Replacing a Vauxhall OEM stereo.

[nmlowe]

I'm looking to replace my existing radio cassette with a CD or CD/MP3 player soon.
One thing I noticed about my existing stereo (Grundig SC303), is that when I pull it out, it hasn't got any wires as such connecting to the back.
When I swapped my escort one for a CD player, I just un-plugged the wires from the back and connected a harness adaptor, which interfaced my old wiring to the new stereo.
The one I have now in the Astra has a casing that fits the stereo exactly. At the back of the casing, there are pins and terminals fixed in position and lined up to insert into the back of the stereo when I slide it in. There is no room for a harness adaptor. The casing seems pretty well fixed in, pretty much part of the dash.
Will an aftermarket stereo just slot in without an adaptor then?
I emailed www.caraudiodirect.com about it with diagrams etc, but they didn't reply.
Does anyone know which wire needs cutting to make the trip computer (which normally displays radio station etc) think that the radio is off, and just perform trip computer functions rather than having a big blank space where the radio station should be?

[nmlowe]

Alan420 said:

Don't get smart, just ask halfords to fit it for you.

Good idea!

I was going to go to SMC in shrewsbury (Local Clifford fitters and fancy stereo's)
But after I asked them how much to fit a head unit, they said:
"Depends who you buy it from"
So I said that I was planning on buying it from www.caraudiodirect.com (Who just happened to be about £100 cheaper for that particular model).
Then they go all arsy with me about them having to make a living and how the hell can they compete with those bullsh!t prices anyway etc..
So I thought I'd fit it myself to save the hassle.
If they don't want my business, well, thats their loss!

How much do Halfords charge?
Do they go all funny on you if you prefer to save a substantial ammount by buying it from somewhere that doen't sell at RRP?

[nmlowe]

Podie said:

Agreed... get Halfords to do it. There IS an adaptor avilable, so you get the info on the Vauxhaul display as well...

The adaptor is about £80 and it is only available for Kenwood Mask stereo's pre 2001 models. Its called the
KPA SD-100. Sony do one too, but it only works with the higher end models and is about £100.

The stereo I was looking at was a Rockford fosgate RFX9000 at £200, which doesn't have an adaptor available. Kenwood and Sony adaptors aren't compatible with other makes either.