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[WT1V]

30 years ago this was much easier to do. Standard dash board, no center console, etc. Now, not an easy task. Where does the antenna go without affecting the resale value of the car because of a hole in the roof? How do you even bring the coax into the car? I want to install the remote control unit on the dash board, but there isn't any place to put it. Then there is the main power unit. In the trunk? How do you connect power to it from the car battery?  What about the connecting cable from the main unit to the remote control unit in the car?  There are a lot of questions that have to be answered when installing a mobile unit into a modern car.  Taking a pair of power cords and remote control cables from the main unit to the battery and remote unit is no easy task.   So far I have no clue how to do this task.
73 wt1v

[WB4M]

I found a hole in the firewall that allowed me to run power directly from the battery to my radio.  I mounted the main unit under the driver's seat and the control head to a Lido mount.  The antenna is  mounted to my hood with a K-400 mount and there was also a small hole on the firewall that I ran the coax through.  You might need to take a drill and go through the firewall or even the floorboard to coax through.

[K0UA]

I have been putting mobile radios in cars far longer than that 30 years you mentioned.

Yes, the task is more difficult than before, but it is doable. I can say that because I have done hundreds of installs. AND one of the things I delight in is taking a 3/4 holesaw to a brand new car. It is thrilling, especially if the owner is watching.

Advice:  either sit down and draw it out and experiment with the auto disassembly, in other words start taking the thing apart to see how you are going to run the cables OR hire someone that has the experience to do the deed.

I sometimes on my own installations to get things JUST the way I want them to turn out, will spend some time trying out various positions and ideas of where to put things. But I always wind up with a solution that works no matter how tough it may be. Think outside of the box, and look at what others have done before you to solve the same puzzle.

Of all the holes I have drilled in my own autos, I have never had a dealer say a thing at trade in time. Not even once.  Again, if you don't have confidence going in to the job, then hire it out and have someone that DOES have confidence do it for you.

From my point of view, no installation looks as ugly and slipshod as a magnet mount with coax thru the door and a cigarette light plug for power with the rig laying in a seat or on the floor. That is a bad installation for a number of reasons. Drill those holes! Punch those grommets!, make those permanent connections.  Yeah, that is what I am talking about.

Good luck on your endeavor.

[WA9AFM]

You didn't mention make/model of the vehicle, but here's what I've done with my past 3 rides.  Open the hood and driver's door; from inside the driver's door frame, look through the left, front quarter panel area and you will likely see daylight.  There should be enough room to fish power and coax cable through the opening.

Ditto on WB4M's comment on the K-400 mount; it's aces.

[VK3LZ]

I put a boot lip mount on the boot of my and fitted a dual band 2m/70cm to that antenna.  I routed the cable through the gap in the folding rear seats, then underneath the clipped in rear foot mats, under the front seats and across to the rear of the center console.  There was a gap large enough for a smaller dual band radio there and I used double sided tape to mount it.  The power was ran to a spare terminal pair on the fuse block.

Zero holes and totally back to stock when removed.

[VE3TMT]

You didn't mention make/model of the vehicle, but here's what I've done with my past 3 rides.  Open the hood and driver's door; from inside the driver's door frame, look through the left, front quarter panel area and you will likely see daylight.  There should be enough room to fish power and coax cable through the opening.

Exactly what I did on my Kia Sportage. I was able to snake the coax from the hood mount to the inside of the car by removing only one grommet in the door frame. Coax and power cables run under the kick plate to the main unit which is mounted under the driver seat. The head unit of the TM-732A is mounted in the center console. Gorilla Tape works wonders! Mic plugs in jack under fan speed controller. You can just see the external speaker in the upper left corner. The other cable is phone charger.

[KE0ZU]

Who would know better than a good stereo installer outfit?   

I bought an ICOM 7100 a couple months ago to put into my truck, but I didn't want to run all the cables, so I went to a local car stereo installer, that has been in business for 25 years.   I showed the installer the equipment, and indicated where I wanted each item.   I then asked how they would run the various cables, taking notes/sketching the information.   I asked about the drilling holes in the vehicle, and where the wires/coax would run to get to the radio.

I drew up a clear sketch showing/noting where I wanted each of "the boxes/items" mounted, and, a line showing "where/to what" other "item/box" each interconnect cable went, and numbered each cable.   I also noted where I wanted any slack stored/located.   

I then verified each cable assembly I bought was definitely long enough, and made up ALL of the "un-purchased" cables for the installation and I made sure each cable I made would be substantially longer than needed, and labeled only ONE end of each cable noting which box/item it connected to.   I then labeled ALL the cables with the correct "number" per the diagram.   They could then look to the diagram to determine where the other end went.   

The whole thing came off without a hitch.   I installed 3 RF connectors and a 4 pin connector on the end of the antenna controller cable, that was it. 

I made the swing down mount for the Tarheel 100HV, so I could easily go through the car wash.  Next spring when the weather warms up, I still have to do all the frame/chassis bonding.

[AC4RD]

You probably already know this, but a world of great information and advice is available at  https://www.k0bg.com/

[LA9XNA]

If the radio got a removable frontpanel heavy duty Velcro can be used to fix the head to the dashboard. The main unit can very often be put under one of the front seats.
To get the power cable from the main unit to the battery you should look under the dash by the pedals. There si normally a rubber cable penetration in this area, but they can be hard to find. You might have to crawl down use a flashlight and look pretty far up under the dashboard.
Glas fix antennas can be handy if you dont want to drill but some brands do not work very well. Trunk lip, rail-brackets and magnet-fot do not require drilling in case the coax can be run through the door gasket.

If you get the car from a dealer you could ask them to run the power and coax for you. They would probably know the best routing.

[K5LXP]

30 years ago hams were saying how hard it was to put radios into cars, that it wasn't like the days you could bolt a KWM-2 to the dash and anchor an 8' whip to the fender.  The dealer could absolutely give a flip that there's a hole somewhere, as long as it isn't collision damage it's just a trade in that will likely go to an auction anyway.  There is some care that needs to be exercised running wires behind liners and through pillars because of all the airbags in cars these days but other than that, hole saws and drills work as well as ever.  The car is there to serve me, it's not an heirloom or collectors item so I will make it into whatever serves my interests. 

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

[K0UA]

The car is there to serve me, it's not an heirloom or collectors item so I will make it into whatever serves my interests.

Amen to that.

[KC9OO]

I have installed many mobile radios and never drilled a hole. While it's getting harder and harder to find a passage through the firewall, often times a hole can be poked in a large rubber grommet to pass the power cord to the radio.

New vehicles often have battery management systems (BMS) which monitor the battery's state of charge.  You have to be careful how you hook up the power leads to vehicles so equipped.  For example on Fords:

Ford F-150s and other applications may be equipped with a battery management system (BMS) designed to monitor the condition of the battery and to take action to preserve and extend the life of the battery. If the vehicle is equipped with this system, current sensors will be located on the positive and negative battery cables. The positive battery cable contains a generator current sensor, and the negative cable is fitted with a battery current sensor.[/i

[KH6AQ]

HF or VHF/UHF antenna and radio?

[KC6RWI]

I keep on hearing about BMS, battery management systems, I guess its a better way to put a charge back into a battery, possibly instead of dumping excessive amps back in and wasting engine power to do it, I am speculating here.
So is there a module that you can source the positive supply from and what sort of amperage can you draw from a system like that?

[K5LXP]

Yes, take your radio power from the under-hood relay/fuse block.  This is the "managed" side of the 12V system and should have plenty of capacity for a basic 100W radio install.  Ones I've done have beefy bus bars and connection points ready to use.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM