# 2004 Monte Carlo



## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I've been putting redoing the install in my Monte for long enough. Still may take a while to finish but at least I finally started. Going to put in some gear I've had tucked back in the closet for many years. Will probably enter some MECA contest when done but I'm not going to be building this around the rule book. They'll just change it again anyway. They can put me in what ever class they wish, don't really care. I want to do this only to help me get it to sound as good as possible. 

Also, one of my goals is to make this as stealth as possible. I want people to look in and say...So where's the stereo? We'll see how I do at that. 

First, I wanted to show the state it's in now. All of this gear will be coming out. Eclipse 8443, 2-Boston Acoustic G2 10" subs, 1-Boston Acoustic GT-42 amp and a Boston Acoustic SL60 set in the doors.








Had to show this. When I was adding deadener to the doors I found this on the passenger door.

I've seen things like this done at the factory on other peoples cars but never on one of mine. I thought it was cool anyway.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Here's what's going in:
ID mini horns with Selenium D2500TI drivers


JBL 2118 8" midbass in the kicks


2 IDW 15" subs mounted IB


All powered by 2 Soundstream Reference 500's and 1 Reference 300


Couple of accessories Streetwires fuse/ground distro and a PG DD-5 remote turn on.


Not 100% about this but may run these too. Rane AC23 and ME30's


Not sure about the HU as of yet.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Haven't started on the kick panels yet but I knew there was an issue I needed to resolve first. I know some people tend to get bent out of shape about this so I think I found an answer for it, the parking brake. 

This pic shows the brake engaged and it doesn't leave much room for the mid.


I made a card board mockup of it shortened
Normal position


Engaged



I made a new pedal arm at work out of 1/4" HRS



Test fit before cutting the arm



Cut arm off


Bolted new arm on and added rubber pad



Works just as intended from the factory while gaining several inches of clearance.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Next I wanted to move the seats back a little. Not a lot, just 4". That may not sound like a lot but it is for me. I didn't want to relocate any mounting locations in the floor or anything. I took some measurements of the mounting locations where the seat attaches to the seat rails. Then cut some 1/4 HRS that had the existing mount location holes and the new locations pushed 4" back. Bolted the strips to the frame rails existing locations.



Then bolted the seat to the new hole locations.

This pic shows the seat moved all the way back stock.


This is all the way back with the new rails. All the way back, my feet don't touch the pedals unless I stretch my toes out. 


The only thing left to resolve is the seat mechanism sticks out from the front of the seat a little. I will make a flap out of black vinyl to cover this.


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## BigAl205 (May 20, 2009)

That's some cool fabrications.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

In for kickpanel build pics. I like what I'm seeing.

Jay


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## decibelle (Feb 17, 2011)

Yes! Bout damn time for another Monte build!

Also, I need to talk with you about your kick brake mod. Well done so far!


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## bassfromspace (Jun 28, 2016)

Great fabrication so far!


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## 07azhhr (Dec 28, 2011)

Very cool ideas. Can not wait to see how this turns out.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks guys. Hope to get a lot further along on this but the rain and weekends have not been cooperating with my schedule the last 2 months.


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## bassfromspace (Jun 28, 2016)

Why are you ditching the 8443?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

bassfromspace said:


> Why are you ditching the 8443?


I love the Eclipse but the main reason is I want receiver that blends in with the dash better. I thought about putting in my Pioneer P800 but I HATE the way Pioneer's handle Ipods when searching for songs. The Eclipse will stay till I find something I like better.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

The newer Pioneer stuff is much better with the iPod integration. I haven't tried the 80PRS yet, but I know the P800 sucked. Their video pieces are much better for iPod use, but the SQ isn't as good as the P800, I'm sure.

Jay


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## EditTim (Mar 15, 2012)

Nice mod on the parking brake! I'm going to have to pass that mod onto friends...


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks! It doesn't happen often but I sometimes I have ideas that work out ok.

I made the mounting plates for the waveguides today during lunch. Was going to test fit them after work but...surprise, surprise it started raining. Hopefully in a day or two.


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## BigAl205 (May 20, 2009)

Very nice! Did you use a break to bent the metal, or did you rig something up?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

BigAl205 said:


> Very nice! Did you use a break to bent the metal, or did you rig something up?


Thanks. Got one of the guys in the plant to form them on the press brake after I ran them off the punching cell. Hope I measured the holes right. If so, they should use all the existing bolts under the dash.


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## SteveH! (Nov 7, 2005)

THIS IS GORGEOUS BRO, CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR IT BUBBA!


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Looks good so far man!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Not much progress but did get some work done on the sub baffle. Cut out 4 pieces of 3/4" mdf.


Test fit in car



Installed the hurricane nuts



Glued, screwed and smoothed.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Routed out area to flush mount the brackets to mount the side panels. Hopefully when the carpet is added you will never know they are there.


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## strakele (Mar 2, 2009)

Very impressive. Love the use of steel


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Ok I'm bumping this. Excellent fabrication on all points from what I see! Fantastic work so far, and I can't wait to see the install develope. Keep up the good work!!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Yeah, I seriously need to get moving on this. Between work, rain, heat and humidity around here I've not got a lot done. No more excuses though.

I did spend an hour tonight laying on my back halfway in the trunk and half in the space where my back seat used to reside applying deadener to the bottom side of my trunk lid though. The sound of the rain bouncing off the trunk lid was very relaxing though. :laugh:


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## EditTim (Mar 15, 2012)

bigbubba said:


> Yeah, I seriously need to get moving on this. Between work, rain, heat and humidity around here I've not got a lot done. No more excuses though.
> 
> I did spend an hour tonight laying on my back halfway in the trunk and half in the space where my back seat used to reside applying deadener to the bottom side of my trunk lid though. The sound of the rain bouncing off the trunk lid was very relaxing though. :laugh:


What, you have a life????

Awesome work on the sub baffle!
Love the IDW's...


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## eric04h (Jul 24, 2013)

looks good


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Making little progress up to this point but hoping to get a lot accomplished this coming weekend. Trying to finish up a few things on the sub baffle before adding carpet and installing. Went to the local Pull-A-Part and got some trunk lid gasket off a Lincoln or something like that. 


Cut the cushion part off it and screwed and glued it to the front surfaces of the baffle that will come in contact with areas around the opening to the rear seat. Hoping it will seal off the front chamber from the back as much as possible. Guess I'll see how well that works out.




Hope to get it carpeted this weekend.

Also decided to make my own rca cables. Why? I don't know...why not? I had about a half dozen Stinger King series rca cables from back in the day that were too short to be used in anything I was doing so I took the ends off to use on my new cables. One less thing to have to buy.



Got about 100+ ft of Canare L-4E6S microphone cable off ebay and followed the steps on the "Make rca cables" thread. Didn't seem too difficult but did learn that you must follow the steps carefully or you'll be doing a lot more soldering than you should have to. 






Got the black Techflex with the red stripe from Furryletters on ebay, awesome, awesome guy.


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## Tsmith (Dec 17, 2008)

Looking great so far. I can't wait to hear this when you are done.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Nice... great looking cables!!


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

Nice job on the pedal & baffle

As far as Ipod interface goes, I have 880 and I opted for IPod in my hand control. If you ask me, any ipod controlled through the deck sucks one way or another.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Mless5 said:


> Nice job on the pedal & baffle
> 
> As far as Ipod interface goes, I have 880 and I opted for IPod in my hand control. If you ask me, any ipod controlled through the deck sucks one way or another.


Currently I have an older Eclipse 8443 HU in the car. Great HU but, cosmetically, it sticks out like a sore thumb. What I love about it is how you control the Ipod. The HU has an 3.5mm aux. cable that comes out the back of the unit. All I needed was a male to male 3.5mm cable and plug right into the headphone input of the Ipod. You don't use the headunit to control the Ipod. You use it the way you normally would. Not sure what other headunits work like that. I wish Pioneer did, at least as an alternate way to use it.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Cables look good man. And you guys are crazy, as most iPod interfaces are beyond easy compared to using the iPod itself if you spend like two minutes learning to use them. BUT if you want a clean looking deck that just has RCA based inputs (you can easily get an RCA to iPod cable-this locks out volume control-or RCA to headphone jack). 

7990, hx-d1, drz9255, drx9255, rfx-8250, c90, and p9 are all quality decks that I'm 90% sure have RCA aux-in. And there's tons more out there.


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## Horsemanwill (Jun 1, 2008)

sub'd for the horn install


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

pionkej said:


> Cables look good man. And you guys are crazy, as most iPod interfaces are beyond easy compared to using the iPod itself if you spend like two minutes learning to use them. BUT if you want a clean looking deck that just has RCA based inputs (you can easily get an RCA to iPod cable-this locks out volume control-or RCA to headphone jack).
> 
> 7990, hx-d1, drz9255, drx9255, rfx-8250, c90, and p9 are all quality decks that I'm 90% sure have RCA aux-in. And there's tons more out there.


Maybe I should re-phrase my issue with the Ipod interface. I don't find it complicated, just time consuming. I can scroll through the artist or playlist faster on the Ipod than I can on using my P99 or P800. Maybe I don't know the correct way to do it. 

Isn't the 7990 headunit the one you and Kirk were talking about at the last show?


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Yeah, we were talking 7990 and 9935. 

And I wish I had your. "problem" with iPods. I love all those decks I mentioned, but I want iPod control from the deck, and none of those offer it (DRZ does...but it's worse than using the iPod itself).


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Got a few things done.






Test fit subs





Test fit baffle in car


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Laying out amp board








All thread used to secure amp board




Test fit amp board


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Pre wired amp board


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

impressive


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Secured sub baffle to rear seat area




Forgot to take pics of the mounting hardware that secures the top edge of the sub board to the rear deck brace




Sub board and amp board test fit


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I kind goofed on securing the sub board since you can see the bracket when you look in from inside the car.


Not too noticeable but I knew it was there and it bothered me. Made some press fit panels to cover it up.


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## EditTim (Mar 15, 2012)

Very nice!

I'm doing something similar amp rack-wise (location), but I do believe yours will look cleaner.

Looking great!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Not stereo related but it something I wanted to do. Didn't like the look of the bare underside of the trunk lid so I made a carpeted cover for it. Didn't want to add a lot of weight so I made it out of cardboard and soaked it in resin. Made a small pocket for the pull handle.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Looked good to me but a little too plain. Didn't want to go real flashy with it. Went to the local Pull-a-part and found a Monte Carlo SS and they came with a decent size plastic logo on the lower quarter panel. Pealed them off, scuffed it up, primed and painted it the body color. Attached it using some two part epoxy. Simple and not too flashy.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Dang! Where have those install skills been hiding!?

Looks great!


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## EditTim (Mar 15, 2012)

Looks rather OEM, NICE! You hit the mark with a very nice, not-too-flashy upgrade. 10/10


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I like it. That turned out great!

I've used 1/4" foam board to make similar panels with raised logos and such.

Still tuned in for the kick panels. lol

Jay


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

bikinpunk said:


> Dang! Where have those install skills been hiding!?
> 
> Looks great!


What exactly are you trying to say?


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Awesome work Kelly!! Looking fantastic so far! 

No Power 650 in there though!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks guys! I'm working on finishing up my waveguide mounting brackets. Almost done with those. Wanted to get those in before moving to the kicks to make sure what kind of room I had to work with. Made a speaker mod of sorts today during lunch and hope it gives some more room to mount.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

shawnk said:


> Awesome work Kelly!! Looking fantastic so far!
> 
> No Power 650 in there though!


Thanks Shawn. Yeah, I'm still working on a plan for those. I think my Bronco might have enough room for them bad boys. 

Speaking of which...I'll be shipping you my other 650 for rework at the end of this week.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

bigbubba said:


> Thanks Shawn. Yeah, I'm still working on a plan for those. I think my Bronco might have enough room for them bad boys.
> 
> Speaking of which...I'll be shipping you my other 650 for rework at the end of this week.


I was just playing bro  I'm sure those Reference amps will sound oh so sweet anyway!

Sending you a pm now


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

pionkej said:


> Cables look good man. And you guys are crazy, as most iPod interfaces are beyond easy compared to using the iPod itself if you spend like two minutes learning to use them. BUT if you want a clean looking deck that just has RCA based inputs (you can easily get an RCA to iPod cable-this locks out volume control-or RCA to headphone jack).
> 
> *7990, hx-d1, drz9255, drx9255, rfx-8250, c90, and p9 are all quality decks that I'm 90% sure have RCA aux-in. And there's tons more out there.*


-I'd bet you that none put the same SQ design effort that went into the transport to RCA output stage path. AUX in was (and still is) an after thought when it comes to high end decks, especially back then when there were no SQ AUX sources to plug into those jacks.

Maybe ones with CD changer functionality shared the same high quality analog in stage but I doubt it since they would need extra circuitry to make it a more plug-n-play input versus the proprietary electrically and hardware restricted CD changer's bus.

-Nice build thread OP, love the midget e-brake (ex-squeeze me. *little person e-brake ).


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## rockin (Sep 13, 2012)

The sale I regret the most of my former car audio pieces are the JBL 2118. ( I guess they aren't technically car audio) AFAIK you can't get them anymore.

The other regret is NOT buying I.D. 15s ! You've got some nice gear and I'm jealous.


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

bigbubba said:


> Thanks guys! I'm working on finishing up my waveguide mounting brackets. Almost done with those. *Wanted to get those in before moving to the kicks to make sure what kind of room I had to work with*. Made a speaker mod of sorts today during lunch and hope it gives some more room to mount.


This is KEY!!

nothing worse than building a kick panel that is super awesome and then not having enough room for horn clearance...or vice versa.......Im not speaking from personal experience or anything, just sayin ...ya know


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## Tsmith (Dec 17, 2008)

Really nice job Kelly! Oh how I love the IDW 15s.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Think I finally got my waveguide brackets finished. Added some deadener to the bracket. 





Added some black vinyl to the bracket to help blend it in to the bottom of the dash.





Stopped the deadener in front of the waveguide so when I added the vinyl it would create a edge to hopefully match the front edge of the waveguide opening.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Counter sunk the screws



Didn't feel like making another trip to Lowes so a black Sharpie will help them blend in for now.






Getting this little bracket right was the biggest pain in the ass.





Hope to get them mounted this week. Then it's on to the kick panels.


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## wdemetrius1 (Aug 16, 2007)

Looks great Bubba!!!


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## SteveH! (Nov 7, 2005)

agreed, bubba you are building one sexy car man. hope to hear it soon


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Nice work on those blending panels.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks. Hopefully I can get some time in tonight if it's not raining to test fit them in the car. Hope they fit....kidding...sorta.


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## mrmill (Feb 11, 2013)

your install is coming along nicely...very clean


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## Jagged Corn Flakes (Sep 10, 2013)

Great work!

You probably won't need fans on those upside down amps. Those IDW's will probably move enough air.  Super sub choice.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Looking great man. Seriously can't wait to see/hear it. By the way, you coming out at all on Sunday for TN Finals?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Jagged Corn Flakes said:


> Great work!
> 
> You probably won't need fans on those upside down amps. Those IDW's will probably move enough air.  Super sub choice.


Thanks. I do have a idea in mind to aid in cooling the amps as a precaution and to keep up with the stealth theme. We'll see how that works out.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

pionkej said:


> Looking great man. Seriously can't wait to see/hear it. By the way, you coming out at all on Sunday for TN Finals?


I'm anxious to get your thoughts on it when I'm done. Won't be done for this weekend though. My birthday is this Saturday and I'm going out of town. Will be working on the kick panels while I'm gone if the weather cooperates. Doing my best to get it done in time for Erin's gtg.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Cool man. Well have a good birthday weekend then and good luck with the progress.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Sooo clean! Mad skills man


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

bigbubba said:


> I'm anxious to get your thoughts on it when I'm done. Won't be done for this weekend though. My birthday is this Saturday and I'm going out of town. Will be working on the kick panels while I'm gone if the weather cooperates. Doing my best to get it done in time for Erin's gtg.


Kelly,

My birthday is Sunday!! No wonder why our paths have met 

Hope you have a great weekend! I know I'll be working all of mine lol


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

My birthday is Sunday as well. It's density... I mean.... destiny.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Wow! Well Happy Birthday to You guys too! 

Having to trim and reshape the waveguide body for the driver side to give me a little foot/pedal clearance. Someone on this site mentioned how bad the plastic stinks when you cut on it. I don't know what he was talking about...that stuff smells AWESOME! Can't get that smell out of my nasal passages. I'm going to bed now, my head is spinning.


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

bigbubba said:


> Wow! Well Happy Birthday to You guys too!
> 
> Having to trim and reshape the waveguide body for the driver side to give me a little foot/pedal clearance. Someone on this site mentioned how bad the plastic stinks when you cut on it. I don't know what he was talking about...that stuff smells AWESOME! Can't get that smell out of my nasal passages. I'm going to bed now, my head is spinning.


I can fiberglass in a closed car on a hot day and be fine. I can paint with no mask and feel fine.
But cutting a mini horn body or especially sanding one gives me a headache and I have to take breaks.
same thing with the smell of silicone.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Mic10is said:


> I can fiberglass in a closed car on a hot day and be fine. I can paint with no mask and feel fine.
> But cutting a mini horn body or especially sanding one gives me a headache and I have to take breaks.
> same thing with the smell of silicone.


I agree. Grinding on that plastic is some bad stuff. I still have a headache this morning from that. Should have at least wore my respirator. 

Remember to always wear proper PPE, even when working at home.


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

just bc I know how much fun youre having working on the mini bodies. Here are some minor tweaks that Team ID guys always did. Wipe the entire body down with Acetone to remove some of the film on the bodies from the molding process.
sand down any and all mold lines. fill in any small dimples or dips. then sand it back down smooth to at least 400grit, you can go higher if u are really having fun.
you can port the throat entry for a smoother transition into the horn. just continue sanding and round over the edge some.
All these things may have a slight benefit at higher frequencies.
Im not sure anyone every measured a stock body against a modified one, but it was an OCD thing everyone did


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Awesome. Thanks for the tips. As I was working on them last night, before I got to where I was feeling a little loopy from the grinding, I actually started doing sanding on the seams and trying to fill in and remove some of the imprefections. I was thinking I was just being anal about it. Never thought it might actually provide a benefit. I did notice that the transition from the driver adapter to the horn was offset a bit, creating a little lip. So I will be adjusting the mount to better line up the opening and smooth it out. Was also trying to smooth out the transition from the top edge of the waveguide to the vinyl covered bracket so there is not a step there as well. 

Will paint the bodies satin black right before I put them in for the final time. Just because I want them to look good, even though you will never see them.


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

bigbubba said:


> Awesome. Thanks for the tips. As I was working on them last night, before I got to where I was feeling a little loopy from the grinding, I actually started doing sanding on the seams and trying to fill in and remove some of the imprefections. I was thinking I was just being anal about it. Never thought it might actually provide a benefit. I did notice that the transition from the driver adapter to the horn was offset a bit, creating a little lip. So I will be adjusting the mount to better line up the opening and smooth it out. Was also trying to smooth out the transition from the top edge of the waveguide to the vinyl covered bracket so there is not a step there as well.
> 
> Will paint the bodies satin black right before I put them in for the final time. Just because I want them to look good, even though you will never see them.


Sanding down everything to keep them perfectly smooth should help with the transitions.

I used to paint all mine when I was done, even tho They were never ever seen....after 4 or 5 different installs eventually I was like F*uck it, noone ever sees it or even knows they are there.
I have other things I could be spending time doing not waiting for paint to dry


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## Thrill_House (Nov 20, 2008)

Wow, ive wanted to make a carpeted trunk cover like that for years, you just gave me the inspiration to do so!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thrill_House said:


> Wow, ive wanted to make a carpeted trunk cover like that for years, you just gave me the inspiration to do so!


Cool deal. Glad I could help. Tell you something that really helped me get the shape right. I thought I was just about ready to put the resin on and carpet. I had the cardboard taped to the trunk lid and then closed the trunk lid. I crawled into the trunk from the back seat area. While laying on my back I traced as close as possible to the lid gasket with a Sharpie. Fits like a glove.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Couple of updates. Trying to figure out where to put my PG DD-5 delay unit in a place out of the way but easily accessible. The back seat has been sittin' in my living room for the past few months and it dawned on me the center arm rest is the perfect size for it. So it's off to the Pull a Part yard to find another arm rest. Success. Still need to finish the arm rest part.











For the accessories that will be added later I made a harness with a molex type connector so that I add accessories all I need to do is add the wires to the harness located under the seat.


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## REGULARCAB (Sep 26, 2013)

Im a little late to the party but this thing is sick, subbed


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Made a new bracket to mount the headunit. Made it out of 16 gauge galvanized metal. Wanted to recess the radio in the dash a little. Added a trim piece that was covered with vinyl.








Not happy with the creases in the corners but maybe I can fix that later.




Now this is why I wanted to recess the radio a little. While I was at the salvage yard I bought a radio like what came in my car. Didn't care if it worked since all I wanted was the face plate. Sanded the back side of it to get it as thin as possible. Glued the buttons back in it. Added some tabs to the back that would hold it in place. I love the worn out look of the buttons. 





Doesn't look perfect but......

What I didn't plan on is that when the decoy face is in place and the radio is on behind it, it lights up the decoy face as if it is on. You almost have a full view of the Pioneer display through it's display window too.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Glad to see an update!! Everything is looking real nice my man.. keep it up!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Yeah, I had some "issues" come up that have kept me from working on it but hopefully I'm getting back on track. I hope to be throwing power to it this weekend to see if it makes all the right sounds before I start to button it up. Finally got the kick pods done enough to put in and test but they still need a few more layers of glass to stiffen them up a bit. Might get some more pics up tonight.


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## wdemetrius1 (Aug 16, 2007)

Really slick thinking on the old faceplate.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Looking good man!



bigbubba said:


> What I didn't plan on is that when the decoy face is in place and the radio is on behind it, it lights up the decoy face as if it is on. You almost have a full view of the Pioneer display through it's display window too.


Nice bonus. I guess that means you could still use the remote with the decoy in place as well?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I am trying to save as much room as I can in the kick panel area. Not wanting them to be too obtrusive. The JBL 2118 8" mids I'm using have this silver ring around the perimeter that I didn't feel was needed. So I trimmed it off with my Dremel. 







Layed out area to start glassing for the kick pods.




After covering with fleece I put them back in before adding the resin to see how they fit. 




Added a little resin milkshake to help seal them up on the inside. Still needing to add more glass to stiffen them up but this is where they are so far.



I made some cutouts on the back of them so I can port them into the lower door sill area to gain so more volume. Will need to make them bigger but will do that later.



Test fit mid



I was struggling on what kind of grill to use to cover these up. While looking through my closet I stumbled upon my IDQ-8 mids and they still had the grills I bought from Radio Shack a dozen+ years ago. Perfect fit.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Worked on the trunk today. Got the subs and amps mounted and wired up. I will have to pull all of the amps back out later because the amp board apparently isn't seated properly and is a little lower on the passenger side, didn't notice it till I was taking these pictures. That sucks cause those things took a long time to put in. 










Still got a lot of work to do, reline entire trunk to match the sub baffle, finish kick pods, before I start to button up everything. I need to redo the waveguide mounting. After putting them in I found they still hang down too far over the brake pedal and my size 13 foot keeps hitting it. Not much but enough to make me want to not take the chance of hitting the waveguide instead of the brake in an emergency.


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## Tsmith (Dec 17, 2008)

This is looking great. Keep up the good work.


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## mrstangerbanger (Jul 12, 2010)

Why not keep the Eclipse ?? 8 volt vs 5 volt ?
I would love to hear a comparison between them both ?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I really like the Eclipse HU but I like the tuning flexibility of the P800 more. I might even consider swapping in the P99 that's in my truck. 

I put power to everything today. Put the unfinished kick pods in and fired everything up just to see what would happen. Unfortunately I discovered that the Reference 500 that was powering the midbass lost it's left channel.  Fortunately though I had another one I wasn't using.  Powered it back up and everything works fine. Hopefully I can get the amp repaired. You can never have enough old school amps. 

I sat in there for over an hour and I was really happy with what I heard so far. I am easily impressed too so take that for what it's worth. Just did some quick TA and level adjustments. Started raining so I pulled the kicks and took them back in. Will be off work the week of Thanksgiving so I will have a lot of time to play and get some things dialed in.


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## strakele (Mar 2, 2009)

Glad to see some updates man. I'd love to hear this thing when you're done.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

It's all coming together nicely man. Very cool. I hope you're able to make lots of progress this week.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Loving it! Very neat and tidy!

I wish I could hear those JBL mids. I bet they're fantastic.


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## audiophile25 (Oct 5, 2008)

Wow great work sir!


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## ebrit003 (Oct 27, 2013)

I am loving the: Metal dash kit, sound stream amps, and trunk lid liner A+ work!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Well it's starting to come together, slowly but surely. Been trying to tune a little last night and today, which is proving to be a little more challenging than I hoped. The staging is very low, right side mid is localized. I've changed phase on all of the speakers and combined them and the right mid doesn't seem to change. Kinda' confused at this point. Gonna' wipe all of the settings and start over from scratch and hope for the best. 

Got a few more progress pics but forgot the camera cable. I'll upload them at the end of the week, with hopefully some positive results from re-tuning.


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## BlkRamRt (Nov 27, 2013)

THIS BUILD IS GREAT. REALLY CLEAN SET UP.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Ultra cool build!! Like all the little attention to details...


who owns the GT on tuff's?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

sydmonster said:


> Ultra cool build!! Like all the little attention to details...
> 
> 
> who owns the GT on tuff's?


What this old thing...



Just one of 12 old and new school bmx bikes I have stuffed in my dinning area.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

A few brief update pics. Cut the holes in the bottom door sills the midbass pods will play into. cutting the holes is as far as I got so far. Still have a lot of trimming and cleanup to do. Also need to deaden the inside as much as I can reach plus the outside. 




Test fit the midbass pods and worked on reshaping the carpet with a heat gun to kind of mold around it. Still some more work to do on that. Got the ID horns mounted and sanded. I do need to pull them back out to paint them satin black to help hide them better. 






Still a lot of work to do under there. Freezing weather and rain is slowing me down again this weekend but hopefully I can get this thing buttoned up soon.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Looking good though.

Shame weather gets in the way, but this is still impressive work.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

I like how you blended the kicks into the floor with the carpet. I've been wanting to do that myself.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Decided to rework the center console a bit. Cutting off the front section to see if it helps with the imaging. Went to Pull-a Part and found another console and cut off the front section. 





Ordered some 2 part foam from US Composites to help me sculpt the shape I want. 

Never used this stuff before. Think I used a little too much on the first one. 




Added some fiberglass mat. Not sure why every time I try to glass something it decides to get real cold. So I made a cheap heat box. Doesn't look pretty but it worked.


Adding bondo and starting to shape it up a bit.




Got this in today and trying to figure out where to mount it. Gonna give it a good testing before I try to mount it first. 


The spot I like the positioning of best is where the cup holder is. Problem is I use that holder daily and really don't want to loose it. 



The other spot is in front of the cup holder. Problem is that if it's mounted there the shifter will not go in to 2nd gear. It goes into all of them but 2nd. One thing is that I have never put the car in 1st or 2nd ever, that I can recall. Got some thinking to do.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Glad to see you're back on this Kelly! 

How do you like the two part foam? I tried it out for the first time last summer and loved it.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Good to see the forward progress. I remember us talking about the console potentially causing you issues so I'm curious to see what your results are with the repurposed one.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Hey, Shawn. I've been working on it but hadn't updated anything on here lately, mostly trying to tune it. The foam is very handy to use but next time I will get either the 4 or 6lb. version. I got the 2lb and it is very porous and is easy to take too much off. 

Got some new carpet to put in and lucked out to find some that is almost a dead on color match. Will probably put it in Sunday and while everything is out paint the waveguides and make some covers for the bottom of the dash. Once that's done I will add some more updated pics.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

bikinpunk said:


> Good to see the forward progress. I remember us talking about the console potentially causing you issues so I'm curious to see what your results are with the repurposed one.


Yeah, I think that little "wing" on the passenger side of the console may be redirecting the sound from the waveguide. At least that's what I think is happening. I probably won't put this console in until I test out the new remote and decide where I want to put it. I want limit how many times I have to keep taking this thing in and out of the car.


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## bignastay7 (Dec 29, 2013)

Very nice work looking forward to see the console finished


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## SteveH! (Nov 7, 2005)

great work bubba. this is gonna be a killer when it is done!


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Holy old school bat man! Loving it. Building my dream setup.

That's a really really nice install.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Bicycles...I've owned a few that would be classics today- Hutch Trickstar in candy apple red, Skyway TA, Haro Team Sport, etc. The Trickstar and TA were my favorites...TA was stolen and got hit by a car on the Trickstar. I had so many bikes back int he day...always wanted a Redline RL22, a Quadangle, and a PK Ripper.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

I've owned a TA, Haro Group 1, and the RL22. Wish I still had them. 

Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

It sounds dumb, but the reason I always liked the RL22 was that wrap around top tube(s). I guess 28 years later and I still love it.

Makes me wonder where all of my BMX Plus! magazines are at...I must have 6 or 7 years worth somewhere.


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

bigbubba said:


> Yeah, I think that little "wing" on the passenger side of the console may be redirecting the sound from the waveguide. At least that's what I think is happening. I probably won't put this console in until I test out the new remote and decide where I want to put it. I want limit how many times I have to keep taking this thing in and out of the car.


what issue are you having? In my original BMW install, I had a nasty reflection off the center console. It would cause the width to seem 1" inside the pillars at some frequencies. To get through Finals that year I simply covered the console in some carpet to break up the reflection...was enough to help win IASCA Finals. breaking up the reflection helped keep the width consistent at just outside the pillar at majority of frequencies.

since that time I cover the center console with 1" acoustic foam covered in suede or some other material.
In some installs they have been removable panels, in other cars its been wrapping the entire console.

its more about breaking up the reflection or absorbing it at your radio/hvac housing than the center console.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

thehatedguy said:


> Bicycles...I've owned a few that would be classics today- Hutch Trickstar in candy apple red, Skyway TA, Haro Team Sport, etc. The Trickstar and TA were my favorites...TA was stolen and got hit by a car on the Trickstar. I had so many bikes back int he day...always wanted a Redline RL22, a Quadangle, and a PK Ripper.


Yeah, I used to race BMX from 1983-86. Still have my Hutch Pro Racer F&F. Right now I have 2 Redlines, 3 GT's, 2-Haro's, 5 GHP's and 1 PK Ripper. The RL22 was one of favs I could never afford.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

PK Ripper....IDW15s....JBL 2118s....horns...

mumble

grumble.

you suck.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

thehatedguy said:


> It sounds dumb, but the reason I always liked the RL22 was that wrap around top tube(s). I guess 28 years later and I still love it.
> 
> Makes me wonder where all of my BMX Plus! magazines are at...I must have 6 or 7 years worth somewhere.


It was definitely unique. I always preferred the teardrop frames on the Skyways. The Haros were just...Haros. They were just plain awesome. 

Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Mic10is said:


> what issue are you having? In my original BMW install, I had a nasty reflection off the center console. It would cause the width to seem 1" inside the pillars at some frequencies. To get through Finals that year I simply covered the console in some carpet to break up the reflection...was enough to help win IASCA Finals. breaking up the reflection helped keep the width consistent at just outside the pillar at majority of frequencies.
> 
> since that time I cover the center console with 1" acoustic foam covered in suede or some other material.
> In some installs they have been removable panels, in other cars its been wrapping the entire console.
> ...


I've been to 2 contests this season so far and the most common response is from the center to the passenger side the imaging just goes right to the floor, almost directly from the 8" in the kick panel area. 

I've just come from the car and set all the TA settings to zero and added a large towel to center console and moved the HP of the horns and LP of the 2118's up to 1.25khz. Then I just played with the phase. It still sounds a little odd but everything seems to be up at dash level. The only thing out of phase is the passenger midbass and the subs. I will definitely need to play around with it some more but am surprised how much different it sounds with no TA.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

thehatedguy said:


> PK Ripper....IDW15s....JBL 2118s....horns...
> 
> mumble
> 
> ...


