# nissan 240sx s14 sq build log



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Time for a second build log. Well after going to the north carolina SQ meet (my first and only sq show ever) I am now the worlds class expert in car audio,"im just kidding". I am going to begin an sq install in my 1995 nissan 240sx. NO ITS NOT A HYBRID AUDIO TECHNOLOGIES BLACK BETTY CLONE! Okay those of you that know me know from my ford explorer build log i have some of their products already. Please be patient its going to be a long one and i am still a newb. I am looking toward all your comments negative or positive and hope to learn from you as well as gain experience from this install.


----------



## mires (Mar 5, 2011)

Now this I am excited about. Always loved those cars. When do the pics start coming?


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Gear to be used.
Vifa ne19vts tweeters
Hybrid audio technologies legatia l3se midrange
Hybrid audio technologies legatia l8v1's
Sundown SA 8 V1 subwoofer
Sundown sax125.4 midrange and tweeters
Sundown saz1200.1 for subwoofer 
Midbass amp to be determined, at least 150 wrms per channel
Audio control 6xs to create additional channels for the tweeters 
Headunit is a clarion cz702 although im shopping for an eclipse 8volt dead head as they are my favorite decks 
Rockford fosgate 0 gauge power and ground wire
12-14 gauge wiring for all speaker wires except subwoofer .

Build is going to be slow due to funding. Thanl the US Government for deciding to have an active duty military without paying us a paycheck!


----------



## tat2bass (Aug 18, 2012)

Not true. We are going to be getting paid. The bill went to the president today but passed both the house and senate. They stripped all the other crap off of it that was holding up the bill for our pay


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

awesome news to here about the bill standby I am uploading pictures now.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Here are some pictures of the patient awaiting surgery. pictures of the midrag=nges to display the size of the sail panel and door panel upper surface.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

*Re: different ways of mounting the mids and tweeters.*

My guess is with the tweeters facing the door windows will probably provide the widest sound stage where as the tweeters closest to the windshield will provide the most airspace and more depth. I could be wrong. either way I will not make it permanent until I wire it up and study exactly which angle and positioning provide the best sound. I only care about sound for the driver seat. No one ever rides in the car but myself.


----------



## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

niiiiiice! and im pretty sure i saw an 8v eclipse head unit for sale on the forums here yesterday.


----------



## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

That's a nice looking 240. I'm tuning in for more updates.
Good luck!


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Notloudenuf said:


> That's a nice looking 240. I'm tuning in for more updates.
> Good luck!


Thanks bro, it's to hear from you. hoping to have version 1.0 complete before the next time we have a meet.


----------



## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

Very nice 240. 

When you went to that meet did you get to listen t any cars using kicks?


----------



## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Subscribed


----------



## vivmike (May 24, 2013)

I like what you have going here bud.

Thanks for your service too, war fighter.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

07azhhr said:


> Very nice 240.
> 
> When you went to that meet did you get to listen t any cars using kicks?


As a matter of fact I did get to listen to cars using the kick panels. Although I always believed the myth that it would make your sound stage low I was surprised to discover that the path length improvement does wonders. It is because I heard a few cars there with kicks that I decided that I would like to put my L8 woofers in the kick panels in the very next install I did. I hear woofer on axis is not nearly important as midrange and tweeters being on axis but my goal is to have every speaker on axis and if not possible to mount it on axis than to install it as far forward as possible; in my case 8" woofers in the kick panels vented outside the car.

Gentlemen thank you for all the subscriptions and comments. I am going into this build with a lot of confidence knowing that you guys are here to mentor.


----------



## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

Your mids would probably beni more though from being in the kicks than the 8's. But keeping the 8's out of the doors may be good from a rattle standpoint. Although I did not have any rattle issues due to my L8's nor my current Anarchy's, not all cars are so lucky.


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

Howdy! 

Looking forward to seeing your progress with the 240. It's certainly a nice looking example! I like the gear list as well. You're on the right track so far and I like how you havent decided on any particular arrangement yet. The best advice I can give you at this point is to throw some towels up on the dash and mount your speakers in those baffles and then play around with aiming and position and see where they seem to sound the best to you. Putting the L8's in the kicks will certainly help reduce/eliminate the annoying vibrations that you typically get in the door installs. I like where you're headed my friend. 

Ask any questions you may have, no matter how silly or easy they may seem. Were all here to learn and get better at the craft and there are some great people to learn from here. It was a pleasure to meet you at the NC meet. I'm sorry you didn't get a proper demo of the planar's in the Mazda since I didn't have enough time to really get it dialed in, but hopefully we'll meet up again down the line.


-Steve


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

captainobvious said:


> Howdy!
> 
> Looking forward to seeing your progress with the 240. It's certainly a nice looking example! I like the gear list as well. You're on the right track so far and I like how you havent decided on any particular arrangement yet. The best advice I can give you at this point is to throw some towels up on the dash and mount your speakers in those baffles and then play around with aiming and position and see where they seem to sound the best to you. Putting the L8's in the kicks will certainly help reduce/eliminate the annoying vibrations that you typically get in the door installs. I like where you're headed my friend.
> 
> ...


Steve,
This seem to be pretty sound advice that I will do my best to resist being too impatient in terms of permanent mounting solutions. I am visiting Philly next month maybe another demo of the planar's then. Thanks for subscribing. Towels i will have to try that today.


----------



## Serieus (May 27, 2011)

subbed, enjoyed your car at the meet despite the limited midbass due to head unit issues  what caused you to add tweeters this time around?


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Although i love the way the l3se sounds while running full range some people like the sparkle produced by tweeters. I am mostly adding tweeters because i an curious. I strongly intended to use the tweeters from 8k on up as i hate what i refer to as the micro sound. I notice this when tweeters play more octives than the midrange driver. To my ears the vocals sound tiny. I first learned this when re cordon my church choir and me playing the trumpet and french horn. So i want most of the treble to be produced by a driver that can move some air and sparkle which is championed by tweeters. Nothing againg other who manage to us low fs tweeters. Hope this answers your question Chris. Thanks for askinf


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

dgr932 said:


> Steve,
> This seem to be pretty sound advice that I will do my best to resist being too impatient in terms of permanent mounting solutions. I am visiting Philly next month maybe another demo of the planar's then. Thanks for subscribing. Towels i will have to try that today.


Yep, it works well. Just stuff some towels behind and around the speakers to dampen the rear wave of the speaker and start listening to different angles and locations. 

Definitely let me know when you're coming to town. I'd be happy to give you a proper demo


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

dgr932 said:


> Although i love the way the l3se sounds while running full range some people like the sparkle produced by tweeters. I am mostly adding tweeters because i an curious. I strongly intended to use the tweeters from 8k on up as i hate what i refer to as the micro sound. I notice this when tweeters play more octives than the midrange driver. To my ears the vocals sound tiny. I first learned this when re cordon my church choir and me playing the trumpet and french horn. So i want most of the treble to be produced by a driver that can move some air and sparkle which is championed by tweeters. Nothing againg other who manage to us low fs tweeters. Hope this answers your question Chris. Thanks for askinf


Personally, I think they need a tweeter paired up with them anyway. Good choice


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Dustin,
This looks like its going to be one good sounding system. I agree that using the tweeters from the 8k or 10k up would eliminate that micro sound. Using just L3 I know sounds phenomenal but with the tweets that high it may lift and enhance the sound. I hear that venting the L8s in the kicks make them really come out. Like I told you earlier, Im heading to Cummings, GA for some work for about a week, so I was gonna see if I could make over to the Hybrid HQ and maybe sample out Scotts vehicles. Actually, see how those 8s vented in the kicks truely sound. 

Also, when I get back I intend starting some new upgrades on the Sorento.

But if you need any help, just ask and we can do what we love....


----------



## SilkySlim (Oct 24, 2012)

captainobvious said:


> Personally, I think they need a tweeter paired up with them anyway. Good choice


Agreed get those towels and start listening subscribed.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Went by HAT HQ... no luck. They was closed... so try again Monday. 

Looking forward to see what comes out for the 240sx.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

(1/2) Cool. Got the car gutted 0 gauge hot and ground ran, rca cables ran too. Gonna run 12 gauge for the woofers 14 gauge for the midranges and 16 gauge for (2/2) tweeters. This is what HAT recommends.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Yah! Okay today I got my Nissan 300 zx rotors and calipers (bigger and better). Need these babies to help stop the 155 whopping horsepower!


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Well today took all the interior out the car. Phone died before putting the driver seat back in, so i didn't snap a picture. Don't worry another chance will present itself in my sound deadening segment. No I'm not going to cover the entire interior of my car with aluminum cover tile as the weight is too heavy for my preference. I will need to get creative.

Power and ground was ran using 0 gauge ran underneath the car and zip tied to the frame under the passenger side. Using scorpion distribution block 4 gauge was wired up to the amplifiers. Remote wire was installed to amps and above the transmission tunnel. 4 pairs of RCA cables were ran to the left of the driver seat. I don't have that many channels of output but I'm preparing for when I can afford a DSP to run an all active setup.
Lastly using the only wire i had (2) 18 ft. Runs of 16 gauge were ran from the amplifier to the front of the car. Will be cut to length when i find the final install position of the tweeters. 
Tomorrow I hope to shampoo the interior of the car since its already disassembled should be easy. Awaiting products in the mail this week which will accelerate the build log.


----------



## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

dgr932 said:


> Yah! Okay today I got my Nissan 300 zx rotors and calipers (bigger and better). Need these babies to help stop the 155 whopping horsepower!


shuda asked me if i had anything.. i have brand new in box 300zx rotors sitting on my garage floor lol


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

Nice work so far. Gutting the interior makes for a long day (and gets some good raised eyebrows and "WTF??'s too). Sounds like you're kicking butt Dustin! 


-Steve




dgr932 said:


> Well today took all the interior out the car. Phone died before putting the driver seat back in, so i didn't snap a picture. Don't worry another chance will present itself in my sound deadening segment. No I'm not going to cover the entire interior of my car with aluminum cover tile as the weight is too heavy for my preference. I will need to get creative.
> 
> Power and ground was ran using 0 gauge ran underneath the car and zip tied to the frame under the passenger side. Using scorpion distribution block 4 gauge was wired up to the amplifiers. Remote wire was installed to amps and above the transmission tunnel. 4 pairs of RCA cables were ran to the left of the driver seat. I don't have that many channels of output but I'm preparing for when I can afford a DSP to run an all active setup.
> Lastly using the only wire i had (2) 18 ft. Runs of 16 gauge were ran from the amplifier to the front of the car. Will be cut to length when i find the final install position of the tweeters.
> Tomorrow I hope to shampoo the interior of the car since its already disassembled should be easy. Awaiting products in the mail this week which will accelerate the build log.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Thanks guys. Btw the rotor and 300zx calipers were a throw in from the previous owner for free. I do appreciate the offer.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Today my dealer absolute audio and tint received my legatia l1v2 tweeters. I have not auditioned them today but specs lead me to believe my intended 8k high pass filter will yield great result. I also purchased a roll of 12 gauge wire for the midbass drivers. I intend to use the largest wire possible on each speaker. I dont care if its overkill but everything in SQ seems to involve overkill. Tomorrow I intend to power up all speakers save the midbass. For test purpose only the midbass will both be wired to a mono block until i purchase a two channel amp for them. After a few hours of dedicated listening will select a mounting location, wish me luck.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Audiophile, 
Once again in need of your opinion. Currently I have obtained a bnib pair of legatia l1v2 tweeters. As of now my current system is comprised of 
Sundown SA8v1(pair) 
l8v1's, 
L3se's,
L1v2's
I have a sundown audio sax 125.4 and 1200.1d for ﻿the subs.
My question is should I purchase a sax 150.2 so that every speaker has its own amplified channel or a passive crossovers (modified to my desired crossover specs) for ﻿the l3se and l1 leaving channels 3&4 available for ﻿the l8's?
At this current time I can't afford a fancy 8 channel dsp ($400), a passive 2way crossover ($200), and an additional 2 channel amp. 
Budget is $250
so option A is 2 channel amp option B is 2way passive crossover.
Suggestions greatly appreciated!


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Sorry about ﻿the long post above but I know ﻿the routine is a new ask for help and we usually reply with I need more details so I wanted to be as detailed as possible.

As of now experimenting mounting positions with ﻿the l3se's on (2) channels and l1v2's on other channels I can say I enjoy them crossed at 10k. Not for certain but I believe once I permanently mount all ﻿the speakers this may change. Also its a completely gutted vehicle for now so reflection is extremely punishing to ﻿the listener.
Overall output using ﻿the same gear is so much higher in this car compared to my ford explorer.
"BLACK RAIN" in response to your text message where you hinted I should do a custom dash, its out of my league but I can get over my intimidation if your willing to help. Anyone else think I should go for a custom dash?


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

Personally, I would avoid a complete dash rebuild as it's going to be an extremely long, tedious and painstaking process. Plus, I would put that at the far end of the spectrum for install skill required. You're making great progress, but that might be a bit much to take on right now. I would probably be a bit intimidated by a full dash build as well. Plus, I think you can get great sound by doing your pillars/dash pods and with much less effort. Plus it's easy to rip that out and start over/do something else whereas with the dash build, not so much 

I think that an amp channel per driver is probably optimal. If the end goal is to go with a fully active setup with DSP, I wouldn't bother with passive crossovers at this point. I would continue to work the build, getting the mid/tweets and L8's integrated and then I would probably run without subs for a while until I could afford the processing/amplification I needed. You can get great, complete sound (minus some of the very low frequencies) with this simple setup and stay on course for a great sounding system.

Btw-

If there's anything else you need for the build, don't hesitate to ask. I have all kinds of odds and ends sitting around that you may be able to use. (rca's, distribution, fusing, etc).


