# 2001 PT cruiser first SQ install



## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

I'm restarting this build log since everything generally over again and my previous build log turned into a debate over whether or not i converted my car to RHD and the inherit lack of understanding of sarcasm on the internet. Anyways, this is all a college student budget build for my car. I will upgrade as time goes by and i'm learning it all as I go. Most everything is used from Craigslist, ebay, or sales online. The car used to be cop car themed and had a purple and yellow light bar so i had the interior matching. I'm now making it into a rat rod style (its satin black with red rims, pics of it to come when i clean it outside) and hopefully can find a black or red interior someday. 

Any input, questions, problems seen, or comments welcome!

Here we go!!! Descriptions are ABOVE images



Stock door panels, not mine, but same idea just different colors











Building the box for my Brahma 15 MKI, eventually converted it to a box for my JVC Arsenal 8240


























I'm running 3 power wires from the battery, 2x 4awg and one 6awg. Here's what it looks like currently at the battery, it will be cleaned up. I got the 6awg wiring in a full spool from a local pro audio shop for $25!!!











My amp of choice, after i blew up my Kicker 1200.1, i found this on craigslist from a 4'8" latino girl named tiny in the ghetto of seattle for $400....i didn't ask questions. 











Here's my JVC Arsenal sub....i love it....a lot....


























































Here's the shape of the door panel area i cut out. This was a bad idea, i should NOT have cut a good 1/3 of the panel out, but i did a while ago (see previous log) and can't do anything about it now. Anyways, these are some thick 1" MDF cabinet doors i found at the recycled housing parts store for free. Yeah, thats how i roll. Jealous? You should be! I was using my router for the first time freehand and going backwards (i didnt know routers only went one way lol!) to make the ring stack. Yeah. I rock.


















All wrapped tightly in cheap Joann fabrics stretch....white material i guess is what i'd call it. I used staples and duct tape to stretch it tight. Then i put some good ol resin on it and fiberglass chop mat then the nice woven kind. 

























It fits! Kind of...








THis is what holds pretty much the hole panel together. If the pod is too thick it wont align. This caused me LOTS of trouble. LOTS LOTS LOTS! I HATE IT!









Covered it in cheap bondo type stuff, its the "aircraft technology" type thats about $20 a gallon and impossible to sand. Bad idea on my part, but it was cheap.










My trial fabric didn't match in the right tone of gray, but it works for a trial. Its a sad thing to do with Knoll suede....oh well it was a scrap end roll










Just some 3M spray glue and stretched it, and stapled it








closeup of the suede 

















On the car

















Ok, i bought some Rage Gold and tried that...then used a better fabric that matches much better. It's a microfiber brown suede from Joann, it works for now, i might do a better material later but i like it for the time being. I put acoustic foam underneath the suede to help absorb sound as well as fill the gap that was apparent from the pods not being perfectly flush.

























WIth the Dayton RS225 4Ω


















Never let washing detergent gel touch your carpet, it turns it instantly glowing purple in color...this was just regular gel detergent on for a few hours while moving. GIves me an excuse to rip out the carpet soon i guess though...


















TEAM PEEL AND SEEL's NEWEST MEMBER RIGHT HERE BABY! ITS MONEY AND YOU KNOW IT! ....ill be using Raammat and Damplifier Pro eventually but i had rolls and rolls of this on hand and a small bit of dynamat i found at a friends house, her x boyfriends, i dont think she'll miss it so i liberated it. 










































More to come


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Routing power wires and RCA wires ACROSS from each other, not on top of each other like it used to be....that was smart of me....HUMMMM








I got some KILLER audio speaker cable thats beautifully shielded and strong and flexible from the same pro audio shop here, one spool for $25! (clearance of course) Ran it all from where the amps will be to where the speakers are!












































Box in (this box is temporary still but similar to the new one i'll be making) and some wiring started. It's messy because i need to make sure its all working before i clean it up.



















I got a Audiocontrol Digital EQ for cheap on craigslist, it was missing the harness, i ordered one from the HQ for free (thanks audiocontrol, you are THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE OF ANYONE IVE EVER TALKED TO, NO JOKE) but needed to make one to test with. Yes, im a genious  I call this the J Jones method. You better call it that too



























OH YEAH I WENT THERE!!!!!  it works well but i want to get the real harness because it's not THAT tight right now and looks very ghetto. Some more test wiring pics.












































More to come


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Thats it for now, waiting on a new RCA harness for the deck, RAAMmat, Ensolite foam, and the power harness for the EQ. As well as someone that can steamclean my carpet.


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## theRESONANCE (Aug 28, 2008)

Loving how you're making use of every advantage you come by. How do you even find such great deals?
The custom doors look like they turned out real well. Despite the painful hours definitely looks like they were worth every drop of sweat. And i see you swapped back your RHD :] jk. 
We're seriously going to have to meet up now. You'll have to help me fab/tune o.o. I want to hear that setup so bad...
J-JONES METHOD FTW.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Craigslist and eBay are definitely the shiznit. . . exact same method I have been using while assembling the pieces for my project Ram. I can't wait to get started on the install for it. Keep up the great work!


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Very nice choice of amps, but I'm biased  well done so far, love the doors


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Why are you biased? I got a killer deal on both of them the 1000/1 for $400 and the 300/2 for $150, i used to be sponsored by Earthquake and got that TNT600 for free through a sponsorship package. Sadly my 2000w amp they gave me blew out    Ive got like 4 nice amps in need of repair with no idea where to send them since i dont have tons of cash. Broken amps = Kicker 1200.1 (blown transistors) Earthquake 2000w monoblock, oldskool alpine something or the other (2 blown transistors), and a Rockford 400a4 which makes lots of funny noises and hums


Thanks for the comments on the doors, it was a LOT of work and although i wish i had not originally cut them up so much, they turned out pretty well although the plastic of the stock panel is a little rough still where i cut it.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Why are you biased? I got a killer deal on both of them the 1000/1 for $400 and the 300/2 for $150, i used to be sponsored by Earthquake and got that TNT600 for free through a sponsorship package. Sadly my 2000w amp they gave me blew out    Ive got like 4 nice amps in need of repair with no idea where to send them since i dont have tons of cash. Broken amps = Kicker 1200.1 (blown transistors) Earthquake 2000w monoblock, oldskool alpine something or the other (2 blown transistors), and a Rockford 400a4 which makes lots of funny noises and hums


Thanks for the comments on the doors, it was a LOT of work and although i wish i had not originally cut them up so much, they turned out pretty well although the plastic of the stock panel is a little rough still where i cut it.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Blown transistors FTW! I replace those on mine when I can actually find the part... I had a Kicker 1200.1 a few years ago, very flexible and was the first amp to put up with my learning curve without missing a beat (no pun intended)


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Yeah i need to sit down and find some of these for sure. There are 8 of them though  Usually these kind run around $10 each too. Eek expensive trial


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## 00poop6x (Jan 20, 2007)

That JVC sub is amazing. Truly an underdog. It impresses EVERYONE when I let them hear one


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## lyttleviet (Sep 11, 2008)

THAT is a lot of wires...


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

00poop6x said:


> That JVC sub is amazing. Truly an underdog. It impresses EVERYONE when I let them hear one


You should also tell them, "Never underestimate the power of the Hemp..."


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Poop6x, do you have one?! I cant find anyone that runs these things. I love it soooo much, and there is a 15" available too now! Im contacting JVC about a sponsorship....hey....it could happen! THe wiring is overwhelming at first, but its logical. I wish i could afford big techflex to run it through but my wallet is shrinking fast. Hey didnt you know hemp kills reflections in the resonance?! THat what JVC says....im sure its not hype at all....especially since its a 90/10 kevlar hemp mix hahaha BULLETPROOF WEED FTW (the hemp doing something productive was sarcastic)


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## 00poop6x (Jan 20, 2007)

I sell them. Haha, I'm not so sure about the audible functionality of hemp in their products. Whatever it is, the subwoofer is an excellent performer, no doubt. With your equipment, wires like that are expected, now they just need some clean up

The cone does make a nice ash tray...and maybe not cigarette or cigar ash.  JK JK


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Well i got a little done today and then got into cleaning my garage. I recieved the new wiring harness for my deck and also my wiring harness for the audiocontrol unit. The RCA harness with shipping cost freaking $41!!!????!!!! Wow. Pacparts is making bank.








Here's the old one. Yes it's cool to laugh








See if you can find the RCA on the old harness that was causing me problems. You'll know when you see it.








Audiocontrol shipped this to me for free in 2 days, i bought the unit used as well and told them that. It didnt work perfectly and i had tech support on the phone for about 30 minutes as they helped me. They were american tech support too. DOes life get any better than audiocontrol.....i seriously dont think so. If i had an audiocontrol Matrix i'd be the happiest man ever.

















You know this is gorgeous. I wish they all matched, but hey, it rocks!


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

49º today and windy across the street from the ballard fresh-salt water locks at my "garage" (gravel lot with a storage box). A few sheets of end cut 3/4" MDF 2'x4' panels. Very cold hands.









The tools of destruction. Err....construction...










Why NOT to buy harbour freight clamps...one squeeze of torque and the handle leaves you never to return.










Basic shape









You can see the port area being built. I put foam weather stripping on it stapled down to make sure the box would seal well. 










It was cold. THere you can see my ...garage?










I only had a jigsaw to cut with and i was a little nervous about the sealing of the box although i did use a TON of wood glue and screws. I had a lot of kittyhair i wasnt using so i smashed it in there real nice all around the seams. Hey, it cant hurt!



















YOu can see i re-used my false floor from my last build to give me something to temporarily mount the amps to until i build an amp rack. I am going to have a two layer type affect with multiple fabrics like you see here....just imagine fabric instead of wood...










Thats it for today, next week im getting my RAAM mat, and oldschool hubcaps in. This build log is boring i just noticed. Sorry. I'll put some good stuff in soon and less random build pics.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Here's a few renderings of the sub box and what im shooting for as far as a final design. 


Here's some inital build pics









First build layoout idea










Final decision...so far, as if looking in the back from outside the car








from the inside looking bad


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## lyttleviet (Sep 11, 2008)

NICE RENDERING! I wish I could do some basic stuff like that


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

That's what i do for work, i you ever need anything done just give me a shout, im always willing to help out friends and further my porftolio!  Well my package of RAAMmatt came today alongside my new hubcaps. Hubcaps you may ask? Yes, im trying to do the outside of my car with authentic oldschool style, besides the carbon fiber hood  The paint is John Deere Blitz Black which has been used on hotrods since the 50s and the mooneye/smoothie wheels were hubcaps, not the custom wheels you get now. Also this way is much cheaper  Here's a few pics of her, shes dirty right now so there are funny looking reflections but it's a smoooooth satin black. The front has a VERY VERY rare body kit from a california custom company that i happened to stumble upon when they stopped making them and cleared out the house. Foglights are harbor freight  I think i will get some better ones soon but i like the yellow lens for sure. I want to do a billet grill very bad and maybe paint the edges of it red. A lace paint job for the roof is still in my mind but undecided. I want to add some contrasting paint on the body somewhere to break up the black.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Well i had two tires blow out on the freeway at 70 MPH right next to a center wall and then skidded sideways in between traffic at rush hour onto the shoulder. I can't believe i lived. THe bad part is that these are the two tires last week Les Schwab patched for me......lame. They've messed up WAY to much on my cars to get any more of my business. Well at least this gave me the opportunity to get some new tires to queit the ride down. Sadly the exhaust got ripped up and i needed to get a new back 2' of pipe. A local custom exhaust shop hooked me up with a new Cadillac resonator to run instead of my muffler. So now i have 3 resonators, no mufflers. (Previously it was 2 resonators no muffler) The tires i picked up were a set of Goodyear Assurance Comfortreads. Wow. These tires were an amazing improvement. By far THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE in my sound deadening for the inside of my car. The added resonator made a huge difference, but these tires are sexy. Very Sexy. I think i may be painting them into whitewalls soon....yeah i know it may sound lame but ive seen it done and turn out amazing. 


























Now onto initial RTA testing. These test graphs are at a 10db scale, i like to do a 10db sensitivity then move to a 5fb for fine tuning. Im keeping my deck at flat EQ and then using the DQS to adjust settings so i can then tune per track or CD on the deck from an initial flat setting. 

Here's my RTA signal for the Blaupunkt Tweeters playing pink noise from the FOCAL setup disc, disc 2. It's crossed at 4k, i might move it down to 3k but this sounds very good right now. I was outside on the street so there was a lot of ambient droning so ignore the low frequency signals as they are obviously not from the tweeters.










RTA results for the RS225 and the RS100 drivers










Due to the wiring, i cannot play JUST the Rs100, but have to run either them both or just the RS225. Here's the RTA of the RS225.










Here's the RTA of the sub










Here's the RTA of the full spectrum when i matched the general levels of the amps, no EQuing at this point still.









EQed RTA graph, pretty darn good here. Flat response is goal at this point.











Here's my finished RTA at a 5 scale (more sensetive scale) with the bass boosted a little bit, that's how its most appealing in my car. This is NOT bass heavy in music at all, it sounds perfect. Since this screen shot i've boosted the high Fq a bit as well, 6K an up slightly at a curve.











Next work will be a full set of RAAM mat, sealing up doors, and i also just steam cleaned all the carpet and will be installing that back in.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

I was looking at these and wondering, should i EQ each speaker seperatly, or EQ them as a whole?


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

cool build! Thats the ratiest PT ive ever seen! Mind you down here, most people leave them stock, so hell, power to you mang!


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Im hoping you mean ratiest in a good way lol.....in the rat rod sense, not thats dirty and crappy and thrown together


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## fonque (May 30, 2008)

what software are you using for the RTA? 
Also I am really digging the wheels!


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Thanks for the comments about the wheels, the software i use is "signal scope pro" it works GREAT. I wanted baby moons for the wheels but they dont fit on any new style rims. I want whitewalls bad. Well I did some more work today in between rain clouds, RAMM FTW. The butyl aggressively sticks unlike peel 'n seal. Although for mild weather i think Peel n Seal is not bad for the $, especially if you spray adhesive or put down contact cement first. 

Raam over Peel n Seal










I had some acoustic cotton, why not throw it down there?! Im sure foxpro will tell me im an idiot but hey, i've had amazing results with it.










Wires harnessed and bundled

















Carpet layed down, cut some slots for the wires to come through










Box layed for no real reason and this pic is honestly useless. Sorry you had to read this.


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

elvisjer said:


> Im hoping you mean ratiest in a good way lol.....in the rat rod sense, not thats dirty and crappy and thrown together


Of course it is mang!! Thats a cool ride, just plain different to all the cars I see down my way.
If I was going to sling sh!t, i'do properly...


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Haha yeah, if you're gonna flame, use a blowtorch not a match. That's my policy  Im thinking i want to put down some more cotton/foam if i can find some around. I feel like i have more but im not positive. I cant wait to get this thing all reassembled!


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## fonque (May 30, 2008)

does signal scope pro only work on macs? do they have a windows or linux version?


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

I have no idea about anything but mac software


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

its getting near the 4-5 months of mostly rain in Seattle so i need to get the setup where it will be satisfactory in cosmetic ways until it gets dry again, since i dont have a covered area to work in. I decided to make a "temporary" setup false floor out of the scrap wood i have laying around from my previous false floor. I deadend the rear panels with some RAAM....made a huge difference actually even though i didn't cover them completely. LOTS less road noise!










My starting point for today










I added a piece under the false floor i hacked up to make a trim panel so it makes the front under the top panel look more flush. Sadly there are gaps on the sides next to the panels so i cut out some temporary filler pieces until i make it all out of one piece in the future.


































Here i used some scrap fabric i had laying around to cover them, looks *ok* for now.










Some techflex and we're good to go for the winter! Messy wiring but hey, better than bare wood and bare wires.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Here's a few updates of my PVC Endcap dash pods im making, they are currently hot glued onto the dash so i can adjust the speaker alignment. This made the biggest difference in my system yet. It was ridiculous. It's awesome. Now i need to find a good way to secure them once I find their perfect alignment.


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Cool update mate! nice. good to see your still at it.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Yeah i just graduated from college with my BA and moved out of school housing and into my own house with attached garage!!! My old garage was a mile or so away and $300 a month for the 300sq ft garage, yes Seattle is expensive. I've been unemployed as well since the economy is so tough here and I work for architects which are all going out of business as well. And on top of that, i'm probably going to be saving up for a ring for my lady soon here; she supports my audio addiction as well calling the forum "my other girlfriend". Im hoping to soon mount those pods in a safer and more eye-appealing fashion, then i have some exterior work to do, then i'm going to start an install of my 15" Brahma into the back replacing the JVC...that beast sitting on the garage floor taunts me every time i enter the room saying i need to re-install it.


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

...hmm, shame the mimanagement of the rich is affecting the middle class. 

But on the bright side, you've graduated. Now you can play with the big boys hehe! COngrats man, hope you do get hitched too!

car audio comes a distant...... 7th


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

I dig the install thread and I like those wheels. You're right, somw white walls would look sick on that. Now that its warm, keep on banging out that install!


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

I actually took off the moon eye rims and am rocking the red steel rims right now, the moon eye rims kept getting small pieces of gravel and stuff and turning into maracas. Also, they would squeak and stuff and were pretty annoyingly noisey. I really want to get some baby-moon rims but i guess they don't fit newer rims or something. I've been fabbing up some custom tail lights that i'll post pics of soon that are custom LED 34' ford teardrops.


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## koneco (Jun 16, 2009)

It's really amazing to see something progress from mess. I wish I hadn't leased so I could screw around with the car -.-

I do want to try popping out the seats, though. I guess that messes with the airbags, unfortunately.


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## imickey503 (Dec 16, 2015)

So this is that Famed car that was all over google and the pics of the doors! I have been looking at this for years! 

Its time I am ready to at least do a Basic upgrade of my system. I have just waited to long. Thanks for posting this way on back. Its time I start with basic upgrades. My electrical system is still not up to snuff. But that should be easy to fix with a new BCM or an update.


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## opekone (Mar 24, 2020)

Did you just necro every pt cruiser build on diyma? Jesus, brother.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk


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## imickey503 (Dec 16, 2015)

it just seemed they were a bit lonely.......


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