i loved this idea and decided to try it out when i installed a new stereo last weekend. i dont daily drive our van and even though its attracks attention from the outside appearance, i like it to look as stock as possible when you peek in and see the dash area. so as requested, heres the fake faceplate i made from my 2003 stereo for my double din stereo and a quick description of how i went about it.
looks like mine was a little bit easier to work with than brians was. mine didnt have all the clear acrylic that (i think) they used to transfer light to the buttons. i also didnt have a knob to fit either, which sounds like saved me a bit of grinding as well. my stereo did have a an area twords the bottom that stuck out from the screen that i didnt want the face plate sitting against, so i grinded down a bit. you can see the outward section at the bottom in this pic.
first off, like brian, i removed a few screws and the face came right off, then i just removed the buttons and glued them in place on the face. same goes with the small screen and the volume knob. this is what it looked like after everything was glued into place and some grinding from the underside.
at first i was trying to get the fake plate to fit over the pioneer stereo both top and bottom so it kinda snapped into place, so i cut off the sides and started working the dremmel for clearance, but the pioneer stereo was just a little too tall, so i ended up trimming off the the bottom and put a few pieces of thin foam on the very top of the face, and just underneith it so the fake plate was sandwiched between the gauge surround and the stereo.
heres a sideview
and a closeup of how i applied the foam.
finished product. sits perfectly flush and sits identicle as it would if the ford stereo was installed and being used.
hopefully this will prove helpfull to anyone else wanting to do the same, and feel free to ask for more info or pix if i wasnt clear about anything. props to brianw for giving me of the idea, even if it was obtained elsewhere