# SN95 1995 Mustang GT Convertible System Install



## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Helping a friend with his stereo in his oddly low mileage (3,5xx) SN95 convertible.

Nothing crazy fancy, but wanted it done right and I couldn't let him take it to one of these car audio shops to suffer the fate of inexperienced installers hacking up his car and giving him back some frankenstein'd monster.

I have enlisted some good parts from my past that I enjoyed in the late 90's that I had previously bumpin' in my '94 Z28 Camaro.

Build components will consist of:

-Basic 1/0 Amp Install Kit
-Funkin' Audio RCA's, lots left over from the 70-80-90% off sale.
- Kenwood DPX791BH - Double-Din FM/CD/BT Radio with USB ipod etc.
-JBL 6x8" GTO8608C Component set for the fronts
-Two, Dayton Audio ND91-4 3-1/2" Aluminum Cone Full-Range Drivers 4 Ohms each (rear pod)
- Two, Dayton Audio DCS165-4 6-1/2" Classic Subwoofers 4 Ohm each (rear pod)
-Old School Alpine "Type R" 10's Dual 4-ohm coils each wired for 2ohms (in Custom Ebay enclosures inTrunk)
- Two Old school MTX Class D Monoblock Sub amps (one is a Thunder 6500D, and the other is a 801D) One is older by 1 model year, the 801D came after the 6500D, they look different, but the internals are the same between the two. They both put out the same 775w x1 @ 2ohms (Dynamic assuming 14.4v input voltage, 500w x1 @ 2ohms 12.5v)
-Old School Eclipse EA3532 5ch Amp for main Speakers and interior 6.5" Subs
-Lots of FatMat and various sound deadening


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Here are some pics I took last night of the Subs installed/test fit before FatMat.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Of course, before starting on the interior, I got my tools ready for action..


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## vwdave (Jun 12, 2013)

How about some shots of the car itself. That's crazy low miles on that year (one of my favorite mustang years).

Gee I wonder where you got that eclipse amp? Lol


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

cool gear in a nice older mustang. I like the idea of 2 subs especially in a convertible, what made you think of it?


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Lycancatt said:


> cool gear in a nice older mustang. I like the idea of 2 subs especially in a convertible, what made you think of it?


The fact that the rear trunk area is nearly completely sealed off & separate from the interior of the car... if the mid-bass / sub frequencies are going to make it... they are going to need some help playing into the cabin.
I figured the best thing to do would be to add as much low frequency sound as I could to supplement the essentially "muffled" 10' s playing in the trunk...

I'll shoot more pics of the car and equipment over the next few days.

Stay tuned...


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

only suggestion I have is to bridge 4 of the 5 channel amps channels down to 2 and power the jbls up front with it, leaving the Dayton 3s on the headunits rear channels. you will appreciate more power I'm sure of it.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

The specs on the 3"Daytons show they can handle the power... that is a good point though.

I will serve up part numbers for all the stuff to help clarify...

I did my homework on this build... it's been about 2-3 months maybe... 
There is a plan and a reason for each item going into this car.

Part numbers coming up... then pics.

Original post updated with Part numbers and some specs.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Lot's of prep work done today on the Stang...

I gutted the trunk..









And the back seat area..









Removed the rear speaker pods and test fit the new 3.5" speakers... and that didn't go so well... no dice. They are wayy too deep.


















I have some replacement polk 3.5" coaxials that should work really well for me... i wish I had found / thought of them sooner..

And lastly, I dealt with the factory amps and removed them, and the mounting studs and test fit the two sub amps...


















Haven't decided on their exact orientation, but at least they fill up the space and fit where I wanted them to..


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Polk DB's ...db351 - came in today...
http://www.polkaudio.com/db351/d/1091
Big NO... those are more shallow, but the diameter would require massive amounts of trimming to massage them into the holes... and it's still a gamble if they set in correctly... so... after some even more in depth research, I found some alternative Dayton 3" full range drivers.
Dayton Audio RS75-4 3" Reference Full-Range Driver 4 Ohm
https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-rs75-4-3-reference-full-range-driver-4-ohm--295-380
They handle less power than all of the other drivers... but they seem to have the best shot at fitting the hole without modification...
Once they come in, I will test fit those and see how they do...


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Have you looked into using Sundown's 2.75" set?


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## foamflyer (May 12, 2015)

Looking great. I like where you are putting the amps and I'm interested to hear what you think of the 6.5" subs in the rear quarters and if that makes a big difference.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Have you looked into using Sundown's 2.75" set?


I did not know they had an offering...
I will scope them out before I finalize on the other Daytons...
Thanks for the tip!