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

captainobvious said:


> Personally, I would avoid a complete dash rebuild as it's going to be an extremely long, tedious and painstaking process. Plus, I would put that at the far end of the spectrum for install skill required. You're making great progress, but that might be a bit much to take on right now. I would probably be a bit intimidated by a full dash build as well. Plus, I think you can get great sound by doing your pillars/dash pods and with much less effort. Plus it's easy to rip that out and start over/do something else whereas with the dash build, not so much
> 
> I think that an amp channel per driver is probably optimal. If the end goal is to go with a fully active setup with DSP, I wouldn't bother with passive crossovers at this point. I would continue to work the build, getting the mid/tweets and L8's integrated and then I would probably run without subs for a while until I could afford the processing/amplification I needed. You can get great, complete sound (minus some of the very low frequencies) with this simple setup and stay on course for a great sounding system.
> Thanks Steve. Advice taken. So I ordered my 2 channel camp a little earlier after reading your post. I will soon have an camp per channel screw The passive crossovers. Much appreciated


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

Ahh, nice! What did you go with ?


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

PM sent.

Being as though I have sundown amps I opted for another sundown amp in order to build a beautiful trunk like yours. An SAX 150.2 should be here Thursday


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Have you decided what to do with the L8 and what type enclosure to build for it?


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

I intend to place them in ﻿the kick panels. I was going to put them in ﻿the door but ﻿rattling doors are not a battle I'm looking to fight. ﻿the l8 will be vented to ﻿the outside of ﻿the car.


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Awesome, Im thinking about doing that in my truck as soon as I decide which midbass to go with. But your build is coming along pretty good.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Thanks. What size mid bass are you considering? Also when you getting back. Need your ears to help determine ﻿the mounting angles of my mids and tweets?


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

I came back off the road on Monday, but I am going to NY with the wife for the weekend. So I will give you my ears on Monday if you are good?

I was considering the Morel TiCW 634nd 6.5" and the Dynaudio MW 172 8" mids. I havent decided which is best for my setup.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Today I finally got some time to work on the stereo. I have been waiting for the third amp (SAX 150.2) to arrive which it has. I cut the base of the floor and the wall out today. I know its not pretty but if you can bare with me I will work on it all week to get it done.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

I am not sure how I am going to make the top of the floor but I wish to have an acrylic window displaying the majority of the amps except for the wire terminals which will feed under the floor into the spare tire well. I also need to decide on black vinyl or black carpet although I am leaning toward automotive carpet. I am thinking a thin but strong wood like 3/16" birch should suffice. does anyone think that 3/16th will not be strong enough?


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

These pictures are of the corners behind the wheel wells and the upper trunk area. Ignore the soon to be replaced antenna and the awful tsunami sound damping material install by one of the previous owners. The driver side is where I plan to install a line driver with a window of course and on the passenger side is reserved for a soon to occur battery relocate. Its going to take a while and Its not going to be perfect. I am not "Bing" or any of you guys who do these magazine quality install. This is only my second install. There is a possibility for an infinite baffle install down the road but For Now I am considering sealing off the upper trunk area in the picture and installing the subs on the rear speaker deck. If I do so I will use the thickest acrylic possible so the subs are displayed. I come up with these wild ideas everyday, I am not sure if that is normal. 
Tomorrow I am going to order two mini DSPs which I hope to install in the center console in case anyone was wondering why I am using a line driver.


----------



## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

dgr932 said:


> Need your ears to help determine ﻿the mounting angles of my mids and tweets?


Are you 100% sure you are going to be able to fit the L8's in the kicks? If there is any doubt you might want to consider starting there before finalizing the mr's location. This way if the 8's won't work out there you still can explore putting the mr's down there. Up top may prove to be the best option in the end but you never know if you do not try right?


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

I have been relocating ﻿the fuses and ecu to ensure ﻿the woofers fit. Also this is buwalda's 240sx with ﻿the she's which are 225mm vs mine which are 215mm. your right about not knowing unless you try. I have been riding around with ﻿the mid range in ﻿the kick panel area. I'm just not feeling it
Output sucks compared to them in ﻿the sail panels. I am a nut for stage height. Thanks for to your advice in my explorer build I'm a lot more confident about building a false floor. In terms of how to make a cutout to protect ﻿the acrylic. Thanks BTW.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Spent a lot of time working on ﻿the false floor to cover ﻿the amp rack. Took so long because I also took ﻿the time out to rewire ﻿the entire system today. Sorry I didn't take more time out to take more pictures. I must give credit to my buddies at absolute audio for helping me cut out ﻿the top of ﻿the floor. Yet to fire it up but more concerned with other parts of ﻿the install. Slowly working my way out of ﻿the trunk. Leaning towards placing subs in ﻿the rear deck. With plexiglass on ﻿the back side of ﻿the wall enclosure. Deck height is 11"x 36"wide x approximately 14" of depth. More than enough for my Two SA8's or a nice 12" sub later down ﻿the line.


