Anti-theft stereo installation.

The past owner of my Burb had a great stereo in it & one night someone broke into it and stole it by breaking a window.

We received a new $400 stereo from a friend. I didn’t want anything to happen to it so I thought about it for months and how I could install it so it wouldn’t be easy to steal. The original stereo ” Stock” came with a had a mounting tray that allowed the stereo to be mounted to this tray and if the stereo needs to be removed at any time it has little push-down fingers you can push down and release the stereo from its location.

Stereo mounting frame

This is the stereo frame while I was installing a back -up camera.

So I’m staying with the tray but decided to build a stereo mounting bracket that would mount to the frame from the original unit. Now my job is to find the ideal gauge of steel to be heavy enough to deter any thefts of this stereo.

the beginning of the bracket process.

Getting close!

Test bracket space

In the first step, I slid the tray back into the dashboard. Then I got a magic marker and marked where I wanted to mount my holes for the stereo frame and the dashboard too.

Testing our bolts & how much space I have to make these brackets

Driver side testing bolt length.

Pre-drilled holes for our frame bolts

Passenger side

Once my holes are marked I had to decide what size screws I was going to use for the frame and bracing. I decided to go with four 3/8’s carriage bolts. These carriage bolts I got were grade #5 and I will be a big part of the anti-theft stereo system. So I decided to go with 18 gauge sheet steel for our brackets. All I have to do is make a pattern of the stereo where the screws will be located on it and mark the holes where the stereo frame mounts to these brackets.

Stereo mounting frame w/brackets

Before installation in the truck

test fit

Now, after my pattern has been cut I get out my bench vice and mark where I need to bend the brackets. Now how I bent my brackets is I put them in my vice and bent them with my 2lb sledgehammer just to get the bend started. Now to get the gap just right I use a flat-file to form the “U” shape. Then I take measurements again after they’ve already been bent because if it’s right, all I have to do is put in my carriage bolts and then mount each bracket to my frame.

Creating the just right “U” shape

Creating the right shape “U”

time to pinch off the carriage bolts in their place.

installing our carriage bolts! But I am tightening down the nuts here so my bolts are seated in the steel brackets.

I forced my bolts into place so there wouldn’t be any movement when I tighten down the nuts.

Then I mark up the holes from the stereo with a piece of posterboard which was very easy to do and a time saver. Once the holes are marked for the stereo I get to drilling the holes for the stereo itself. Before installing the stereo with the tray I go out and do a test fit and our bolts for the bracket and frame all fit in nicely however I had to cut the bolts shorter with a mini hacksaw but I didn’t do it until the stereo was bolted in the truck.

Left side pattern made from poster board

Right Side pattern

Now that everything has been done I installed the tray with the brackets, then once that is all in place we install our stereo with our galvanized screws and there were 6 of them three for each side. Then I installed the construction plates and install our nuts to the end of our carriage bolts that are sticking out ‘2’ at the instrument panel and ‘2’ by the heat register. Then you can finish tightening down the screws on the stereo. I needed a “short” screwdriver to get into these screws in the stereo to tighten them down. Victory test!!!! Our new stereo is a beauty!