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

foamflyer said:


> Looking great. I like where you are putting the amps and I'm interested to hear what you think of the 6.5" subs in the rear quarters and if that makes a big difference.


You may or may not know... But, The factory amps bolt down onto a metal threaded stud which protrudes directly up... this of course inhibits putting anything in that same spot, ie. Aftermarket amps...
The simple fix was a bit brutish but worked.
Grab a pair of pliers or smaller vice-grips and manipulate the stud back and forth enough times until it comes out.
It eventually gives way after 10 or so rocks back and forth...

The rear pods... being what they are, aren't perfect.
The 6.5" subs are definitely bigger than the factory speaker.










Thankfully the owner of the car has a electrical panel assembly shop with lots of tools, including a dremel cutting tool.
I was able to modify the woofer cut-out and enlarged the hole to accommodate the larger speaker... but then ran into a slight limitation on the depth... they just barely don't quite sit flush in the enclosure.



















So, I promptly ordered some 6.5" MDF 3/4" spacer rings from Amazon and thanks to Prime.. they'll be here in 2 days.
Hopefully, I can sand them down etc. And get the speakers fitting just right..


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Have you looked into using Sundown's 2.75" set?


Just checked out those sundown units...

I actually think the replacement Dayton units will be better and may even handle a bit more power...

The frame and form factor do seem to be about the same as the FORD original. There is also the one other/only other 2.75" speaker made by PowerBass.

I just don't know about the quality.



















From the pictures that I can see online, Both the Sundown 2.75" and Powerbass seem less refined compared to the 3" Daytons.. and appear to be very plain. The Daytons are aluminum cone with rubber surround which is an added bonus considering the possibility of them being semi-exposed to sunlight and weather elements.










Maybe that's just a perceived advantage and it possibly could make no difference at all.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Honestly I've never used either the Dayton or sundown, but I know Jacob at sundown doesn't make junk And there have been a few reviews about the 2.75 on the forum. Just trying to open some possibilities.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Fatmat.. 1/3 done.

Tackled most of the trunk last night and this morning.

I will say... Fatmat is pretty good stuff.
Very sticky.. easy to work with... I see no measureable difference between Fatmat and Dynamat that warrants the higher price Dynamat charges.



















I'm also not as young as I used to be.. it's been about 10+ years since I have done a car stereo install of this magnitude...
Boy, I can definitely tell ... My poor back!! 

With that...
The trunk-lid is going to be rough...
Oy vey...


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## vwdave (Jun 12, 2013)

Looking good. Yea I can see that the sundowns might not be junk, but might be geared more as an oem replace where as the daytons look more like an upgrade.

The 6.5" subs look good. If you lived closer (I saw you more often) I'd make you rings for them. I have a p,u get router and the jasper circle jig, perfect for projects such as these, like 5 mins and I have 2 perfect spacers.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Well, it took three tries.. but I think the new Dayton 3" units are going to be a good fit.
They are a little big on depth, but the rest of the dimensions are within spec so they do not require the hole being enlarged etc.


























I think I should be able to throw down some fatmat as gasket and fill the gap and seal everything up.

The 6.5" MDF rings came in as well...
It will require some sanding to get those to a point that makes sense... 3/4" is wayy to thick for what I need.


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## vwdave (Jun 12, 2013)

Looking good.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

It's been so darn hot lately.. it's been hard to drag my old ass into the garage and sweat it out...
I was hoping to be further along by now...
All in good time... will post more pics and updates this weekend.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

I got off my butt and spent about 3 hrs finishing the trunk and trunk-lid with fatmat and sprayed 2 cans of 3M rubberized undercoat into all of the little nooks and areas that couldn't be treated with CLD.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Since I got a bit burnt out from putting down all of that CLD, I migrated over to removing the factory radio and CD player units...










The goal is to put in a double-din HU in place of the original qty 2 single din slotted units.
Before I bought the replacement double-din Kenwood, I read that the 1999-2004 factory faceplate A/C bezel was compatible as a drop in replacement with just some minor changes to the previous year's internal bracing.
There are two tabs that remain as part of the separate single din radio compartments and the brackets etc. that hold everything in place. So, I will need to grind those off and find a suitable Metra faceplate kit that conforms to the empty hole correctly...
Not too bad though, this is hopefully something fairly easy to implement.
A quick test fit of the '99-'04 bezel lifts my hopes as it seems to be nearly a direct drop in.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Got some custom speaker rings made today, both the 3" and 6.5" subs are fitting just fine... thanks to some custom fab work from the electrical panel shops' CNC expert.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Finally got around to running the power wire in the Mustang.

Because I knew I would probably need something better than what came in the "Lightning Audio" power wire kit... I had ordered the Knu battery terminal kit.

It worked great... I only had to cut and modify the factory positive battery cable/harness so that I could mount it onto the Knu battery terminal. As shown.










Anyone wondering where the grommet/hole is on a automatic '95... There it be...
Just to the left of the brake master cylinder.










What was the most PITA thing was allowing for clearance around the gas and brake pedals.
Boy, that was more difficult than it seemed... yikes.


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## Hugg727 (Sep 17, 2009)

Nice job on this...let me know if you need any help with the double din conversion. i just did that upgrade in our "Sunday Driver"...1999 Mustang GT Convertible. The kit I used was the Metra 95-5026.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Hugg727 said:


> Nice job on this...let me know if you need any help with the double din conversion. i just did that upgrade in our "Sunday Driver"...1999 Mustang GT Convertible. The kit I used was the Metra 95-5026.


Yup, that is the exact Metra kit I bought (I actually bought 3 different ones just in case I needed to Frankenstein parts together).
Will I need a new plastic shifter base piece also? I haven't tried to reassemble the A/C piece yet...
It looks like it might fit OK.. but I can't tell just yet.
Also.. the A/C bezel and that Metra kit... the bezel does not have provisions to hold it in/on there.
There are some holes that could possibly be used to hold it... but nothing matches up.
I guess just glue everything together???


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

FYI, the two tabs that previously held the factory radio / separated the Radio from the CD player.... yeah, those just break right off with minimal effort from a pipe wrench.
I tried to do the proper thing and removed the right side tab with a dremel tool... but just as I got finished with grinding down the last bit of plastic, the cutting wheel snapped off.
So, with 1 side off and the other in place, I grabbed a pipe wrench and gripped the driver side tab and pulled forward. It snapped off in seconds. It was brittle and broke cleanly.
Had I known, I would have saved myself the time using the dremel.


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## foamflyer (May 12, 2015)

Nice job on the deadening. Are you going to fab up a way to hide the fatmat on the trunk lid?

I'm looking forward to the ddin install in the dash - I've often wanted to do it to mine but always chicken out and stick with the single. It would be nice to have a big touchscreen there.


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## vwdave (Jun 12, 2013)

Looking good on this install. Can't wait to see the final results.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Put some more FakeMat down...
Ran the RCA's and was able to remove the front driver seat..
The official "AC Bezel" came in from Ford.. so that is now a brand new piece.

FYI, the run from the head unit area to the sub amp location is approximately 12ft.

Since the 4ch amp will be mounted at the rear of the trunk, 2 sets of 25ft RCA's made the run from front to back with room to spare.

The only major undertaking from here on will be the doors and re-assembly.

8 hrs or so are left.. max.


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## vwdave (Jun 12, 2013)

Nice. Maybe I'll get to hear it before it goes back to the owner.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Was given 1hr of daylight tonight.. I should praise the daylight savings gods I guess...
Fabricated my 4ga power and ground wire terminals for landing on the amps
I lucked out and found some ring terminal 4ga connectors that have a set-screw so I could really torque them down and secure the connections.
I hardly trust my "crimp on" skills, given that I don't have the proper crimping tools.
I will post pics of the power distribution block and subsequent wires and terminated ends when the daylight gods shine on the car again.


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## What? (Jun 5, 2008)

The large bolt cutter crimpers are expensive but the Metra hammer crimp is inexpensive and works well. A good investment even if you only used it a few times. METRA IBHDCRIMP


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Awesome.
I will check that out.
Thanks for the tip!


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Paying respect to the German electronic gods.
Using a Siemens distribution block for the remote turn on signal.









Figured out some Burdy Lugs that help mount the ring lug terminals to the amps at a 90 degree angle and help keep the wires from protruding into the back seat area.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Also,

The rear pods are populated and ready to rock.

Since the existing wiring was super hard to duplicate, I used the wire that was already there.
I need to get some ford speaker harness adapters in order to feed the sound in without cutting everything up and making a mess.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Trouble with the rear speaker pods.
The stock covers and grilles might not fit just as desired.
I have ordered new lower and upper rear speaker grilles.
I also ordered some of the non Mach 460 system components which consist of some upper rear speaker delete panels that actually may serve quite well as donor panels for housing the tweeter or speaker grille covers that can be cut to fit over the existing 3" Dayton units in the pods.
Once these come in, I will be able to guage what's going to fit without rattling or rubbing against the speaker cones while in action.
I already suspect the lower 6.5" Dayton subs will be rubbing, even aftet I trim off the oddly designed plastic spheres on the backside of the lower pod grilles.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Rear Pod.
Tweeter extends further forward than expected.




