----------



## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Hey Dustin,

I just found your thread. You are making real progress - it looks great!!! 

My first car that I bought myself was a '92 240SX coupe that I got when I arrived at Ft. Campbell.......I loved that car! 

I'll be watching your build as well and chiming in if I have anything worthwhile to add - you have some good fellas watching this one, so there are resources here. Can't wait to hear it at the next NC meet........possibly January at Kendal's?


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Thanks Jason,

Please worthwhile on not feel free to chime in.


----------



## Deadpool_25 (Apr 2, 2010)

Subbed. And, if you are at all interested in a PXA-H701 along with the C701 controller let me know. I retired from the AF in '09 btw.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Thank you for your service and tuning in to my amateur sq build log.


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

dgr932 said:


> Thank you for your service and tuning in to my amateur sq build log.



It's about to get a whole lot more serious ! 

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...wn-military-veteran-fellow-sq-enthusiast.html

I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty and helping to build a great system you can be proud of and enjoy for years


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Im jealous... hahaha


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

I'm excited to help out on this build, and see how far it will go. Lots of learning and experimenting., either way with all of these minds its bound to be one exceptionally sounding ride.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Black Rain, 

Thank you for all ﻿the support and delightful discussions. For those who don't know (BLACK RAIN) Juan created me a bad ass binder with all ﻿the IASCA and MECA, rules and guide lines. Its a lot to swallow but in my quest for audio bliss I will learn this lierature. Thanks big brother!


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

So many damn rules in ﻿the rule book but based off my quick browsing through ﻿the rule book I think I am going to build my car to ﻿the specs of SQC amatuer. ﻿the reason I have not considered SQC a mature is due to ﻿my intentions to highly modify my apillars for tweeters, fabricated sail panels to house l3se's along with 8" legatia woofers in ﻿the doors and a sub mounted in ﻿the passenger foot well area. Nothing is final as I have a lot more reading to do. Please chime in if I'm on ﻿the wrong path. I am really curious about a 4 way front stage.


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Dustin, 

Not a problem. We all need the extra knowledge if we expect to get our systens correct for the comp season. Together we will get both our vehicles ready for it. We got lots of apillar and sailpanel work to do, but all in due time and lots blood, sweat and tears. It will all be worth it once we are in the lanes.


----------



## Deadpool_25 (Apr 2, 2010)

dgr932 said:


> (BLACK RAIN) Juan created me a bad ass binder with all ﻿the IASCA and MECA, rules and guide lines. Its a lot to swallow but in my quest for audio bliss I will learn this lierature. Thanks big brother!


I don't suppose there's a soft copy of this floating around?


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Pm me email... Deadpool


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Took some measurements today of ﻿the passenger foot well. Looks like I can build a 0.8cu ft fiberglass enclosure with out being significantly intrusive to ﻿the passenger side leg room. Perfect as an SA8 performs well in a 0.6 cut ft ported enclosure. I may give it a try


----------



## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Copy from 'Donation' Thread

Thanks guys 

Like Jay said...it was a long drive back home today. We had a nasty winter storm over here in the northeast corridor and it was just mayhem getting home. I95 was shutdown halfway home.

Anyway, onto the *good* stuff 

We got things kicked off this weekend to start the build. First off, we had to remove all of the seats, carpet and interior. This car is new to Dustin, but had some "special" wiring done by some previous craftsmen as I like to say, so out with the old, and in with the new! We ran 1/0 awg copper for the power and managed to squeeze it through a factory grommet on the passenger side. Getting anything through the firewall (and doors) is quite a challenge in this vehicle- that is unless you like to remove the entire dash. We also ran new speaker wiring, remote and antenna wires as well as some high quality RCA cables made of RG-6 for excellent shielding and noise rejection. 

Inside the engine bay, we mounted up the circuit breaker to a nice HDP mounting plate Mark measured up and routed out. It looks great...something I should consider doing in mine...but I digress! The battery is an older stock unit that will be replaced with something a little newer and more powerful. Speaking of power, the ground for this car was a little questionable (again, previous craftsmen) so we installed a new 1/0 ground. We found a useable spot on the chassis frame near the battery, wire brushed and cleaned the area and then bolted in the new terminal. Connections are made to the existing battery for now, while we wait on the new power and some battery terminals. All wiring was tech-flexed and heat-shrinked to keep it protected and looking good.

Out in the back, Mark started working on the trunk layout and began cutting some panels. We talked about the configuration and he's got some nice ideas going that will have the trunk looking real purdy. He's also elbows deep into the midrange/tweeter setup, which we'll have some pics for down the road. I can't wait to see the way these come out- I love where Mark is going with them.

Dustin was able to stop down to the shop yesterday to hang out for a while and even get his hands dirty on some work too. We worked on installing some of the awesome SDS sound deadening products in the vehicle, focusing some good efforts on the front doors. We used the butyl rope inside the doors between the crash bar and metal panels and CLD tiles on the inner and outer metal. Thanks Don !!



We had a visit from the fine fellows over at Sundown Audio as well. Jacob and Brian stopped by the drop off some awesome gear for the install including a new 125.4 amplifier and the sweet new SA8's. If you haven't seen them yet, they are very impressive. TONS of linear stroke, good venting, beautiful frame and details as well. Nice job by the boys on this one and I'm excited to hear what they can do. Thanks again guys!



More updates to follow as we slowly progress with this build (it's a marathon!) and plenty of pics as well.


The car is a Nissan 240 SX, and as Steve mentioned, it is a dream car for Dustin. He recently purchased it, and he is working to get it up to the level he wants it to be. Mark and Steve put in some extremely long hours this past weekend to get a lot of work done on this car. 










Dustin and his friend Alex were at the shop the entire day on Saturday. It was a great opportunity to discuss music, military, the hobby, and his plans for the car. 

Discussing the plans for the amp rack and sub box. 




























The car was in pretty rough shape when Mark received it. We pulled an array of wires (power, relay, RCAs, etc), and we even discovered a couple pounds of sand in the rear corner panel.This turned out to be an amazing opportunity to get the car stripped down, cleaned out, and reassembled - to put it on the right track for Dustin to have a show-level car. 

Trunk when it arrived










Trunk (after pulling everything and starting to run wires)










Interior










(Sneak peak of the tweet/mid speaker placement plans)



















Old Sound Deadener










The look of determination



















Steve and Mark ran the wires through the car (RCAs, 0 gauge power (very challenging to get it through the fire wall), remote, USB - all tech flexed and tied off). 



















Steve did a fantastic job getting these power wires squared away - to include new vehicle ground wire. 










Doors.......Dustin had some Hybrid Audio L8's that need to go in the doors. 














































Amp Rack

Mark's plan for the amp rack is to use a simple affair where the 3 amps would be mounted with an effective fan layout that will give complete air circulation. He will finish it with a false floor. 




























Test Fit



















Mark also fabbed a 'box' to hold the 6to8 DSP that Steve donated and the StreetWires distro block that another member donated. 










It was awesome to see all of the items that folks donated for this build. Between wiring needs, speakers, and amps. 

Jacob and Brian from Sundown Audio came by the shop to provide in person the 125.4 Sundown Amp and the two Sundown 8" subwoofers that they were donating. It was fantastic to get to talk to Jacob again and to meet Brian. 





































If I'm remembering this correctly, one of the DIYMA members at the last NC Meet donated 2 of the Version 1 Sundown 8" subs to Dustin (on left), and Jacob exchanged those for the Version 2's. Mark has a plan for a bandpass, ported box to utilize the 2 subs that will fit around / over the gas tank. Should be fantastic!














































Dustin also had a pair of Hybrid Audio L3 SE drivers, and a pair of Hybrid tweeters. Scott Buwalda of Hybrid Audio graciously exchanged those tweets for the top notch Legatia Pro L1 Ring Radiator tweeters. 










The pillars in this car are extremely thin, and the rake of the windshield and the depth of the dash make it extremely challenging to place the tweets / mids. Mark has a fantastic plan on placing them on top of the door card - I'm looking forward to what this will look like when completed!

Here's some low quality pics from my iphone. 

These are mainly of the wiring. Again, everything techflexed and heat-shrinked, tie wrapped up.











Wires were fished and pulled through the factory door grommets. No easy task as it's very difficult to get your hands up to the hole on the inside of the vehicle. Especially when you're pulling 3 sets 






I decided to run the speaker wires up to a terminal block for distribution to make any changes easier. All connections are crimped and soldered- including the 1/0 gauge runs


----------



## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

New ground. The rusty area you see is the battery tray. Just needs to be wire brushed and rust treated. 





Under the hood, power wire run and the circuit breaker. 









You can see the nice grey piece that Mark fabbed up to mount the circuit breaker to. It's secured to the body metal and provides three mounting points.


