RocketJohn

Alright I just got off the phone with Darin and I'm ordering the Stage III in black ceramic with black tips...

I couldn't resist...

sander97C2

so choice man, best finish on a black C2 I love mine. Your 993 looks extremely solid, congratulations on your 993, imo the best example of classic and modern aircooled power. Btw, Darin's work is great, my favorite upgrade are my velvet black FDstageIIIs along side his SSK kit. I'm prepping for my blistein coilobers, RS bar and link suspension upgrade.

Geowar

Will be purchasing 95 C2 this coming Mon. Build date for the car was 05/24/94. What is the imobilizer? And will the car I'm purchasing have it?

RocketJohn

thanks sander!

geowar, your 95 will have an alarm immobilizer activated when you lock the car with the key, but it won't have the drive block via the keyless entry system... at least that's what my 09/94 build has...

jhale

Congrats, beautiful car. I was just at Stevinson this week talking about some service work needed and I looked your car. It looked fantastic and really clean for a black car. I essentially have the exact same car, '95, Blk/Blk, C2, 6sp, no immobilizer. Enjoy and make sure that AC is working correctly as this summer is off to a brutal start.

RocketJohn

Thanks jhale... yeah the a/c is nice and cold... glad the PO had the windows tinted!

Mike J

Feel that slippery slope yet???

RocketJohn

of modding and upgrades? for sure...

FD Motorsports is gonna ultimately be a line in my annual budget at this rate! haha

Visually my plan is to keep it in stock appearance... no garrish wings or wheels or splitters or colors... similar for interior...

tweak and upgrade mechanicals only... which isn't exactly cheap, but hey why else do I get up in the morning?

RocketJohn

man I love these gauges...

RocketJohn

Time to remove the 15 year old Alpine cd player and cd changer, can't even remember the last time I held a CD...

I was going to go with the Kenwood Excelon 996 bluetooth CD player, iPod player, but it looks too high tech Japanese and the script on the screen is too small to read from the other side of the cabin. From the reviews that are on the web this is the best head unit that has built-in bluetooth, HDRadio, iPod and bluetooth audio streaming due to its massive amount of audio adjustments and clarity of sound...

After further research, I decided to go with the Parrot Asteroid, a media player, that also has a highly rated bluetooth phone, bluetooth audio streaming, ipod/iphone connectivity and some android apps that incorporate your phone's tethering and a GPS antenna...

Installation was very easy, not one hole drilled, not one wire soldered. The unit's included wiring harness terminates with the standard ISO DIN plugs that our 993s have from the factory. One has the speakers the other has the power, ground, memory wires. I had to route a few wires through the hermitically sealed dash, one for the bluetooth mics that I put on the steering column, the iPod cable that is routed into the ashtray, the GPS antenna to the right side of the dash, an extra USB cable to the glove box (for updating unit or another device). The unit has 4 USB inputs. Another nice thing bout this unit is that since the unit doesn't have a CD player, its half the mounting depth of a normal unit. Meaning plenty of room behind head unit for wires, airflow, etc.

The unit physically fits perfectly with no trimming or adjustments. Has a nice matte finish. The backlighting is white so it doesn't match the factory lights but it doesn't clash either like BLUE or RED would.

I updated it to the new software, connected my iPhone and then went to bed... here's a few pics of it in the dash with its accessories...









I wish I could have put the GPS antenna under the dash, but its metal, so I don't think it would get a good signal like I was able to do with my FJ Cruiser and its plastic cover dash. I may end up removing it or rerouting it later if its a feature I don't regularly use enough. So for now it sits in the corner of the dash...

Thanks again to the members on this board for writing how tos for removing the dash, and other reviews of other head units and audio related items. Next project will be to replace speakers as they are original papers and were on their last leg 10 years ago...

RocketJohn

Parked next to my coworker's Honda Fit at work...

posting this pic to show you size differences... and they call the Fit small...

RocketJohn

Changed out the speakers this weekend with some Polk 5 1/4" and 4x6 plate speakers that the local Best buy had... they drop in without issue.

Pop cover off
Unscrew speakers
Remove wires
Reverse

all the foam was shot, all the speakers were original...

Beretta

Great car, great year

HFDesignworks

Very nice! I'm up in Boulder...don't be a stranger.

RocketJohn

My friend and his father taught me years ago, about wax and compounds... I've been learning ever since... Tomorrow morning I will attempt a minor paint correction on this 1994 sprayed paint... will use my porter cable and some Menzerna micro polish... and then some P21S 100% carnauba... the dealer did a polish already, so its in much better shape than the day they got it...