If you love old school BMX and haven't been to this site it will get you hooked, it got me. This is a list of all my bikes.

BMXmuseum.com User / bigbubba / Bikes


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Good good.

Put a towel on top of the dash too...that will make a big difference too.




bigbubba said:


> I've been to 2 contests this season so far and the most common response is from the center to the passenger side the imaging just goes right to the floor, almost directly from the 8" in the kick panel area.
> 
> I've just come from the car and set all the TA settings to zero and added a large towel to center console and moved the HP of the horns and LP of the 2118's up to 1.25khz. Then I just played with the phase. It still sounds a little odd but everything seems to be up at dash level. The only thing out of phase is the passenger midbass and the subs. I will definitely need to play around with it some more but am surprised how much different it sounds with no TA.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the ride into work this morning. I guess when I followed Eric's steps before I didn't take all of the TA settings down to zero first. I even listened to it using the flat eq setting. Not bad but I will try his suggested settings during lunch to see how that sounds. I think the towel on the center console helped a lot too. When I finish my new console the sides and front will be carpet so maybe that will help. I made a dash pad out of some carpet I bought that was too dark for the floor but matched the dash.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Nice build. I didn't get the chance to hear it at freezefest nor in Hendersonville, look forward to listening to it soon.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Got chance to work on a few things this weekend. First, was to replace the carpet and paint the waveguides black. In general the carpet was in great shape except the 2 "roundish" cutouts for the midbass in the kicks. That was one area I didn't plan out that well as to how I was going to make it work. I just laid the new carpet on top of the old.



I lucked out a came across a carpet that was a damn near perfect color match. I took a really long time trimming this thing down so as to not cut too much and not be able to fix it. I'm going to keep working on it as it settles in more to get out the wrinkles. It's unbacked but seems to be real good quality. Still need to make some panels for the bottom side of the dash on both sides. In the pics, if the passenger waveguide looks to be at a different angle, it is, or was. I fixed that but I had to take that damn thing out 3 times to get it right. Didn't get a pic afterwards cause I done with the whole thing. 




2nd thing I worked on was the HU remote, mounting it in the center console. The first one I got had an issue and sent it back and they sent me a new one. Tested it for the last few days so figured it was time to mount it. Decided to put it in front of the cup holder cause I just couldn't give up the only place to put my morning coffee. 








Still need to do some final sanding on the remote area as well as the front section. This part of the console will be painted. The lower section will be carpeted.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

That looks excellent!


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## strakele (Mar 2, 2009)

Lookin' good man. Very nicely done. This thing is gonna be a beast when you're finished.


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

Nice. Here is mine


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks guys. Looks great Jim! May be a few more week before I can put mine in the car due to the rest of the console is not finished and my work load lately. Gonna spend this week working on a few things I did with my tuning for the show this coming weekend. Hope it will be positive.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Nice update bro!

Keep up the good work!


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## decibelle (Feb 17, 2011)

Well done! Much cleaner than mine at the moment, color me jealous. So... 

Ha! No heated seats for you now! Ha!


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## SQram (Aug 17, 2007)

Nice work! Keep the pics coming!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## KyngHype (Sep 7, 2009)

bigbubba said:


> If you love old school BMX and haven't been to this site it will get you hooked, it got me. This is a list of all my bikes.
> 
> BMXmuseum.com User / bigbubba / Bikes


Your orange Pro 24 is intoxicating


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

KyngHype said:


> Your orange Pro 24 is intoxicating


Ha, yeah it is a little over the top. :laugh: I had a blast building that.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

I didn't know you BMX'd, man! Sweet! I rode for years, man. Here's a few clips from me circa 2002.
http://youtu.be/RwTlw5MyttU


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

yes, there must be something with bmx, engineering, and audio


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## KP (Nov 13, 2005)

Nice work man. I better check my remote to see if it works!


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Was just thinking about this:









My P88 automatically folds the faceplate down so you can remove it when the ignition is switched off. I'm guessing that would pop the stock face-plate of in your situation. Is there a setting that stops the P88 from moving down?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

sinister-kustoms said:


> Was just thinking about this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Are you are talking about when you turn off the ignition the face opens and spits out your cd? I know on my P99 and P800 there is an option in the "initial settings" screen for " face auto open" on or off.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

It doesn't spit out the CD, but it opens so you can remove the face plate for security. I plan on using in the glovebox of my '58 VW, but it would smack the glovebox lid when it opens unless I can turn the setting off. I'll have to check that out, thanks!


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## wonner (Jan 29, 2014)

bigbubba said:


> If you love old school BMX and haven't been to this site it will get you hooked, it got me. This is a list of all my bikes.
> 
> BMXmuseum.com User / bigbubba / Bikes


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Uh oh....Don't look James. Nothing to see here.


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## ZapcoTravis (Feb 24, 2014)

Nice build.
Love your attention to detail.


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## KyngHype (Sep 7, 2009)

bigbubba said:


> Ha, yeah it is a little over the top. :laugh: I had a blast building that.


Naw, it's beautiful. In fact, I'm inspired LOL :cyclist:


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## joselmartinez (Apr 5, 2009)

Hey Bubba that's an amazing job, mind to ask you what is this remote for?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

joselmartinez said:


> Hey Bubba that's an amazing job, mind to ask you what is this remote for?


Thanks. Remote is to operate the headunit. Yeah, I guess I could use the one that came with the radio but this one looks so much cooler.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Did some more work on the console. Had to find a good spot to mount the IR sensor. The shifter kinda gets in the way to mount it next to the remote so decided to mount it towards the front close to the head unit. Tried to help make it look like it belonged there so I tried to add a little lip around it. 





Got some SEM interior paint and gave it a few coats. Not real pleased with the color. The color I was going for should have been closer to the trim piece around the shifter opening. Going back to the paint supply store tomorrow to find something closer to the color I'm looking for, something a few shades lighter than black.




Also, doing some testing with my old set of large body ID horns. Made some brackets at work today. Still got some grinding and shaping but hopefully I'll have them in good enough shape to put them in tomorrow for a quick test.


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## KyngHype (Sep 7, 2009)

bigbubba said:


> Thanks. Remote is to operate the headunit. Yeah, I guess I could use the one that came with the radio but this one looks so much cooler.


What kind of remote is it? I couldn't find where you stated it...


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I got it off Ebay. It's a Universal Sdrive SM5 remote.


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## Tsmith (Dec 17, 2008)

Looking good. That console turned out great!


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## plcrides (Mar 21, 2014)

OMG i was just thinking about a super light weight PK RIPPER and wa la their it is,awesome build and awesome bikes man.those were the days.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Went to the paint store to find the right color to paint the top section of the console. Could not find the right color and then...BOOM, there it was. After all that looking, testing, taking a half day vacation........satin black. I'm a dumb ass. I had three cans of that already in my closet. Actually to be fair, it's SEM Trim Black. Sprays and flows out really nice. Sprayed at a distance and it creates a somewhat eggshell texture which is exactly what I was looking for. 


Also, added the large body horns. Need to do a lot more work on them but they are just to get an idea if I will like them better that the mini's. The only time I could get to tweek on the tune was on the way into work this morning. They definitely sound different. I need to reset everything and start from scratch to see if I want to leave them in or put the mini's back in.


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## SteveH! (Nov 7, 2005)

lookin good BB!!, that car is gonna be a killer!
keep up the good work


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

Ill be curious how u like the Full size compared to the mini


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

changes look good


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Mic10is said:


> Ill be curious how u like the Full size compared to the mini


Yeah, me too. Unfortunately I won't get to mess with it anymore till Monday.


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## mrmill (Feb 11, 2013)

Notice....I'm loving this install. 


Sent from under your mom's bed


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## spyders03 (Jan 5, 2013)

Coming together nicely!

Swyped while Swerving


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## JoshHefnerX (Jun 13, 2008)

You do have some seriously good skills, center console looks awesome. I do have some concern about cutting the rocker panels though, because they're a structural member of the chassis. Maybe keep an eye on them in the corners for cracks.

Josh


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## JoshHefnerX (Jun 13, 2008)

One other thing are those ss ref's the old ones or new ones? If the new ones wanted your impressions on them.

Josh


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## CK1991 (Jul 13, 2013)

what an awesome build!!!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

JoshHefnerX said:


> One other thing are those ss ref's the old ones or new ones? If the new ones wanted your impressions on them.
> 
> Josh


 Double post.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

JoshHefnerX said:


> One other thing are those ss ref's the old ones or new ones? If the new ones wanted your impressions on them.
> 
> Josh


 The amps are the old/original Reference models. Had the 500's since new. Best amps I've ever owned. 

As far as the cutouts in the door sill, I'm not too concerned. I will be pulling the pods out soon for some work and will be able to see if anything has changed since I did it.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I did get some new things to play with yesterday.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Funny how much the Helix logo resembles a Rockford logo. RF owns them, don't they? Wondered how similar it is to the 360?

Jay


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Well, you got the Helix too.....I figured after talking about it a bit you would. 
You should be very pleased.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> Funny how much the Helix logo resembles a Rockford logo. RF owns them, don't they? Wondered how similar it is to the 360?
> 
> Jay


If I'm not mistaken Helix and Brax is a division of Rockford.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Kevin K said:


> Well, you got the Helix too.....I figured after talking about it a bit you would.
> You should be very pleased.


Yeah, Steve was very helpful in working with me on both of them. Now I just need to work on figuring out where to mount the DSP.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

bigbubba said:


> If I'm not mistaken Helix and Brax is a division of Rockford.


I don't think so but I could be mistaken too :blush:

Rockford is only a distributor for Brax and Helix in USA. 

Kelvin


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

What he said.


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## LBaudio (Jan 9, 2009)

Audiotec Fischer gmbh is owner of Brax and Helix.....Germany/EU


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Not much of an update but I was hoping that the midbass I just got would fit my kick pods with little trouble. No such luck. I will have to pretty much rebuild the whole top section of it. So that means cutting new mounting rings. I hate dealing with my big router with the cord. I have a cordless PC router but it will not mount to the Jasper jig circle template with the adapter that came with it. So during lunch the other day I whipped up a new adapter from some scrap metal around the shop. Cut the bottom disk off the laser, hammered, filed and grinded the side posts to fit the router. Had someone weld them to the base and tapped the holes to mount it to the jig. 






Hoping to try it out tomorrow and see if it works. In the mean time I wanted to do something different with the midbass and decided to put in my Image Dynamics IDQ-8's. I think they sound pretty good.


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## Horsemanwill (Jun 1, 2008)

patent that mount you could make a killing in the market lol


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## bitperfect (Oct 1, 2010)

Awesome work keep it up! 

Interested in your thoughts on the full body horns compared to the mini horns.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I haven't had a huge amount of time to do a lot tweeking on it so far but have noticed a few things. Keep in mind, I'm not good at tuning by any stretch of the imagination. I know this and I'm seeking professional help in this area. I have not done any eq adjustments yet, only messed with TA, phase and xover settings. I will be resetting everything to zero and start from scratch to see what I can do. So here are a few things I have noticed.

1. I notice a lot more detail in the music. What I mean by that is I notice things in certain songs I didn't notice before or they just sound more clear or present.
2. I have always had an issue when trying to TA the mini's by themselves and hearing any change. I could only hear it with the midbass playing too. Does this make sense...I don't know. I do not have this issue with the large body. I can hear the changes with these by themselves.
3. One of the biggest things that I've noticed and had concerns with on the mini's is that depending on where your legs are placed, greatly affected the imaging. For example if you had your right leg laying close to the console the image sounded somewhere around the middle of the dash. If you move it a couple inches towards the left the image moved closer to the steering wheel. I'm not sure if this was due to the mini's being so far back under the dash but I do not have this issue with the large body which are mounted closer to the front edge of the lower dash.

That's where I'm at so far. Without going out to the car I don't remember where I ended up with the settings for TA, phase or Xover.


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## spyders03 (Jan 5, 2013)

Keep up the good work, interested to hear the changes. And let me know if you wanna come diem for a tuning session, I'll see what I can do to help

Swyped while Swerving


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Finding time to work on anything is becoming harder to do lately. Plant expansion and other projects at work are sucking up a lot of my free time. All I've been able to do is finish the center console. Not sure when I will actually be able to install it.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Very nice work


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Damn that's clean! Nice work guy!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Turned out great!!! Nice!!


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

Here's the video I took at MECA Finals last month. Very slick install! Thanks for letting me do the video @bigbubba!

See on YouTube in 1080p or embedded below:


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Nicely done Dereck. Really appreciate the comments. Hope to see you again at some shows this next season.


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

bigbubba said:


> Nicely done Dereck. Really appreciate the comments. Hope to see you again at some shows this next season.


You did all the work, my part was easy! I think it turned out great and I know car audio projects are never ending and always evolving. The only negative feedback thus far is the fact I didn't video a demo of the system's sound (my fault). It's just really difficult to capture great SQ unless you take the time to use high quality recording mics. I just didn't have this setup with me at Nashville...next time though! :thumbsup:


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I haven't updated in a while. I swapped out my midbass to a new set of 8" Beyma 8G40. Had to make a set of ring adapters so I didn't have to rebuild the top end of the pods. 


Made a center console extension that has a charger port, volt gauge and Ipod connection cable. 








Need to repaint the extension piece. Not the shade of black I wanted. The flash of the camera makes it look worse than it is but I'm still not happy with it.









I also got a Helix DSP and it is mounted underneath the extension piece. Didn't think to take pics of it but I will when I take it back out to repaint. My goal this season is to understand how to tune so I will be hunting for as much feedback as I can get. Living so close to a hospital and Nashville airport makes it difficult to have some quiet time to tune and take measurements. I took this measurement this morning.


It's as good as I good get so far.

One thing I am very happy about is the aftermarket remote I got a while back.

I put a lot of work into molding that thing into my console. After it was installed it continuously crapped out and eventually stopped working. Reluctant to fill the holes back up I kept working on it. I put on the original mounting plate and screws and for whatever reason it started working, no issues for the last 2 weeks. Now that I'm using the Helix DSP I don't need to program all the settings for the P99 processor section. I just use the buttons on the remote now, not the large knob. I will be making a cap that covers up that part of the remote so it's not used. This will keep it low profile and less obvious.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

What's your thoughts on the Beyma vs JBL?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

It's been quite a while since I've listened to the JBL's. That and since I was never good at tuning I can't give a good comparison between the two. That being said, I'm going to be focusing on tuning this season. The kick pods still have the mounting holes for the JBL's so I can swap them back in easily. Once I feel more comfortable as to what I'm doing I'll swap them out to listen to the differences between them.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Was just curious since I love the JBLs but were told the Beymas might could make me forget about that love.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

I like the console extension...but I will be willing to bet it will sound better without it. I did the opposite in my old Accord, and getting rid of the console and opening that area up was on of the single largest improvements that I made.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I originally cut the center console down for that very reason. When I did, the imaging on the passenger side went straight to the floor and overall it never made it above the dash. Sounded like the speakers were in the air vents. I have several people around here that can confim that.  Listening to it now, the imaging is in the middle of the windshield all the way across. Some of this may be due to the Helix and a few other things I tried though. I will be taking the extension out to repaint it and will be able to give it a listen while it's out. I'm hoping to get some feedback before the first big show next month to see what someone who knows what they are doing thinks. :laugh:


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

I mean aesthetically it is really nice. I like the contrast with the carpet and the paint, it looks factory-ish, which is awesome IMO.

My experience with my old car was the exact opposite. The center got stronger, image got more 3-d, and the height improved. 

But I do understand being torn between looks and performance...you have a really nice install, but I am a sucker for the equipment you have.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

And if you want to get rid of the JBLs on the cheap, I know a guy who might like them


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## Tsmith (Dec 17, 2008)

Looks good Kelly. Keep up the good work my friend. We should get together before the season starts


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Well, I told myself that this competition season I was going to just focus on tuning and nothing else. First couple shows I get dinged for the same old things, hiss, staging, imaging, height ect…. I did the best I could with the huge amount of help and suggestions I was given. Nothing seemed to get me over the issues I was having. So, for now, I am going to go in a different direction. If you’ve gone through this thread you know that I’m a big fan of stealth. The direction I’m about to take is anything but. But I was willing to give it a try if I got better sound and imaging. So I purchased a set of these, Scanspeak 12m, and the waveguides will be coming out.



To show how uncertain I was of going this route I made a 3D mockup of the speakers out of paper and drove around for over a week with them on my dash. I know….stupid. But I was trying to convince myself that the view would not be blocked too much for me. It’s not blocked so much to really concern me. I paired the mids up with a set of Scanspeak D3004 tweets.




Testing position and angle mounting.



Bondo, sand…bondo, sand…



Got it to a point that I could get them in the car and do a quick tune and listen.






At this point I’ve had them in the car for about a week and needless to say the questions were coming pretty often about the green things on my dash. I guess I’ve listened to them enough, time to try and hide them. 

Got some vinyl from Jo Ann’s. The texture is kinda close to the stock plastic. They didn’t turn out perfect but good enough for me, for now. Added black carpet to the top where it touches the windshield and metal part of the pillar. I also picked up some black vinyl for windows from Sign’s Now that I will add to the windshield behind the pods too.






Not so noticeable now.



I will be working on the plastic pillars tomorrow to match up with the pods.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

It may not be stealth, but I like the direction where this is going. Based on our experience with the bigger sibling Revelator in Linda's Smart with also the sibling RR tweeters, I really like these steps. Great job Kelly, hope I get a chance to hear it!


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## spyders03 (Jan 5, 2013)

Can't wait to hear it! Looking great sir


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

papasin said:


> It may not be stealth, but I like the direction where this is going. Based on our experience with the bigger sibling Revelator in Linda's Smart with also the sibling RR tweeters, I really like these steps. Great job Kelly, hope I get a chance to hear it!


Trust me Richard I definitely remember Linda's car. :laugh: It sounded phenomenal! I went back through her thread as well before I went this direction. I definitely hear improvements in my troublesome area's, just need to take it a little further.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

spyders03 said:


> Can't wait to hear it! Looking great sir


Can't wait to get everyone's thought's on if it's going in the right direction.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

nice....


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

Wrong Direction IMO ;-)
Id have went with mini horns and made sure they werent visible and then retuned


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Mic10is said:


> Wrong Direction IMO ;-)
> Id have went with mini horns and made sure they werent visible and then retuned


You may be right. Trust me, NOBODY wanted to make the horns work more than me.  I put a lot of time and effort into installing and trying to tune those things and it just wasn't paying off. Then I see John's (subterFUSE) Audi S6 winning his class at SBN using waveguides.  At that point I had already purchased the Scan's so there was no turning back at that point. 

I tried the mini horns, still have them and the mounting brackets I made for them. They were tucked as far back as the firewall would allow and still keep them as far out as possible. You couldn't see them from the seated position. My biggest issue was the driver side horn being right above the brake pedal. There were a few instances where my foot would hit it instead of the brake. That wasn't going to cut it so I then went to the large body. I guess, for now, the installation and tuning of horns is way above my capabilities and need to step back from them and leave the door open to try again at a later date.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

as a monte carlo (previuse) owner i drool over this. i had an 04 monte with a high end build in it. silver bullet. loved that car. i wanted to do an IB like this once too, but i found the task of sealing to over wealming :\ man that took allota figuiring. i love how you did that trunk lid though looks amazing. I dont even reember what was on mine. trying to remember but yours looks way better than my install ever did! damn fine job sir!


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Mic10is said:


> Wrong Direction IMO ;-)
> Id have went with mini horns and made sure they werent visible and then retuned


I don't want to sound like I'm bagging on Kelly's horn setup, but having heard it a couple times and knowing the troubles he was having, I think he's made the right choice for his car.


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## truckguy (Sep 2, 2013)

Very cool pods! I like the cutout for the vent on the right.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

ErinH said:


> I don't want to sound like I'm bagging on Kelly's horn setup, but having heard it a couple times and knowing the troubles he was having, I think he's made the right choice for his car.


I always thought horns would do bad in a Monte too. Deep dash very large. I'd love to of heard em but I see he has pillar pods now.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Got a little bit of time this weekend to work on the pillar covers. They didn't turn out exactly like I wanted but they will work for now. I really wanted the horns to work but a combination of the install and my tuning abilities just wasn't working. This new setup solved my 3 biggest issues, hiss, stage height and imaging. It's not great but I feel it is getting there. 

I also updated to the new beta version of the Helix software. I entered all the information in it that the old version software had, eq settings, xover, TA, ect. I'm still working on it but was surprised at how much I had to turn down the midbass levels, 12db. The old software it was at 0db or close to it. I haven't changed anything regarding the mdbass or the subs so not sure what is different with the new version of software to affect it that much. Besides that I think it is starting to sound really nice. Still have a lot of tweeking to do but so far I'm liking it.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

yeah i knew stage hight was an issue. i always had issues with stage hight without any highs mounted up high on the dash, but once i put pods in. stage presentation was a delight! the only problem with them up so high now will be your width because of that cars terrible shape for car audio i suspect  but you are on a different axis with your drivers than i was. so who knows! but still a fun car to drive and jam in! for sure. did 6 hour trips to shows in this car rocking out flying tuning and having a good time boy do i miss my monte carlo! ****ing impala is a piece of ****. nothing but computer problems and wiring problems!


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

im not following how HISS is related to using HLCD??? Something else has to have changed to the hiss to disappear. floor noise just isnt cured by swapping out drivers...unless the hiss was caused by having to boost 16 and 20k and then the processor developed hiss when this happens ( I know of a few that do, like the H700/01)


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Unless the amps were noisy and the 110 dB horns were making it overly audible.

The hiss is still going to be there, but you'll probably have to put your ear next to the speaker to hear it.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I wish I was intelligent enough to explain it myself. I unplugged the speaker wire to the waveguide and plugged it directly into the new speakers and there was no hiss when no music was playing. I'm saying no hiss compared to what it sounded like before. There may be some but I can't hear it from the driver seat. This was before touching anything on the amps, DSP or HU. Now it did sound like crap using the horn tune. The gains on the amps were all the way down and the level on the Helix was at -2db. I remember Kirk telling me at a GTG that if he was judging my car that day he would have taken 2 points from me beacause it was that bad. I hope to get with some people soon to get their thoughts on it who have heard it before.


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## spyders03 (Jan 5, 2013)

I can't wait to hear it!


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## Patrick Bateman (Sep 11, 2006)

bigbubba said:


> I wish I was intelligent enough to explain it myself. I unplugged the speaker wire to the waveguide and plugged it directly into the new speakers and there was no hiss when no music was playing. I'm saying no hiss compared to what it sounded like before. There may be some but I can't hear it from the driver seat. This was before touching anything on the amps, DSP or HU. Now it did sound like crap using the horn tune. The gains on the amps were all the way down and the level on the Helix was at -2db. I remember Kirk telling me at a GTG that if he was judging my car that day he would have taken 2 points from me beacause it was that bad. I hope to get with some people soon to get their thoughts on it who have heard it before.


I've definitely noticed that compression drivers exacerbate noise problems.

For instance, if you have an amp that puts out 50 watts, and you have a 80db efficient speaker, you might not hear that hiss until you turn the volume up to the point where the speaker is generating 100dB of output.

But if you use the same amp with a compression driver, where the output *starts* at 109dB, *it can be a real noise nightmare.*

But there's a dead simple solution to this - knock down the output at the driver. A $2 resistor will do that very well, and at the same time it will also protect the compression driver from damage, and extend the high frequency response. I always use resistors inline with compression drivers.

Check out LeCleach, I stole the trick from him.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

True, an lpad circuit would help,but believe this path Kelly has taken is gonna yield much better results. I too had a hiss problem with some very sensitive tweeters, made a change in drivers, hiss gone. 
Look forward to seeing and hearing this first hand. Great work on them pods.


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## ebrahim (Sep 21, 2009)

Have you sold those Boston Acoustic SL60s yet?


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## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

awesome build! great fab skills as well!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I need some help in understanding what I'm seeing on some measurements I took. These measurements were taken with no eq adjustments. Mids xover from 500hz up, midbass from 70hz to 500hz. I know this looks like crap but I'm trying to understand 2 main things right now. Where the arrows are pointing. The left midrange shoots way up just shy of 200hz, why? The second arrow is the right midbass drops out right after 200hz, why when it's cut off is 500hz?


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## spyders03 (Jan 5, 2013)

Can you take a screen shot of the helix


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Hmm...you in Jackson today or Nashville?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Ok let me try this again.
The first pic is the midrange. I want to know if I should be concerned about the left kicking up on the low end.


This pic is of the midbass. The xover settings are set the same for both speakers yet the right drops of way early.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Are those measurements an average of different microphone locations?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Yeah, I did 4 sweeps around my head from ear to ear, around 65-75 averages.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Kelly is getting it done under the radar. I listened to his car and liked it alot, but it wasn't one of the cars where everyone was like "Oh, you need to hear this car or that car," But it probably should have been. I don't remember exactly where he placed (I was tired) but pretty sure he was in the top 3 in his class. 

Great job!

Jay


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Jay, it was great meeting you. Glad you liked what you heard. It's been a real struggle for me to get it this far but I'm liking how it sounds and learning more and more everyday from great competitors and friends. I got 3rd in Extreme and I told a few people I was probably more proud of my 3rd place than most were of their 1st place. 

I liked your comment about being under the radar. The install itself is a testament of that. You see nothing and the car has a crappy paint job, nothing worth looking at. I was watching a guy walk down the aisle I was parked on and he was looking and taking pictures of all the slick trunk installs and when he got to mine he just kinda looked and kept walking. Probably wondering why it was even in the building, there aint nothing in it. I just laughed and thought that was great. Yes, more often than not I have to ask people if they want to listen to it. It's rare someone asks to listen to it.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

congrats on your finish, Kelly! I really dig how hard you've worked building and tuning your car by yourself and seeing your efforts pay off.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

bigbubba said:


> Jay, it was great meeting you. Glad you liked what you heard. It's been a real struggle for me to get it this far but I'm liking how it sounds and learning more and more everyday from great competitors and friends. I got 3rd in Extreme and I told a few people I was probably more proud of my 3rd place than most were of their 1st place.
> 
> I liked your comment about being under the radar. The install itself is a testament of that. You see nothing and the car has a crappy paint job, nothing worth looking at. I was watching a guy walk down the aisle I was parked on and he was looking and taking pictures of all the slick trunk installs and when he got to mine he just kinda looked and kept walking. Probably wondering why it was even in the building, there aint nothing in it. I just laughed and thought that was great. Yes, more often than not I have to ask people if they want to listen to it. It's rare someone asks to listen to it.


I saw it last year, and there were a bunch of people around it. I'd read your build log, so I was aware (more or less) of what was in your car. I knew to look for it. It got hard to find some cars because later in the day they moved around. Glad I got a chance.

Jay


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Ok, so getting things together for some new changes for next season. Even though I was real excited for getting 3rd in my class at Finals, I'm not going to pretend like I don't know I was very lucky to get that. I've got a lot of things to fix before Freeze Fest. 

Things to change:
* Using the same mids and tweets but working on new locations, making pods less noticeable.
* Changing out midbass, same locations.
* Changing out HU
* Changing the amps out

I literally just had the last amp hand delivered I was needing. 



Needless to say these are not going to be as easy to hide as my Soundstream's. So the trunk will be getting a complete revamp. This time around I may try to set these up to show them off a bit, still working on how I'm going to do that.


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## Tsmith (Dec 17, 2008)

Nice Kelly! Can't wait to check out the changes you make. Congrats on your finish at Finals.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Spent the last 3 days building new dash pods. I wanted to work on placement, getting the speakers as wide as I could get them. One of the comments I always got was the stage was not as wide as it should be, hopefully this will help. I didn't want to put the tweeters in the doors cause I didn't want to cut up the stock door panel or run any wires. I glassed the dash and the sail panel area. I did a lot of measuring and used a LED pointer to help aim the speakers. The end result the tweets are basically in the sails and the mids are as wide as I can get them. Now due to all the contours, I have no idea how I'm going to cover them.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

somebody has been busy....those are looking good


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## Tsmith (Dec 17, 2008)

Looking very nice Kelly!


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

Nice. Miss my Monte Carlo. Got a kia soul now  lol big dif

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


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## RogerH (Sep 8, 2007)

Patrick Bateman said:


> I've definitely noticed that compression drivers exacerbate noise problems.
> 
> For instance, if you have an amp that puts out 50 watts, and you have a 80db efficient speaker, you might not hear that hiss until you turn the volume up to the point where the speaker is generating 100dB of output.
> 
> ...


Ok, this is a pretty old post, but I'm experimenting with some horns and drivers for my home speakers. But there is too much hissing! The fact that I'm using a dcx2496 crossover doesn't exactly help... 

Does anyone have any recommendations for this resistor. It's not just a resistor in seriers, right? But an L-pad? How much -dB are you calculating as a starting point? Wish I had more components laying around...


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I must say that I'm a little frustrated that I'm not a little further along on this rebuild. I have taken several vacation days and worked 10-12 hours a day. I'm getting too old for this crap.....

Anyway, I'm moving the fuse holder and the PG DD-5 to the passenger side of the trunk. The DD-5 always made a noticeable clicking sound when it turned on and off so to the trunk it goes. 




This pile of parts is the beginning of the bottom amp rack. 



I took a piece of 1/4" MDF and routed out some slots on the back side so I could roll it over to create a rounded edge for the amp door.


Test fit it all together




Added resin to the back of the door to hold its shape.





Cut the openings for the power/ground/RCA/speaker wires. Also made slots at the top for air flow from the fans. I'll be adding the openings for them later.


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## imjustjason (Jun 26, 2006)

Sexy. Where are the other two amps going?


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Looks very nice Kelly


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

indeed. very promising. wish I had your patience and skill.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks guys. Between work and working on this it hurts to get up in the morning. 

Jason, the other 2 amps are going under the rear deck where the others were. Trying to save as much space in the trunk as I can.


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## tnaudio (Mar 4, 2012)

Looks great Kelly. The amp rack is really cool. I can't wait to hear it.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


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## imjustjason (Jun 26, 2006)

bigbubba said:


> Thanks guys. Between work and working on this it hurts to get up in the morning.
> 
> Jason, the other 2 amps are going under the rear deck where the others were. Trying to save as much space in the trunk as I can.


Sweet, if you get cold this winter bring it up to white house and I'll help you with it in the warm.


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## audiophile25 (Oct 5, 2008)

Looks great sir!! I can't wait to hear it again. Will you be attending freezefest?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Well, I wish I was a little further along on this but it is what it is. I relocated my grounding spot. 


I'm reusing the existing ampboard that goes under the rear deck. Really didn't feel like making another one.


Due to the fact I made all of the rca cables to a certain length and I didn't want to make new ones I had to find a way to arrange the new amps so I can still use them as they were. I added a 250 amp circuit breaker to the amp board as well. This will allow me to disable the system quickly if I have to put it in the shop or something. When mounted it is accessible but not easily seen. 


On a side note, mounting this amp board really pushed my patience putting in. I hope to hell I don't come across a reason to have to take it back out any time soon.

As with the bottom side of the deck lid I am using cardboard again to make some trunk trim panels. Still have a lot of work to do on them but I'm getting close to what I want. I will coat them in resin and maybe one layer of fiberglass mat to help it hold their shape. I'll cover them in dark grey carpet as well as the bottom amp rack. Thinking of trimming the bottom 3" of the panels and the front of the amp rack in black vinyl just to break it up a bit, still deciding. The passenger side of the trunk will hold the fuse/ground block and the PG DD-5. The driver side will just be a cubby hole to put stuff like jumper cables and whatnot. The 2 rectangular cutouts towards the back of the trim panels will allow me to still use the cargo netting to hold groceries. The 2 rectangles drawn on the front of the lower amp rack are where the cooling fans will be going.





When I got off work today I mocked up a quick panel/cover that I might make to put in front of the 2 amps under the rear deck. Maybe put some fans in them to cool the amps.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Very nice sir.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Not much of an update but I'm getting closer. 

Added 2 fans to the amp rack, one to push and the other to pull.



Covered in vinyl and carpet



Painted the inside the same color as the car to mix it up a bit.


Test fit in the car



Still need to decide how I want to finish the grill for the subs. Don't know if I want to cover the whole thing in carpet of just the edges. 


Gonna do the side trim panels next if the weather cooperates




Hope to be putting power to it this weekend.


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## KrautNotRice (Nov 2, 2015)

Looking amazing if I may say so 
I really like using cardboard, resin & carpet to form custom trunk panels.
It's light, any shape you need and looks clean.


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## rockinridgeline (Feb 2, 2009)

Just read through this whole thread. I am extremely impressed with your fab skills but even more impressed with your persistence. Hope you really enjoy the tunes!


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## imjustjason (Jun 26, 2006)

It makes me happy to see someone making the effort and taking the time to do quality work. You would be surprised how badly some installs are behind the scenes.


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2016)

Kelly, Your trunk is looking GREAT !

... and I don't say that to many guys.....

Really man... looking forward to seeing and listening to the Monte Carlo soon...


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

I'm with everyone else here...

This install is looking excellent. Your work always looks great, man. Awesome stuff!


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## Mic10is (Aug 20, 2007)

very cool dude. Cant wait to see the finished product


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## th3disturbed1 (Oct 4, 2009)

bigbubba said:


> I need some help in understanding what I'm seeing on some measurements I took. These measurements were taken with no eq adjustments. Mids xover from 500hz up, midbass from 70hz to 500hz. I know this looks like crap but I'm trying to understand 2 main things right now. Where the arrows are pointing. The left midrange shoots way up just shy of 200hz, why? The second arrow is the right midbass drops out right after 200hz, why when it's cut off is 500hz?


I know I'm about 9 months late on this: I would guess it has to do with reflection and absorption from the dash, steering wheel, seats, etc. that creates "holes" and "amplifications" of certain frequencies. For example in my car, I have my woofers in a 2-way system in the doors. I have a -6db hole in the left woofer at ~500-550 hz. The right side is the opposite (4 db increase).


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks guys! I'm getting a lot closer but still a lot to do. This weather and work is really slowing me down. I did get power to it yesterday. I didn't see any smoke so that's a good thing. Had to redo all the I/O on the Helix since I changed all the rca locations. I'm hoping to get to tuning in a couple weeks. Still have to cover the dash pods and change all the speaker wire connectors to the XT90 type. I will say this, I will never ever ever use JL Audio clear ground wire again. Trying to route that stuff is like trying to route rebar. Using a heat gun didn't really help either. Love the power wire, hate the ground.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

th3disturbed1 said:


> I know I'm about 9 months late on this: I would guess it has to do with reflection and absorption from the dash, steering wheel, seats, etc. that creates "holes" and "amplifications" of certain frequencies. For example in my car, I have my woofers in a 2-way system in the doors. I have a -6db hole in the left woofer at ~500-550 hz. The right side is the opposite (4 db increase).


That's pretty much the answer I got from other people. You couldn't tell it a lot when listening to it but it kept showing up on the RTA.


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## mwne2nks (Apr 6, 2008)

Looks really Great !
Where did you get the remote you are using?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

mwne2nks said:


> Looks really Great !
> Where did you get the remote you are using?


Thanks. The remote came from Ebay. I checked and don't see them listed on there anymore. Once I figured out how to use it, it worked great. I don't use the large knob in the middle. I just use the buttons around the perimeter.


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## mwne2nks (Apr 6, 2008)

Ok Thanks ! Any brand name or model # on it?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

mwne2nks said:


> Ok Thanks ! Any brand name or model # on it?


This is a thread that was looking to do a group buy on some a while back. I wish I had gotten another one for my truck.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...st-group-buy-idrive-style-remote-control.html


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Excuse the crappy cell phone pics. Finished the pods. Can't wait for the smell of the paint and glue smell to die down. Not completely happy with them but will have to do for now. Still have to finish the a-pillars.




Got to work on the trunk side panels Sunday. Still need to make the doors for the openings but they didn't turn out too bad.








Now it's time to focus on tuning. Freeze Fest is coming soon and I'm running out of time.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

What exactly were you doing with resined cardboard? Is that what the walls made of?

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Very nice. Great work.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

eviling said:


> What exactly were you doing with resined cardboard? Is that what the walls made of?
> 
> Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


I made the side panels out of cardboard and added a layer of fiberglas mat to help it keep it's shape and protect it against moisture. I then put the carpet and vinyl on top of that. I could have gone with making the sides out of mdf or other wood but I wanted to keep the weight down as much as possible. I used the same method for the panel on the bottom of the deck lid.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Kevin K said:


> Very nice. Great work.


Thanks man. Anxious to get your thoughts on the sound soon.


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## tnaudio (Mar 4, 2012)

Trunk turned out really clean man. I like it a lot

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk


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## imjustjason (Jun 26, 2006)

Where the like button


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## Guest (Feb 2, 2016)

Really like how the trunk turned out !

Looking forward to seeing it in person.


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## Tsmith (Dec 17, 2008)

Looks very nice! Great job


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

imjustjason said:


> Where the like button


No joke. This looks awesome.


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## BigAl205 (May 20, 2009)

Wow, great job, Kelly!


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## KP (Nov 13, 2005)

LMK when shes ready to tune.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thanks guys. This thing has been kicking my butt here lately with not having enough time to work on it. I'm going to start trying to tune on it soon but I'm finding some electrical issues I'm having to tackle first. It is either the Helix or the DD-5 doing some weird things. So some of it may have to come back out which I don't have time for. I have to get it fixed by next week or it may not perform so well at the first show since I'm out of town the week before that.


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## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Wow, you are doing an outstanding job on this build. I like how you did the side panels. I thought of doing that once but wasn't sure if the cardboard I had would holdup.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Well this may be the last update I do for a while. I think I'm done with the major part of the install and it's time to start focusing on tuning. I made a cover for the fuse panel and added some lights inside and under the rear deck. 





Finished the pillars. Didn't turn out the way I wanted but will have to do for now. 







And on a down note, one of my hard drives decided to crash and I have lost almost 500 gigs of music.  Couldn't recover any of it.  Got to start over again.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Man, looks great Kelly, great job and I look forward to seeing and hearing in person


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Well, I know I said I was done changing things for a while...I don't know why I lie like that. I'm never done changing things out. I will start by saying I loved my Scan speakers but being this car is my daily driver I was getting real tired of looking at those big pods every day. I had been reading Erin's build log on his testing of the AF GB25. I also paid attention to all the responses he was getting from people who got to hear his car. So I went and got these.


Got the last set Crutchfield had in stock. Then I set out to make a baffle for them. You might say after looking at those, I borrowed the idea from Erin on that too. Actually I flat out stole it, even down to the same tweeter he used!  I had the tweeter left over from when I was using the ID waveguides. 







I'm still playing around with the location. I've had to trim a little bit of plastic from under the dash cover to get them as far back as I could. When I took new tape measurements to key into the Helix software I changed the TA by roughly 10"! 

There is one setback I've had with these speakers and that's the connection points for the speaker wires. Those things are tiny and delicate. Right out of the gate one of the speakers keeps cutting out. Even though Crutchfield's website said they were out of stock of those speakers till 5/31, they did have 4 sets left and I will get a new set Monday. I'm really excited to get those in and start retuning. 

That leads me to the next change I'm really excited about. I just got the chance to put this in this morning and still trying it out.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Awesome! Glad you're liking the change. And heck, dude, feel free to copy me all you want/need to. At this point, everyone in this hobby is copying someone else in some form or fashion. So it's all good. As long as you're making improvements you're happy with, it's a win.  

On a personal note, I'm really happy there are speakers small enough in size that perform as well as larger speakers permitting us to get rid of huge dash pods. The gb25 is a fine example of excellent engineering and design resulting in a speaker with performance bigger than its britches. I'm interested to see how this (and future technology/speakers) continues to impact what we are able to accomplish from a stealth perspective. It seems to me the gb25 is really a strong forerunner in this regard.

Looking forward to hearing this soon. Think you'll make the show at Cook's in June?
www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/12-vol...738-meca-3x-audio-x-florence-al-june-5th.html


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

BTW, your baffles definitely look better than mine. LOL.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

I forgot to ask... what are your thoughts on the sound? Pros/Cons? Have you had a chance to really evaluate it that much yet? I've had very similar setups to your 12m/d3004 install a couple times. Even switching from a 5" satori mid down to the gb25, I didn't feel I lost any output (actually, I gained output when I made the amp swap so the system plays louder now than it did before). I'm just curious if you have any things you felt your previous install did better or if you're pretty happy overall. Just curious.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I haven't had a chance to do a good evaluation with that one speaker cutting out on me all the time. Just when I can start enjoying them that one cuts out.  The only thing I have done so far from the previous setup is adjust the TA. I still have the same eq and xover settings from the Scan's. When both speakers were working I can say I didn't have to turn the volume up as much as I did before, but not by much. I mentioned to a few people at the last show that I had to turn up my volume more than before but couldn't pinpoint as to why. I also had changed to new amps at the same time so that may have played into it. When they are both playing, these speakers seem to have a more smooth, warm sound than the Scan's, even using the same settings as before. I'm really anxious to get the new speakers in to do some long testing on them.


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## BigAl205 (May 20, 2009)

It's getting froggy up in here


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Not much of an update but I did get my replacement Frog's in Monday and I installed them with the delicate touch of a surgeon and they sound great! I will have little tuning time for the next 3 weeks due to work project but I'm anxious to get started. 

Wanted to also give out a HUGE thanks to Jeremy, SQ_TSX, for the Denon and Director. The Denon is such a wonderful head unit!


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

bigbubba said:


> Wanted to also give out a HUGE thanks to Jeremy, SQ_TSX, for the Denon and Director. The Denon is such a wonderful head unit!



Dontcha wish they still made them like that? I guess the Sony is as close as it gets.


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## KrautNotRice (Nov 2, 2015)

Sweet Denon indeed and I love the way the trunk turned out.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Got some work done on the center console today adding the Director mount. Been trying to figure out how I want to do this for the last few weeks. I figured that there is space behind the climate controls that I could move the Helix into and then I could put the original center console back in. The console came with a removable section right behind the shifter to mount.....something. I shaved the console back a little more to the cup holder so the mount would not interfere with the shifter. 



A little bondo and sanded smooth


Sanded the entire top section and painted with SEM interior trim paint. Added some small trips of carpet to give the Director a nice snug fit.


I added carpet to lower side of the console cause I think it looks better than the plastic.



I got the top console part from the salvage yard and it came with a button to turn off the traction control, which my car doesn't have so I opened up the cutout a little more and added my voltage gauge. Almost looks like it belongs there. Added several layers of window tint to the gauge cause that sucker is bright.


...and installed. While I was putting the console in I found that in the front section of the console there is the perfect size pocket that the Helix fits into albeit hard to get to. I'm not going to lie, putting the console in, making all the connections and buttoning it up was a pain in the ass. I really hope I don't have to take that back out any time soon. Before putting the Director in I added some clear shelf contact plastic to help protect it from getting scratched during daily use. Still might look at making a small cover to cover it as well.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Very nice work Kelly. Looks like it all belongs there and better than factory.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Wow. That looks incredible.


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## Newellzie (Apr 27, 2016)

That's sweet, gives me ideas for my G6


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Thank you. I'm just glad the Helix fit in the front of the console or I'd still be out there trying to make the mount for that. :laugh: This next week I'll be working up a new dash pad to help blend the Frog's in and hide them a bit. Then it's tuning before the Slammin and Jammin show weekend after next.


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## Newellzie (Apr 27, 2016)

bigbubba said:


> Thank you. I'm just glad the Helix fit in the front of the console or I'd still be out there trying to make the mount for that. :laugh: This next week I'll be working up a new dash pad to help blend the Frog's in and hide them a bit. Then it's tuning before the Slammin and Jammin show weekend after next.




I hear ya man, I flipping need to learn how to fibreglass  still new to the game . How do you like the frogs?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Newellzie said:


> I hear ya man, I flipping need to learn how to fibreglass  still new to the game . How do you like the frogs?


Loving them more everyday. Still a lot more tuning to do but selling the Scan's in hopes that the Frog's will be everything I was told they could be and not disappointed yet.


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## Newellzie (Apr 27, 2016)

bigbubba said:


> Loving them more everyday. Still a lot more tuning to do but selling the Scan's in hopes that the Frog's will be everything I was told they could be and not disappointed yet.




Nice! How reasonable are they, I'm just looking into this brand, don't need an cca to price but what's the range


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Newellzie said:


> Nice! How reasonable are they, I'm just looking into this brand, don't need an cca to price but what's the range


I got mine from Crutchfield.


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

Dont spill pop on that director 

Looks good man .


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

Looks [email protected]


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

I was looking through all the pictures of this build so far, this is very cool.... one of the build pictures of your console I saw a nice BMX collection in the background... lolol the eye catches everything.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

oabeieo said:


> Dont spill pop on that director
> 
> Looks good man .


Yeah, lol.... that's why I'm thinking of making a thin, light cover for it. I typically don't eat or drink in the car but it has happened.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

hot9dog said:


> I was looking through all the pictures of this build so far, this is very cool.... one of the build pictures of your console I saw a nice BMX collection in the background... lolol the eye catches everything.


Good eye. I'm an old BMXer from back in the day.


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

bigbubba said:


> Good eye. I'm an old BMXer from back in the day.


Same here, I'm building a new bike- I want to get back into racing.


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## KP (Nov 13, 2005)

Looks good man!


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## schmiddr2 (Aug 10, 2009)

Lots of problem solving has been done here. Thanks for showing me your work today, and getting to pick your brain, really helped me with some ideas.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

It was great to meet you at Jason's GTG. I figured it would clear up some of the things I was trying to explain by looking at the build pics. Hope it helped and look forward to see what you end up doing with your build.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

This isn't much of an update but it is something I wanted to do ever since I got the Denon HU. I was fortunate enough Erin decided to go with the Mc meters in his build and I was able to get what I was hunting for a while.  


During lunch the other day I made a new HU bracket.


Test fit


Made the trim ring out of mdf


Vinyl added


Installed


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## SteveH! (Nov 7, 2005)

nice!


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Looks great, Kelly!


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

Nice. They're db meters basicly though? 

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Yep. They are just there for my viewing pleasure.


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## poochieone (Aug 25, 2005)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Not much of an update but I did make a couple of changes. I have been looking for another set of seats for the Monte for a while now. Whatever I got I wanted to make sure they matched the back seats as much as possible. I never thought I would find a set that would match completely or a complete set of front and back. During lunch last week I went to a salvage yard a few streets away from work looking for a taillight. I happened across an '03 Monte with a little front end damage and a full leather interior. I have never been a big fan of leather seats but these things looks in excellent condition. I would have expected at least the driver seat to be worthless but it had very little wear on it. After kicking the idea around in my head for a little while I decided to get them and then was stunned that I was able to get the full set of front and back seats for $130. I couldn’t pass that up. 


After a little leather cleaner and preserver they turned out very nice. 



Also, I have been hearing and reading about how much everyone really liked the Illusion Audio C3CX mids and I wanted to test and see if I would like them better than my Frog’s. I lucked out and found a set on here and made some enclosures out of some 3” pvc pipe. So far, I am really impressed with them.



I also had another desire to try a different set of midbass for a few months now and could never catch a set for sale before they were snatched up by someone else. I really wanted these midbass so I went ahead and pulled the trigger and got a set.



The thing that confuses me about these is that you can’t just buy the midbass, you have to buy them as a set with xovers and tweeters. Why?



They are still breaking in but I can already hear a difference in them from when I first put them in. Maybe this next weekend I will hook up the tablet to see what it looks like but so far I really like what I’m hearing with the tune I already have in it.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

The C8 is the component set, the C8-W are just the woofers as I understand it.

Jay


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## 555nova (Apr 12, 2014)

Crutchfield has the c8's for sale individually.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i enjoy my c3cxs and c8s. the c8s are available as c8ws like jay mentioned above. however, you've got the excellent 1" tweeter in case you want something more flexible than the point-source. maybe put them in the sails?


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

I did a search on Illusion Audio and Crutchfield's website and it only showed the 8's offered as a component set. Maybe I didn't search thoroughly enough. Either way, I got them now and enjoying them very much.


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## schmiddr2 (Aug 10, 2009)

Nice find on the seats. You've done so much work to this car, it's quite impressive.


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## Melodic Acoustic (Oct 10, 2005)

It was great seeing you over the weekend sir. The car looked great really like the install and from your score it sounded great also. Really hate I didn't get chance to hear it before I got on the road.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

It was good seeing you out there again Mark. I really wanted to give your car a listen as well. That thing looked incredible. I hope you are able to make it to The Vinny in July.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

I've been following this build for years since I had my own 04 Monte Carlo, I've since had an 09 impala and am now in a kia soul but I miss my Monte dearly. Should of paid it off kept it rather than trade out on it  but I use this thread to remanis about the good ol days kudos for keeping it going! You've done just about everything I ever wanted to do with my Monte. I hope I get to fulfill my dreams of my soul as far as you took this. 

Curiouse, I often wonder how my build would of lasted over the years, I like to think my quality was up to par for longevity, how did your stuff hold up on nearly a decade of switching **** around?

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

eviling said:


> Curiouse, I often wonder how my build would of lasted over the years, I like to think my quality was up to par for longevity, how did your stuff hold up on nearly a decade of switching **** around?
> 
> Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk


Honestly the things that have seen the most abuse over the last few years have been the a-pillars and the front dash face. The a-pillars, I've probably obtained about 5 different sets from salvage yards and cut them up to various degrees. I still have the set original to the car if I wanted to put them back in. The dash face, even though I haven't taken it out too many times, it is an awkward shaped and delicate piece and pretty cumbersome to take out. When I added the Denon meters this last time it is starting to show cracks around certain area's. I have found another dash face and will hold onto it until I really need it due to those being really hard to find in the salvage yards still in one piece. Other than that mostly everything else that got changed out was more to wanting to try something different than to it getting wore out. I haven't had to go back in and redo anything due to wear. 

I do have 2 more things I want to try and tackle sometime this year and that is adding a tablet and redoing the trunk layout. Redoing the trunk is more to having better access to the amps than anything else. Will see how that goes.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

bigbubba said:


> Honestly the things that have seen the most abuse over the last few years have been the a-pillars and the front dash face. The a-pillars, I've probably obtained about 5 different sets from salvage yards and cut them up to various degrees. I still have the set original to the car if I wanted to put them back in. The dash face, even though I haven't taken it out too many times, it is an awkward shaped and delicate piece and pretty cumbersome to take out. When I added the Denon meters this last time it is starting to show cracks around certain area's. I have found another dash face and will hold onto it until I really need it due to those being really hard to find in the salvage yards still in one piece. Other than that mostly everything else that got changed out was more to wanting to try something different than to it getting wore out. I haven't had to go back in and redo anything due to wear.
> 
> I do have 2 more things I want to try and tackle sometime this year and that is adding a tablet and redoing the trunk layout. Redoing the trunk is more to having better access to the amps than anything else. Will see how that goes.


Oh yeah, that dash piece sucked! You had to take out half the dash to get to the radio. The next gen Monte Carlos didn't have that they changed to a single small pop out surround around the radio. My impala had that, was so easy to change radio it was retarded. I still had spair parts from Monte in my closet till last year. I finily got rid of the spair junk lol those a pullers I rebuilt were the hardest to throw out...over 2 months of filling and sanding after work till I had them the shape I wanted them. That flocking finish I found was really slick, got so many compliments for it. 

Adding the tablets gonna be fun, been watching the diy videos since they started putting iPads in cars, now a days its so easy they make harnesses and **** that work for ya. 

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk


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## Melodic Acoustic (Oct 10, 2005)

bigbubba said:


> It was good seeing you out there again Mark. I really wanted to give your car a listen as well. That thing looked incredible. I hope you are able to make it to The Vinny in July.


Thanks sir, that honestly means a lot. It has been a long hard road back. Guess I need to put a build log or something up now.

God see fit I will be at the Vinnys.


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## cmusic (Nov 16, 2006)

This brings back memories of my 2001 Monte Carlo SS. It was red with silver trim along the bottom and a charcoal grey interior. In its best SQ state I had Alpine tweeters in the dash panel where your CX3s are and covered by a acoustically transparent dash mat and Scan 12M mids in the kicks powered by a Brax X2400, Dyn MW170 midbasses in the doors powered by two Kicker ZR240 amps bridged to 300 watts per side, and two IDMAX 12s mounted infinite baffle behind the rear seat and powered by a Kicker XS100. I had an Alpine F#1 7990 head unit and H900 processor in there too. I finished 3rd and 4th respectively in the Pro Street 601+ class in the 2002 and 2003 IASCA finals. But my biggest achievement was finishing 7th in the International Sound Quality Challenge at the 2003 Finals. I could be wrong but I think I was the highest street system in the ISQC that year. 

I traded the car in in December 2005 with 52,000 miles on it. The next owner bought it because he had seen me with it at several shows in my area. He figured since I had already put a competition audio system in it, it would be easy for him to just install his equipment and go competing. Sadly about a month after he bought it from the used car lot, the engine management computer when crazy and the engine started firing in the wrong order and it blew up. Last I heard from him was that a Chevy dealership was wanting more than half of the cost of the car to put a new engine in it.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Melodic Acoustic said:


> God see fit I will be at the Vinnys.



Dude! I hope to see you there!





Kelly, nice progress! Congrats on the score!


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

One of the things that I got lucky at is that the C3's fit in the same spot as the Frog's so I didn't have to change any of the time alignment that Erin spent so many hours on. I was so happy about that.


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

And.....I just got an email saying Photobucket has locked out my pics now. Oh well, they can kiss my ass if they think they are getting any money from me.


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