Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Good Evening All,

Whats is the maximum depth of a radio in a +2 that will still fit sensibly in front of the heater/bulkhead?

Many Thanks

Alex

About 5 1/2" to 6" IIRC. I was trying to find a better number for you by searching a bit but no joy. Maybe someone has their dash out and has a better idea.

I modified the heater box, and could get about 7" depth. Was still unable to fit my Single DIN head unit though, so went a different route.

Note the DIN spec does not include depth. I also found that a lot of the quoted mounting depth specifications do not necessarily allow for the connections on the back of the unit; not a big deal for most of the wires, but an issue if your setup has RCA connections. For a modern head unit that is shallower depth, suggest looking for one without CD that uses iPod or similar.

HTH

Stu

this fits:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Stereo-Ra ... wT6pV3Z3Dv

lotus of cheap small radios like this on the bay

none look retro enough though

I started off by fitting a 3.5mm aux lead to my stock +2 stereo and ran an Ipod or Dab radio which worked quite well, then a while back my Heater Matrix failed so while it was out i notched the heater housing, now i can fit almost any stereo.

This was the inspiration for my Heater mod http://www.lotuselan.info/october.htm if you go down to the bottom of the page you will see this chap has notched his heater, tbh i don't know why they weren't like this from the factory.

It's a long time since i converted mine but i think anything over 4 1/2" to 4 3/4" deep was an issue.

If you do a search on e-bay for retrosound they are reasonably old looking with modern features but also only about 4.5 inches deep.

Having had another look they also do an extension lead to separate the face and knobs from the body so the depth is only about an inch or so.

Alex
I have a philips 562 radio cassette ( quad speakers ) in mine and it fits like a glove , other versions are available ( stereo,mono ) etc
Sourced from a rover dealer ( Land rover ? )

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philips_we ... 00412.html

John

P.S. May have a spare ...

I have a Bluetooth speaker and my mobile phone.......
and also a cigar socket charger if required.....

I fitted all sort of stuff.....not happy with any of it.......

thought Id just go simple.........don't fit any of it......
the speaker pops in the glove box when parked and sits next to the gearstick when driving......
or behind my seat........I could if I wanted get two speakers but Ive found that 1 is enough for me.....

just a thought.......

Thanks for all the replies, that sounds promising as I have an 8 Track player (which i am going to have converted to also accept and auxiliary lead for an mp3 player) which is 5" deep so hopefully that should just about fit it place!

Hi all,
I think the depth is more like 4 1/2 inches.
However there is a perfect music system you can fit in without mods. I posted to a thread here a few years back: lotus-electrical-f38/car-radio-t21183-15.html
I have fitted an "InPhase IP 100SSD" unit. I am very happy with it. fits a treat, no mods, and I can play all my music on an SD card, phone, or USB. Brilliant.
however if you go for any of the new "Mechless" units, i.e. one without a CD player you will probably find any of these fit in.
Hope it helps
Jeff 72 +2

I modified my heater box to allow installation of a standard radio. Was pretty straightforward.

SimonH wrote:If you do a search on e-bay for retrosound they are reasonably old looking with modern features but also only about 4.5 inches deep.

The RetroSound unit also allows you to detach the front from the body and mount the front in the dash and the body elsewhere, the two connected by an extension-cable. If memory serves, the cable comes in a 9-foot length which should be enough to reach just about anywhere inside a Plus 2. This is what I plan to use in mine.

Veg, not sure which Retrosound model has the remote feature? I was trying to find it.

Did you mean the Custom Autosound Secret Audio SST by chance? I installed one in my Plus 2.

http://www.casmfg.com/Secretaudio.htm

Lots of info on them here. Famous Frank in your area is apparently a dealer..

lotus-electrical-f38/hidden-ipod-satellite-usb-stereo-radio-controller-system-t24878.html

Was looking again at some of the earlier posts, and I think I found the maximum depth to be ~5 1/2" without heater box modification. I think I estimated about 6 1/2" to 7" with my mod, but his did not leave additional room for the wiring.

Stu

Stu, I don't think any of the retrosound ones have a full remote control like the secret audio ones. As the knobs are on leads anyway they supply extra long leads with those and one to separate the faceplate from the body.
It's a bit smaller than the secret audio kits which is good but lacks some of the functionality. I am not a radio geek so I'm not bothered by that, may not suit everyone I guess.
Cheers
Simon

Thanks Simon. I get it now. I Googled "Retrosound Extension Cable" and found this excellent video that shows the whole process. Very slick. Did not know that was available when I was shopping. Should work well with a DIN face plate of some sort, and the dash mounting depth is perfect. The cable length in my SST is 10' and it reaches to the boot; I think the 9' Retrosound should work OK running next to the tunnel. Under the boot floor on the right side is perfect for the main box if you want to add an amp, as connection to the battery with a relay fits nicely without cables all over the place. I fitted modern speakers behind the stock parcel shelf grilles and added a pair in the kick panel area where there is tons of room; no need to butcher the door panels and could be very easily reversed with a piece of carpet.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CAaGet9P5RM

https://www.retromanufacturing.com/prod ... 7980139203

https://www.retromanufacturing.com/page ... rettyPhoto

The Retrosound tuners appear to work worldwide as well.

Two aux in jacks and two USB in plugs sounds perfect.

A portable SiriusXM radio could be connected the same way I did it to one of the Aux In channels. Control of the SiriusXM radio is left independent of the head unit which is a bit of a hassle but bearable. To be fair all of the major manufacturers have gone away from integrated Sirius portable radio controls, and typically require a dedicated tuner box that requires it's own licence; kind of a drag with a special interest car that may be used sparingly.

The USB input is compatible up to iPhone 4S; I checked with on line support and they are also compatible with the newer Apple products, so good to go there.

The Bluetooth streaming and phone call feature is really handy.

Really like the adjustable colours for the head unit screen. The appliqu? over the screen to have it look like a vintage radio is very trick. The availability of a DIN faceplate should make installation a snap, but check your dash opening size. The VW faceplate at 7 9/16" x 2 1/4" looks good, but IIRC the Lotus dash opening is slightly larger than the 7" x 2" DIN standard. There are larger faceplates available in any case.

Very nice product!

Stu