# 98 Lincoln Mark VIII cheap install..... that became not so cheap..



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

So my buddy and buisiness partner has this Lincoln Mark VIII he wrecked. because we are Modular specialists and Mark VIII specialists (even the Lincoln dealer sends them to us) we figured why not make her whole again and make it bad ass.
Its a 1998 Mark VIII LSC that had its nose bashed in. We tore it down and slapped on a 1996 LSC nose because they were the sleekest on the Marks. While we were at it we modded the motor, did big brakes, custom suspension, custom one off Cobra hood, custom spoiler yada yada yada.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Well the car got the scraps for sound system duties:











Most of that didnt last long. Did some Kappa speakers and some MB Quart amps but the system was never really special. Time to spend some money. Problem is he and I are frugal..... or cheap asses. LOL


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

So we set out to build something better but on a tight budget. We still have some things to do like add a DSP and another amp to run the system full active but here is where we are at now:

Pioneer Z140
JL Audio 300/4
JL Audio 500/1
Boston Acoustics SPG-555
Focal K2P 3-way components
Infinity Kappa Components rear fill.


Yes, rear fill was an absolute deal breaker. He insisted on it and its his car so we made it happen.

I apologize for my potatoes picture quality. When the deck fires up it shows a custom "Cobra Star" badge. Just the Cobra badge wrapped around the Lincoln star.





We used Infinity Kappa 6x8 components for the rear since we had them and they are not playing at the same level as the fronts.



The front stage was Interesting. I was debating between Focal and Dynaudio and all the sudden I found an unbelievable deal on the Focal K2P with warranty so i ordered them. After two weeks of waiting they told me they were still out of stock but would I mind if they sent me the three way versions instead for the same price.......... like I am going to say no. LOL

Thought it was going to be a chore to install but it turns out the factory tweeter hole is perfect for the Focal mid.




Made a hole right next to it for the tweeter.




And with all the grills in place:


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

The subs and amps are not much to look at now. The box needs to be covered and as funds allow the amps will be relocated. I know many will throw a fit with them mounted to the box but a spare tire was a must as was trunk room.
Plans are to add another 500/1 and a 450/4 to run the fronts active. At that time the spare tire is gone and an amp rack will be made. With the amps where they are now they perform excellent and never get warm so its works for now.





This weekend is dedicated to making some MDF adapters for the woofers and then laying down 150 square feet of GTMat to the doors and trunk. Should be fun. Not.


----------



## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

fuuuuuuck i miss my mark. i had mine before i knew the fun of installing a sound system and left mine to a ****ty shop to chop and hack mine up. good for you building one of these up and doing a best of both worlds build using the gen1 front and gen2 rear.HID headlights im assuming otherwise, as im sure youre aware, you wont want to drive at night without them. i always wanted to build an IB setup in one of these.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

It has real 96 LSC headlight housings. Scored them for $5 while everyone else wants $500 each for them. LOL
I also converted it to take a standard 9005 HID bulb since Mark HIDs are made of unobtanium.


----------



## ZombieHunter85 (Oct 30, 2012)

That is so bad ass I love the Mark V111 I had a bagged Mark VII wish I never sold it awesome car, plenty of power and drives like a cream puff. Great work!!


----------



## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Great build, looks fantastic! I actually prefer the older markVII myself, but these were much sleaker. Looking forward to updates, thanks for posting.


----------



## ZombieHunter85 (Oct 30, 2012)

Yeah the Vii had a great exterior, but the interior on the Viii how it wraps around cockpit style is just begging for an active set up. lol


----------



## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

Sick car!


----------



## Sine Swept (Sep 3, 2010)

I had the pleasure of working on a LSC just down the street. Old school Blue Thunders and even a PG Outlaw.


----------



## steppinrazer (Jun 29, 2011)

Sweeeet ride..

I had a 92LSC (totaled by a no insurance ahole) then a 91LSC for about 7 yrs total. Always wanted to step into a 98 LSC but they are super rare in my area that aren't worn out/rotted away.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

I am a Mark fanatic. Owned 13 in the last 6 years. My two favorites were the one I supercharged and put a custom controler in for the factory air ride so i could manipulate it. Also had a super rare 98 Midnight Gray car with Midnight interior. Wish I could find another but its the single rarest color combo and was only made for two months.


----------



## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

I miss that ivory pearlescent/ivory combo.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

You would have loved my 95. It was 100% flawless.


----------



## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

This thread is making me want another one. What're they going for these days? Six? Seven bucks?

Also how the hell did op get his hands on gen 1 housings for $5?!?


----------



## steppinrazer (Jun 29, 2011)

Gorgeous cars!


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Found them in a junk yard. Hes been offered $500 for them a few times because they are in perfect shape. LOL
I converted them for a 9005/9006 bulb.

As for the cars you can get a runner for $2000 and a fairly nice one for $2700. A real nice one will run between $4000 and $12,000. My 98 white one I sold for $12,000.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Yeah, I have issues. All of these were mine. LOL


----------



## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

this thread makes me feel like im on the old LOD forum.


----------



## cajunner (Apr 13, 2007)

I'd like one of these, that engine bay looks formidable


----------



## steppinrazer (Jun 29, 2011)

there aren't that many clean Marks left in my entire state.. 

the cobra R's fit that car soo nice


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Those are Saleen Speedstars. The very first set made for a Mark so they have way better chrome on them. 6 years latter and they are the only set thats never pitted.


----------



## cajunner (Apr 13, 2007)

when I look at that engine, that car, I think of how I'd have something good, for the day I have to out run the cops on a high speed chase.

so many cars nowadays, the internal parts can't take prolonged abuse at high speeds but this car looks like it could take it, like it's a two door Marauder or Interceptor, I think of an American Mad Max and the Toe Cutter, speeding down some isolated two-lane backwater and a helicopter rises in the distance, as the chase is on...


yeap, would like to stretch the legs out apocalypto on that one...


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

cajunner said:


> when I look at that engine, that car, I think of how I'd have something good, for the day I have to out run the cops on a high speed chase.
> 
> so many cars nowadays, the internal parts can't take prolonged abuse at high speeds but this car looks like it could take it, like it's a two door Marauder or Interceptor, I think of an American Mad Max and the Toe Cutter, speeding down some isolated two-lane backwater and a helicopter rises in the distance, as the chase is on...
> 
> ...


They are quite the beasts when done right. The white one had so many chassis, brake, suspension mods that it could pull a constant 1.1g on the skidpad. It stopped from 60MPH in 103 feet, did 0-60 in 5.1 seconds, ran the quarter in 12.2 and I got it to 172 before I ran out of road. All while staying wisper quiet inside and smooth as glass.

Hardest part with those cars is staying awake. Its like a Lazy boy on wheels. LOL


My favorite was the looks on Corvette owners faces that couldnt pass me on the highway. She was heavy so getting to 40 took a bit but 40-150 that thing pulled like a freight train.


Here is an old dyno run before the motor was pulled and built with forged internals to tripple the boost.


----------



## cajunner (Apr 13, 2007)

LaserSVT said:


> They are quite the beasts when done right. The white one had so many chassis, brake, suspension mods that it could pull a constant 1.1g on the skidpad. It stopped from 60MPH in 103 feet, did 0-60 in 5.1 seconds, ran the quarter in 12.2 and I got it to 172 before I ran out of road. All while staying wisper quiet inside and smooth as glass.
> 
> Hardest part with those cars is staying awake. Its like a Lazy boy on wheels. LOL
> 
> ...


aww, man...

that made my night!


it's that whole sleeper thing, with the cockpit interior that just Jekyll/Hydes for me.

you know, muzak, with the blue hairs going to the parlor on Fridays, then taking the car to the track, "Shortest Straw!" doomm doomm dee dooomm....


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

They never see it coming. Full weight and 9 second passes.





















Since this run he has forged the motor and added the BOSS intake and doubled the boost as well as blew up three transmissions before he found one that can take the cars 1000rwhp. LOL


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Been a busy week so the car was put on the back burner. The wires are ran, sound insulation layed, door hole changed and almost done.


----------



## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

These bagged are sick. Long and meannnnnnnnn!!!


----------



## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

theyre all bagged unless youre one of the idiots who replaces the bags with aftermarket coils.


----------



## deeppinkdiver (Feb 4, 2011)

I had a 96 for years, one of my favorite builds ever was in that car. Sadly no pics anymore. I ran 2 single din hHU's, a pair of Phoenix Gold XS6600's, CDT HD 3 way set up front, mini box 10 under glove box and a pair of HD 10's in that huge wheel well. 

Love the sig Bill.


----------



## jrs1006 (Sep 19, 2010)

That turned out awesome. I love the 3-way install in the doors. How does it sound?


----------



## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

i had a 3 way dyn 340 setup in the same way he has his setup with the mid/tweet in the stock tweeter location. i loved it.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Gotta find the rest of the pics but it is all together now. I am super impressed with the sound quality. Its funny because he thought his Infinitys were the greatest. We are still running the for rear fill so I fadded the stereo back to them and he realized just what he was missing. Gonna throw a set of Flax Focals in the rear.
He needs more processor as the Z140 just dont have enough adjustments. Trying to talk him into a Mosconi DSP and a JL 450/4 so i can run his speakers full active and still ahve his rear channels.
No matter how hard i try i cant talk him out of having rear channels.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Well being as he is my brother (not really but we are close) I let him talk me out of my JL 1000/1 and 450/4 in exchange for my old 500/1 back and letting me help install it all...... wait, I think I got the short end of the stick! LMAO!!

We had to wait till after the shop was closed so we were at it from 5-midnight redoing it. I need to run a new power wire for the 450/4 as his was just a bit too short and I had to splice the wire together and I hate power wire splices. We also discovered his crappy RCAs randomly work so I also ended up giving him $40 in new JL twisted RCAs I had sitting around NIB. Going to run those and replace the power wire this weekend.

Was so busy trying to figure out how we were going to mount the amps that I didnt really take any pics. Old way they were on the side of the box because the 300/4 and 500/1 are so small. At least there was enough room to hang them from the rear deck like my Audi so thats the route I went.

Holy hell did that wake up the system! The bass is must mind numbing and the Focal KRX3s just came to life. It was loud before but he jams the hell out of his music all the time which is the reason for the Focal component and Boston SPG555 choices and I was always annoyed because I could hear the 300/4 giving up and while the bass was solid it just wasn't tight, again due to power limitations. With the new amps, I couldn't turn it up to get to clip. My ears and throat gave up way too early. The bass chokes you and as the Focals are bright already they were just in your face. I have some serious tuning to do tomorrow.

About 11PM some cops showed up and it was literally within 30 seconds of first power up of the system. We are in an industrial area and we hadnt even turned the volume past 7 as we were tracing RCA wire issues. Cop was a real nice guy and turns out he just patrols the area and keeps an eye on my shop. He saw lights on and doors open so he came over to make sure nobody was breaking in or anything. Very cool. I dig our little community. 
Sat him down to let him listen to all three cars and now he wants me to do a system in his car. LOL!

Oddly enough he liked the Audis stereo the best. I told him hes in luck as the Morel Supremos and Elates are coming out next month and i am selling them for CHEAP. Audi does have a great sound stage though and its subwoofer, while no pounder like the SPGs, is super impressive for a single 10" on 200 watts. The 500/1 is going to it soon so it should really sing. 

Anywho, here is the only shot I thought to take. Yes I will be replacing that spliced power wire Saturday as well as running all new JL Audio RCA wires to get rid of that extension for the sub amp and the crappy front RCAs. No idea what brand they are but they really are crap.


----------



## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

whats the reliability like on those air suspension cars..if someone were to pick up one what would be the 3 main things to look for?


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Lycancatt said:


> whats the reliability like on those air suspension cars..if someone were to pick up one what would be the 3 main things to look for?


Heres the thing, if its Motorcraft parts they are good for 8-10 years. If its Arnott parts they arnott good. People don't realize that after 10 years a coil spring is usually worn out too.

The system is simple and only has 4 main parts. 
1. Ride height sensors. They rarely ever fail. Only bad ones I have ever seen are from cars with a sensor mod done to lower the car. Because of the bracket mod they tend to separate when you jack up the car and people forget to align them back together before they put the car back on the ground. I don't like sensor lowering and prefer the ASHAM8 controller since you can drop or raise the car at will. an slam it or go 4x4.

2. The Air bags. The rear ones always crack first and the tail drops overnight. They are cheap though and don't require a single tool to replace. They are all $200ish a pair and i look for the Continental or Firestone bladder versions as they last the longest. The fronts are more tricky. Arnotts new version isn't that bad but the shock is soft so they are not great for handling but ride great. Motorcraft is the only other one but now you are talking $400 each as opposed to $200 each. There is a guy (forgot his name) that takes stock ones and mods them. You send him some Motorcrafts or Arnotts (I would send Arnotts) and he pulls them apart and inserts Koni adjustable shocks in them. They work spectacular and the ride and handling is as good as you can get. But thats like a grand all together. If you are a corner carver its worth it though. Its amazing what these cars can do with the right suspension mods.

3. Air ride compressor. These are actually a stout part and were really hard to get plus expensive. What causes them to fail is worn out air springs. Springs leak, thing runs all the time and wears itself out. It only needs to run for 30 seconds and then if you never go above 50ish it should never need to come on again. You go over like 50 or 55 and the car drops itself an inch for aerodynamics and better handling. You drop below 45 and the car raises itself back up to normal height. I also like it when you get to where you are going and after you close the last door when parked and off the car will drop an inch to its parked position. I just like that.

