# 07' ram 1500 reg. cab



## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

well, since my complete system plans have changed. including every single peice of equipment. im gonna just start up a new thread and let the old one die. gear i will be useing is listed in my sig. i have everything except the mid-bass drivers. not a whole lot to show yet, but i have got a few hours in.
first off, what to do when your new (used) head-unit doesnt come with a cage. build a better mouse-trap! this set up is way sturdier (sp?) than the stock cage would be anyways! got about 4hrs in it. actually quite time consuming getting everything just right. heres pics:







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turned out tits, if i do say so myself. the flange will screw to my el-cheapo dash kit that looks like ass. it will be a shame to assemble these bitchen custom parts to that cheap dash kit, but thats just whats gonna happen. got way to much other stuff to do to spend any more time on this right now. will re-visit it later after the system is up and running. also forgot last time i used my 10/32 tap i broke it, so i couldnt tap the holes in the side brackets that the flange screws to. will take care of that at work tomorrow. hope to have the deck in the dash tomorrow night.
last weekend i fabbed up the bracket that my main fuse-holder under the hood mounts to. here are a couple pics of that:







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this is a simple part, but for some reason i think its uber cool.  also, if you look really close in the last pick, just under the little yellow wire under the main wire loom, you can see a grey donut lookin thingy. that is my bulkhead fitting for the 1/0 when i run it. it is actually installed in the block-off plate where the master cylinder for the hyd. clutch would go. which was way cool to just unbolt it and take it to the drill-press to cut the hole, rather than try to cut one in the fire-wall!! so easy it was like cheating. plenty of room under the dash where it is located for routing the 1/0 also. so ram owners take note. very slick. thats it for now. will update as i progress. need to buy a bunch of materials for amp rack, and mounting the 8"s in the doors, and the horns under the dash. so, check my for sale threads, im needing cash!


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## Paul1217 (Aug 12, 2007)

ill be interested to follow this one. ive done a TON of dodge rams, but they are normally quad cabs. i just finished a box for an 09 and made a mold of the rear seat storage area so i can make boxes without haing to have the truck, thatll be very handy. i love the battery fuse holder, ill have to try one of those, good idea.
keep up the good work!


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## InjunV18 (Jun 16, 2008)

Fabbed parts look great. Especially the fuse holder. I do hope you get time to go back to your dash kit as make something deserving of such a mounting bracket, but I totally understand how far down the list that lies. Same deal with the Mustang I'm currently working on.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks a bunch for the compliments guys! very motivational. its a lot easier to get out in the garage and get to work when you feel good about it. i actually managed to finish the deck install up tonight like i had hoped. got some more pics:







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here it is all assembled. those 6 phillips head screws hold the bracket to the plastic dash adapter. they effectively take the place of the normal gay-ass tabs on the cage you bend and expect to hold your deck secure (ya right!). this set-up i am happy to say is very rigid.







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this pic is kinda blurry, but you get the idea. tight tolerances. there was some seriously fancy measuring and layout going on to get everything just right.







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and here it is with the face, and fugly beauty? filler? trim? piece snapped on.







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so do any of the other old timers in here remember the days of 3 wire deck installs? this is just rediculous.







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and finally! its in and playing. albiet deck power on stock speakers, but its playing.


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## InjunV18 (Jun 16, 2008)

Looks great wheelie. I think if you just use some body filler on that and then get it smooth a little rattle can will go a long way. Almost looks as if satin black would match perfectly. If not, I'm sure and SEM version would. Not too much work involved in that to get rid of the metra/scosche look. Keep it up though. I'm looking forward to the speaks.


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Looks great sir! It seems like we are tackling the same projects at the same time. It will be nice to track your progress at the same time as mine.


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## mccanng (Apr 22, 2009)

looks good man keep up the good work


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

Hey that deck looks familiar. I had one exactly like it.


Sorry about the cage, I don't know where it could be since I didn't use it in my Jeep install, but hey, it looks like you came up with a much better mount. Looks great.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

89grand said:


> Hey that deck looks familiar. I had one exactly like it.
> 
> 
> Sorry about the cage, I don't know where it could be since I didn't use it in my Jeep install, but hey, it looks like you came up with a much better mount. Looks great.


no problem mang, ive always hated the "cage" design anyways. those tabs are GAY!
so far the deck is cool. only thing i absolutely dont like is the fact that the 2-way or 3-way option is controled by an actual switch located in the bottom of the unit. meaning you have to pull the deck to switch it. not something that will get switched often, but still a major pain. other than that, i think the glide touch is a gimmick. it works o.k., but so do buttons. other than that it is exactly what i needed. now i just need to get used to the navigation so i can put the book away LOL.


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## 89grand (Nov 23, 2006)

Yeah, that glide touch is sort of funky, it works, but like you said, buttons do too. It does take a little while to learn how to navigate through the menus. As you saw, the manual has seen some action, but at least it's there and complete. I think the 2/3way switch is sort of dumb too, but I only set it once and never changed it again.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

well, no real progress today. so i thought i would share a happy little story. you see, 4 or 5 years ago i ran this very ADCOM combination on my front stage in my last real system. but i had to sell my collection when the need for $$$ for something way more important than audio arose. i sold a total of 6 amps. 1 to porshe, 1 to whitesee, and 4 to zuki (yes i remember exactly where they went!) i hated doing it, and thought "crap! there is no way i will ever assemble that combo again!". big regrets ever since. fast forward to about 2 months ago. bing! a nib 4302 pops up on ebay. for giggles i snagged it on a whim. then, within a week another lnib pops up! i thought "no way! be cool to run these bridged on tweets. that used to be so awsome. too bad there is no way i will ever find 2 4402s. they are so hard to come by." then like magic 4 more amps practically fell in my lap! 3 of which are 4402s! so now i have a total of 6 ADCOMs (again!) 3 4302s, and 3 4402s. all 3 4302s are like new. 2 of the 4402s are like new, and the other is pretty hashed up and doesnt work, but its repairable. so here is a pic of the front stage power i would have sworn i would never get to run again. me so happy!







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aint they purdy. now for the real bitchen part. i have a single billet aluminum chassis modeled up in solid works to house all 4 boards and basically turn these 4 amps into one bitchen 4 channel monster! billet aluminum annodized black with a smoked lexan top. internal buss-bars to transfer power, and external RCAs. havnt found a good way to terminate the speaker outputs yet but im still looking. this is a ways off. im sure i will install the amps the way they are now, then start on the single chassis afterwards. but be on the lookout for the most bitchen 4 channel ever!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

okay, starting a new job tomorrow! no more 55hr weeks, and making the same $$$ in 40hrs. saying im stoked would be an understatement. so now that i might actually have some free time on my hands, its time to start building an amp-rack! woo-hoo. so here is what im thinkin:







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this just fits in the width i have available on the rear wall of the cab. with about an inch to spare on either side. and i can tweak it here and there if needed. rack will be fabbed out of steel, and amps will be raised 6-8" off the floor to give access to wiring and gains (will still be a pain though). ADCOMs will be twisted and staggered, with the Ti1000 centered between them, and forward from the cab wall about 5". this will leave an open space behind the Ti on the floor where i can mount my power and ground distrobution blocks so they are out of sight yet still easy to get to. i think it will look cool. but, it will render behind the seats useless other than a place to carry some bitchen amps. 
option 2:







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this way, since the 4302s are roughly the same height as the Ti1000 i could mount them straight and flat accross the cab wall all three pretty much level. would look a little cleaner, and take up alot less room. then the 4402s would be under the seats (one on each side). a little more work wiring, have to figure out where to hide the distros. may leave a little function to the space behind the seats. BUT! maybe i dont want people useing the space behind the seats (to set thier purse, or shoes, or groceries, get my drift?) its a truck, it has a bed, use it. thats the way i see it. so what do you guys think?


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Wow . . . I am blown away already. Keep up the good work, looking forward to this build.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

chithead said:


> Wow . . . I am blown away already. Keep up the good work, looking forward to this build.


cool, thanks! stay tuned, its gonna get interesting real soon....


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

finally spent a little more time on the system yesterday! got a new sub amp also. figured i would throw up a couple gut shots of that beast....







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MBQuart QAA2500, built like a tank for sure!
layed out the amps an found that they all fit pretty easily straight accross the back of the cab. so i whipped up this framework:







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then bolted all the amps down. managed to get all the way through all 20 holes without breaking a tap (i hate tapping!)







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then test fit to find the angle and just where i need to weld the framework to the base:







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and thats it for now. it was getting late. in the last 2 pics, the base is a piece of 3/8 plate. thats all i had laying around that was long enough. i was gonna use it, but its way to heavy! gonna try and find a piece of 10ga or something in the next day or two. then i will weld it all up with some angle braces hidden behind the amps. drill and tap the base for the distro blocks, and hopefully get it powder coated. woo-hoo!


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Wow! That is truly awesome work. The MB Quart is just a beast.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

wheelieking71 said:


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Aren't you worried about how close that grounded piece of AL is to the pos terminal?


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

t3sn4f2 said:


> Aren't you worried about how close that grounded piece of AL is to the pos terminal?


no, why would i be? the battery would have to move over 3/4inch to touch it. besides, see that perfectly grounded brake line 1" behind the positive battery terminal? chrysler seemed to think that they were just fine that far apart. if i hit something hard enough to short the battery to the fuse holder, that short is the least of my worries.


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Nice amp rack!


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

awsome fab work!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks guys!! got the rack done tonight. found a piece of 3/16 in the remnants pile at the steel yard today to use for the base instead of that 80lb chunk of 3/8. much easier to manhandle into the truck. all welded up:







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distro blocks bolted down, volt meter positioned and the holes marked (not screwed down yet though), and there will also be a relay just to the right of the distros:







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mocked up some power wire. the zip-tys are temporary. they will be replaced with those rubber insulated steel clamps screwed to the base and framework, but you get the jist of it:







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and thats where i left it for tonight. gettin late, got to get some shut-eye. more tomorrow hopefully!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

man i really need to start useing the wifes camera instead of my p.o.s. those pics suck!


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## BubbaDeuces (Mar 30, 2009)

wheelieking71 said:


> man i really need to start useing the wifes camera instead of my p.o.s. those pics suck!


Lol, yet they're still amazing all in the same sense. Great start. Congrats on your amps. And subscribed


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks Bubba! no big progress as of yet. but, i did manage to get the power on the rack properly secured, and terminated. see.....







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the best part is after its in the truck, none of it will be visible. the biggest surprise of the whole rack build was that i was able to tap all 34 10-32 tapped holes with 1 tap. that there is definately my lucky tap! gonna try and find some RCAs local tomorrow (worth buying). if i can find some, i plan to pull the carpet and throw down some raammat and run the speaker, power, and RCAs. oh-ya, also snagged another 4402 off ebay today. that makes 5! woo-hoo! hope this one is in better shape than the last one.


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## BubbaDeuces (Mar 30, 2009)

As I said before. Looks great! Excited to see the finished product. Nice welds btw.


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## Bobby32 (Jun 7, 2009)

This is a single cab right? I took my middle seat out to put my subs in, in my '04. You going to go with it all behind the seats? I have like a ft. to work with


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## Dodge4L1fe (Jun 5, 2009)

*subscribed* Looks good so far!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks everybody! the welds are o.k. not my best work by far. my approach to this was hurry up and get it done, it wont be visible, just stick it together. LOL. i actually do quite a bit of fabwork in my garage. i got my wife a yamaha rhino a couple years back, and built a cage, bumpers, and suspension on it. as a matter of fact, when im not working on my stereo its usually cause im workin on the rhino.
and, ya bobby, its a regular cab. gotta love dodge for blessing us with lots of room behind the seats! but the amp-rack will be the only thing back there in mine. and both seats will still go all the way back, and recline all the way to the cab wall, and there is still a good 2-3 inches between the back of the seats and the ADCOMS. i will be doing console subs. 2 Diyma 12s! ive seen alot of different subs in dodge consoles now (Clinesselect even pulled off a 15!) but i havnt seen 2 12s yet. i dont think i will be retaining the arm-rest. hafta measure it up again. soon!


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## Bobby32 (Jun 7, 2009)

wheelieking71 said:


> thanks everybody! the welds are o.k. not my best work by far. my approach to this was hurry up and get it done, it wont be visible, just stick it together. LOL. i actually do quite a bit of fabwork in my garage. i got my wife a yamaha rhino a couple years back, and built a cage, bumpers, and suspension on it. as a matter of fact, when im not working on my stereo its usually cause im workin on the rhino.
> and, ya bobby, its a regular cab. gotta love dodge for blessing us with lots of room behind the seats! but the amp-rack will be the only thing back there in mine. and both seats will still go all the way back, and recline all the way to the cab wall, and there is still a good 2-3 inches between the back of the seats and the ADCOMS. i will be doing console subs. 2 Diyma 12s! ive seen alot of different subs in dodge consoles now (Clinesselect even pulled off a 15!) but i havnt seen 2 12s yet. i dont think i will be retaining the arm-rest. hafta measure it up again. soon!


Seats still go all the way back??? Nice. Not sure how much of a difference the '04s and '07s are, but there is quite a bit of room back there. And I like how its so easy to dismantle a dodge compared to previous cars


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## Dodge4L1fe (Jun 5, 2009)

Does your RAM have the factory Infinity system and If so, how are you bypassing the AMP? Any pics would be great as well! Thanks!!!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

Dodge4L1fe said:


> Does your RAM have the factory Infinity system and If so, how are you bypassing the AMP? Any pics would be great as well! Thanks!!!


it didnt have any audio upgrades. just the plain-jane CD deck, which obviously has been replaced with an Alpine CDA-9855.


