Club 80-90 Forums

Hi, Being probably very old fashioned, I wanted to install a radio CD player in our van. However, the space behind the din cutout in the dash was insufficient.  I found an extremely reasonably priced compact player that includes a radio, CD and even a DVD player on Amazon.fr, and it was still a little too deep to fit.  I then found this item:-
Universal spacer 15 mm for 1 DIN car radio, sold by Autoleads on Amazon.fr at 12.99 Euros (from memory). It allows the unit to protrude 15mm forwards of the dash, and everything fits, and looks neat. I thought it might help others.
Cheers.

 

I am surprised nobody has designed a 3d printed spacer that looks more part of the dash, rather than the radio sticking out of the dash by about 25mm ( 1" ) overall.

Robsey wrote: ↑31 Jan 2026, 23:15 I am surprised nobody has designed a 3d printed spacer that looks more part of the dash, rather than the radio sticking out of the dash by about 25mm ( 1" ) overall.

I think the crossover of "people who have a 3d printer" and "people who still want to lug a load of compact disks around in their van" is going to be incredibly small

Sounds peculiar, as I had radio with CD players in in my 2 vans, without any need to fit any spacer.

I recall a post years ago where someone had warmed the heater box and deformed the plastic to clear the back of the radio...

As for me, I did want a full size VW radio cassette and separate cd unit, similar to those on late 80s / early 90s cars. As in the Alpha, Beta and Gamma series of radios.
Something old and with VW on it

The Gamma does stick out a good bit forward of the dash.

Alas it is easier to get a deckless radio all of about 3" deep, so no problems with depth.

Robsey wrote: ↑01 Feb 2026, 21:00 I recall a post years ago where someone had warmed the heater box and deformed the plastic to clear the back of the radio...

This guy does exactly that at 8:50:

https://youtu.be/h7wgsznvcCE?si=A8fWy8jSbRMY_eYC

Recalled this video from when I redid my heater box a few months ago.

Thank you for finding that video.
It follows the mantra of the forum to inspire members and visitors.

I feel tempted to whizz my dash out to do the heater casing modification when I am working on it next.