Since I do alot of cruising around in the Summer, I thought I might as well do it in style and be able to play all of my music. The car only had a tape player in it and since I don't have any tapes and radio stations are somewhat lame around here, I wanted put in a new system. I didn't want to do any major modifications that I couldn't undo. So I stayed with the old shaft mount stereo (from Wal-mart) that really didn't have too much to it, but it did have pre-amp outputs, big plus. Make sure that you disconnect the battery before doing anything electrical with your car. Wiring this up was quite simple. As long as you are not color blind, you can easily match up all of the wires to the respective speaker.

Wiring in the amplifier and the 6-disc changer was a different story. The CD changer wasn't too bad, but it was the amp that was the problem. Having the center console in the car made all of the difference in wiring the CD changer in. I removed the center console by first removing the shifter (there is a small snap ring that holds this in place). Once that is off, there are 4 hex screws that hold the shift plate down. Then, there are two bolts that hold the center console box in place which is hiding 2 more bolts that hold the console down. Remove all of these and your console should lift right up. Be careful of the wiring for the light for the shift plate and also for the power window switch. I had to run 3 wires for the CD changer back to the trunk where I mounted the unit. I fed the wires through the console and found a place where I could then run the wires underneath of the carpet. Once I was underneath the carpet, I could run it back and fish the out from under the back seat.

If you push back on the rear seat cushion and lift up, it should come off. There is also one bolt that holds the back of the rear seat on, remove that too. From there, I ran the wires up through the back cardboard that separates the back seat from the trunk. There was only one wire that I had to run for the CD changer which basically runs everything you need to power and control the unit. There were 3 wires that I had to run back for the amplifier (you can buy a kit that contains all of the wires and connectors that you need). An S-Video cable (which plugs into the pre-amp outs on the stereo), the power antenna lead (which turns on and off the amp as you turn the radio on and off), and the power cable.

This power cable was the tough one since it needs to be run all the way up to the battery. Start from the battery connection and work your way back. The tough part is finding a way through the firewall of the car. I did a little searching and found a plug located behind the brake booster. I pulled the plug out, ran the wire through, and then sealed the hole back up with some silicone adhesive to protect from any water getting inside the car. If you can't find any opening you might want to try to follow some other wires that go through here. If not, then you have to drill through. Once you are inside the car, the rest is fairly simple. You want to run the power cable separate from the rest of the wiring. If you run it along side of the other wires, you will probably get some hissing while the radio is playing. Since I ran the other wires down the center of the car, I took this power cable and ran it down the side of the car. I removed the screws that held down the scuff plate and ran the wire down the the side of the car, diving underneath of the carpet when I got to the back. From there, I once again fished the wire out from under the back seat and ran it into the trunk. Once I had all of the wires back to the trunk, I was ready to mount the amp and the CD changer. I screwed some brackets that came with the

CD changer into the roof of the trunk and mounted the unit on the drivers side of the car. I placed the amp to the same side of the car and screwed it into the floor of the trunk making sure that I didn't poke through either the top or bottom of the trunk. Since there isn't much room in the trunk in these cars, the subwoofer I have held in place right now by a tie-down strap. It will do for now until I can figure out a better way to do it. I haven't yet straightened up the wiring in the trunk yet because I haven't figured out where everything is going to go permanently, so they are loose for now. I plugged everything thing in and proceeded to follow the instruction manuals to program the CD changer and the output levels for the amp. I am still tweaking it to find the right settings. Make sure that you don't make the same mistake that I did by testing this equipment over and over again without having the car started. Yes, I drained my battery and had to charge it overnight. You live and ya learn.