88-94 Replacement stereo options

Well, I finally have the "wife" back with a nice little performance 350 installed (should see what I did to a new F350 today!) and realized I hate the factory stereo! I'm wondering what everybody else has done to upgrade the stereo or possibly knock around a few ideas. Of course they have the dash replacement piece that lets you put an aftermarket stereo where the EQ goes.... then a pocket to replace the factory stereo. That's all great, but I really don't want a pocket and don't like the billet covers-- don't they make a plain ol black panel that I can use as a switch panel for other accessories?

How about speakers? I'm a pretty tall guy, so need the seat all the way back on my standard cab... I'm measuring a max of 7.5" behind the seat and can't seem to find "quality" boxed subs that will fit unless I sacrafice all my leg room. Do the little 6.5" amplified bass tubes do any good whatsoever?-- I'm used to my Audi's and VW's with a trunk where you just toss in an amp and a set of 12's in whatever box you can find, so I'm at a loss for information here.

I think I can help you here. Pioneer decks are great, but whichever you choose is fine. If I remember correctly Wal Mart sells a frame that does not have a pocket, keep in mind though this frame or a pioneer/sony deck would be the only thing you would get at wal mart for your system.
mb quart and kicker make real nice highs and mids. As far as bass is concerned I am 6'5" and have a 95 chevy that rocks. I have 2 kicker comp vr's in 2 seperate q-logic boxes that rock the roof. I like Kicker the best. My seating is comfortable in my truck. You could even do one sub. Most car audio shops sell truck boxes that are short, and just enough mounting distance for the sub, the length of the box will be side to side. On the opposite side will be the vent or port. Sounds real nice. A high end single sub new on ebay is 50.00 to 150 a piece, and a pair 85.00 to 300 a piece. A few are way higher, but thats a different species of bass. 10" inch subs sound best in my truck, they punch nicely. A good amp choice would be an amp that runs at same ohm as subs. You also want the rms wattage 200 or so watts higher than your subs rating. Just be sure to run the amp at a lower gain to get the cleaner deeper bass that will give your amp and subs longetivity. You can put a rockin system in that truck, deck subs box amp highs and wires for about $700 if you shop around and install yourself. Good luck to you, if you have any install problems or questions just ask.

The pocket you are talking about were the factory stereo goes you can get a vinyl piece from a car audio shop to cover it.

Sounds good... I'm kind of old school when it comes to amps and subs. Out of 3 vehicles, all have the older 1997-2000 Kicker 2252xi's and a set of JL Audio WO 12's-- but these are cars with absolutely no concerns of space requirements.

I'll have to check out WalMart on the decks-- just by looking at the EQ, I can already tell that nothing standard would even come close to fitting. The next thing is just figuring out a way to hide the old radio hole with something other than a pocket or a billet cover.

I think I can help you here. Pioneer decks are great, but whichever you choose is fine. If I remember correctly Wal Mart sells a frame that does not have a pocket, keep in mind though this frame or a pioneer/sony deck would be the only thing you would get at wal mart for your system.
mb quart and kicker make real nice highs and mids. As far as bass is concerned I am 6'5" and have a 95 chevy that rocks. I have 2 kicker comp vr's in 2 seperate q-logic boxes that rock the roof. I like Kicker the best. My seating is comfortable in my truck. You could even do one sub. Most car audio shops sell truck boxes that are short, and just enough mounting distance for the sub, the length of the box will be side to side. On the opposite side will be the vent or port. Sounds real nice. A high end single sub new on ebay is 50.00 to 150 a piece, and a pair 85.00 to 300 a piece. A few are way higher, but thats a different species of bass. 10" inch subs sound best in my truck, they punch nicely. A good amp choice would be an amp that runs at same ohm as subs. You also want the rms wattage 200 or so watts higher than your subs rating. Just be sure to run the amp at a lower gain to get the cleaner deeper bass that will give your amp and subs longetivity. You can put a rockin system in that truck, deck subs box amp highs and wires for about $700 if you shop around and install yourself. Good luck to you, if you have any install problems or questions just ask.

Nothing wrong with old school kicker. I prefer the old zr and impulse amps. I currently own a zr240, zr360, and a zr600. I am using the 360 now in my truck. The 240 is for sale so if anyone needs a zr240. Good luck with your truck. Also, I have 2 kicker solobaric 10's for sale they are dual 2 ohm l5 subs. They have about 2 months play on them, they required to much space behind my seat, had to remove them. Send me a message if anyone is interested.

Sounds good... I'm kind of old school when it comes to amps and subs. Out of 3 vehicles, all have the older 1997-2000 Kicker 2252xi's and a set of JL Audio WO 12's-- but these are cars with absolutely no concerns of space requirements.

I'll have to check out WalMart on the decks-- just by looking at the EQ, I can already tell that nothing standard would even come close to fitting. The next thing is just figuring out a way to hide the old radio hole with something other than a pocket or a billet cover.

check my profile photos/ I filled mine with an aftermarket tach. I did the fab myself, and it's not perfect, but I am sure a competent stereo shop could do a better job.

OK... here's the next dumb question: Do I actually need to replace that whole center dash piece? I have a factory installed EQ in there now, so I'm wondering if the height of this opening will accept a radio cage-- I can manufacture something professional looking to deal with the additional room on the sides.-- how about the possibility of just purchasing the small radio bezel and cutting into the dash?-- looks like the bezels could cover any cut marks. I would just hate to toss in a "new" center dash piece that doesn't match perfectly and have a slight imperfection on my interior.

For the radio delete, I just used about a one inch piece of wood that I smoothed to fit the contours of the trim. It was really simple because there is a shallow cage where the radio sits. I used flat black paint and painted from a distance to give it a bit of a texture. I drilled a hole in mine and put my mp3 holder in it, so I can just put my mp3 player on that delete so I can actually see it.