Removable ICE Head Units?

[MX7]

Does anyone know if anyone still makes removable ICE head units? I used to have an Alpine unit that you could take from car to car, providing you had the correct cage fitted to each car.

Great idea, but I guess the manufacturers realised that they were shooting themselves in the foot?

[Ry_B]

The face offs or the whole head unit? I thought almost all headunits you could take the face off.

[MX7]

The whole unit. What it meant was that you could buy one good quality head unit, and use it in all your cars. It was a brilliant idea, but I think it's long gone.

[BlueMR2]

You'll need an old Alpine again if you want to do this really.

[MX7]

I thought that would be the case.

I was hoping to get an updated version with Bluetooth/DAB. Given that mine was a tape player, even a CD would be good.

Thanks.

Edited by MX7 on Thursday 24th June 09:26

[5harp3y]

almost all modern headunits can be taken car to car. just need the cage.

My pioneer has been in:

99 Clio
86 Mk1 Golf
90 Audi 80
92 Mk2 Golf
95 Mk3 Golf
and now sits in my 1991 mk1 mx5

some more modern cars will require an adapter to change the shape of the fascia as modern cars have weird and wonderful apertures.

[eybic]

I think what the op means is have the unit removeable and be easily able to put it in other cars with the correct cage rather than have to deinstall it every time. Like the old "pull out" stereos that were around before "face offs"

[Munter]

eybic said:

I think what the op means is have the unit removeable and be easily able to put it in other cars with the correct cage rather than have to deinstall it every time. Like the old "pull out" stereos that were around before "face offs"

^^is what I understood also. However I've not seem one since the 90s...

[MX7]

Munter said:

eybic said:

I think what the op means is have the unit removeable and be easily able to put it in other cars with the correct cage rather than have to deinstall it every time. Like the old "pull out" stereos that were around before "face offs"

^^is what I understood also. However I've not seem one since the 90s...

Yup. One unit, and you buy a new cage for each car. It's a shame that the idea has been dropped, as it worked really well, especially if you had a car that you'd only use occasionally.

[defblade]

You could still do it by not fitting the cage, and unplugging the connectors. I wouldn't want to do it too often tho, and I tend to find these days that it takes me longer to encourage the wires etc to sit down the back and let me push the stereo in than to wire it in the first place!

[MX7]

Yup, but it's a bit of sodding about. It's my fault really, I shouldn't be such a tight git and buy a unit for each car, which, I suspect, is exactly why they stopped making them.

[J4CKO]

Apart from the market for stolen ones it was great, the one in my Saab isnt much cop, and to change it is impossible apart from another Saab unit, to do that you need to get Saab to "Marry" the unit to your car.