I bought new "speaker delete" plastic panels after I noticed I was not going to modify the existing panels and have them look very nice...
So I ordered some metallic speaker grilles to cover the possible holes I may or may not put in the speaker delete panels to clearance the tweeters.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Same goes for the 6.5" Subwoofers...
I wasn't terribly confident about the clearance behind the factory panel... so I re-issued some Kicker speaker grilles over the Dayton subs..
Fitment was great, clearance was perfect. The speaker has full range and won't be subjected to the possibility of getting damaged by the factory panel cover.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Of course.. any and all suggestions will be considered.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

Allrighty.
Big update here.
(This progress was made over the past 2 days, working at least 8hrs each day.)

After many trials and test fitments, the tweeters in the rear pods were taken out and deleted....they simply would not fit.

So, the blank "tweeter delete" cover plates went onto the rear panels. This will make the car front stage only... which isn't so bad actually, considering the rear tweeters are almost next to your ear when the seat is all the way back and slightly reclined.

During the efforts to make the tweeters fit, I aquired a heat gun and got a little creative with the pods and the clearance to fit the new bigger 6.5" woofers.










Turns out, the inner plastic was just slightly too tall...
Just apply a little heat and smooshy smooshy... viola! The magnet pushed the melted plastic out of the way just enough to allow for the speaker to fit flush in the cavity. NICE.

After that saga was concluded, I was compelled to make up for the lost tweeter in the back, so I ordered up some Infinity Kappa coaxials for the lower speaker area in the front doors.

http://www.woofersetc.com/p-6696-6829cf-infinity-5x7-6x8-2-way-kappa-coaxial-speakers.html

These are hooked up to the front channel of the amp. They come with a nice little cross-over dongle and some other integrated filters for the tweeter. Just right for lots of sound up front.

The 3" Daytons fit nicely in the upper tweeter pods and are hooked up to the rear channel output of the amp. I engaged the high pass filter for these, which is a non-adjustable 200Hz on the rear channel... nearly perfect for these little guys.










Both doors got Dynamat Extreme and were looking good.

Once I got the door panels back on, it was time for a sound check to make sure all of my wiring was correct and nothing was amiss.










Everything sounded great and there were no technical issues whatsoever.










When turned up, The rear pod area rattled just a bit... so I felt around and applied pressure in various places to see if I could determine if it was the plastic panel or the pod itself.
The rear pods themselves were the culprit, so I got a little creative and landed some Teck sheet metal screws through the back side of the empty tweeter void and into the body panel.
This secured the pods much better and cleaned up any and all rattles in the rear pods... Awesome.

... so I vacuumed up the interior and buttoned up the rest of the car.




























The trunk was a challenge, that's for sure.

The eBay sourced sub boxes and amp rack w/plexi cover didn't quite fit as expected.
The original orientation was to have the gold stripe on the amp going from left to right... this positioned the wires on the left and right hand sides of the amp.
Well... that directly conflicts with having the sub boxes butted up against the left and right sides of the amp rack area. It left zero room for any wiring whatsoever.

So, I had to get creative and rotate the amp and run the wires in a completely different direction.

It all worked out... but it ate an extra 3 or 4 hours of time re-routing wires and cleaning everything up.
In the end, it turned out great and looking pretty.



















Overall, the only thing I am not super crazy about is the fitment of the AC bezel with the lower shifter bezel.

I bought the appropriate matching '01 trim piece, but it has a very different cigarette lighter assembly.
I was unable to confidently remove the '95 lighter housing and since it is fairly secure in its place, I opted to just "make it fit" with regards to the modern double din radio bezel and the older AT shifter plate.
It's not terrible, but not 100% as I would like.

I sourced a cigarette lighter sized dual usb charger insert that accepts spade connectors to match up with the new modern 2001 AT shifter bezel.
When that comes in, I will pop off the original '95 piece and splice in the new dual USB charger with the '01 AT trim to complete the fit-form-function of the A/C Radio assembly.

Until then, I will close this chapter until the next challenge.

If anyone is interested in the massive list of parts used/modded in this build, let me know.


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## vwdave (Jun 12, 2013)

Damn dude, that install looks great. I hope I get to hear this someday.


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## Instaburn (Aug 22, 2013)

It rocks.
I'll arrange a demo...
So long as you are close to the 91 Fwy and Weir canyon.


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