Speaker and radio installs, let's see them! More wild the better! Purists don't look...

[JoeCool]

I am sick of listening the the old car squeaks and rattles for the past two years! Gotta get some tunes! And no, I don't care if any purists don't want me to "hack it up", besides it is too late for that, someone before me already butchered the dash for a Sears and Roebuck tape deck that was inop when I bought the truck. And I don't want to mess with putting dinky little 5" speakers in the kick panels either...

 

I just scored a nice Sony CD radio for free from a friend, and am looking to install it in the dash as well as MTX 6.5" components in the door panels with the tweeters mounted on the little sail panels. And maybe a two channel amp, I dunno?

 

Anybody got pics of what they did? I know everybody here can't be running stock or nothing!

 

Anybody got a wild setup? Gone crazy with audio? If so. I wanna see it. Show off your work!

 

Also, I have wired up a few stereos back in the day, some even wilder with subs, amps and component speakers, but never wired one from scratch. I have always spliced into the old radio's harness or used a kit. This truck has nothing!  What do I hook up the positive wire to? Dimmer wire? Do I even need the dimmer wire?

[JoeCool]

This is what I am working with with the dash:

 

This is the old inop radio:

 

 

Here is the hole some dumbass hacked up and why I said it's too late to worry about hacking it up...

 

 

This is the plate from galvanized steel (leftover from a roof repair) I made to cover it which I will try to mount the CD player to.

 

[Laecaon]

Ripped the kenwood receiver and 4 infinity speakers out of my old ThunderTurd. In the datto, makes for loud noises. It will be getting the Alpine receiver from my Saturn when its back on the road, as well as the 8" infinity sub with 200W alpine amp.

 

To space the speakers out from the windows in the doors, I made some MDF spacers, that fit the door.

 

Im probably going to go 6x9s though, making the spacers out of a different material, and actually finishing the speakers off with grills.

 

When it comes to speakers, there is nothing better than Infinitys for under $100, they have the bass that others fail to deliver, and they have the clarity that others wish for. And pretty cheap on Amazon actually.

 

[datzenmike]

Three other things....

 

Sound proof your cab. Pull the seats and carpet and lay 'torch-on' roofing tar. It's dry and comes in easy to cut rolls about a meter wide. Roofing companies throw part rolls away to reduce joins on a roofing job. It's about 1/4" thick and when warmed shapes to the floor bumps. Do every surface you can even the door panels if possible.

 

Get a 90 amp alternator. Amps eat up power and need a steady supply.

 

Use only heavy duty gauge power and ground wires to reduce voltage drops.

[ggzilla]

90a alternator less 35a running load = 55a surplus. That's 660 watts at 12v.

[tr8er]

Roofing tar stinks. Unless this is different stuff. Beware, and smell before installing.

 

There is already a thread about this topic if you search.

 

I'll let you find it, cause I'm too lazy to look. Plus it's a 510 dash. MDF on the doors is not ideal. Humidity causes swelling. Make an mdf form and build boxes with fiberglass. If not, paint the back of that mdf with epoxy to seal it. As well, I do like Infinity, and run some currently, but I find JBL to be a great choice as well.

[datzenmike]

Wait 40 years and you won't be able to notice the smell. :lol: :lol:

[Laecaon]

MDF on the doors is not ideal. Humidity causes swelling. Make an mdf form and build boxes with fiberglass. If not, paint the back of that mdf with epoxy to seal it. As well, I do like Infinity, and run some currently, but I find JBL to be a great choice as well.

Im actually going ABS panels, have them all cut already. Some on the car. The spacers will not remain as MDF.

 

JBL and Infinity are both owned by Harmon, as in Harmon/Kardon, so yea they are nice too, just usually not as cheap.

[thisismatt]

I wouldn't put tweeters in the sail panels unless you're bi-amping with independent gains and with time alignment as well. Keep them next to the mids otherwise.

[JoeCool]

So nobody here has done speakers in the DOORS of a 620 or 720?  I got an old Panasonic CD player with aux port for FREE a couple of months ago, and some last years model Rockford Fosgate Punch P165 2 way coaxial 6.5" speakers for $30 off eBay last week. I mainly want to know how much clearance I have in the doors with the speakers mounted to the door panels. Top mounting depth of the RF speakers is 2". I'd like to do this install over the remainder of the three day weekend I have off from work.

 

Nevermind that. Figured it out. Looks like with the window down there is only a little over an inch of clearance... SHEESH! Not much! So ordered some 1" plastic spacers today. I have been fighting with trying to fit the CD player in the dash all day. Tweaking the sheet metal mount I made.

 

Now what do about wiring? What to hook main power (yellow), accessory (red), and ground (black), wires to? There is a power wire for the old radio still there, and the antenna wire, but that is all. I guess I will go get a fuse tap and a few connectors tomorrow.

[tr8er]

I believe you would blow a fuse running the stock radio power wire. Though I've never tried. Small wire though. I just ran a fused cable from the the battery. Then split it to my amps and stereo. Not daunting or hard work. Though you can make it look great or not.

[]2eDeYe]

I put my speakers in the kick panels. Ran some 5 1/4 with spacers. Sounds real nice and no holes in the doors :)

[JoeCool]

Okay bumping this as I am curious as to more input. I have seen other stuff done here, just not many replies made to THIS topic. And now since I mounted speakers in the doors (http://community.ratsun.net/topic/62905-hate-the-dinkytinny-sounding-4-things-in-the-kickpanels-wanna-know-how-to-mount-speakers-in-the-doors-just-like-this-with-lots-of-detailed-pics/) I am curious if anyone has done separate tweeters?

[Javin]

I have a king cab, I always intended to put things in the kick panels and then have stuff behind the seats. Should beat the crap out of the nothing that is in there now.

[Lockleaf]

General audio theory basically states that if you can't do as was recommended above, independent gains with timing adjustments, then you should keep your tweets no farther away than 18" inches from the main speaker at most.

 

I have an 85 kc st with the brushed aluminum dash. My plan is to fill the stock radio hole with more aluminum and move my oil and voltage gauges up to there. Then do a little reconstruction of my lower console and run a double din 6 cd changer with aux port down there. Something factory, like stolen from a 2010 Subaru legacy. I like the look of stock stereos, and I still listen to tons of cd's.