Anyone out there mounted an FT-857D in a Mazda B4000 pickup? I have a 1997
B4000, 5-speed, 4WD, and want to put my FT-857D in the truck.

Antennas are no problem -- I will use two stake hole mounts from GeoTool and
mount two antennas in the rear stake holes -- VHF/UHF and ATAS-120. Coax
will route inside the sides of the bed, under the cab, and into the cab
through a hole I drilled in the cavity where the jump seats stow.

The body of the radio will mount on the floor under the driver's seat.
Antenna cables will run under the carpet to the radio coming out through a
small slit in the carpet. Power cable comes from the battery, over the
wheel well, under the truck and up through a hole similar to the antenna
cable, then under the carpet to the radio body.

Question is: Where to put the control head?

If I mount it on the floor between the gear shift and the front edge of the
seat, I have to lean WAY over to operate the knobs. I could build some sort
of platform that secures to the floor between the gear shift and the front
edge of the seat, thereby elevating the control head so it's within easy
reach.

Another thought I had was to remove the stock AM/FM radio -- which is a
double-DIN size -- and replace it with a standard DIN-sized radio. This
would leave a DIN-sized hole in the dash where I could put a metal plate
painted flat black and mount the control head there, putting it generally in
the same place as the car radio.

Any assistance will be appreciated.