4. Compressor filter. Its the biggest thing people overlook on these cars. Its $15 and should be replaced every couple years. Problem is that the system not only fills through the filter but also vents through the filter. So moisture in the system gets in the filter and then sucked into the pump when it lifts the car. So replace them regularly. Its cheap, its easy and it saves you from hurting that $350 compressor. As they age they restrict and that just makes the compressor work harder. It only has a 45 second per 4 minute run duty cycle. Any more than that and you will get the "Check Air Ride" warning on the DIC.



EDIT: There is a 5th item. Each spring has a vent solenoid. I have yet to see one fail. Only time I have ever seen an issue is when people install them in a new bag but dont replace the o-rings and then they leak.


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

LaserSVT said:


> People don't realize that after 10 years a coil spring is usually worn out too.


Yep. Coil sag will getcha. That was the proverbial straw that got my wife into a GLI and her old xB in the garage for a part out.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Well had a slight boo-boo. Guess kid messed with settings on the deck, dad didnt know, hoped in to play the T-Rex through the jungle demo track and noticed it was way more intense. Grabbed his wife and played it for her and commented on how he never heard it shake the car so hard. Gets ready to come to our car get together and all the sudden has no bass.
I check the deck and see the subs were switched from -9 to 0 and the bass knob was on max and the loudness on high. Since he put it at the volume level I knew was the systems limits when I had it set properly I knew he had to of blown a coil. Was a little surprised to see the dammage on one coil.










Turns out the other SPGs coil is fine but the surround has cracks. Wish I would have seen that before I ordered him new coils for Christmas. Now I gotta find a replacement cone. LOL


----------



## EricP72 (Mar 23, 2008)

Man!! I miss my 97 dark blue with gray interior mark! Best car to do a 3 way with little mods. I had sls 8" in the doors and the 3" peerless wide band in and a alpine Spx tweeter setup the same way you did. I ran those with 2 Kenwood x4r and 2 x1r and the 2 Boston spg subs also. Head unit was the premier 800prs. Then I wanted more power so I ran a job gto7001 per 8"! The x4r for the wideband and tweeter, and a pair of gto1400 for the subs. I just never got the spg to hit like I felt they should. Then rear bags started to leak...replaced them and the rear shocks. Then the blend door...argh! I did that myself. Then the front air bags went. Got a nice set from the markviii forum. And then while driving...the oil filter housing gasket failed!! Engine was toast...scrapped the car  I plan to get another gen 2...but after I finally get my hellcat. The mark will be my audio setup car. The cat will be my dream cruise car...lol. Anyway...loved this thread.


----------



## jode1967 (Nov 7, 2012)

this car was very fun to listen to


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Everything in the trunk was pulled and and we are redoing it all. Sold off the SPG555 subs after another blown coil and cones that are just worn out. Swapped them in favor of a custom built set (thanks Nick) or SI HST12's. There are future plans of doubling both amps and slapping a Helix DSP in there but for now its staying passive with the current amps.

So the progress is coming along on the Lincoln Mark VIII and should be done this week. Got the box pretty much done. 1" thick with a 2" face and triple coated in resin. Got the amp rack done and wired, crossovers mounted, all the sound deadening is done. Just have to carpet everything, make the beauty panels and then cut and etch the plexi for the amp rack and light it all up! 
The triple box was only for mock-up since its the same size but 1/4 the weight of the actual box. lol Also got the fan relay control wired and the quick service terminals mounted just have to carpet them. Also included a size reference pic for the subs going in this thing vs the CDT going in my Vette.
Still blown away these subs fit in a .5 sealed box.
The finished porduct should be cool. The box and floor all the way to the half moon wood floor will be factory trunk carpet gray and then building a curved sub box beauty cover that will be black as will the area under the half moon. Then the cover above the amp rack will be covered in an edge lit ple\xi cover that we are etching in the "Cobra Star" logo where the cobra and lincoln star will lite up with a chrome look and the insdie of the Lincoln star eill light up red just like the real ones. Should have those parts done by wed. and be ready o rock and roll.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

And some more progress. Lots of trim work to do but its getting there.


----------



## truckguy (Sep 2, 2013)

Two HST12 in a vehicle? Are you insane!! Lol. Looks great so far. There have been a few threads about those monsters but I haven't seen one in a vehicle yet. Can't wait to see how this turns out!


----------



## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

i can only imagine the weight back there...thank god for the bags.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Its been converted to springs. They were adjusted for the weight of the SPGs and same amps but also had a spare tire so the weight difference is minimal. I am really thinking of redoing the sub face a bit because in pics the subs look too far apart. 
We made it so the subs dont contact the beauty panel when in place and also wanted it easily removable for service and upgrades but the subs just look funky in the pictures. In person it looks a lot better but not perfect. Debating about maybe putting something in between them to make it look better but not sure what yet. The amps cover will have the Cobra-Star logo etched into it so I dont want another Lincoln emblem there. Car has many different component brands so dont really want to put an audio logo there as well. I dunno. Maybe the shops logo?


