I Hate My Cassette Holders!

[Early B.]

I have a 1998 car that has an in-dash cassette holder. I wanna rip the damn thing out. It's cheap, plastic, and worthless. Problem is -- there's no aftermarket option for replacing it with say, a CD holder. Besides, the cassette holder is an odd shape -- it's trapezoidal.

Is there an inexpensive alternative to removing this thing and putting something else there? Maybe it becomes an extra compartment to keep change or something. I don't care.

I looked at removing the "guts" of the cassette holder so I could create an open compartment, but I couldn't figure out how to do it without cracking the plastic outer case.

Thanks.

[Jstas]

Ummmm....if you told us what KIND of 1998 car you had, we might be able to find some pictures on this new-fangled Intarweb thingy and see what you are talking about.


Otherwise, I'd remove most of the interior material with tin snips and then use a sharp chisel or dremel tool to dig out the rest. Then get yourself some felt to match the color of the plastic from a fabric store or a craft store and use 3M General Trim Adhesive to glue it in. You can get the adhesive from any car parts store like Pep Boys, Autozone or something. The felt will help hide the chewed up plastic and help keep whatever you chuck in there from sliding around a whole lot.

[Toxis]

in for pics.

[bigaudiofanatic]

Pics Please

[Jstas]

Another idea, if you get out enough of a center section to use a chisel, you can use bull-nosed or snub-nosed wire dykes to clip out the sections at the back of the pocket.

Something like this will work:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31GGHY0ANSL._SS500_.jpg

Just make sure you get ones with long enough handles. Not only is the extra length good for room but improves leverage so you aren't killing yourself. Any Radio Shack should have them but you can probably get ones with long handles in the electrical sections of Home Depot or Lowes. Lowes would probably be a better choice because they seem to stock Klein tools and every electrician or tech I know swears by Klein for electrical tools.

[Early B.]

Ummmm....if you told us what KIND of 1998 car you had, we might be able to find some pictures on this new-fangled Intarweb thingy and see what you are talking about.

Sorry. It's a Mercedes C280. No pics yet.

Great ideas, Jstas. I can do what you said. In fact, while riding to work this morning, I pulled out all six of the cassette holders thingys. Now I have six thin rectangular compartments. It looks fine right now, but it's not functional. So I can temporarily remove the cassette holder, hollow it out, add felt, and reinstall. I have all of the tools to do it, but I have to admit -- I'm the guy who can 'eff up some stuff even with the best of tools.:p

[Early B.]

OK, I got pics...

[Early B.]

OK, so in my efforts to cut out the individual cassette holders, I got a little overzealous. Let's just say that I gutted the damn thing. The pics show the sketeton that remains. It's OK, because the faceplate is intact. Now I need to figure out how to fashion a box for the rear of the faceplate in order to make it a bin to put stuff in.

More ideas are appreciated.


BTW -- the opening is 2 1/8" x 5 3/8". The box can go 5" deep. It's actually a good size for storing CDs.

[honda cber]

dude, were those spring loaded? those germans---- always thinking.
a

[Jstas]

At this point dude, get yourself a plastic welding kit like this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=41592

or if you want to spend a little more coin, like this:

http://www.malcomheatguns.com/product.php?id=1

and build a box. You could use 1/4 inch plywood and cover it in felt or paint it with an epoxy resin and then felt it too. But if you go the plastic welding kit route, a hobby shop should have sheets of plastic you can use. Some home improvement stores might have it too. You could also use sheet metal and pop rivets too but that requires a bit more finish work and you'd definitely have to cover it with something so it wouldn't look ghetto.

[Early B.]

Jstas -- a welding kit? C'mon. That might be the correct way to do it, but I need a "keep-tools-far-away-from-this-guy" approach that won't look ghetto.

With my skills (or lack thereof), I think I'll just get some 1/4" plywood or thick cardboard and build a box around it. I'll just need wood, glue, and a dark colored liner (felt, suede, leather, etc.). I'm thinking and insert would be best instead of attempting to mold the box with the faceplate.

[Jstas]

I'm thinking and insert would be best instead of attempting to mold the box with the faceplate.

Yeah cause otherwise you'll mess up the face plate and then Ghettofabulous is most certainly in your future.

[Early B.]

Yeah cause otherwise you'll mess up the face plate and then Ghettofabulous is most certainly in your future.

Very good point and a distinct possibility.:eek:

I'll post pics of the final product and let you know how it goes.