# Honda Prelude Amp Rack



## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

Hi Everyone,

My name is Peter and I've been working on a new Amp Rack for my Honda over the past few weekends. I've dabbled in car audio a bit before had a lot of bad luck with gear getting stolen and whatnot... In fact, I'm making this rack to replace what was stolen while my car is in the shop getting repaired from the last theft. That’s kind of a sad-sack bio I know... But I've been having a really good time working on this lately and I've found myself with a few questions that I can't seem to find satisfactory answers for elsewhere. I figured that I would join this forum and see if I can get some advice. 

Originally I had intended to just make a simple false floor style trunk amp rack with some carpet on top etc... Well it's gotten a bit out of control... But like I said, I'm having a great time. So I'm posting up the following pictures and I'll get to the questions in a bit. Hope you guys like it.

-PM

The order here is kind of backwards: 










Layout and pilot holes for one of the wire separators. I had intended to use some brackets for engine hoses by Earls... But the local race shop closed and I'm too impatient for mail order.











One finished bracket... Got a few more of these to make. 











The above bracket before being separated from the prototype. Took me some practice (and mostly new drill bits) to get the hang of working with Aluminum again.











One of the amps I'm using and some of the beefy looking Monster cable I'll be wiring stuff up with. At this point I should mention price and aesthetics were my primary concerns at this point. I _wanted_ to spend around $500 on the rack, stereo and sub amp and sub… Though I love her to death, in all honesty my car is a bit to loud for a real SQ system so I figured the Sony amps would be fine. And they were pretty ;-) Though I've been drooling all over a Zapco catalogue that I picked up while buying power wire... 

And the following shots are just different angles of the rack. I'll post up more this evening since I've started wiring it up. It’s made from plywood with aluminum spacers. Got some carbon fiber sheet on the bottom to make it look snazzy. Some Lexan windows on top cuz’ Tap Plastics decided that acrylic was worth more then gold at some point over the last few years. Thinner then I’d like… But the way things are going I just might spring for a full acrylic top at some point anyway… 





























In the end a blood sacrifice was required for the brackets, but now that the gods have been appeased I'm back to work. 

Some of the work that I did this week:










So this is what the whole thing looks like so far w/o the covers on the amps... And part of me is thinking of leaving them this way... Keep the silver for the accents.



















The stacked Boston crossovers. That's a 16 gauge steel plate between them -- I'm hoping it's enough to keep the chokes from interfering with each other. I'm might still get some 3" aluminum channel stock later this week and make a full cover for both of them... Kind of like them open though, I'll have to see how it works out.




















My power distribution blocks... Right now they add .01 ohms to the run... I don't know if that's bad or good vs commercial power blocks but I'm sure it will be fine in the long run.










...and this just shows off the carbon fiber nicely... And both the amps with the covers on.


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## kappa546 (Apr 11, 2005)

looks great so far!


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Ha! Another pic of carnage! I'm not the only one!

Looking good!


Chad


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

chad said:


> Ha! Another pic of carnage! I'm not the only one!
> 
> Looking good!
> 
> ...


Thanks man. And you too kappa546. I bust or break something almost every time I do a complex project... I think it just comes with this kind of work... Well that, and I'm sort of clumsy  

It's kind of scary... I'm not really a machinist, but I've done work in quite a few shops and I swear it's seems like there is always at least one guy there who's missing a finger or something. So I'm really glad that I've managed to avoid that, or worse -- knock on wood.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

I had a 3" pneumatic cutoff wheel buck back into my finger while doing a "hold my beer and watch this" stunt. Took out a nice swath, of course I posted pics 

Chad


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

chad said:


> I had a 3" pneumatic cutoff wheel buck back into my finger while doing a "hold my beer and watch this" stunt. Took out a nice swath, of course I posted pics
> 
> Chad


Like Chris Farley said..."thats gonna leave a mark!"


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## AzGrower (May 30, 2005)

datac99 said:


> I had intended to use some brackets for engine hoses by Earls...


Thats a great fawking idea man...mind if I gank it for my amp rack build?


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

AzGrower said:


> Thats a great fawking idea man...mind if I gank it for my amp rack build?


Not at all, I'm doing this cuz' that's how I want it to look, not to compete or anything like that. 










In polished aluminum was my first plan.

Honestly though... If you have a decent drill press you can make them fairly easily... My last shop class was over 10 years ago.


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## Headknocker (Feb 3, 2006)

I love it...VERY clean. I absolutely love the brackets.

Great job!


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

Headknocker said:


> I love it...VERY clean. I absolutely love the brackets.
> 
> Great job!


Thanks man!


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## cam2Xrunner (Apr 30, 2005)

Very nice job!!!

I kinda like the amps with the covers off.


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## Weightless (May 5, 2005)

Nice job man, I really like the idea of using the milled aluminum. One question though...Is there any sort of protection or shield between the + and - power distrobution blocks? I would worry that something might short if they were to touch...


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

SQ_Express said:


> Nice job man, I really like the idea of using the milled aluminum. One question though...Is there any sort of protection or shield between the + and - power distrobution blocks? I would worry that something might short if they were to touch...


Not really ;-) In fact if they make you uneasy now the new plan will give you fits... I'm thinking of stacking them one on top of the other, but I will have a nylon tube around the bolt. Honestly since the whole rack has a cover, and all the wires are strapped down I don't think I've got much to worry about. I could probably shape some of the thin lexan I've got if you think that it's really a problem. I just don't really see what could get in there and short them... I guess better safe then sorry though.

EDIT 4/11/06:

The more I think about this the more I think SQ_Express is right... If I get any moisture soaking into the carpet on the amp rack those terminals are going to short... I'll be reworking the positive terminal slightly so I can fit a nylon sleeve and washer between the allen bolt and aluminum block, and spraying the bolt with conformal coating.


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

cam2Xrunner said:


> Very nice job!!!
> 
> I kinda like the amps with the covers off.


Me too... I think it actually makes them look a bit more high end  I was even thinking about making plexi covers for them but alas the boards are different colors, and most of the components end up being mounted on the back. So not that exciting... But I'll see what it all looks like... I should finish up to the point where I can test fit it and try it out today. I'm itching to hear it.


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## Tirefryr (May 15, 2005)

cam2Xrunner said:


> Very nice job!!!
> 
> I kinda like the amps with the covers off.



x2!!!

MAD PROPS to you as well. Personally, I love to see some detailed wiring layouts! Not too many people into that nowadays. Clean routing is sometimes more enticing than hidden.


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## Ludemandan (Jul 13, 2005)

datac99, glad you found the board! That makes two Bay Area Preluders.  Of course, my system is hella ghetto compared to yours...

Curious: How much weight is all this gonna add?


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

Tirefryr said:


> x2!!!
> 
> MAD PROPS to you as well. Personally, I love to see some detailed wiring layouts! Not too many people into that nowadays. Clean routing is sometimes more enticing than hidden.



Thanks! Me too... I've done a system or two before... But we are talking about amps nailed down to a sheet of MDF... Well, and I tried to make a set of door pods once but the resin never dried so I had them sitting it the back seat until that car got stolen... I come from more of a computer modding / IS background so the clean cabling and the windows and all are kind of drawn from that. I was just going to make it simple... Then I remembered that I had the sheet of CF that I never used... Then I though of the earls fitting... Then I remembered the place up by the coliseum that had cheep aluminum... And it just started to snowball... And I'm really happy. Just doing this part has me all excited to try some of the other stuff that I've read about people doing here... 

I think I'm going to make it a active 3-way system next... Then sound deaden the door panels... Maybe some A pillar mounted tweets in CF pods... We'll have to see... I'm just having tons of fun. I'm grateful to have a place like this to come for inspiration too.


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## MiniVanMan (Jun 28, 2005)

What can I say? It looks fantastic. Great job on the aluminum blocks.


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

MiniVanMan said:


> What can I say? It looks fantastic. Great job on the aluminum blocks.


Thanks! I got it in the trunk late last night allong with the new alpine HU, a CDA-9853... And it sounds great... So much nicer the the old Sony... Funny thing is at the time I payed more for the Sony... Should have realized that driveing a huge VFD was likely to cause noise in the unit... 

I'm really looking forward to tuneing it now... Been reading through some of the writeups... Now if only I can figure out the alpines menus... Damn... "Hold menu button down for at least 2 seconds. Select TCR and press glide bar, press the track advance buttone for 1.5 seconds while looking out the back window of the car. Then press menu again while humming the star spangeled banner." It's a bit silly. Anyway... Thanks again for the kind words... I tend to get my head stuck a bit too deep in a project and stop enjoying the process. So it's always good to hear that people like my work.


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Nice Panasonic drill there too! (I've got the same one, so I'm biased)

Nice job on the machining. Do you have a mini-mill or did you do this by hand with a drill press?

Keep up the good work!


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

shinjohn said:


> Nice Panasonic drill there too! (I've got the same one, so I'm biased)
> 
> Nice job on the machining. Do you have a mini-mill or did you do this by hand with a drill press?
> 
> Keep up the good work!