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Thinking maybe just raised letters in the gray carpet:


----------



## ugnlol (Apr 14, 2010)

Blown sub = major upgrade? 
Nice side panels you made there!


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Down to the home stretch! Just waiting on the plexi and its done.


----------



## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

LaserSVT said:


>


What kind of wild bug-eyed creature are you keeping in your trunk?


----------



## truckguy (Sep 2, 2013)

Lookin good! Have you fired it up yet? Earlier you said Nick made those subs special for you. Care to elaborate on the difference between the normal version and the lasersvt version.


----------



## Davidkelly (Aug 29, 2015)

ugnlol said:


> Blown sub = major upgrade?
> Nice side panels you made there!


"Been there,done that " lol


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

truckguy said:


> Lookin good! Have you fired it up yet? Earlier you said Nick made those subs special for you. Care to elaborate on the difference between the normal version and the lasersvt version.


Use the 4 layer coil instead. Only did a small sample. need to change the sub amp ground as we coulent turn it up much before it went into low voltage shutoff.


----------



## 1FinalInstall (Oct 13, 2013)

Takes me back to 1996. The owner of "The Audio Connection" in Baltimore/Towson, MD, where I was working briefly, had one with full ODR and it sounded AMAZING! She was mint green and something special, love these cars. Love what you did with this one!


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Fuggin JL Audio 1000/1 has blown caps.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

The dang JL has two split top caps and the rest are puffed out. Rather than take a chance on another used one I am just sending this one out for full service. My buddy is letting me use a 500/1 in its place till it comes back. We also are installing a second high discharge battery in the trunk behind the amp to help alleviate strain on the amps since it is such a long power run.
I believe the amps being sandwiched between the deck and box upside down enhanced the issue so with how they are mounted now it should help them even more with the heatsinks facing up and also some breathing room.

But here are some night time pics. Really happy withthe end results.


----------



## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Kudos! I really like the "understated" look you have achieved here. Well done


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Thank you but I only had a small part. Crow Concepts did all the hard work and the excellent build.

This isnt a video to allow you to hear them as you cant record bass very well with a phone. Its more to show you just how insane the throw is on them. They want a couple thousand watts but the amp is in for repair so they are on a borrowed 250 watt amp but still make amazing bass. The really impressive thing is how smooth and detailed they are. With such a heavy cone I wasnt expecting such great detail but the are fantastic! They are really good at just making absurd amounts of bass though. That 7hz note just shakes your guts. Cant wait to hear them with the proper power feeding them. Sound quality and SPL dont usually go hand and hand but these do it with ease! I have never heard any sub do so well below 20hz though. They are seriously impressive. More so when you figure they are in only a .5 cubic foot sealed box. Kudos to Nick at Stereo Integrity. Amazing subwoofer!


----------



## truckguy (Sep 2, 2013)

Sorry to hear about the amp issue and hope it gets fixed soon. The video is pretty impressive though!


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Meh, its typical of older JL amps. I dhoulf have sold him my Mosconi Zero amps but he didnt have the cash at the time. Looking back I regret just not doing a payment plan with him. I even offered but he hated owing money.


----------



## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

Man those sound nice...


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Not being all that happy about the amp rack and the way the rear was wired we decided to go ahead and redo it all.


----------



## deeppinkdiver (Feb 4, 2011)

Lookin good Bill


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

deeppinkdiver said:


> Lookin good Bill


Thanks but thats all Jeremys doing.


----------



## bdmach1 (Mar 8, 2008)

Nice! I love MK VIII's!


----------



## Electrodynamic (Nov 27, 2007)

Awesome new work (and previous work too)! 

I always smile when I see HST woofers. Even when I build them I chuckle at the absurdity of their looks. But they perform like a linebacker that knows ballet - they possess the ability to knock you to the ground but they can also be very delicate and precise.


----------



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Electrodynamic said:


> Awesome new work (and previous work too)!
> 
> I always smile when I see HST woofers. Even when I build them I chuckle at the absurdity of their looks. But they perform like a linebacker that knows ballet - they possess the ability to knock you to the ground but they can also be very delicate and precise.


Great analogy! Gonna steal it.


----------



## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

that's some really nice aluminum work with that amp rack.
I love these Lincolns.


----------



## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

God Damn what a sweet ride!


----------

