I always find it funny that people get all upset about cutting a hole for a stereo . But cutting out the whole dash for an aftermarket dash is cool . If your car is not a classic, collectors car,Cut away!
What are you saving your dash for? The next owner? Unless your car is a 100 point judged car, I see no value in having the original radio in place. I think a nice modern in-dash car stereo looks and sounds way cooler than having a 40+ year old AM radio in the dash.
Like I said earlier, my dash was already cut when I bought it, so the decision was easy for me. I can't see someone correcting their dash that a previous owner had cut so that they could stick an old radio back into it. Not tryin' to argue, just to understand?!?