# 2001 PT cruiser, 1st install!



## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Well here is my install so far, it’s bee a TON of work but ive learned a lot and saved a bunch of money. Here’s the list of the gear and setup currently, although I think I am going to add an external crossover for the mids and low speakers.
Pioneer 960MP Head Unit (craigslist for $150)
2x Audiocontrol EQT 30band EQ
Earthquake TNT 600Wx4CH amp – 2X Blaupunkt VC100
2X 4” Dayton RS-100-4
Blaupunkt THA275 75Wx2CH amp – 2X Dayton RS-225-4
Kicker 1200.1 Sub amp – JVC Arsenal 12” 8240

9 0.5 farad caps...im pretty sure this equals a flux capacitor...now just if a PT cruiser could reach 88mph

The Earthquake amp is mounted at the front of the passenger's feet, i'll clean it up soon but thats the rough idea. I really couldn't figure out how to make a good solid sub box without making it square for the right volume, also im not a real fiberglass pro (and that resin is so pricey!). 

This was my first real install and although it looks decent, im screwed on the door pods. I don’t really know what to do to make them look flush now. At the time, cutting a big section of the door out and maiking that fiberglass part that’s sealed and sits behind it was a good idea…but now there are gaps that im not sure how to make look good. Any ideas or comments?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

You live in Seattle and you have a right-hand drive PT Cruiser?


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## lowpoke (Jun 1, 2008)

Pretty cool first set up.
The door pods just require more filling and sanding, no?

(Those stiffening caps look like they might draw the attention of the local anti-terrorist agency if someone happens to look in back!)


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## FrankstonCarAudio (Feb 2, 2008)

One question..
How are those caps wired?
It's hard to see in the pics, but they look as if they are wired in series?.. if they are in series you have just reduced the total capacitance to less than the value of just one cap!
Capacitors need to be wired in parallel to increase the total. (opposite to resistors)

The door panels should look good when finished.. what are you going to cover them with?

I hope your passengers have short legs!! 

Keep the updates coming...

Mark


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## garvinzoom (Mar 23, 2008)

mikey7182 said:


> You live in Seattle and you have a right-hand drive PT Cruiser?


Good eye, reversed negative.


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

garvinzoom said:


> Good eye, reversed negative.


Build in cameras on Macs do this thing.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

ACtually i converted my cruiser to right hand drive and every piece of equipment in the car i custom painted the letters on backwards  I dont know why apple chose to do the horizontal flipping thing on thier cameras. Good note on the caps, they are absolutely not hooked up to anything  I got them at a garage sale for about $5 and could not pass them up....but actually wiring them into the car would not be very effective and likely cause more trouble than help. I guess i'll keep adding filler and sanding, the problem i'm having is that i feel like i dont have the right sanding tools or something. Im using bodyfiller from NAPA that was recommended for those who cant afford RAGE, and have a sanding block with multiple types of sand paper...this takes FOREVER and i honestly cant sand down a whole coat on one side before my arm starts to cramp up.
What do you guys use to smooth out the bodyfiller when sanding? Just a block, or is there a preferred power or magic tool? 
As for covering the pods, i have no idea. Im guessing ill have to use some type of material fabric because there are imperfections and mis-cuts that i dont think will be able to be covered by filler and whatnot, but some creative fabric use could possibly work. Previously my girlfriend and I tried to wrap them in vinyl but we couldn't get it to stick to the shape, especially that valley between the two speakers. 
The PT cruiser has a rather upright seating position, where your legs sit more vertical than out in front of you and believe it or not these speakers dont stick out farther than the stock door panels!!! The stock panels were very odd shaped and for audio's sake, a nightmare!!! I WILL need to get some type of grill esp for the 8" just in case i have a dumb passenger.


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## CRD (Apr 23, 2008)

I love the 2 sets of daytons in the door, I'm buying the 4" daytons to replace my midranges, exposed like that looks very nice, I might do the same but with some custom grills hmmmmmm.

Nice job


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## capnxtreme (Feb 5, 2008)

Is the LA Lakers interior factory?


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Hahaha well i dont have any pics of the outside of my car but it used to be cop car themed, i actually placed at hot import nights seattle a few years back and there are pics of my car in performance auto and sound magazine, but a new law in WA--that im 99% sure is because of me--makes having a lightbar on top of your car require written approval from the DOC for its purpose which must be of good reasoning, AKA not for show. The light-bar was yellow and purple....now that it's off i have a terribly odd interior  When i have the cash ill hopefully get it covered in a distressed rawhide looking leather. Im going to spray it satin black and put some red rims on it soon, a nice rat rod look!
The daytons rock, but the blaupunkt amp i have @75w really doesnt push the two 8's like they need to be. Right now they cant keep up with the rest of the system. I have a rockford 400Wx4 but i also have an old 63 bug i was saving that for. Maybe ill just go ahead and throw it in for the sake of not skimping on the system. Too much power is a lot better than not enough.


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## yeldak99 (Mar 5, 2008)

try this to get that body filler down, use this to get close to desired results, then sand










http://hand-tools.hardwarestore.com/67-418-surform-tools/surform-blade-295592.aspx (you can pick these up at lowes as well)


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Do you use a flat or round file?


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## yeldak99 (Mar 5, 2008)

I use a round file for stuff like this, that has curves and shapes.


