stock faceplate bluetooth upgrade

[amfw]

I have been mulling this over for a while and finally got it to a point where I feel like it is finished enough to share.

Music is a huge part of my experience driving the Bronco and obviously the factory radio isn't really going to do it for most of us,but we have all been witness to the horror of a dash that has been hacked up to accommodate an aftermarket head unit. When I got my bronco, there was no stereo at all, but the dash was intact. It also had a tuffy stereo console so for my first season in it, that is where the head unit and amp lived. I scored a pair of factory radios from a local Bronco guy and picked the better of the two faceplates for mounting on the dash of my bronco. I skipped the actual radio body and just mounted the faceplate on my dash with a switch for some LED illumination. Purely there for show. But when the Bronco went into the garage for the winter, I took on a center console project that eliminated a place for my head unit. I decided to go without a head unit, and instead just run a bluetooth dongle with an amp and EQ. I am big on old school volume knobs and didn't want to have to mess with my phone for volume, so I set about finding a good way to use the factory plate and knobs for volume control on the stereo.
The concept is pretty straightforward. I bought an aftermarket volume knob (I actually had it on my shelf left over from a Jeep Cherokee custom stereo I did a few years ago) and a JL audio 12v bluetooth dongle. I bought a rotary switch for the left side. At the moment it has no function, just a spare switch.
I did a little cleaning and painting of the needle on the faceplate, and added adhesive 12v led strip lights around the perimeter of the interior of the faceplate to replace the bulb illumination from the deleted factory radio.

I did have to enlarge the hole on the right side of the dash to be able to feed the RCA cables through, but I don't think it is anything that would prevent you from going back to all the way stock.
The faceplate mounts to the dash via machine screws through the factory holes. The indak switch on the left fits the factory plate with no modification.
The volume knob was trickier. I had to partially disassemble it to fit behind the faceplate. It originally had an aux input glued to it, but a little heat freed them up. The front of it was slightly uneven causing the shaft to beat an angle and rotate oddly, so I put a washer in front of it to flush up the surface. The base of the shaft is threaded but the threads just BARELY clear the opening in the faceplate and the nut on the exterior is unsightly and makes the knob seem much longer than it wants to be. In the end I measured carefully and 3d printed a little piece to set the knob in the right place and keep it from rotating, and relied on the face of the dash to hold it in place once bolted in.
I said up top that I had been holding off on writing this because it wasn't finished, but I think it is also because I am still not sure how to completely accurately describe every step I did, but this is a cool mod and I am glad I did it. I've included pics and links, and am happy to answer any questions if they arise.

Volume knob
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-gdbsu...j2WSbbsHt0GxRLdqXF5cj1-386e2lFFxoCwroQAvD_BwE

rotary switch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C2M9N2/?tag=cbama-20

Bluetooth dongle

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-J502X...6IYUqT7ut-48Qtuan8ZD2o0l1Wgk1IyBoC_WAQAvD_BwE

 

[duffymahoney]

I love it! I tried/ trying the same.

 

[amfw]

Here is the back of the faceplate with the LED strips in place. This shows a poorly soldered connection for the power. For the final install I used some plastic folding attachments that make a much more solid connection.

here are the unlit and lit photos of the front

here is the hole enlargement I did. I should have been a TOUCH more careful, but it works so I am not gonna beat myself up too much.

This is the 3d printed piece

And here is the setup all mounted on the dash! I used the aluminum billet knobs from wildhorses. I had to drill out the holes in the back for some parts, and I am still waiting on one more knob to finish the job.

 

[amfw]

I love it! I tried/ trying the same.

Yeah! You and I had a back and forth about it on FB a little. the last thing holding me up was getting the volume knob mounted well, but I sat down this morning with some coffee and calipers and just banged it out.

 

[cscotted]

Nice!!! I need to do this for my 77.. I have two factory radios layin around. I was gifted a retro sound radio and when I opened it thought it was cheap Chinese crap and decided not to use it. This is a way better option in my opinion.. great work!

