stereo project progressing

[tabahr]

I found a guy that will rebuild my stock bose CD player for $65!

I'm just sending him the CD module itself from inside the unit and he is going to rebuild it and send it back. Great Deal!!

I went to the junkyard and cut a radio harness like mine off a car.
I soldered 4 RCA jacks onto the speaker wires of the junkyard harness. I then hooked the bat+, Ign+ and dim+ from that harness to a GM radio adaptor. I left the power antenna and ground leads hanging out of the concoction I built so I can run them to the trunk. I'll use the power antenna lead as a remote turn on for the amp. I'll ground the radio to the same place in the trunk I ground the amp so the ground impedence is the same on both pieces of equipment and I don't get any alternator noise. All I do now is plug my creation into the car harness and the radio. I dont need to cut a single wire in the car!!

I mocked everything up and it works!!!! (sounds good too)

now for the final installation....
I modified the plastic barrier between the trunk and the convertible top well to allow the back edge of the Soundstream Reference 405 amp to poke through a bit, but not far enough to get near the window. It looks kinda neat. Deciding not to drill through the upper trunk floor into the gas tank was simple. LOL
Instead, I cut a fairly thick sheet of plastic to a rectangle the size of the amp and drilled holes in it to match the ones on the amp. I'm going to sandwich the carpet between the amp and the plastic sheet, holding the amp firmly in place, but not drilling into the car.(or the gas tank) Now all I need are some nice speakers..... The 405 has a sub channel i'm not using (yet)

When this is done, the dash is going to look bone stock, and the stereo will ROCK!. Nobody will ever think to steel my radio. I like leaving my car with the top down when I go out, and do not want to be paranoid someone will see a fancy radio in it and rip it off. Not only that, but all the new aftermarket radios out look like UFO's ready to take off with all the blue, silver, red and green flashy lights. I don't like that at all.

Is there an easy way to put a 10'' sub in the bottom of the trunk and not loose too much room?? Wiring it would be too easy!, just where to put it.....How to build the enclosure.... Maybe build a fiberglass box 6 inches deep molded perfectly to the bottom of the trunk well?? Does anyone make such a thing so I dont need to go through the trouble of building it myself??

[Torque]

I found there are not too many enclosures built specifically for our cars. Especially for the convertables. I had to have one made for my car, I had it put right where the T-tops go.

I would probably lean towards a custom built that matches the speaker and amp output perfectly. The Pre-fab units don't sound as good to me.

[tabahr]

Matching the volume of the enclosure to the woofer you place in it is indeed very important, but 10" woofers can be purchased now that operate in as little as 1 cu ft. Look at the JL 10 W6. That works great in a tiny space, like the JLstealthbox for the camaro. I used to have one of those stealthboxes when I had a T-top model 1995 Z-28 Ultra-Z by SLP. If I could find a small long thin 1 cu ft enclosure that sits in the bottom of the trunk that would be great!

I really dislike the idea of having to lay fiberglass in there myself to make an enclosure. That crap gets everywhere. I suppose if I wear gloves and cover EVERYTHING in visqueen I'll be OK. I think I'll save that project for next spring if I have to do it that way.

[MadMaro]

The JL Audio Stealthbox is a nice unit, but it too pricy. MTX Audio makes a Thunderform for the F-body's and it is a nice box. You can buy the box, which is .6 cubic feet, which is a smaller encloser. Smaller enclosures will be better for rock and faster beats, the sub won't hit as low, but it will be tighter and more accurate. This box goes in the driver-rear hole identical to the jack storage. MTX suggests a 10" 6000 series subwoofer which is a good woofer, but poor construction leads to dust-cap rattle after extended use. A good sub for this enclosure is a 10" Alpine Type R, or any of the Audiobahn line. Another good choice would be the Infinity Reference or Kappa line which respond well in tight enclosures. Stay away from Fosgate unless you want broken tinsle leads.