First, a big thanks to Gator Bite on a great review and install article for the 9500ci. Also, a big thanks to the rest of you that provided input and ideas with regards to Radar Detectors in general and the 9500ci specifically.:thanks:
When we bought the cars last year I had decided that a Radar Detector was pretty much a necessity given my lead foot. I wanted to wait until the technology had matured, and with the feature rich 9500ci package I figured the time had come. The only question was if I wanted to take on the install myself or let a professional do it. I had some fairly specific ideas on how it should be done and for some of it I did not feel that I had the tools or expertise to do the quality job I wanted. I also wanted to get the center stack painted to match the rest of the interior paint. Last year I did the R&R on the rear hatch area so I could have Eric at BumperPlugs do the paint work. I had also originally planned on doing the R&R on the center stack so it could be painted. However, when I saw the disassembly required to get the front fascias off and prepped for the paint work I decided to hold off on the center stack paint job.
I work in a large industrial park and a few buildings down from my company I had noticed a place called 503Motoring. I did not give it too much thought until one day I noticed three Porsches out front, one a GT3. I figured I should stop in some time and see what the place was about. One afternoon my wife and I were out in the area and so we stopped in. Tim, the owner and a new sponsor of this site, met and spoke with us and it quickly became apparent that he knew his stuff. I asked him about the Radar Detector install and the center stack R&R and he indicated that he could do both.
Tim at 503Motoring did an incredible job. He pulled the center stack pieces out, removed all of the fascias (there were many, many small pieces involved), and shipped them to BumperPlugs. Eric did his usual fabulous job on the paint work (Thanks Eric:cheers
and overnighted the parts back to us so we could remain on schedule in getting the rest of the work done. Tim plans on providing the forum an article with many pictures of the complete job so I will not detail it in this post. But I will provide a few interior pictures so you can see the final product.
My dealings with Tim and 503Motoring have been very positive. I have come to know that Tim is about the work and the relationships with his customers. If anyone in the Pacific Northwest needs the type of services that 503Motoring provides, I would highly recommend getting the work done there.
Mark
Here are the pictures.
Wow! An awesome installation job. Very slick. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks guys. I wish I could take the credit but two of our sponsers, 503 Motoring and BumperPlugs, get the nod on this one. They both did high quality, professional work.
Mark
That reminds me I need to call those guys...
Fantastic.... Great install. I love the rolled edges on the leather covered panel. And the blue display matches your paint work very nicely. Bravo to 503 Motoring.... :cheers:
Question, did they relocate your power button?
Thanks Gator, both Her987CS and I were very impressed with the finished install and how "Factory" it looked. The paint work is really good also. Eric and his guys are first rate. I will personally pass on your praise to Tim at 503 Motoring.
We did run parallel wires off of the Control Module that we can hook a momentary switch into similar to your install, but we have not hooked them up yet. If you look closely at the 4th and 5th pictures you will see a small relief area above the Control Module. A tooth pick or similar small item can be used to hit the power button from there. We plan on installing the momentary switch in the next couple of weeks.
Mark
Very impressive. Was there some reason why the Escort control panel was installed further away from the drivers hand than the alert light? I would have thought the reverse would be easier to use but don't have one.
This is one I gave a little thought to. We could have done it either way but in the end I decided that the gear shifter being in the way of the display would be more problematic than it being in the way of the control unit. The Mute button is, IMO, the most important button on the control panel and it is fairly large so I think I will be okay accessing it. Additionally, the install is so slick that it would not be too difficult to reverse them. I will drive it for a while and see how it goes.
Mark
Hey Mark
Glad to see you yesterday and now that you have had the install on the road I will post the install thread. Looks like we have a few small adjustments to make in regards to the whine at certain RPM's but overall glad that you like it. Also want to say a special thanks to Kathleen who did the leg work to get us the correct grain leather that we both felt was needed to properly finish this job. The install may be great but the friendship that was created was even better, I can't thank you enough for all your patience and input throughout the install.
Tim
Nice job. Where did they install the LED lights and the USB? Thanks for sharing.
We did not install the small LED alarm light, we might in the future.
The USB plug is located behind the dashboard side panel on the drivers side. It is not the most convient location but access to it is infrequent, so pulling the side panel off is not a big deal.
Mark