 

[amfw]

Nice!!! I need to do this for my 77.. I have two factory radios layin around. I was gifted a retro sound radio and when I opened it thought it was cheap Chinese crap and decided not to use it. This is a way better option in my opinion.. great work!

Thanks! I'm very happy with the result. The look of the retro sound is CLOSE but it's not perfect and I've heard that the quality isn't great. This ticks all the boxes for me and comes in at a lower cost with the added satisfaction of DIY. It was a no brainer for a guy like me who wants tye stock look for the dash, but needs modern stereo conveniences.

 

[amfw]

I've been working like a dog on the Bronco the last few days tying up a bunch of loose ends, and waiting on some small parts. But I got around to installing the faceplate, console, and stereo. It's working great, bluetooth connects instantly and the knob feels smooth and sounds good. I made a short video of turning the Bronco on and it connecting and the volume knob working. Got the Bronco out on the street too, and over to get the first new tank of gas since November!

 

[Shimmy]

freakin awesome!

 

[amfw]

freakin awesome!

Its....VERY satisfying. one of those things that doesn't look like much outwardly, but is a really nice marriage of old and new. I'm happy to have done it.

 

[amfw]

Ok Update here... I have run this setup all season and absolutely love it. That being said. It's not all the way perfect.
When I was figuring it all out, there was some stuff I wished was better. I wanted to accommodate the black bezels that go behind the knobs. I wanted to eliminate the need to enlarge the hole in the dash for the volume knob. I wanted to clean up the lighting, streamline the wiring, and make use of the second knob. I also really wanted to bring the volume knob back to the driver side, making it a bit easier to reach.
Even with all these little imperfections, it was still "good enough" and I was happy to leave it as it was. But recently a member on another group got in touch with me wanting to do this for his own truck. I pointed him to this thread and told him I'd be happy to help him get it set up, and would even help with install if he was local. Unfortunately he lives far away. He asked me if I thought I could make an "all in one" Bluetooth faceplate unit. So I did
I'll be wrapping it up very shortly and will.have a separate thread about it, but I have addressed all of the little nagging imperfections listed above and the whole thing is looking pretty spiffy. Best part is ease of installation. It goes into the factory holes with no modification and has just 4 wires; a left and right RCA and a positive and negative lead (I'm considering adding remote turn on for an amp).

 

[amfw]

Couple pics

 

[duffymahoney]

So, do you want to make a 2nd?!

 

[amfw]

So, do you want to make a 2nd?!

I'm definitely into making more of these. It requires very light mod to the faceplate and mods to the knobs. I use the WH Aluminum Billet ones, I am not sure if I can do it with the factory plastic ones, but it could be possible. This would likely be a "send me a faceplate and I will send it back" situation, that is how I'm doing the first official one that is going out. I am waiting on that faceplate to come from getting chromed.

 

[4xfun]

Excellent job. Very creative. Now how about some info on the console.

 

[amfw]

Excellent job. Very creative. Now how about some info on the console.

OH that's easy https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threads/ford-thunderbird-console-swap-build.313836/

 

[4xfun]

I remember seeing the beginning of that process but not the final. You have some impressive skills.

 

[amfw]

I remember seeing the beginning of that process but not the final. You have some impressive skills.

Thank you. These Bronco projects are fun because they are so multi-disciplinary. They always involve something I'm kinda good at and something I'm not so skills get sharpened with every new idea. I love having the truck as an inspiration for projects and a reward for completion.

 

[duffymahoney]

Does the left knob do anything?

 

[amfw]

Does the left knob do anything?

In this version it's just a dummy, although its a functional switch. It could easily be wired up to the faceplate or a different accessory. In the version that I will be selling, the left knob controls the volume as it was when stock and the right knob is an on/off switch for the whole unit.

 

[gnsteam]

This is a great idea and well executed. It's still early into my build and I haven't put much thought into a sound system. So I will keep this option on my radar. Nice work.