I'm apologizing in advance for the long read.

Before I begin, I'd like to share some background information.

I drive an 04 Cavalier.
I've never done any kind of body work, I've never touched bondo, and I've never touched fiberglass. I have a spare dash piece, and have some free time to throw at the project. I'm posting here to try and get a full understanding of the entire process of relocating the headunit to the center vents. I've seen some pictures tossed around on this forum, and it doesn't look like too hard of a job. I do, however, have many questions.

I'm in the process of trying to figure this out -- I've been doing a lot of reading. I've read that a lot of bondo shouldn't be used in this type of application, because it will more than likely crack (eventually). So I bought some FLEXIBLE bondo! It's made for plastics, rubbers, etc.
(Dynatron #660 "Bumper Repair Kit")

I'm hoping a few of you guys could give me a complete run down of this process ... and I mean REALLY dumb it up for me. Like I said before, I'm a complete newbie when it comes to this stuff!

So far, I've taken my spare dash piece, removed the center vents (easy part yay!), and I've cut out the center divider that went between the vents. I've sanded it down a little to try and level it out.

The next step: how to make the hole a perfect fit for a headunit?
I'm assuming I have 2 options:
a) use the vents that I popped out earlier, cut out the middle of them, and mold them into the dash, making a sort of "make-shift" dash kit
b) or buy a single din dash kit that would fit this hole, and mold it in place.

What would be the best method? I'm assuming all I would have to do is tack the piece in place with a soldering iron or tape or something, and then start molding using this bondo stuff I bought, eventually creating a perfect fitting hole for the headunit, then prime (if needed), and paint using texturized paint (want to keep the stock look).

What about the A/C ducts behind the dash? Will I have to cut them out, or are they removable? I still want to keep my A/C functionality with the outside vents, so I would definitally want to plug up the holes (hopefully, re-routing the airflow through the outside vents, and not losing too much cooling! It's really hot in the south lol)

How would the head unit be mounted? Would I still use the "cage" supplied with the HU, installing it like in a dash kit? How secure would this installation be? How can I make it more secure?

And, my final question.
Will I have to extend the wiring harness/antenna cable to reach the new location? Or is there enough slack to reach it?

I think I've covered everything.
Please feel free to include any information I may have overlooked, or any questions you think I forgot to ask.

Again, sorry for the long read, and thanks SO much for any help you guys provide!



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Cavillac