put something in place of those little speakers and after talking it over with my son, we decided that putting a couple more switched lights in the back would be a good idea.
Here's a photo of the stock speaker grille, a the start of the conversion:
I then used some tin snips to cut out the hole entirely:
And press in the remaining tabs of steel mesh to make a relatively smooth opening:
The hole happens to be just the right size to accept a nice little white LCD 12v light source:
I looked at putting a switch on the back pillars of the truck but decided it be better to put the switch on the fixture itself. This required a little more drilling and then fettling with a dremell moto-tool, but after painting I think the result is very nice: