# 91 Toyota pickup 4x4 full cab refresh



## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

i started my audio build today, after years of waiting, and a year or more of planning.

this is a small portion of an overall larger renovation project.

after much deliberation and some wheeling and dealing with my local shop (custom sounds in Austin, TX) i've finalized my parts list. it is as follows:

Headunit: Pioneer DEH-80PRS
Amp: Kenwood Excelon x802-5 (5 Channel)
Sub: JL 10TW3
Components: Focal Performance PS165v1
sound deadening: Dynamat extreme, ccf, mlv, door "enclosures", heat shielding, etc.


The overall build ethos is to keep it clean, simple, and stock looking, but in the most aurally pleasing way possible given a reasonable (relative I know) budget.

I can and will do pretty much all of the fab and finish work myself.

The final build will have the 80prs in the dash - duh - , (already installed actually at the time of posting); amp behind the driver's seat; custom-built sealed sub box behind the passenger; custom speaker rings in door panels, with doors somewhat "sealed"; tucked and clean, no corners cut wiring and sound deadening; bucket seats installed; and a custom-built center console with some trick features I have planned.


I was able to get a good deal on all the system parts, and I got a full single cab set of dynamat for free, so I'll be using that instead of buying anything from SDS, Knuconceptz, or noico. picked up some noico ccf and some mlv from where i can't remember right now. i'll have a look one of these days at the brand.

now for some preliminary install pics:

original dash and HU -


















removed the dash to install a new gauge cluster with a tach and some extra gauges.


























Spaghet:









no more spaghet:










the odometer on the new cluster was 8000 miles low, so rigged up a setup with a drill, the worm gear, and some zipties to roll the odometer forward to make the new cluster match the old one that came out of the truck.










Removed all other dash parts to remove the old crappy Kenwood head unit.
it ended up having an HD radio antenna hardwired in. I'll have to order a new antenna cable for when I go back in to run RCAs to the new amp in the next phase of install.

HU and new cluster installed:



















I'll do glamour shots again when it's all installed. Until then, you guys just get potato phone shots.

Installing the HU is just the first part of the build. I'm in the process of finishing the cad models for the box and door panel parts. I have some decisions to make coming up on amp placement, tweeter placement, active vs passive, and general aesthetic stuff. It'll be fun for me. Feel free to give 1 or 2 cents. I may ignore it.
or not...




(edited for pictures and complete-itude...)


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## Theslaking (Oct 8, 2013)

One of my first exposures to a great system install was an early 90's Toyota truck.


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Looking forward to the sub box build.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

knever3 said:


> Looking forward to the sub box build.


thanks, me too


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

did a little bit of work on my cad models. decided to throw the actual sub in there just to practice some.



















i'll see if i can edit and throw some more pictures in of my preliminary designs. they will certainly be changing, i actually did these last year and i've had some new ideas since then on what i want. but i do want to get a good log of the progression from orginal ideas through to completion so i'll post em up.

pictures below:

old sub box design. i know its rough. but it was enough for me to figure out the box volume and some of the fitment issues in the truck.
box volume without a sub is 1.1 cuft for this design. the sub i have has a recommended volume for a sealed enclosure of .6 cuft. so i have plenty of room to work with if i can make this box fit.










this is that box with the sub modeled in it









section view showing that the sub has plenty of room around it.










i'm designing door card inserts to make to act as both speaker rings and door pockets. the truck is just a single cab so storage is at a premium. any little space like this that i can take advantage of is important to me. i'll be aiming the woofers a little off of normal to the door to hopefully get a little better imaging since these are so low in the cab.









thats all i have for now. i only have time to work on this a couple evenings a week so it''ll be a bit slow at first while i finish planning the build


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

just ordered all my wiring from knukonceptz. it should be be here early next week! so stoked to get started on this in earnest


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## rob feature (Nov 15, 2015)

You had me at old Taco. All subbed up!


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## Batryoperatedboy (Jan 11, 2011)

The pictures are gone now but if you're interested there's people on Toyotaminis.com who have added tacoma/4runner speaker pods to our generation pickup's doors. (This one has a tweeter-pod grafted on, but it's good reference.)


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

oh wow thats pretty nice looking actually


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

got my wiring in from knuconceptz. looks like i forgot to order 1/0 ground cable. but everything esle is there. really with they would have sent the 4channel rca instead of 2 2 channels. the 4 channel matched the other 2 channel i purchased.

oh well. i'm one step closer to install weekend!


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

called knuconceptz and they're sending out the correct rca and speaker cables. and i got a few feet of 1/0 ground cable as well. they were super easy to work with. A+


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

ok.

got the new alternator and water pump installed. i was really hoping to fix the massive oil leak i have but time got away from me. i also replaced the drivers side motor mount, but not the passenger side cause of time. started on the project on friday evening, and started the truck back up at like 630 or 7pm on sunday.

i had a noise coming from the front end that i was pretty sure was a bad water pump bearing. turns out i was right. i also pulled the water pump in hopes of fixing a small coolant leak. but of course i now have a slightly larger coolant leak. i cant win with this engine and leaks. i put fipg on both the housing and pump, and used the gasket, torqued all the bolts to spec, and STILL have a small leak. so annoying.

replaced upper, middle, and lower rad hoses and installed better clamps thanks to 22re performance.

also did a gm alternator swap. i have some work still to do with the wiring to get it how i want. but it all works as of now. the alternator i have is better for sure, but i think its somewhat running as a one wire because on warm starts it doesn't charge unless i rev past 1500 for a hot second. then it self excites and will maintain voltage and charging down to about 700 rpm. i'm getting 38 amps at idle and upwards of 90 at cruising rpms so its a worthwhile upgrade. the trailgear alternator bracket was a bit of trouble. the old alt bracket was much thicker, and the lower rad intermediate pipe uses a bolt on the alt bracket to hold it in place. luckily i had enough washers or came up with some other solution to allow the bolt to tighten everything. i never heard of this being an issue before. i also strongly recommend getting all the bolts in the bracket finger tight, then getting the alt lined up with the belt by moving the bracket, as there is some play in the hole spacing, before final tightening.

now on to what everyone actually cares about. the pictures:



















my useless wrench companion. cant even fetch a beer...










said beer that fueled the repair









































































in the above pics you can see i added a 1/0 gauge power cable from the alternator output to the battery. ran this up the side of the radiator with a 150 amp breaker in it over to the battery, then connected the fuse box to the battery instead of having the alternator running through the 80 fuse in the box. below you can see the full car audio wiring setup i got from Knuconceptz to wire in the amp and speaker install thats coming up.









i wanted to get the alternator upgrade out of the way before i did the rest of the audio stuff so i have a good base for power. it realistically shouldn't pull any more that it is with my current audio setup, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

Alternator is done and working well. Got a sweet little setup on top of the battery for a fuse block.

I am about to be in between jobs andI have about 2 weeks off. I have rolls of ccf, silicone speaker surrounds, rolls of mlv, tape, etc all either in or on the way or already on. Gonna finish full sound treatment on the truck, a false back wall, center console build, and full system install and sound treatment application in that time. Oh and building a sub box.

This build is sbout to get interesting


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

Welcome to probably the biggest update in the truck so far.

An overview of what's been done so far and what's left to do:

Sub box - built, speaker installed, wired, temporarily installed in truck until it can get wrapped in carpet(might do it myself depending on cost)
Back panel - built and painted. Needs to be wrapped in vinyl
center console - have main carcass built but it'll take a lot of work to finish
speaker rings - built mostly. They need fastener hardware, some finish trim routing and sanding, paint, and to be installed.
cab sound deadening - still needs the full treatment. Cld, ccf, then, mlv in the cab firewall to back wall, and in the doors. Then I have some 1/4" expanded pvc to make door baffles as well. Back wall has some Cld tiles, as do the doors, but otherwise all that still needs to be done.

This sub hits SO HARD compared to the ported Walmart Kicker sub and box that was in before. Wow I'm so glad I spent the money for this sub. Can't wait to get the component speakers installed and get everything tuned! My audiophile dreams are slowly coming true.

Now onto the part everyone really cares about, the pictures!

(I'll post once I get to my computer and get all the links sorted)


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

here start the pics:

i started out by building a false wall for the back of the cab to pretty it up. it bolts into place across the top and has grooves to match the doors. it will also be what the amp and wiring mounts to behind the drivers seat, as well as the quick releases for the sub once they come in. on the driver's side, i'm going to make a partial Molle panel to fit the available space to hold a few things. then a fire extinguisher will go on as well, but actually get bolted to the back wall. i'm going to try to (in the future) come up with some quick release mechanism for the extinguisher because... fire.










mock up in the cab










i was able to get pretty decent fitment against the side of the truck with a bit of room to spare with just carboard templating. next time i'll use the washer trick to get it a bit cleaner, but i'm happy with how this turned out. also got holes drilled and rivnuts installed in the back wall to hold up the panel.










mock mounted up with grooves to match whats on the doors










planning out where the amp will live. the cutout next to it is or the stock bottle jack, which i'll be keeping.










another shot of the back wall with the routed grooves in it. you can see my apprentice marks there where the guide for my router slipped. looks like a heart beat sinus rhythm, somewhat fitting for car audio as well i guess. im just glad it will be behind the sub box.










i spent a fair amount of time moving the seat in and out and cutting cardboard to fit to get the sub box shape right, as well as some drawing to figure out all my actuals dims. here is the flat back of the box.










and me in the layout process



















then i got it all glued and nailed up except for the face so i could figure out exactly where the driver was gonna sit. this is what i landed on. i retrospect, i should've gone down about another inch. i can always build another box. it really wasnt as bad as i expected. and i could improve my joinery a little bit in the next one. plus it was only like $20 in lumber. 










this is how it fits behind the seat before i mounted the front panel on. you can also see i finished all the seams in construction adhesive for a good seal. apparently silicone will eventually eat parts of the speaker in a sealed box? who knew...










the final major touch i wanted to add before final trimming, edge treatment, and paint, was to add a panel on the front and create an inset for the sub. this turned out about as well as i could've asked for considering. i used the 3d model of the sub i'd generated a few months ago to create a laser cut router template.










i also added the hole for the neutrik plug receptacle in this hidden part of the box for speaker cables. you can also see i've edge routed all the corners to soften them and complete the box.










then i painted both the box and the back wall with a bunch of coats of sanding sealer, then hit them with some primer. then i mounted the sub finally! you can see the back panel in the background.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

while i was working on the box and back wall, i also started patterning out the center console and some speaker rings. i wanted them angled but not sticking out too far from the door . so i opted for a 0.75:8 taper for the very scientific reason of it being convenient math. however, figuring out how to actually cut that taper out was a bit of a challenge. 










i ended up building a jig to hold the glued up rings vertical on a band saw so i could slide them along the resaw fence. the jig had the correct taper, so all i had to do was clamp the ring on and push.










i added an extra trim ring after cutting the tapers. this is how it fits with the speaker and grill in it.



















patterning out the parts for the center console.



















i then transfered the cardboard template to a piece of underlayment board to make a router jig out of, cut out the templte on the bandsaw and sanded to final shape. the left and right panels for the console are the same except for the first ~5 inches, so i just made that piece swappable. worked out really well using the jig on the table router.










here you can see the sub box done, the back panel mounted, and the mock up of the center console in the cab. i'll have cup holders behind the sticks, and some panels going across to tie the whole thing together.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

thats all i was able to do in the funemployment time i had. 

the back wall and center console will go for vinyl wrap once they're both done. it will match the door cars and dash.

then the box will get wrapped with carpet to match the cab.

i'll probably just bed line and then paint the speaker rings. they'll likely get remade sometime in the near future anyway. i like how they came out, but i want to make them from abs or x-pvc after talking to a pro installer about them. 

once i get the rings painted, i'll start on cab sound treatment in earnest. as well as making baffles for the doors. then i can do all the wiring wnd get the new woofers and tweeters installed. oh and i need to finish the tweeter pod designs to have those mount nice and flush on the a pillars. i'll be designing and 3d printing those enclosures.

lots still to do!


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

this sub, in this tiny truck. sounds so good. it gets DOWN and loud. i think my box came out just over recommended cuft. 
now i just need the rest of the system to catch up to it.


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## OCD66 (Apr 2, 2017)

Tasty work. Nice to see another Toyota on here.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

OCD66 said:


> Tasty work. Nice to see another Toyota on here.


thanks!


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

i think i've got the tweeter pod aiming and profile all dialed in. thanks to some good guessing and my 3d printer.


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## Mrnurse (Sep 8, 2011)

cool build, I have a 89 single cab swb 4x4 I am playing with. its still pretty new to me (i bought it with a blown head gasket and a few other issues). for the stereo, i have a single din kenwood. i put the 4runner speaker boxes in the dash and have focal es100 (just the mid range right now) running off the headunit. I am thinking either two 8" or one 10" sub. but its all a work in progress. i like the wall you did in the back. what seats are those? I bought some buckets out a 4runner but have not mocked them up yet.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

Mrnurse said:


> cool build, I have a 89 single cab... have not mocked them up yet.


thanks! the seats are out of a 91 corolla, or so i was told. picked em up for like $30 3 or 4 years ago and have just had them sitting around til i got the space to be able to install them. i had to build some custom brackets to mount them in the stock location but theyre def more comfortable than the bench. they'll get restuff and re-covered when i do the final interior wrap after the console and speaker rings are done.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

got some more work done on the center console. more to come this week too. also, not pictured, i hooked up the new amp to just the sub to get the old nasty out and the new hotness mounted. but man this thing(kenwood 800w 5 ch) gets warm under just moderate load. no thermal cycling or cutting out, but just pretty warm to the touch. i'm a little concerned what its gonna be like listening to music at above normal listening volumes...


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

a few more pics from the progress from today. got it set to make the floor mounting brackets. lid will go on next week, and i'll start designing the cup holder, front panel, lid clasp, and console bucket so that i can print them out.


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## MythosDreamLab (Nov 28, 2020)

I love how the Tweeter pods came out, they very cool...!


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

MythosDreamLab said:


> I love how the Tweeter pods came out, they very cool...!


oh thanks! i'm not done with them just yet, but i did finish the design i think. i wanted to see how close the interior vinyl paint i had was to the color of the interior. i have both sides printed as just test parts for fitment and placement purposes. i just need to print them out in a more appropriate filament now and get them mounted. still contemplating having them wrapped to match the center console or just leaving them sanded smooth and painting to match for the final version.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

got the lid mounted and mounted the console in the truck. still working on the front panel and cup holder final design before printing them out.


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## MythosDreamLab (Nov 28, 2020)

Looks nice, if I made a custom armrest - it would be locking so I could keep valuables safe in it...

Or even have a secret compartment, to carry my_ high-speed wireless protection device _when I go camping...


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

@MythosDreamLab haha who's to say i don't have any secret compartments in here...

it wont lock only because i'm using a lid from a '93 Corolla (for color matching/ease of fab purposes) but i certainly thought about it for along time before i decided to go this route. i do need to see about some more security stuff for my truck though. the list of mods continues to grow...


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## Mrnurse (Sep 8, 2011)

here is what I have gotten done so far. Ended upusing two Savard HiQ 6.5” subs in a center console box. Ported and tuned to 34 hertz (per savards tech line) the seats are out of a 4Runner. I picked up the seats, cluster with tach, 4Runner front bumper and a few other odds and ends for a little over $100.


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## Mrnurse (Sep 8, 2011)




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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

@Mrnurse that looks so good! Your console box looks nice. how do you plan to mount it into place? i thought about going center-mounted like that but i wanted an actual glovebox as well and couldn't fit it all in that space.


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## Mrnurse (Sep 8, 2011)

Well. Right now it kinda gets pushed to the passenger side. It’s just sitting in there. I am planning on leveling it, drilling a couple of holes then using some nurtserts (sp?) to anchor it in place. These would be to the back wall.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

@Mrnurse that what i did with mine. in the center tunnel of the cab are 4 holes covered in tape that are the right size for an M6(i think, maybe M8) rivnut/nutsert to fit in with no drilling. i did also put rivnuts in the back wall for the panel i have back there. it was a bit of a challenge to get everything to line up due to the floor being so wonky


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## Mrnurse (Sep 8, 2011)

genera_lee said:


> i think i've got the tweeter pod aiming and profile all dialed in. thanks to some good guessing and my 3d printer.


Can you print off a set of these tweeter pods for me?


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

@Mrnurse yeah i can. let me see how much material i have left after printing the other stuff for my center console and the tweeter pods, and i'll let you know on about how long it will be. i'm going to be printing them in a better material that can withstand heat and prolonged UV exposure. the ones you see are just mock ups to test fitment


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## Mrnurse (Sep 8, 2011)

genera_lee said:


> @Mrnurse yeah i can. let me see how much material i have left after printing the other stuff for my center console and the tweeter pods, and i'll let you know on about how long it will be. i'm going to be printing them in a better material that can withstand heat and prolonged UV exposure. the ones you see are just mock ups to test fitment


What tweeters are they for? Do you think it is something that can be tweaked to fit a different tweeter? I’ll pay you for your trouble if you have to. Hangs the design some.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

they're for the focals I have ps165 v1. I'll have to go look later today to figure out the OD I designed around. should be able to modify the mounting diameter with how I designed the cad model since idk that I'll be keeping these tweeters. I've read that this woofer/tweeter combo has a dip that can't really be tuned out due to how far apart the f3s of both components are. so I may end up looking for some tweeters with a lower f3 to smooth out the transition between the 2.


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## Mrnurse (Sep 8, 2011)

genera_lee said:


> they're for the focals I have ps165 v1. I'll have to go look later today to figure out the OD I designed around. should be able to modify the mounting diameter with how I designed the cad model since idk that I'll be keeping these tweeters. I've read that this woofer/tweeter combo has a dip that can't really be tuned out due to how far apart the f3s of both components are. so I may end up looking for some tweeters with a lower f3 to smooth out the transition between the 2.


Oh man. You kinda lost me there. I am wanting use a three way set. Tweeters in the a-pillars, 4” in the dash and 6.5” in the doors. I have the savard subs and I like the way they sound. I have jl audio amps xd600/1 for the subs but I may be looking for a xd1000/1. Xd400/4 and xd200/2 that I will use for the front. I am looking at different dsp and I’m not sure which one to use yet. As far as the fronts. I would like to use focal flax or k series. I just have to see what I can find.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

either the flax or k series should be killer in that setup. 
are you having the 4"s in the dash firing down at your knees?i thought. about doing that but i just didnt know how it would sound since its firing down. plus the 3 way components are pricy and i have a 5ch amp that i should be able to drive everything off. i would imagine the tweeters in both of those sets are the same size as mine. they just have better magnets and domes


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

basically, the natural responses of the tweeter and the woofer are far enough apart that in the frequency range where they do overlap, the output of each speaker is so small that the volume will be low in that frequency range, and this can't fully be made up for with EQ because the tweeter and woofer cant play that loud at the ends of their frequency range. This is just intrinsic based on the design/construction of the tweeter and woofer. a different tweeter that can play lower will be better with the woofer i have


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## Mrnurse (Sep 8, 2011)

i have 4" focal k series in the dash already. they sound good, for being a 4". and firing down. but then again I am not the guru of car audio. lol

i just need to find a 6.5 set that i can make into a three way.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

give me a few days to print some of my other stuff and i'll keep you updated on the tweeter pods


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

Got my tweeter pods hot off the printer and getting ready for a little body filler and paint.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

A little glaze putty and some sanding and now it's time for paint!
























the gap at the top is from the tape holding it onto the a-pillar. it fits so nice and the tweeter fits really well. @Mrnurse i also fit checked yours and they fit great!

oh I also got my cup holder and mounting bar for the front panel installed on the center console. i'll get it back in the truck tomorrow with some better photos.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

Tweeter pods finished up and ready to be bolted in place. check out that color/texture match!










and i've started tearing out the interior of the truck to install EVERYTHING. power windows, power locks, power mirrors, woofers, tweeters in pods, full sound deadening, etc.



















Gonna be a busy week full of picture taking to post up here as the build progresses to the tuning stage! 
if anyone knows a decent shop in the reno/tahoe area that can help me dial in the tune, i'd appreciate it!


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

power mirrors getting installed(old one is the tiny black one on the right):










door speakers and new mounting rings getting mocked up for placement to clear internal door structure, existing holes in door panels, window rails, wiring location for speakers, etc:










finished half the sound treatment of the doors yesterday, got all the old amp wiring out, and basically everything cleaned up and ready to be cld'd, ccf'd mlv'd, powered, and reinstalled. got the power window regulators installed, along power locks and the new larger power mirrors. gonna try to have the whole cab cld'd by the end of the day, tip to tail. and then at least get my wiring lengths set for all the power components so i can begin building the harnesses for everything.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

The main wiring is finally done. I now have fully functional power locks, windows, and mirrors. Everything works as anticipated from factory.



The wiring took me way longer than expected, but I can't half ass anything so I did it right and now need to take the time to record the extensions I made to the wiring harnesses, for future use. Bulkhead door plugs will be here on Tuesday to finish out the wiring.

This wiring project makes the car audio part of this seem trivial. After spending a full week figuring out and building a wiring harness for 3 separate electrical systems that all intertwine, from different vehicles, I feel confident that sound deadening and running a power and ground for and an amp will be in my wheel house...
Pics to come tomorrow


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

building out the wiring harness:


















my crazy dirty workbenches:









mocking up in the car for determining wiring lengths. i think i probably installed and removed the center console like 10 times through this.









full harness wrapped in Tesa tape and ready to go in while i wait for the door fittings. its temporarily installed so i can use the truck.









once the bulkhead stuff is done, i'll final wrap the whole harness and do the final install. i'm not 100% happy with the power situation on it, but what I have will work for now, and i will eventually add a dual-powered fuse block with switched and constant power that i can pull power from for this whole system.

now i get to work on sealing the doors up and getting the majority of the cab sound deadening done!


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

still waiting on bulkhead connectors so i can drill holes in the doors and cab of the truck, but i got some other stuff done while waiting.
i'd forgotten i needed to fix my seats so they have 4 bolts in them instead of 3. so i remembered that. then did it. no pics because it was lame. had to drill and rivnut some stuff, blah blah, etc. spent lots of time on this. Also cleaned up the garage from the leftover spaghetti all over the floor and benches. 

wrapped the harness in the door and got the clips on so i could figure out how i wanted to start sealing up the doors and adding deadening. wrapped up door-wise harness. i shouldnt need to take this out again to do the door plug, so i also went ahead and did some of the sealing of the GAPING holes in the doors. only one holes is left now so i can figure out what to do about it as thats where the speaker will go, but that means less work later.


















also got a (crappy) video of the locks and windows working. but am still working on how to upload it from where i have everything hosted. i know i can put it somewhere else but that seems like too much work...


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

I only have 2 full pieces of cld left. Hoping to get that knocked out by the end of the night, then ccf qnd mlv tomorrow in the whole cab, with final install _hopefully_ Sunday, then just tuning and tweaking. 
It’s been fun driving the truck during the various stages of deadening though. “Huge”differences in each small stage. Having power windows and locks makes me feel super spoiled.


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## rob feature (Nov 15, 2015)

I did mine in stages too. Did CLD only first...and 'sealed' the doors with that. Quite a difference, but then went back and did MLV and neoprene & nitpicking little rattles here and there. Then went back and filled the cavities in the rear quarter with filler foam. Each time a notable difference. The MLV/neoprene stage was the most noticeable. 3/4" carpeted plywood on the back wall made a noteworthy difference too. 

These trucks aren't quiet from the factory. It made a big difference both in noise and ride feel. It's a ton of work, but soooooo worth it.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

@rob feature it's clearly making a difference as i continue with it, but absolutely more time than i anticipated to do this work. it doesn't help that it started snowing around noon yesterday (in May, in the desert, WTH) and didn't stop 'til like 10 pm, so i only could work on it yesterday morning and late in the evening.

got all of the cab cld and ccf done, as well as the amp input wiring, and all the speaker wiring mostly figured out. 

cld done:









Foam done:


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Following for inspiration on my own retro builds. Late '80s through early '00s was the second golden era of automotive design in my humble opinion: the last gasp of pure, purpose built autos before everything was bubble wrapped (and taken over by electronic nannies!)


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## rob feature (Nov 15, 2015)

Ha! Yeah crazy weather here in CO too. Snow last week. 60+ MPH winds for the weekend. 70 and calm today!


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

in cab wiring is now done enough to lay down MLV. all wiring at amp left long to make room for routing to amp.


















doors were removed to drill holes in the cab and doors for window, lock, mirror, woofer wiring to run thru and be removable.


















as key and peele say, "Can't go back middle now". A-pillars almost ready for tweeter pods and tweets.









Cap'd at 47uF because the f3 on these tweeters is higher than i would like... i'll likely eventually get some other ones, but we'll see how these tune out first.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

Finally finished the lions share of the work on the infuse of the truck!!!!

It

Sounds

F
A
N
T
A
S
T
I
C


Doors are fully wired up, all power functions work,plugs and wiring boots/grommets are in place. Doors are fully sound deadened with cld, ccf, and mlv. Speaker rings mounted. Carpet back in. Back wall fully deadened.... Blah blah blah. 

Still a few loose ends to tack down like door sail panels reinstalled, new door card clips, and fixing a minor ground loop/alternator buzzing. 

But it's done and drivable and I can actually listen to podcasts on a long drive on the highway. 

Auto EQ and auto time alignment in the head unit seemed to work good enough to get me in a solid spot to be able to get a good feel for it and it's such a huge departure from the crappy stuff in here before. I'll go into more detail with the final round of pics and everything in a few days once i get some time to sort thru it all.


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## genera_lee (Oct 27, 2018)

Picture dump:
wiring into "a-pillars" to connect to doors

















tweets in pods in a-pillars fully installed








when your hole saw isnt big enough, you sometimes have to use a "holed" saw, and some elbow grease








doors prior to MLV. ended up having to remove some of the foam on the high spots due to the thickness of everything.








door panels finished and installed!! speaker rings mounted, mlv in the door, all the stuff.









i'll have a full photo shoot of the finished product once i finish tying up loose ends. 

got everything installed very hastily and set my gains on the amp using the DMM, at a 95% of max power rating for now until i can spend some real time on the tune itself. set some basic crossover points and slopes just based on the tech data and output curves from Focal. then i used the headunit's built in mic to set an auto time alignment and auto eq curve, with the mic stuck to my forehead. came out with a tune i'm ok running until i get some time with it. time alignment could maybe be a bit better, but i just don't know enough about enough to know where to go with it by ear until i download REW and start playing around with everything. i also have a ground loop or power source clicking that cycles with engine rpm. potentially a poor amp ground, but my money is on the ground for the head unit currently. 

if anyone has set up one of these kenwood x802/5's for a component set up, i would love to know if you had similar issues with setting the gains for the tweeter channel. 
my tweeters are rated at 15w rms at 4 ohms, but. i couldnt even get the amp to put out more than about 7w rms with the gain cranked for the A channels. so i backed it off a bit and the balance with everything seems fine thanks to the EQ. long term i want some help with everything for sure. hopefully the amp isn't hosed...


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## kdittoe (Apr 24, 2019)

I’m in Reno for work for a few weeks, if you want to get together and BS about SQ stuff I’d love to check out your build. 
Kevin


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