----------



## JoeHemi57 (Mar 28, 2006)

Great work so far guys and nice to see everybody getting involved. I manage a Nissan parts department and have access to lots of aftermarket stuff too so if i can help in any way send me a message. I owned 2 S14's in the past, the trunk is difficult but i've got a build from years ago on here somewhere.

found it!!
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...t-240-sx-1996-se.html?highlight=joehemi+240sx


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

JoeHemi57 said:


> Great work so far guys and nice to see everybody getting involved. I manage a Nissan parts department and have access to lots of aftermarket stuff too so if i can help in any way send me a message. I owned 2 S14's in the past, the trunk is difficult but i've got a build from years ago on here somewhere.
> 
> found it!!
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...t-240-sx-1996-se.html?highlight=joehemi+240sx


Yeah, I am really happy with the progress and level of involvement by so many.
I sent you a pm about some items in the Nissan parts bin that perhaps you may be familiar with. That build log of yours displayed some serious work. I especially liked the JBL raised letters. Beautiful work! Thanks for tuning in.


----------



## BlkRamRt (Nov 27, 2013)

NICE!


----------



## Joemon (Jul 9, 2010)

Clean s14


----------



## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Did any more progress ever get made on this, or is it in limbo?

Jay


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> Did any more progress ever get made on this, or is it in limbo?
> 
> Jay


As Supporting as Mark Worrell and everyone else has been and currently still are, logistics have been tough in terms of transferring possession of the car to and from Charlotte to Jacksonville. With the aid and advice of the other members who have also been involved from the beginning of this hole project We have been taking steps toward keeping this thing in motion. 

Please don't judge to critical as none of these pictures are of "finish work".

Doors: The doors panels were hacked so that the Legatia l8's could fit where a 6 1/2 use to be. No metal had to be cut in order to get the speaker in the door thanks to these massive Birch rings that were a gift from Tom of 12velectronics.com who supported this project with all the rings have used and plan to use for the completion of the front stage.as well as a dampener for the woofer and doors the rings also allow the woofer to space out far enough from the door that they do not hit the window or require cutting of metal in the door. Still to be determined is how to improve the look of the doors cosmetically. The meet at Jason's house allowed me to take in input from many of those who attended including the Doctor as well.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Joemon said:


> Clean s14


Thank you


----------



## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Yeah, I certainly wasn't looking down on the install. Somehow I missed this build, and was quite impressed. Great deal that all these people are chipping in. 

Looking forward to more!

Jay


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> Yeah, I certainly wasn't looking down on the install. Somehow I missed this build, and was quite impressed. Great deal that all these people are chipping in.
> 
> Looking forward to more!
> 
> Jay


Jay I never thought that for one second. Thanks for reminding me I know I should have been updating the log all along as many things have changed. Good to hear from you. BTW


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

L8's in the doors pictures.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Doors:
Sail Panels:

To make it to the Spring meet at Jason's house and to give me more experience with fabrication before attempting the new set of pods that are currently being build these were made a few days before the NC spring meet. sanding and appearance were not high on the priority list being as they were intended to be betas. in order to desired mounting position of the mid-range speakers and to better allow them to breath the ugly hole on the door panel had to be cut which allowed the magnets to be submerged into the door panel. It is covered up when the pods are attached to the door.

Will intent to get better aiming of all the drivers and make a more aesthetically pleasing set of sail panel pods i am now working on version 2 of the pods. This time i intend for the drivers to be on aimed in the same position with the tweeters being aimed directly between both head rest.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Trunk:

behind the rear passenger wheel an XS power d3100 battery was added and secure d to the body using a universal battery tray. The AGM group 31 Battery is an 80lb back breaker but is a power house that is used for audio and also serves as the car only battery. I believe XS power rates this battery for 5000 Watt RMS audio installs so it should be plenty for an SQ install. My lights no longer dim 

I have never welded anything before but the welding shop on my duty station were more than supportive in teaching me the basics. The rack is 12.5" x 40" of 1/8" steel which allows for the amps to be mounted in either of the 2 configurations in the pictures. After using a drill press to make the amp mount hole the rack was then painted flat black with 900 degree roll cage paint. It was needed to support the tweeter amp that I got Saturday and plan to install later this week. Final direction of the amplifiers mounting to the rack has not been finalized if anyone has an opinion on which will provide the best cooling/wiring configuration. Also using 1/2 inch bolts and nuts on all 4 corners the rack is mounted to the uni-body of the car
Excuse the wiring. Some order has been made of this since the pictures. There was a lot of moving going on at the time. Once everything is finalized if that word means anything on this forum All wires will Be techflexed and all that good stuff.

Not concerned with amp cross talk so I plan to use a 
dedicated tweeter amp SAX 100.2 Temporary
dedicated mid-range amp SAX 125.4 Bridged
dedicated mid bass amp SAX 124.4 Bridged
and dedicated sub amps SAX 1200d 1 ohm load


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Mosconi 6 to 8 DSP mounted behind this door in the trunk on the driver side where the radio antenna once was. 

