Clean XM Roady 2 Installation in a Subaru Outback (no loose wires!)

Sure the little XM and Sirius plug and play units are cheap, work well, and are portable in most cases. But unless you want to spend two to three times what the unit cost for a pro installation, most units just get stuck to the dashboard with wires all over the place. Well, Bob Loblaw is here to help, and he happens to have installed a Roady 2 in his trusty subaru, but the general ideas will carry over to many other cars. But Bob does not know why you would want anything other than a subaru. Or a porsche. If you have a porsche, get a professional installation. Or better yet, turn off the radio and listen to the engine. Unless it's a 924. Or a 914. Bob digresses.

Since Bob did this project before learning of instructables from one of his clients looking to reattach a severed hand (long story), he neglected to document the individual steps, but since the setup is removable from the car, he will give a quick step by step on how it's done.

Step 1 Ingredients

To start with, there are two lines running to the XM unit: power and the antenna. The music is broadcast over the FM radio, so no tape adapter or direct audio connection to the head unit. The trick is to hide the cables and provide a secure mount for the xm unit, while still allowing for the unit to be removed from its base to prevent theft or to use it elsewhere. Bob elected to use the ashtray of his car as the mounting base, because it's an easily replaceable and relatively inexpensive part. It's also easy to remove and drill through.

What you'll need:
drill & bits
1" or so corner braces (x2) ($3 for 4 at Ace H'ware)
Nylon spacers, about 1" (x2)
A pair of long bolts and lock nuts
a piece of flat metal
JB Weld (of course)
some small zip ties
file or grinding wheel

Comments

[chubbyvegan]

O&A FOREVER! DOWN WITH CENSORSHIP!

[Wildrat]

Rat suggest you tell Bob to seek medical intervention before Rat has a stroke trying to read the text you wrote for Bob who wrote the text.