Retrosound radio in the DS almost complete for the second time

Previously, I had been working on a nicer faceplate solution for the Retrosound Model 2 radio in the Citroen DS.

I am happy to say that this is now almost complete and back in the car.    There are a few more adjustments to do, but overall it is a much better solution to the one I had before.

With the rear knobs cut down to size, the next task was to mount the shafts for the knobs to the front of the radio.   I had already separated the front of the radio from the main chassis when I originally installed the radio, and I planned to keep this separation for this update.     I used a number of the supplied washers and nuts to get a good fit.    An imperial spanner (from memory 1/2″) allowed finer adjustment.   I also used some stick on pads meant for the bottom of chair legs to cushion the faceplate against the uneven washers.

From there, the front of the radio could be slid into the cubby for the dashboard that I had modified to size.

As can be seen in the picture, the knobs hold the face plate nicely against the radio, and the cut rear knobs allow them to still be used, with the front ones sticking out from the cubby.

The front of the radio is then plugged back into the main chassis with the ribbon cable and two telephone style cables for the knobs.

So far this new solution is working really well.   The faceplate I got from a kind member of the Aussiefrogs forum looks great, and the new knobs work much better than my previous solution.    I still need to shave off a bit more of the back of the cubby to get a good fit, and perhaps add a bit to the side to provide more friction, as the radio is not as snug as I would like in the dash.    I also occasionally get the volume changing on it’s own, so I need to see if that is plugged in correctly.   I also noticed a bit of the insulation on the wire for the volume knob is worn off, so I will also wrap it with electrical tape.     In the picture you can also see through between the radio and the face plate, so I need to fill that gap with something.

Finally, the original ashtray cover needs to go over my USB ports.