CUCV Stereo Install

Since I hadn't seen a good "How to" on stereo installs here we go! I figured as much as I loved listening to the constant roar of that 6.2 at highway speeds, that stock radio wasn't going to cut it anymore... So to anyone looking to make a little upgrade to the M1028, that I thought made a world of a difference and definitely makes driving the beast much more enjoyable, here is how to go about doing it!


Safety first!


Stock stereo was removed by simply pulling the knobs off than removing the two bolts off of each knob shaft. Most CUCV's come with a plastic over over the stock radio mount that can be simply removed by releasing two little prongs on the back or by just ripping the thing off.


Had to wiggle around the wires a little bit to get the radio out from the rats nest behind the dash but it pulled down and out without to much of a struggle.


The old wiring harness on the radio was a bit of a joke, but I just chopped the wires as close to the unit as I could so they could still be re-used being the speaker wires had already been run and connected.


I followed the wires off the old harness so I could match them with the new than crimped away! I was left with a couple unnecessary wires but if you are starting from scratch and wiring it yourself it shouldn't be much of a problem.


Being I had previously installed a 12v outlet that was hooked up to the constant power supply I side spliced my stereo's power cable into the wire than grounded the unit to the outlet's bolt where the old stereo had been grounded.


Pull the dash out and let the fun begin.


Used the stereo's mount as my template and etched an outline to mark my cuts.


You are left with a good chunk of space to work with so most stereo heads should fit... Key word... SHOULD.


I used an air cutter and let 'er rip! Just a warning, you need to make quick short cuts because of the friction. It melts that plastic quickly and let me tell you... THAT PLASTIC GETS HOT! We're talking napalm...

Good write up, but a couple of notes:

1. The CUCVs didn't come with a "stock" stereo.
2. Remove the negative cable of BOTH batteries to de-energize the starter relay under the dash. You are working right next to it and "might" ground something you shouldn't
3. If you want to use the "ACC" position of the key, you need to piggyback off the wiper fuse. We have covered that a few times.

Fits like a glove! only required a little trimming here and there.




Next comes the fun part... I used the same template as I used on the plastic to mark up the solid... metal... dash... She definitely sparked a little bit so beware!


After about a half hour of chopping, maybe a couple choice words, and a little trimming here and there I got it cut just right, again, using the air cutter.


Got the dash back together.


The red wire is the constant power which I tapped into for the memory on the stereo, than the orange runs to the ignition slot for power only when the key is turned.


I wired a little 10" sub behind the seat just to give me a little more depth to the music which made a WORLD of a difference. Not to mention the nice little back massage


It all mounted up pretty clean and looks and sounds great!




Let me know if you guys have any questions or want any additional pictures of anything! Hope this helps!

I realize they don't come with a stereo as my M1009 didn't either. It looks like it was put in by the guardsmen at Ft. Ripley. I'll definitely remember what you said about the batteries, although I wasn't getting any power regardless. Can't be too careful! And you can see where I tapped into the fuse panel in the second half of the post and that seemed to work just fine for me. but I guess there are probably a couple options! I just did a little guess and check!

Well done! Clean install, good wiring work and now you have something that increases the fun of your ride! Well done!!

Looks great and I'm about to embark on the same stereo install myself. Just a question, where did you mount your front speakers? Did you have a rear speakers installed besides the sub? I'm still the gathering phase of components and of course I will post pics once I am done!

Front speakers? I installed the pre-fab kick panels from an online company that starts with a c and rhymes with hutchfield.

Took some minor trimming...and Krylon's plastic paint in espresso. Installed in them are Kenwood 6.5" mid/woofers and 2" tweeters. Sounds very good, not much of a bass presence of course.

Nice job, well thought out.

It is okay to list the website name

www.crutchfield.com

even the product page

http://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/kick_panel.html

Just don't list any active auctions or craigslist ads.

I don't think I could hear a radio with my truck running down the freeway, less so if I'm off road. Plugging my iPod into some Bose noise cancelling headphones solves all those problems.

RiceBurner, I ended up putting them in the door panels. I used a hole saw on the plastic panel than trimmed away what I needed for a snug fit with some cutting shears. You need to also cut a hole for the rear of the speaker behind the panel into the actual metal of the door, so i'm sure the same concept would work although the military guys who chopped mine prior to my purchase look like they used a torch to cut it... But hey! It got the job done! Being I'm in the 1028 I didn't want to mess with some rear speakers other than the sub (which IMO completely eliminates any need for rear speakers). If you're running a 1009 though I have heard many people having luck with mounting in ammo cans or pre-fabd speaker boxes in front of the rear wheel wells
.

Thanks for the pics of your front speaker install Cajun. I'm still debating on cutting my doors but I think I will just use some custom 6.5 speaker boxes and mount them under the front seats for ease of installation and not having to dynamat my front doors.

No problem, glad I could help! For the record, I did it without dynamatting and haven't had any concerns. Another alternative would be to mount them under the dash where they would be on a "normal" truck. Probably a little better clarity than down by your feet... Something to think about!

You could also get some custom kick panel speaker enclosures from that particular auction site, as they are a bit cheaper than the above listed site!

Well, I'm gonna stick with my 6.5 stereo boxes for now. The **** stereo place told me they had them last week, but not really. Hopefully this weekend I'll have it all installed and ready to rock out and drown out my highway noise! hehe!

Go figure huh? Fingers crossed for you, I don't know how I lived without mine! We had better be seeing some pictures by the end of the weekend

cajuninmn said:

Being I had previously installed a 12v outlet that was hooked up to the constant power supply I side spliced my stereo's power cable into the wire than grounded the unit to the outlet's bolt where the old stereo had been grounded.

Click to expand...

Based on the speakers you are running, I'm concerned about your power supply and ground.

You've got a 10" sub-woofer, and two 6.5 inchers. The 6.5s are probably rated to 100 -150 watts or so, the sub is easily rated to 250-300, maybe 500.

If you are trying to drive them anywhere near their rated power, you are talking about 50 amps or so. (300 watts + 150 watts x2 is 600 watts / 12 volts is 50 amps). In that neighborhood you need a LARGE dedicated power lead and ground TO THE BATTERY, not spliced to an existing power lead.

What's the power output of the radio, and does the sub have its own amplifier? If so, what kind of power connections do you have for it?

cajuninmn said:

Go figure huh? Fingers crossed for you, I don't know how I lived without mine! We had better be seeing some pictures by the end of the weekend

Click to expand...

HA, no worries! If my sleazy stereo shop ever holds onto my 6.5 speaker boxes from Tijuana, then I will finish stereo install with plenty of pictures!

Always thought this site was pretty good: Basic Car Audio Electronics

Never had a need to recreate the wheel when trying to explain this stuff as a result of that site, the rest of the stereo business is all about fitting things in and connecting the right wires to the right places.

Nice site!