Installing speakers in the headliner of the B3030

[WaxMan]

Here are some pictures of my bracket, but these are after I modified it , in the front of the bracket by the windshield there are two spacers attached to the bracket. I cut 1 inch off both of the spacers to bring the whole unit up tight to the headliner. After I did that I cut the box off and made a larger one to fit a double din radio, but still using the same Kubota mount.
I did this because I wanted my DVD / Backup monitor to stick down as little as possible.
So now my dvd player only hangs down 1 inch more in the front then the factory radio mount did.
All these pictures show the mount 1 inch tighter to the headliner in the front.
I don't know why Kubota wanted the front to hang down so much, the back of the mount is right up tight to the headliner why not make the front that way.
Also it tips the radio so you can see it better from the seat in the cab.
But try your mount the way it comes first, then check these pictures and the angle of the radio before cutting yours. see which way you like it better.

See what I mean about the Kubota mount , you would have a hard time making one with this nice of a fit from scratch. Unless your 4shorts, he wouldn't have any problem at all making that mount. He is the best I've seen at fabricating.

 

[JJZ 109]

So is the brass colored screw in the side of the unit what holds the stereo into the box? If not, what secures the stereo from rattling around?

 

[WaxMan]

JJZ 109
One more thing before mounting the speaker in the headliner I put a piece of 2 x1 x 16 or so inch foam inside the speaker cavity to seal it off from the rest of the headliner, the foam does not touch the speaker but makes a pocket behind the speaker, Do you know what I mean?
This makes the sound much bigger and fuller coming from the speakers.

 

[WaxMan]

So is the brass colored screw in the side of the unit what holds the stereo into the box? If not, what secures the stereo from rattling around?

Yes there is one on both sides and a hole on the bottom up front, Don't worry its a universal mount , you'll get it to fit secure.

 

[JJZ 109]

The two speakers that I've already installed are as far as I plan on going. Heck, I never thought I'd get this far into things and install a stereo, but I guess I'm drawing the line at 2 speakers. Will keep the foam trick in mind when the headliner is out again.
Hopefully the mount shows up early this week and I'll get this project knocked out. I'll dry fit it and see what I think, but I like the idea of a tighter fit to the headliner and a better angle for visibility.

 

[WaxMan]

You put the foam in after the headliner is up just take the speaker out and tuck the foam thru the speaker hole.
You did all the hard work already, the rest that you have to do is easy, the mount fits right up there, slide the radio in and your done.
You can do the foam next time the speaker's are out.
In the mean time try and find a couple of 4 inch square grills, the mounting holes will be the same as what you got already.
Do me a favor when you get the mount up there , take a picture I don't have one of the way it looked before i cut it down.

I got to hand it to you JJZ you did a lot of work yesterday, the lights , went shopping for a radio, remove the headliner and install speakers, a lot for one day
Good job.

 

[JJZ 109]

You put the foam in after the headliner is up just take the speaker out and tuck the foam thru the speaker hole.

The only problem there is that the speakers will always come out with the headliner. I used 6-32 x 1 1/4" stainless screws (the ones with heads visible on the grille in my pics) along with flat & lock washers on the back side to secure both speaker and grille to the headliner.
I installed the speakers into the headliner while the liner was laying on work bench. I held the hex nuts with pliers and turned in the screws from the other side.
I'll have to drop the headliner anyway (at least partially), to grab the speaker wires that I already pre installed (attached at speaker end) to attach them to the stereo.
Also, the speakers each have a little blue LED light in them. I didn't bother to run the separate wires needed to power them. It didn't matter much to me at the time. But I probably will go ahead and wire those lights to the accessory (key switch) wire that will power the stereo. Just another bit of "atmosphere" in the cab at night.
I'll throw the mount up there before any mods to it and get a quick pic for you.

 

[forester2]

In regard to the mini spade lugs, I tried taking thee smallest ones I had an grinding them to fit; found connection unsatisfactory.

 

[JJZ 109]

Decided to leave tractor side plug intact, but tap into the wires with the snap fit connectors with a blade inside that splice two wires together. The stereo plug is now wired up, just awaiting a bracket from Kubota so that I can install the unit itself.

Here you can see that the speakers have 2 sets of terminals. One for sound and one for the LED's within:

Next is shows how I ran wires across the top of the headliner, attaching them to headliner with a hot glue gun.

Last, it shows a speaker with LED lit up. (sorry, a tad fuzzy)

 

[WaxMan]

Looks cool, I'll bet you light up blue also, the neighbors are going to see that big grin on your face that usally goes hand in hand when driving a new B3030cab.

Pretty good though doubles as an interior light, wire it hot so you can turn them on/off without the radio on. put the switch neatly right above the door in the headliner it will be your dome light switch