It's done with a drill press and a hand file. Oh and a band saw to cut the blocks out. Got the chamfer in the holes with a large counter sink bit that I just spun by hand in the chuck while the bits were stuck in the vise… …And the hand file for the chamfers on the outside of the block. Once I got the pattern down it only takes about 1 hour for each block including polish. Course the first one took 3 and several trips to the hardware store for more intermediate drill bits ;-)

Back in the day I had blocks from a company called Tiff that was an esoteric audio brand. They have since incorporated a lot of the styling into the streetwires blocks, but not quite enough for my taste. Though nobody local stocks them so I’m really not sure – the streetwires blocks that is – so I’m not sure how good or bad looking they really are in person. But they seemed just a little bit on the sloppy side to me… When they were selling them as Tiff they were machined so crisply that you could almost cut yourself on the corners. Anyway, I’m rambling again. Thanks for the complement.

P.S. I noticed that you were using one of my favorite tools on your center console install. I nice cold G.B. ;-)


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## chuyler1 (Apr 10, 2006)

Any updates on this project? I'd love to see some finished pics!


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## IMPALAMAN1 (Jun 7, 2006)

is this peter from sac? that had the porsche? impalaman1... if so i still have your parts.... what do you want me to do with them?


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

Somebody got an A+ in machine shop,nice job on the rack.Those Hondas are just magnets for car theives,lotsa luck with the rest of the install.


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## 346 (Aug 22, 2005)

About your distro blocks... it's not a problem as it is cause there's probably a relatively thick layer of resin on it, but the actual carbon fiber is conductive, so be careful.

Just in case you didn't know, since I didn't see it mentioned.


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

Thanks for all the comments and good advice. I've been forced to take a bit of a break from this project, but I'm putting the finishing touches on the amp rack right now, and I should have some pictures up later this evening. 

After not having a sound system for a while I was just enjoying driving around with some music for a few weeks, and some doof ran into me on the freeway. Took about a month for the body shop to get around to pulling out my car to the point where I could get the rack back out of the trunk. Hopefully they will finish the rest of it soon... 

ME: Do you ever get the feeling that some people are just unlucky?

ME: Why yes, yes I do... 

But enough wineing... Pics soon!

And for the record: even though I had to teach all the other miscreants what an 1/8 of an inch was (I'm not kidding!) I still only got a B!

And I'm not the Peter from sac, but I'll take the parts if they are worth anything... J/K! 

Hey Ludemandan: good to see you over here! BAP's been a bit slow lately.


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

Well, some things are not working out quite the way I wanted... So here is a little teaser until I can get back on the mill and make a few more parts... Problem when things start coming out nice is that your standards go up... It kind of sucks…

Some really nice work posted here while I’ve been gone, seems kind of lame to go back and dig up old threads (does this qualify as irony?) by posting a comment after everyone’s said something already… But well nice stuff… Inspiring. 

Language center of brain shutting doasfd;nagsrgvbsr….

Good night.


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

*New wire spacers! Wh00+ wHooT!*

Okay so I got some bits made today to hold down the power wire. They still need to be polished but I'm out of 400 girt for now, so ignore the finish. Also made some little inserts for the power wire and sub wiring. And some small frames for the RCA cables to come up though. The monster RCA's have a rather ugly tribalesq looking triangle of red plastic where they merge into one cable, so the plates have to accommodate that to a degree. I ended up taking the carbon fiber off, I really liked it, but just didn't like not having enough to cover the whole board. 











This pretty much exemplifies what I was going for with the project. Somewhere between a racecar look and a freeway overpass. I definitely wanted to do something different, and I'm really happy now that I'm getting a chance to finish it off. 











Here you get a good view of pretty much all the new stuff... I think I'm going to space the subwoofer cable grommets out a bit more. I'll try to fill the hole with some dowel and blend the carpet over the top. Recarpeting that thing once was enough. And I'm going to have to replace it with some better wood eventually anyway. Birch "marine" plywood from china is crap.











I skinned the power wires with expandable sleeveing -- it's fantastic living near Fry's Electronics  And I remember when they were just a marginally successful chain of dirty little grocery stores. I did come up a bit short on the cables, the adhesive lined heat shrink -- fantastic stuff BTW -- is not very flexible so it looks I bit odd... I might redo them, don't know yet.

So tomorrow I'll try and get the X-Overs mounted like before. I screwed up the surface of one of the brackets when I was milling them down... Oh yeh, did I mention I had milled everything down while trying out an even more prototypey look? I did... I didn't work out. So I may have to fix that. 

And I'll be putting XLR connectors on all the audio cables so that the rack is quickly removable for autocrossing.


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## jisturm (Feb 4, 2006)

Looks great. I love how clean it all looks.


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## datac99 (Apr 5, 2006)

jisturm said:


> Looks great. I love how clean it all looks.


Thanks man. It’s been a lot of fun really getting to follow though on an idea. Though in the future I'm going to do a bit more planning.


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## Ludemandan (Jul 13, 2005)

That looks like a great project. Where you at again? It would be fun to compare installs and see how yours sounds. I'm in the middle of my install right now, but at least my eD speakers are hooked up.


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