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## BlueSQ (Mar 22, 2007)

elvisjer said:


> ACtually i converted my cruiser to right hand drive and every piece of equipment in the car i custom painted the letters on backwards  I dont know why apple chose to do the horizontal flipping thing on thier cameras. Good note on the caps, they are absolutely not hooked up to anything  I got them at a garage sale for about $5 and could not pass them up....but actually wiring them into the car would not be very effective and likely cause more trouble than help. I guess i'll keep adding filler and sanding, the problem i'm having is that i feel like i dont have the right sanding tools or something. Im using bodyfiller from NAPA that was recommended for those who cant afford RAGE, and have a sanding block with multiple types of sand paper...this takes FOREVER and i honestly cant sand down a whole coat on one side before my arm starts to cramp up.
> What do you guys use to smooth out the bodyfiller when sanding? Just a block, or is there a preferred power or magic tool?
> As for covering the pods, i have no idea. Im guessing ill have to use some type of material fabric because there are imperfections and mis-cuts that i dont think will be able to be covered by filler and whatnot, but some creative fabric use could possibly work. Previously my girlfriend and I tried to wrap them in vinyl but we couldn't get it to stick to the shape, especially that valley between the two speakers.
> The PT cruiser has a rather upright seating position, where your legs sit more vertical than out in front of you and believe it or not these speakers dont stick out farther than the stock door panels!!! The stock panels were very odd shaped and for audio's sake, a nightmare!!! I WILL need to get some type of grill esp for the 8" just in case i have a dumb passenger.


Hey cool install man, how does it sound?

I wish I could go without saying it...but I cant. You can convert your car into a right hand driver, completely rebuild the dash, move airbags, but you installed 7 dead caps unwired to your system for .... looks?


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## Powers (Apr 10, 2008)

You didn't convert it to RHD:

1) The 960MP looks like this:









If you notice in your picture of it, the "xm" and "super tuner 3d" logos at the top are backwards, as is the lettering on the wiper stalk. 

2) The logo on the back of the jeep is backwards. 

Your pictures were flipped horizontally.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Oh man.....my saying of converting the car to RHD was supposed to be sarcastic, but i guess with plain text sarcasm is never guaranteed to come across correctly  No, it's still LHD like stock, for real. My computer's camera flips them all horizontally and its annoying to flip them again when it portrays the message clearly either way....as long as I dont attempt sarcasm again!


It sounds pretty good, although i really need to swap out my amp that runs the 8's. This Blaupunkt just really doesn't hit hard enough to keep up with the rest of the system. I feel like there is a lack of sound in the "bass guitar" region, but it's probably once again from the underpowering of the 8's. 
I know these speakers need 1cu. ft. of space, im really wondering if i gave them enough space in these panels! They are big pods, but 1 cu. ft. is huge!


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

knowing i DIDNT actually convert it to RHD, don't you think the caps look pretty dang cool? im thinking of building a plexiglass enclosure for them to make them appear that much more dangerous


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## BlueSQ (Mar 22, 2007)

elvisjer said:


> knowing i DIDNT actually convert it to RHD, don't you think the caps look pretty dang cool? im thinking of building a plexiglass enclosure for them to make them appear that much more dangerous


Lol 

MANY a relationship fight start because the text doesn't express anything, its just words. 1st hand experience here....

Ok, so understanding I blew it on reading the thread thoroughly, it makes entirely more sense now. Those caps however, don't. Sorry man I just couldn't justify it - definitely wouldn't drill holes for that thing. Buy it and hide it so no one knows you believe in them, like i do in my car


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## BlueSQ (Mar 22, 2007)

elvisjer said:


> Oh man.....my saying of converting the car to RHD was supposed to be sarcastic, but i guess with plain text sarcasm is never guaranteed to come across correctly  No, it's still LHD like stock, for real. My computer's camera flips them all horizontally and its annoying to flip them again when it portrays the message clearly either way....as long as I dont attempt sarcasm again!
> 
> 
> It sounds pretty good, although i really need to swap out my amp that runs the 8's. This Blaupunkt just really doesn't hit hard enough to keep up with the rest of the system. I feel like there is a lack of sound in the "bass guitar" region, but it's probably once again from the underpowering of the 8's.
> I know these speakers need 1cu. ft. of space, im really wondering if i gave them enough space in these panels! They are big pods, but 1 cu. ft. is huge!



You want cheap, clean, raw power? Go get yourself an MB Quart RAA2400. 200 x 2 @ 4 ohm for less than 200 shipped. Thing is a tank.

http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=360

forget their price, about 5 minutes of effort and you'll find it cheaper.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

I wish i had the money to throw down for an amp like that. Im a college student with a general negative income, so i cant buy much or really anything right now. I would love to mount all my amps and stuff in the trunk, but running RCA and power wires from the battery to the trunk, then back out to the front of the car just seems wasteful to me! The problem is that I can't find cool mounting ideas for putting multiple amps in the front of the car. I have a rockford Punch amp that's a 4 channel and i think 400w RMS or so...i dont remember lol. Maybe i will throw it in the car. 
I'll inventory my amp then post them up here and get your opinion on what ones to run.


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## imickey503 (Dec 16, 2015)

Its 2020. Did you ever get money again? DId you Get Married? How is your life now?


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