The new Carpet meets the Old Carpet. 20 years of nasty.

These are the baffles of the new sail panel pods that I amp working on. 
Thanks Tom!


----------



## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Nice! Thanks for the update! Well on your way.


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

New carpet...ahhhhhhh I'm sure that is a welcome sight in there!


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

We'll have to hook up when you get settled in here in PA. I'll give you a hand with some of the build work


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

captainobvious said:


> New carpet...ahhhhhhh I'm sure that is a welcome sight in there!



Yeah, that last carpet was pretty rough to look at. And yeah be glad to work on a few things with you when I get there.


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

dgr932 said:


> Yeah, that last carpet was pretty rough to look at. And yeah be glad to work on a few things with you when I get there.


I'm confident we can get the doors looking much better and we can make pods for the mids/tweeters that will integrate better


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

I am so happy thanks to the addition of a 4th amp recently. This permits me to bridge all the channels on both SAX 125.4 amplifiers. Prior to adding the 4th amplifier there was only 125 watts RMS x 2 for the mid-range which often resulted in the Mosconi 6 to 8 muting the L3se channels before I could listen to them anywhere near the desired output level. Now since I am able to provide more power to the mid-range I enjoy the car stereo much more and no longer have a problem with the muting issue except when I go crazy with the volume knob. Its also great to go from a gain knob being at 50% previously to currently being turned down as low as possible. The amps are providing more power while running cooler at the same time.

Current set up:

SAX 100.2 for tweeters (not using tweeters at this time) will upgrade in the future if the performance is not liked
SAX 125.4 Bridged for Mid-range
SAX 125.4 Bridged for Mid-bass
SAX 1200d for (2) SA8v2 (not being used waiting for HO alternator)

Juan,
Thanks for helping me with the adding of the additional amplifier in 100 degree heat.


----------



## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Your welcome Dustin.

The addition of the 4th amp will allow for more headroom and reduce the volume marker. This plus a decent tune will allow for some extra break-in, for the L3 now that we have them vented. 400wrms is nice and sufficient power to push both the L3 and the L8s in the doors. Once we properly deaden the doors and properly secure the L8s, I have no doubt that once we tackle these some things we will be on the road to musical nirvana. 

I'm ready for further mods.


----------



## SilkySlim (Oct 24, 2012)

I really like musical nirvana!!!


----------



## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Glad to see you making progress on this. I hope to hear it in it's finished state one day in the near future!


----------



## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

Glad you're making progress fellas!

FYI- That muting issue is a result of clipping at the inputs of the 6to8 though. Have you run an Oscope on the headunit outputs to determine it's clipping point ? You'll then need to adjust the input sensitivity controls on the 6to8 and run the oscope on the outputs to check for clipping as well. There should be _*plenty *_of power for output to a pair of L3SE's with 125watts to thoroughly cook them.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

Thanks Guys,
I do appreciate all the input. I hope everyone can hear a complete installation before the year is out, Perhaps at the fall meet. 

Steve,
Using an O scope is something that I often think about but have no experience with. I hope you are able to teach me a thing or two about them.

Before completing my move to PA in July I hope to further tame the door leaks and rattles. Its almost there on the CLD side of things but I am going to focus on MLV and CCF.

The other major concern is cooling. With the wires soon to be 
tucked under the amp floor I am looking to add a host of cooling fans due to the temperature of the trunk. With my car parked in the shade under a car port all day the amps are more than hot to touch before even turning the car or amplifiers on. 

For now I drive with the back seat folded down to allow air exchange between the cabin and the trunk. Just unsure how man fans I will need. I am strongly leaning towards 4" fans pushing and pulling along the heat sink fins as well as across the top of the heat sinks.

I appreciate the help and input on everyone on the forum and being so understanding of all the changes I keep making.

-Thanks for staying involved.


----------



## plcrides (Mar 21, 2014)

thats awesome to see Jacob autographing everything,i am so jealous.lol nice build can't wait to see how it turns out.i want the amp,and i want those 3 eight inch subs and umm yea i want 'em lol.


----------



## dgr932 (Mar 31, 2011)

plcrides said:


> thats awesome to see Jacob autographing everything,i am so jealous.lol nice build can't wait to see how it turns out.i want the amp,and i want those 3 eight inch subs and umm yea i want 'em lol.


LMFAO:laugh:

You know just about every person involved in this build since the beginning has told me at one point or another they were jealous. I am very fortunate to have such great friends who continue to make this possible for me. 

Thanks for checking an and please stay tuned to the thread for more updates.


----------

