REC

I just checked that number at the Alpine website, and that ought to be the same in Canada. Those will work fine. Those factory imitation speakers are unbelievably bad. When I saw them, I couldn't believe it. Man am I glad they're outta there now! You won't believe how much better the sound will be. Just an FYI - there are some Kenwoods that I almost went with in the same price range, and they should be a first rate upgrade too. Anxious to hear how you come out! Roland C Happily Transiting

OK.. Today we went from tin cans with kite string to concert hall on wheels. I'll post some photos of what comes in the doors for those who haven't yet taken them out.. UNreal! EDIT: The attached photo is of the tin cans found in the doors. They kind of resemble speakers, but smaller. Check the gallery for some other shots. I'll post some... er, well, maybe that wouldn't work after all. You can't see the speakers, only the main amp and the Basslink powered subwoofer. I guess that only leaves me to tell you that it is a completely different sound than even the Crown Vic had (and it was pretty darn good!). This is close to, if not better than the Bose system I had in one of my past vehicles (A brand X product - please forgive me..). Coming home from the install was a lot of fun, with much more music than I went with. Two things - 1) I am not a 20 yr old looking to rock the world, 2) my tastes go from one end of the spectrum to the other. I was listening to the greatest hits of 300 yrs ago on my way home, and it was ASTOUNDING! In the driveway before getting out, I tried some other things, and the radio too. All of it is so much different. You don't miss anything that was played. I stand by my previous statement that Ford should consider a better system from the start. Work truck or not, this thing is great! It takes me back (except for the crappy gas mileage part) to my '72 Econolodge, er line... That thing didn't have any shyness about being seen flirting with a gas pump. So now I think this is not only a good vehicle, but a great building block to turn in to your own personal transportation vehicle. Maybe it isn't for everyone, but it certainly does the trick for me. Now to finish the inside of the back! REC Happily Transiting

Yesterday I went by the stereo shop/installer to verify some things on wiring the XM together, and while I was talking with them we decided to go ahead with the XM installation... a thought that made me VERY happy. The discussion was more around the ability to go straight from the XMD1000 into the aux input on the Ford radio. Turns out I only needed to buy a couple of RCA double ended wires, but other than that, the old "XM Commander" is now firmly planted in the pocket above and forward of the A/C vents. Fact is, it looks like it grew there. Ahhh.... Relief from terrestrial radio! (Read that: commercials!) And here it is .... REC Happily Transiting

OK.. I have pulled the trigger and the last of the order is in. I received the plug parts from England today, so the XM hookup is not too far in the future. However, I have also decided that the tin cans connected by kite string (AKA: door speakers) are outta here. Here's the plan: An Alpine MRP-F300 amp, using the stock radio CD unit, with the XM adapted to it. Speakers will be a pair of Alpine SPR13C 5.25" in the front doors, and a pair of SPR-17C 6.5" ones in the back doors. I'm thinking this is gonna solve the sound quality issue pretty much... but just to throw a little bottom in, there will be an Infinity Basslink self-powered subwoofer thrown in for good measure. From what I've been told, and from everything I've read, this won't be something that will annoy the people outside of the van for the most part. I also understand that it should be much better in sound quality than I expect, and that the "thumpmobile" issue isn't gonna be one. (sigh of relief!) Should just be full range sound, nice and clean. Stay tuned.... REC

I've noticed several other colors popping up on the dealer's lots here locally. It almost makes me wish I could have waited a little longer.... I ran across a silver one today (what I think I would have wanted), and another dealer had a red one. The red one really caught my eye. I've seen a black XL, but no metallic black XLT as of yet, and am still waiting to see a blue one in person. I was VERY taken with the blue XLT posted in another secton of the forum by our resident sales Guru, Ed. There was another one posted in the Navi/Electronics section too. Any other colors in the group (besides the rather obvious white, of course)? Don't get me wrong, I like white, but it seems that the only color any of the stores locally ordered to begin with was.... white. A little variety is nice, but I also understand they were ordering for commercial sales, not people who have odd tastes in motor vehicles with both function AND form! Oh well...... REC

Kenny, I'm looking into this as well. It seems that most of the newer Fords (cars anyway) use the same fog lamps, and the holes in the cover (you have to cut them out) would be the same as most other Fords, or at least the ones that use the small round fog lamps. I think the biggest deal will be figuring out the mounting brackets, as they are what varies from model to model. I am trying to find a busted lamp to use as a tool to work on this, but as of yet, haven't run across one. (I'm in and out of body shops all day every day..) If there isn't a bracket that would fit "out of the box", then I will be finding a way to make one. I think the lamps would look (and function) much better than those black holes in the front cover! I'll watch the thread and see if anyone else comes up with something too... REC Happily Transiting.....

Wow... That would be as good as going to the body manual, if not a bit better. VERY nice of you to take the time to write this out. I had already been into the rear doors (that is TOO easy), but the front doors were the bigger concern. As this is a new vehicle in this country, parts are a touch tough to get so far. (Meaning: I don't want to break anything!) I am involved in the collision repair industry, and have seen one of these popped in the rear already (kinda made me feel bad for the guy!) and it took a little more time than normal to come up with the rear doors. I've been in this business since 1971, so it isn't entirely foreign to me. I've worked for Ford dealers for 23 of those years until going to my present job almost 14 years ago. I just didn't want to start into something blind. I'm not as well sighted as I used to be... and also have become a bit more cautious than I once was. Hope your trip went well (as you'll be reading this after your return), and was somewhat un-eventful. I'll be waiting to hear how the trip went, as 2500 miles is a long haul... Gas mileage should be pretty good on this... Thanks, REC

Wow, I like the blue color. I have yet to see a blue one in person. I ordered the stuff from overseas for adapting my XM and am going to be looking into the speaker/amp stuff after a while. I will most likely stay with the radio for now, but the speakers will be getting the boot. I want to get hold of a body manual before starting to pop parts off (don't want any broken stuff!) to get into the front doors and such. Any tutorial on removal of the door panels??????? The job you did with the radio looks great. Maybe I should have ordered the plate while I was at it! (Then the radio would have been less a problem down the road.) What amp did you use, and how is the bass/mid/treble controlled? I don't want a "Thump-mobile'" just some better sound. Is it possible to be too old to thump? If so, I need a membership card.... Thanks for posting, REC

Welcome Willie! Answers: 1) Windows are not the opening type other than the two front doors. 2) Finally saw one with seats in the back yesterday. They are unboltable - not the quick release type. 3) I have not found any auxilliary plug(s) as of yet, though mine supposedly has the same thing (XLT Van). I want to get the radio out and see about getting my XM reconnected into this unit. Ground-bound radio just ain't the same! Advice: Buy one.. Drive it.... Wave at the gas station guy when you pass without stopping more frequently than with the old guzzle-mobile. (Kidding, the Crown Vic was not terrible, but this gets much better mileage around town.) I like the one I bought, and would not hesitate to recommend one to anyone. Seems to be an all-right vehicle overall. The only downside is that it is new to the US market, and slightly different in some ways than US built Fords... Bolt circle for the wheels rules out a lot of "Ford" options (First thing I changed, boy are those hubcaps ugly!) and the radio removal tool(s) are different than the Fords I've had in the recent past. Other than that, no issues/complaints. The A/C works GREAT! Oh yeah, and be prepared for the questions.... They attract a lot of curiousity due to not being very familiar in the US. I have to clean the handprnts off the windows daily - everybody wants to look inside it seems... Roland C.

