By Kamil Kaluski
My 4Runner is almost ten years old. Oddly enough, a brand new 2019 4Runner is almost exactly the same as my 2010, which we’ll discuss later. But this is why with 60,000 miles on it I really have no reason to upgrade to a newer 4Runner.
But there is one thing I’d love to get – better audio. I’m thinking speaker upgrade, which is easy. Apple CarPlay would be nice but I don’t really like most aftermarket units but I’ve been looking.
One thing I noticed is that there is much fewer choices than before. In the 1990s the world was full of DIN, DIN and a half, and double DIN units. But since then the automotive world has integrated radios into the overall dash design. Further, those units have become substantially more complex, with cameras, steering wheel controls, microphones, satelite radio, and phone integration.
Unless you have a much older car, or a brand new 4Runner, you’re unlikely to be exploring a purchase of a new radio. Even on some late model vehicles, an OEM retrofit maybe sometimes by the best option. But I’ll keep looking.
Today we ask – what other DIY modifications that were once popular are no longer done?
Image source: Taurus club (yes, really)
Jeff Glucker
Don’t get a new radio. I was about to go down that rabbit hole with my 2006 Frontier and couldn’t find anything that I could live with and wanted to take apart my dash for. I did get a blue tooth thing, which is great.
What an endless list of possibilities – blue dots, necker knobs, curb feelers, swamp coolers, on and on and on.
When I was a punk teen, we all had to slap on a set of air shocks to get that “ass in the air like we just don’t care” look
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/attachments/suspension-chassis/295111d1441295329-raise-rear-end-like-img_2499.jpg
Indeed. This is vary with the age of the person reading.
Rocky Mountain brakes
https://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/mediumlarge/HYP-11002_WP_ml.jpg
Some older folks might colloquially call their tune “adding a chip”, but performance chips today are an anachronism.
A chip did wonders for my ’91 535i!
Yep. My 87 635 as well. It’s amazing what Mr. Conforti could unlock from that M30.
Weapon mounts.
https://news.guns.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Take-a-Toyota-Hi-Lux-add-a-salvaged-rocket-launcher-and-you-have-a-battle-truck-8-PHOTOS-3-e1460676898420.jpg
I’m pretty sure that’s still being done.
Sort of. When I was a kid, some of the neighbors kept shotguns in the window racks of their pickups, 365 days per year. Now it’s pistols in locked, concealed compartments.
Most of the guys I knew in high school (mid 1980s, very small town Vermont) had gun racks in their trucks, and it wasn’t unusual for there to be some combo of shotgun/deer rifle/fishing pole there, regardless of what was in season. Standard operating procedure in all of rural New England at the time.
I upgraded the radio in my 2011 Silverado because it didn’t have Bluetooth and the aux input was dying. The little box that I had to buy to connect to the New radio to make sure that the truck kept all of its dings, bells, and chimes cost as much as the radio. Also the Bluetooth died in the New radio after about a month. It was a Pioneer radio. Thinking of replacing it with a cheap Chinese one from Amazon with a touch screen.
I remember rear louvers being fairly common when I was a kid, even up somewhere where the sun isn’t really that punishing. Apparently there’s still options out there, but I can’t think of the last time I saw a car with them (probably done in by the growing prevalence of tint).
I’ve seen new Challengers with louvers.
Factory option in 1970.
https://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/vintage-advertising/1970/Louvers%20introduced%20Feb.%201970%20Christer%20Nilsson%20Collection.jpg
I saw that in searching, but haven’t ever seen it in the wild.
They are coming back, one of my friends just put them on his new Mustang.
Louvers in Norway: “Laksetrapp”…salmon stairs.
Salmon stairs? We typically call them fish ladders in the US! (As an upstream route around hydroelectric dams.)
Ha, that’s the same thing then.
Cucumber grater (“Gurkenhobel”) in German – they don’t have so much aquatic wildlife it seems.
That was my first thought as well. Chastain was the big name in the 70s, along with Zender spoilers and air dams.
I take your question and refer you to the original text for the answer.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0fee1252b9a5aa493a7b58439d80bdf2ed08a25f32061f353c8292366ab49078.jpg
Great variety on that cover!
JCWhitney still exists. Their online business is more like Rock Auto or even Autozone, but I think they still sell beetle and model T parts, fiberglass hood scoops and additional on cruise control modules. I’ve been to their warehouse store in rural Illinois and it’s exactly what you’d expect. A cross between a flea market and a going out of business K Mart, but with car parts.
I was just thinking about this the other day. 1) Bug guard/bra. 2) Hood air dam/spoiler thingy. 3) Rain drip rails on top edge of door
Does the younger generation still do the massive subwoofer / bumping ride? I live in a very different area of the country than I grew up in back in the 80s and 90s (that was Milwaukee), and it seemed like that was a rite of passage for most y chromosomes. It’s uncommon in flagstaff to have a stereo vibrate you from 2 cars over in this town.
You’ve got to be in the right (or wrong, depending on your view) part of town, but they’re still around.
I added an EQ to my Chevy Monza in college but I don’t think I replaced any radios back in the day.
Ironically, I’ve replaced 5 in the past 7 years or so. My daughters’ 1998 Escort and two 2003 Proteges (same radio), my 1996 BMW 318ti and my 1995 Ranger. I also added an aux module to my old 2005 Mazda3 when I handed it down to my daughter. I don’t think I paid more than $100 for any of them.
On our last 4 cars, I replaced the stereos with very simple, Chinese units to the tune of 9.99$. This was mostly to get access to SD card and USB slots. Then the country turned off its FM network in favor of a strange technology called DAB. Since my wife actually listens to radio, we had to buy one of these for her car, too. Our newest acquisition, a 2012 model, has factory Bluetooth. With that, everything runs via a cell phone anyway…
On our last 4 cars, I replaced the stereos with very simple, Chinese units to the tune of 9.99$. This was mostly to get access to SD card and USB slots. Then the country turned off its FM network in favor of a strange technology called DAB. Since my wife actually listens to radio, we had to buy one of these for her car, too. Our newest acquisition, a 2012 model, has factory Bluetooth. With that, everything runs via a cell phone anyway…
On our last 4 cars, I replaced the stereos with very simple, Chinese units to the tune of 9.99$. This was mostly to get access to SD card and USB slots. Then the country turned off its FM network in favor of a strange technology called DAB. Since my wife actually listens to radio, we had to buy one of these for her car, too. Our newest acquisition, a 2012 model, has factory Bluetooth. With that, everything runs via a cell phone anyway…
Cutting the roof off your truck.
Bonus points if you add Testarossa scoops.
https://live.staticflickr.com/3699/10809184305_8f52d78ee3_b.jpg
I wonder if there’s a kit for my Ranger…
How is this for a sign of changed times? See the note in yellow.
http://www.slidingragtops.com/Truck-Convertible-Kits.html
Oh well. I do have a sawzall, however …
There’s still hope.
https://www.airbagit.com/Convertible-Truck-Kits-s/1619.htm
Is the whole “clear
glasslens tail light craze finally over*?(*) I had a lovely example photo but Disqus, while agreeing I’m logged in, refuses to post it, so you will just have to imagine a hideous black-primer Integra with a big wing and one clear tail light and one red one.