This is an installation of a double DIN radio in a 1996 Isuzu Hombre which should be the same if not exact same as a S10. I hope this will serve as an how-to for individuals wanting add a double din radio or force their single DIN radio to be flush with the dash rather than sticking out an inch.
I started by removing the dash panel, stock radio and the storage pocket. Be careful when removing the dash panel if you don’t drop the steering column because you can easily break off the hazard switch that sticks up.
The next step I began to cut out the fiberboard or glass that separates the stock radio and the electrical wiring. This was done using a 1/8” drill bit and dremel with a cutting wheel. If you use a drill be careful not to push the bit to far behind the fiberboard to avoid damage to the electrical system.
I then built a frame/mount for the new radio to sit in. I picked up a 4 foot aluminum 1-1/2” angle metal from Ace Hardware for about $10. The aluminum and rivets were used to build the frame. The reason I chose aluminum over steel was because it is much easier to cut, a hacksaw and dremel can cut right through it with no problem.
Note: A few mistakes I made which lengthened the amount of time spent on this project were: make sure cut the top of the frame to accommodate the mounting holes for the dash bezel and if you use aluminum try to only bend the lower mounts in one direction only one time to prevent a weak or broken mount.
Next, I placed the radio in the dash to ensure a level fit. A few tricks that I used to ensure that the radio was level were: obtain a straight edge and place one side of the edge horizontally on the A/C control unit with the other part of the edge hanging over the stereo, look at the radio from outside the truck on the passenger’s side comparing to the A/C control unit and put the dash bezel back on and use a ruler to measure the distance from the radio to the bezel along a side of the stereo. BE 100% SURE THAT YOU GET IT LEVEL THE FIRST TIME! OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE CUTTING MULTIPLE BEZELS FOR AROUND THE RADIO!
I purchase a sheet of ABS plastic from eBay for about $6 dollars and used it to act as the stereo bezel. This is the most time consuming part of this project because a lot of filing and meticulous cutting is required to ensure a perfect fit. Luckily I got the bezel to fit on the first cut. As you can see in the pictures I detailed how to cut the right side of the bezel to fit around the A/C controls. I got a dremel and sanded off about 3/4 of the thickness on the rear of the bezel and filed off a 1/16” rectangle with a square file. If you do this project you will understand why this is necessary.
Now I took off the A/C controls put the bezel on and replaced the A/C controls. This is necessary to get a tight fit. If you mess with the radio/mount enough and do small adjustments to the mounting of the radio within the constructed aluminum mount you will eventually get it the perfect distance sticking out from the dash. Also if you view it from the passenger’s side from outside it will help.
And placing the bezel back on yielded a final product of:
I hope that this will help anybody that wants to do this same project. The radio I used is a Pioneer FH-P8000BT with BT Audio, 2 Aux Inputs and USB. I did not want a touch screen because of price and many of the touch radios are slow and laggy. Overall it is a wonderful stereo with all of the possible features besides GPS I guess.
Feel free to ask any questions about this install and thanks for looking at it!