Anyone have the radio out yet? I'd like to know what / how it comes out, and what other ford radio may fit in its' place. I see it has different connections than the normal Us Ford radios, but figure there is a wiring adapter sold for it somewhere. I'd like to change it out for a better factory radio with a 6 disc in dash changer, and a bit more "oomph" in the sound department. I don't want a "BOOMmobile", just something that sounds better than what is there now. I'd also like to hook my XM "Commander" receiver into the radio - whether it be this one or its' replacement.... I'm missin' my XM BAD! REC

It's nice to see... er, read that I'm not alone regarding the radio! I find that to be a major pain. I want to hook up my XM, but have yet found anyone to attempt it. Apparently, the antenna plug is different over and beyond the locals don't know how to take the radio or surround plate off yet. I'm not going to be the guinea pig for that school! I've got 1200 miles on mine in three weeks (well, two if you figure I didn't work one of the weeks and stayed home for the most part.) and am finding that the gas mileage is quite a change fro the last ride. Traded an '02 Crown Vic LX Sport for this. Huge difference in creature comforts from the Crown, but the (way) less frequent visits to the gas pump, and the cost being considerably less on each visit, along with the seating height and lovin' the way it drives, I can certainly forgo those comforts. The acceleration is better than I expected, and the cruise control is more "dead-on" than anything I've had recently. The a/c is as good as anything I've seen, and better than many. (And I noted someone else's post commenting on running the a/c on one trip - I didn't know a car would run WITHOUT the a/c on!?!? :rolleyes: ) I bought mine as personal transportation, as well as a mobile office for my job. I've been through 4 other cars in the last ten years due to the mileage I put on. I imagine this will be no different other than I won't be seeing the guy at the gas station as often. Regarding the mirrors, I noticed that the European version shows mirrors with a larger (taller) head. I may be talking to a friend with relatives over there on that note. I think they are a little on the small side too. The reason for my wanting the XLT van version was to be able to load old bikes in the back. I collect and restore old bicycles (specifically Schwinns from the '70s back into the '30s). I tried it out Wednesday night for a group ride. The bike looked lost in the back with all that room! Overall, I am more than pleased with the TC, and am finding that I like it more every time I drive it. My wife and I have been stopped every time we are out by people curious as to what it is and so forth, the funniest being a local cop who stopped in a lane less traveled, well behind the traffic at the light we stopped at, so that he could discuss the finer points with us. I think this will go away after there are more of these out on the road, but for now it's fun to listen to the questions that come up. Funniest question so far was whether the Sprinter in front of us had just had a baby. REC

Hello group, I am a recent Transit convert.. :banvictory: Came to the van side from an '02 Crown Vic LX Sport. Quite a difference! I've had my TC for 3 weeks and a day - bought it 8/28/09 at the Mullinax Ford Store in North Palm Beach, FL. Mine is an XLT Van and is white. It seems that all of the ones I saw up to the day I walked up to this one were XL models, and after having read all I could find on this vehicle over the last year and a half, I was pretty well dead set on the XLT I found. The first XLT I found had no windows in the sliders or rear doors, but it didn't matter anyway as it was already sold. It did, however, give me the opportunity to look at the way the XLT was setup inside. This is the 42nd Ford I've owned in the last 38 years, having had a small fleet of '63 Galaxies, one of every generation of the F series from '53 on up through '79, and quite a few other odds and ends Fords. I found that of all of them, the one I liked the most (practicality wise) was an '89 Bronco II. It was a vehicle you could drive anywhere, park anywhere, and turn around anywhere. I am now finding the Transit is as close to its equal as anything I've seen (except for the radio!) I was impressed initially by this Transit Connects' appearance, but then had the chance to drive one, and immediately decided it was time for a change. I had three dealers looking for an XLT, and the one from which I purchased the vehicle was not among them. I happened to drive by this dealers' lot and noted that the ones on their line-up had paint on the front bumpers. This required an immediate U-turn and stop for inspection. About two hours (and a minor monsoon) later, I was happily driving my new T.C. home. The attached photo is after changing the wheels/tires out for something a little more visibly pleasing (and a tad more footprint too!) Post more later! REC