Well I love the PO that did some hidden but harmless hackwork because things like this are the reason I got the price I did. I'm fine with the trade-off. So far, anyway!

Thanks for the info on the alarm. The PO did give me the remote and it works fine. I don't really use it often, and I guess I better check it when I go out to put the car in the garage to be sure I didn't rattle anything loose in there taking out the floor panel. If I need a hand programming I'll be in touch. Thanks for offering to help!

Hi VroomGrrl

There are two schools of thought on what you are trying to do.

Yes an MP3 player/ipod setup will save you a lot of room.

BUT you cannot compare an mp3 to a wave on playback. Close, yes, but not as good. There is nother wrong with a CD changer. The Kenwood you have is not the best quality. Alpine make some very nice units, they are quite small and can take a good jolt without skipping. Just about all indash CD payers will have an AUX in jack. You can connect an ipod/mp3 player through that. Since the car is already set up with a changer and an amp you should find yourself a higher end Alpine head unit and a changer. Connect it all up with the amp you have and if you have an mp3 player, you can use the AUX in jack in the head unit with that. You will have the best of both worlds. Quality with the head unit and changer and 1000's of (mp3 quality) songs at hand with the mp3 player.

Yes, I have done audio both of these ways........in a 911. It is all up to the customer.

MY $.02

PS: If you do want to go the ultra compact route, you can use one of these with an amp and plug it into an mp3 player. (these work great for the weight saving guys that still want audio in their cars)

http://www.starmarinedepot.com/Poly-Planar+IC-3.5PM+MP3+Adapter.html

I installed one these in a small boat. Works well.

The Alpine security system is also capable of locking and unlocking power door locks. I use mine to lock and unlock the doors on the BMUU. So much easier to push a button to unlock all the doors instead of inserting a key in the lock and then unlocking the remaining doors from the inside.

You can also add an eye pod to your existing stereo by buying an fm transimitter for the eye pod or any other portable mp3 player. I have a Porsche CD-2 player in my Targa which I use a fm transmitter to listen to music from my eye pod.

The security system did arm and disarm fine, so all's well there. I will have to play around with the remote and see if it's programmed to lock/unlock.

Boy there is some great car audio stuff out these days. Who knew? SmileWavy

I challenge anyone to distinguish any CD from a quality computer format file -- in fact, they can be the SAME bit stream

Seems like a lot of work :(

I would have tried a different mounting, say still vertical but facing forward. The other option would be to re-mount the changer under the drivers or passengers seat. There shoul be a 5 or 8 pin din connector that would extend in to the passenger cabin .
Try just running the cord loose( should be 16') and mount the changer horizontally facing forward. Also be careful to check the side mounting panels. On units like these
there was usually a spring loaded cam on each side that had to be re-oriented 90%
for either vertical or horizontal mounting.
As far as using a different CD changer with this unit you would have to use a Kenwood. Cd changers of this time (74 to 85) were only compatible with the same brand headunit. Yes i know some of them had the same pin confiquration but they were wired differently inside one end. This why an Alpine din doesn't work with Kenwood.

You probably have a bi-level deck which was 2x 18 watts front & per amp out in the back or if was 80's or later you might be lucky enough to have hi-power and dual low level output plugs so you could run a 4 -channel amp for front and rear speakers. The amp could be mouted under the passenger seat. The plugs are either 2 pairs of rcas or they are din plugs. If they are din and you don't use a Kenwood amp with dins you will need to look for a set of 5 or 8pin din-plug to rca out adapters. Try DLC David Levy Co. Or a stereo store that has sold Kenwood for awhile.

As far as someone else s comment about using an ipod because you get more songs
that's true but the digital sound sounds like crap compared to the digital CD.
Why? Because the sampling rate on the CD Is recorded at a much higher sampling rate then Ipods.

Factory amps were never under the seats They were mounted under the panel board on the front passengers side. Typical was an anemic Blaupunkt BPA 415 with 4x 15 watts.
Speakers in the rear were Blaupukt 4x6 and front 5", not 5-1/4 Blaupunkt.

Alpine 8000 alarm was aftermarket with on/off/panic remote, door,hood pins &shock detector.
Just saw updated picture of amp. If it was Japanese toss it They used ic's for power
If it is a Hifonics or PPI or American amp that uses transisters and still plays use it.