Credits

Without the help of the following people, this project would not have been attempted. I have installed stereo systems in about 7 cars prior to this, but this is the first time the car I was working on was worth more than $10,000.

Jim Cash
Jim is a regular poster on the BMW E39 Message Board and an all around guru when it comes to E39's. Jim provided me with detailed step-by-step instructions about removing the front door panels and rear deck. He answered all of my questions and corresponded with me personally through e-mail. Thanks Jim!!!

Sherman Duck
Sherman is a colleague of mine who designs and builds electronic test equipment. I called on him to help me figure out how to wire in this system without cutting the connectors from the factory harness. Sherman spent considerable time with me using a caliper to measure the pins and offset on the 2 factory connectors. We then searched high and low to find suitable components to get the job done and guided me in the practiced art of soldering wires to headers. Thanks Sherman!!!

Bob Hazelwood
Bob is a former employee of a/d/s/ in the Boston area and a regular poster on many of the Bimmer.org boards. Search the archives and you'll see that Bob is not skimpy on the info he provides. He corresponded with me via e-mail for quite a while answering all of my questions about equipment, configuration, subwoofer types, you name it. He's a wealth of information in the car audio arena and has quite the setup in his 525i. Thanks Bob!!!

Willard Lee
Willard is also a regular poster on the E39 board. I contacted him to get info on his experiences because he did this upgrade on his 540i months ago. Willard provided me with the wiring diagram for the sound system - something he figured out and shared. For some reason, this information is completely unavailable from a/d/s/ and BMW. Thanks Willard!!!