Well, we finally got the initial template made after all this time. All the jigs are made and ready to roll. We just need someone to volunteer their car for a couple hours so we can make the brackets for the kit. Here are some pics, step by step, of what we are doing. The final kit will be made from 1/2" PVC. We will also be offereing the option to have these kits finished in matching wood trim, blackwood trim, etc etc.

First step, removing the face from the headunit:



Next we traced the pieces onto a piece of 3/4" MDF:



The piece was then cut to the exact specs on a circular saw:



Then the outer template was secured to the 1/2" piece of PVC:

 

We then flush trimmed the PVC with a router:



And the final piece of PVC before cutting the DIN openings:

 

It looks like the kit will only be good for non-Navi cars. Is that the case? On the Navi car, we don't have the tray above the HU. Instead we have the A/C controls. Any plans on making a kit for Navi cars so we can have a decent HU instead of this Bose crap.

 

WE have a jig for the units with the A/C controls, which will also work with retaining the CD tray for those with non-navi cars.

 

Hmmm...I'm not sure that a wood trim finish will look good since I don't have a wood trim kit installed (i.e. A bunch of wood in one place but very little everywhere else). Is it possible for the faceplace to have an off-black finish like the rest of this area?

Also, I just had an Eclipse head unit and in-dash CD changer installed (with a sucko faceplate). What do I need to do in order for your faceplate to work with my setup?

 

The wood trim is OPTIONAL Above stated in case anyone misses it:

We will also be offereing the option to have these kits finished in matching wood trim, blackwood trim, etc etc.


I will take orders as soon as I have the brackets made, which will require someone coming by for a couple hours while we fabricate them.....anyone interested???

 

Do I get a free kit? I'm up for it. I can drop it off early next week. PM or email me Ron. kleinnj@hotmail.com

 

It doesn't say anything about the original finish (from what I see in the pictures, they're white). Sooooooo, will the ORIGINAL finish be black? If so, will it perfectly match the the rest of the car or be slightly off like the other faceplates I've seen posted in the forums.

 

so since your almost finish, do you know a price which you are going to sell them for?

 

No, it's going to be white, with the option of pink, purple, yellow or teal to match your custom exterior...

OF COURSE IT'S GONNA BE BLACK... j/k bro

Ron, wanna hit me up sometime? I wanna ask about some Q's...

 

Hehheh, I knew someone would step in and make a sarcastic remark. Looks like Red Hot TL is our winner!

Ron, I just wanted to confirm that the faceplate will be an exact or perhaps close shade of black with the rest of the car. If you knew my experiences with car audio installers, you'd understand. Better yet, I just might post a pic of what kind of faceplate they came up with. My local installers say that it can be done, but would cost about three to four hundred dollars to get a perfect match!

Thanks again for your work Ron. You'll definitely help out a lot of TL owners here.

 

IT will be a perfect match to the factory black/dark greyish color

 

Since you already have my radio, I would be happy to drop the car off but, that would be a long drive for me from Oklahoma. Surely, someone can handle this.

 

PM Me if you still haven't found anyone, i'm not too far from you. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

That looks good...but I was looking at how the CD tray above the stereo unit is eliminated in the new faceplate. Is there anyway to make room for the CD tray to still sit above the stereo unit? Thanx.

 

Yeah, without the tray, a single DIN in that kit is going to look rather lonely surrounded by all that blank space. When I did my install, I kept the silly pocket mostly because of that very reason.

 

I wouldn't mine a single DIN cuz I would probably get the Alpine deck that has an oversized faceplate. I am not sure if you know which one I am referring too but the Faceplate is motorized and is about 50% larger and is housed in the deck. That would compensate for the large surface area of blank space

 

Could you do the face to match the Titanium color in my A-Spec? What would you need to do this. Thanks, it looks exactly what I need to upgrade.

 

Awesome! Thanks for replying.

 

can't wait for the kit to be done specially since its gonna match the rest of the trin in the car. yeah i would like to be able to keep my CD tray too. i just made a kit for my touchscreen DVD player and kept the CD tray i think it looks much better than without it.

 

I will be definitely buying one from you. I hate this Bloze crap sitting in my car. I rather miss my old Accord, I chould slap up whichever HU I wanted. BTW, what do you guys think is the best HU that matches the interior? No perfect match will be possible, but still...

 

Is it just me or didn't AcuraX2 send a stock radio a couple months back to get a free kit? Is this still the same kit that was discussed back then?

 

Yup, that's the one....perfection takes time

 

Anyone brought there TL by yet? Are we getting closer? Update please. Thanks.

 

i cant wait to replace the BLOZ headunit. keep us informed!
P.S. great work so far!

 

So the kit will not allow for continued use of the paper tray? This will make for a very large surface area without anything in it if only using a single din stereo.

Will you/do you have a single din or din and a half kit that will still allow use of the paper tray?

That’s what I need, and I need it like yesterday!

Please update us all on the progress of this kit. Of course, photos would be great!

 

No offense dude, but that is a hell of a lot of time to "perfect" it. I've been eagerly awaiting your release to see what it looks like. I paid $220 for mine and was unhappy with the color match. However, the fit and finish of mine was flawless.

Based on the installs you've posted, it's obvious that you do this for a living. Is the demand not great enough to justify the development costs?

Do you have a time frame in mind as to when you'll have the finished product?

Just curious...not trying to do the feather ruffling thing.

 

nothing personal, but your whole post is likely to ruffle feathers. ron is known for his quality work, and he wont sell anything that does not qualify under this rule.

 

well i sure do know i will be ordering one....where is streeteffectz located?

 

Thanks for speaking for him. I'm guessing he couldn't do so for himself.

I did not denegrate his work in any way. I've seen his work and have been floored by it. I also don't remember posting anything that states he puts out crap work. I've seen that his work is nothing short of incredible.

The only feathers I would ruffle is concerning the time frame it has taken to produce the final product. If that has ruffled feathers, so be it.

If I shipped my 2003 TLS HU (valued at over $800 by Acura) off with the promise of a free kit and it took 2 - 3 months to build it...I would have a bit of a problem with that.

Considering the tools available to him, I'm guessing it could be produced within 3 weeks tops.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Sh!t happens.

I'm guessing that since he didn't respond, he's not worried about it. Maybe you shouldn't worry about it either.

 

no hes a busy man running a business rather than coming on this forum to be bashed about his time frame. so yes ill speak up for him. now lets talk about you speaking for the member that sent his HU in. first off that member already put in an aftermarket HU, so he wasnt using it. so dont bash me for speaking on behalf of ron when your speaking on behalf of a member's HU that has nothing to do with you.

 

Hold on there stinkboy. You really should not talk about things you do not know the facts on. Bozz and I are pretty good friends and the reason he spoke up was that I did not want to piss anyone off and risk loosing my radio. I know Streeteffectz is a stand up place and they build incredible systems. However, if you will look at the original thread, you will see that is was stated that they would need my radio about a week and then another week to make a kit. Figuring in shipping times, it should have been 3-4 weeks tops. We have past 9 weeks since they got my radio. Bozz has not said anything that alot of people who have followed this thread are thinking. I am not bashing Ron or his business. I just wish up front, he would have said, "it may take a while". No, I do not need the radio. That is not the point. I was told one thing and it has been another.

I really do not think you should bash other members when you have not gotten all the facts.

 

now now fellas.... on acurax2 behalf i too would be upset if i was told one thing and 9 weeks later i still had nothing... nobody likes getting shafted... but to rons credit he has ran in to some road blocks of his own getting in the right material, getting someone to donate there car for a day for measurements and etc not to mention that he has a business to run... )... all and all i think that it will be worth the wait since we have all seen the quality of streetz work...

 

no he can stick up for you but his post was hypocritical in that area. since he spoke on behalf of you and bashed me for speaking on behalf of ron. as for the stereo, i would have sent him mine which is doing nothing, but you chose to send yours quicker than any other member.

i know members are anxious for the product, but the reality is that no other company makes the dash kit for the tl. i heard there was one but im sure its one of those plastic 15 dollar kits which is fine for a civic. therefore if it takes months it takes months, whats the options. post like your friends just adds fuel to the fire.

 

If you know of any kits at all I would be interested, I got all hyped about having a kit. I went away for a month and when I got back I expected a dash kit to match the new stereo I bought for it..and didn't. So now I am crafting my own. So I guess it's good, saved me $100.

 

the only one i know of is a company called metra and their estimated finish date is in october. and i know they have already started r&d so thats three months for a company that actually builds dash kits for tons of makes and models.

 

i'm totally with you on that BOZZ. My kit took 3 days to make and I am completely sure that streeteffectz kit will look no different. u only need 1 template and then u take the template to a plastic company and they spit the rest out for you. I was going to do that but everyone wanted to wait for ron's kit. hell we were going to sell ours for 80 bucks, but everyone was waiting.

 

Try and tell that to Stinkboy...interesting choice of handle. I didn't bash Ron's work, only his turnaround time. As you can see, I didn't respond to Stinky's post since it really wasn't worth the effort. He can do what he wishes as will I. I'm the type of person that expects to receive what I was told. I don't hold anyone to higher standards than I expect of myself. If you don't meet them, I'll let you know. I'm sorry but 2 months is ridiculous when you're told it will only be a couple of weeks. Point blank and simple.

Believe me, me and Jamie Chou, who provided me with my dash kit for a mere $220 aren't best of friends. The color matching is piss poor and it took quite a bit longer to make than was agreed upon.

At this point, I don't care. My stuff's in and sounding great.

If everyone wants to squabble over this BS, then I'll just sit back and watch.

 

Thanks for the stickup dude, but this guy is whacked. I remember being PISSED because you got your radio off first and I just had to wait...even though I had just shelled out $220 for my kit. When I saw Streetz offer concerning the dash kit, I was kicking myself for not checking the boards more often. As a matter of fact, if I didn't like you so much, I might have been tempted to send you a poison pen email Since you're a totally stand up guy, I just figured I'd sit back and wait to see the kit....and wait....and wait.....and wait.

I hate that this has turned into what it has but sh!t happens. You sent off your HU on a promise that hasn't been delivered. OK, so I'm an a$$hole for pointing that fact out. I don't care. I've been called worse by better.

I appreciate your coming to my defense and am looking forward to you sending me some pics of the kit once you have it installed!!

Take care and be careful with your install. You don't want to explain the cut I got on my forearm to your wife!!

 

Ya know, I didn't want to do this but since I'm a complete type A+++ personality, I guess I just can't resist.

First, what is your connection to him? How the hell do you know what he does from day to day. He's in NJ and you're in FL. You have no clue what the hell he does every day. You may be one of his biggest fans...that's fine....do you have pending work? I'm guessing not. So why open your trap? Beyond that, how old are you? Do you know what it takes to run a business? Do you know what each business day entails? I'm guessing not. I'm no spring chick. I'm 34 and as a pharmaceutical computer validation consultant I work on a contract basis. Guess what happens if I don't live up to what I say I can do....there goes my contract...and my paycheck.

Forgive me, but I don't remeber "bashing" anyone. All I did was point out a simple fact...the kit was promised in a couple of weeks and we're now at a couple of months. If I tried that I'd be gone as soon as the deadline hit. That's what I do for a living...point out expected results that haven't been met.

Sounds to me like you need to learn a little more about the "real" world.

I apologize for what may seem an aggressive tone, but I take my work very seriously and always produce my finished product when promised. If I didn't I'd be working at BK or Mickie D's...

I'd actually like to apologize to both AcuraX2 and Streetz. I was just asking questions and didn't mean for this to turn into what it has. I don't doubt either of you guy's sincerity and I'm sure when the dust settles, all will be happy.

I'm just not going to settle for being called out by what seems to be some punk kid.

BTW, stinkboy, we can end this now or let it get really ugly...the choice is yours..............