I was determined to get a double din android auto head unit installed in the Mini. Due to the HVAC the only two I could find was the Alpine units and the Pioneer. It really wasn't that bad moving the control stack down. It was just a bunch of cutting and notching and a few brackets. HU the main portion went where the factory unit went but all the adapters for the wiring had to go under the steering column side. Some brackets for the HU and the face went pretty smooth. I still need to make a plastic bezel to cover the edges but so far it's a night/day difference. the old factory Alpine HU can't compare.

 

Thanks for the quick reply !

Do you recall how deep your HU was/is ? The Kenwood I mention specs it's depth at 3 5/8" and the HVAC motor/etc sits only ~2" from the existing mounting face. I got the impression that the OP in the post I mentioned mounted his install further 'out', which then required he fab new down-tubes to cover the protuberance. I could do the same but it's probably as much work to refashion the HVAC motor/etc to sit atop the heater enclosure where the factory radio used to reside. Both are somewhat a PITA, though I can't see any other option short of putting the HU at the bottom of the center stack, where it's controls will be harder to reach.

PS - what did you use to tie the steering wheel controls to the new HU ? From the posts I've read there have been some issues with both PAC and METRA units in the past. And I don't expect much support (from any company) for such an old car. I can, and have in the past, rolled my own for this but ...

 

I hope my 1'st reply to your OP is just hung up in mod-land ATM. I had mistakenly thought it was a reply to my post in the long running stickie thread re: nav&audio in 1'st gen MINI's. My bad there.

That said Man am I glad you posted ! I am in the process of restoring/reinvigorating my R53 and that includes an audio upgrade. I had initially thought of a Pioneer DVD receiver but then asked myself "when was the last time I listened to an old CD". So I had *decided* to go with the Kenwood 7706S due it short chassis (and other things). I don't know how the Pioneer you installed escaped my radar ! It is a modular system and the thus the display only needs 1" of depth. Given that, the HVAC motor and geartrain, blocking the next-to-the-top slot, become a non-issue ! And it seems the Pioneer has the same features and performance of the Kenwood (Android Auto, BT and an active 3-way X-over).

That said I would ask your experience with navigation. Did you need to supply a VSS signal ? I note the Pioneer doesn't have an "auxilliary" GPS antenna that JVCKenwood HU's do have, presumably used to get velocity info. I'd also ask if the Pioneer has a night or auto-dimming feature. I'd hate to have the "big" screen illuminating me at night. Also does the available lighting schemes well match the MINI's instrument lighting ?

FWIW I would direct every 1'st gen MINI owner to read your thread if they are considering a double DIN installation. It sure seems a heck of a lot less effort that prior installations.

 

It uses android auto or apple carplay so all the navigation I use is Waze through my phone. So it basically has the same functionality as most new OEM setups.

 

Any chance you can do a detailed "how-to" for us non-technical people?

Really looking for a better alternative to the 14 year old technology in my dash.

 

Would you be able to show us how you moved down those climate controls and where you bolted them to, planning on installing a double din HU as well instead mine will be a single din rear end unit with a double din screen, also anyone have any leads to wear I can get a module to bypass my amp since I have the Harmon kardon speakers

 

I'll try to put something together next time I tear it apart. If you haven't had the dash apart before it's all plastic and not setup like cars used to be. The switches are basically just screwed to the hvac control panel, which is only cliped in on the bottom and screwed in on the top. I just made notches for the clips and used fat head screws for the panel. Most of it was just cutting and notching, especially the tubes on the sides, several times notching it not to go too far.

 

If you're not in a hurry I'll post pics when I get to doing mine. As you can see in other threads, the take apart of the center console "stack" is not hard, though the exact screws used seems to vary amongst model years and perhaps nationality. The biggest impediment seems to be the servomotor and it's gearbox, which are used to direct airflow. Some people have posted that they've somehow moved these in order to install a normal double DIN HU but no Google search that I've done has yielded any details on how this was done. I think prior installations ended up with the HU protruding from the center stack more than stock, resulting in a lot of fab time. One other install I saw had the HU installed at the bottom if the stack, with the controls moved up. I'm not sure how ergonomic this would be.

In any case the modular Pioneer HU would seem to eliminate all of the above concerns.

 

Not in a hurry at all. Please let us know when you post your write up.

 

Was your original system HK? If so, did you have to rip out all the wiring?

 

Where did you get that cup holder? And do you like it? Is it stable enough? Does it get in the way of your leg? If I install a double DIN stereo, the cup holders become pretty much worthless.

Also, what seats are those? Are they bolt in? Do the airbags work? Can you tell us how you did it?

 

cup holder was some member that made them. Nothing fancy just a closed pieces of pipe that happen to fit very snug into the i Oem cup holder and painted nice. It’s a mini it all depends on your size weather it gets in the way.


seats were out of an F56. 3 bolt holes has to be drilled and riv nutted. Seat heaters thermistor had to be swapped and few other minor things.

 

Do the airbags work, or you get a light on the dash? Are they an improvement over r53 seats?

 

omg they were awesome seats. And yes airbags and everything else eventually worked out electronically. It wasn’t the easiest but wasn’t that difficult.