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## Dodge4L1fe (Jun 5, 2009)

wheelieking71 said:


> it didnt have any audio upgrades. just the plain-jane CD deck, which obviously has been replaced with an Alpine CDA-9855.


Alright thanks... jw


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

made a little progress today. got the RCAs all mocked up on the rack nice and neat so i didnt have to tuck a bundle away back there. (ill have to tuck it up under the dash now, big fun) somehow lost the pics of that though? then stripped the rack down, and gutted the interior. here is a pic of the neckkid rack installed on the neckkid floor:







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and here is a pic of how i mounted it. used the factory theaded holes for the third seat seatbelt. and the holes that the screws that held the stock plastic cargo area down. i did it this way because i absolutely refuse to drill holes in the cab:







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and here is what you end up with when your getting ready to lay down some raammat and realize you dont have a roller. so you scrounge up some junk you have laying around and end up with one of these LOL:







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and here is about half way through a quick layer of matt:







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had to stop there to clean up and head out with Allison for some sat. eve fun. gonna pick back up here in a little bit. hoping to get the rest of the matt down, run all the wires and cables that go under the carpet, and obviously button the carpet and seats back down before clean-up tomorrow night. should be no problem. more pics soon, woo-hoo!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

alright! midnight deadener action! any neighbors looking out thier windows prolly think im psyco! all done with the floor:







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on to running the RCAs:







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and finally carpet back in the truck. official time of install? 2:45am







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off to bed- more in the morning.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

whew, long day! wish i would have gotten farther, but since ive been wanting to do this for 1 1/2 years im happy to just be working on it. so, where does the time go when wiring?! anywho, heres the ground:







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and here is the power coming through the firewall:







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here is the main mount for the rack. i used 2 collars so when it gets tightened up its metal to metal and everything stays tight.







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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

and here is life support for my 5 favorite guy gadgets!







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another:







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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

here is the relashonship between the seat and the amps:







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that seat is all the way back, and reclined all the way. there is about 1 1/2" between the amp and seat at the top. i thought there was gonna be more, but i lost some somewhere?? probly seems like i wasted alot of space mounting them this way. and i kinda did. but i did it for 2 reasons. 1 the adcoms cool alot better when they arent vertical. thats important, because when all 4 fans are running full tilt they can be noisy. the cooler the amps run the less noise the fans make. and 2 i dont want things getting stuffed back there. if there is no room, nothing will get put there. and one more of the beast in the middle!







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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

well, i was trying to sell off some of my gear because i didnt, and wasnt gonna have time to finish this for about a year. had a bunch of classes scheduled to all cascade together, but that is partially falling apart. will be down to one class here next week. the instructor for the other 2 classes is relocating accross country and the school does not have a replacement for him. LAME! so, since my junk didnt sell......should be able to find some time to get back to work on it. hafta rekindle the fire though, the excitement kinda went away when i switched gears towards school. guess i better grab my ipod, plug the budds in and fire up some metallica to get the juices flowin HUH! need to get it done before they find a new instructor, then it will be back to the grind and then some.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Heck yeah! We want to see this finished! If I start on mine, will that provide a little motivation?


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

wheelieking71 said:


> guess i better grab my ipod, plug the budds in and fire up some metallica to get the juices flowin HUH!


Classic sir....Classic!!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

wheelieking71 said:


> well, i was trying to sell off some of my gear because i didnt, and wasnt gonna have time to finish this for about a year. had a bunch of classes scheduled to all cascade together, but that is partially falling apart. will be down to one class here next week. the instructor for the other 2 classes is relocating accross country and the school does not have a replacement for him. LAME! so, since my junk didnt sell......should be able to find some time to get back to work on it. hafta rekindle the fire though, the excitement kinda went away when i switched gears towards school. guess i better grab my ipod, plug the budds in and fire up some metallica to get the juices flowin HUH! need to get it done before they find a new instructor, then it will be back to the grind and then some.


I still have yet to make it over and check out your setup. I might have missed it, but where are the subs going? That amp rack is sweet!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

mikey7182 said:


> I still have yet to make it over and check out your setup. I might have missed it, but where are the subs going? That amp rack is sweet!


nothing to see yet. man, no school, im actually kinda bored. first time for that in a couple months! so far the only peice of gear that actually makes noise is the deck. and, being that its just playing the stock speaks with its built in power i dont even turn it on. sounds like poopy. thanks for the props on the rack! subs are going in the center console, actually subs will BE the center console.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

wheelieking71 said:


> nothing to see yet. man, no school, im actually kinda bored. first time for that in a couple months! so far the only peice of gear that actually makes noise is the deck. and, being that its just playing the stock speaks with its built in power i dont even turn it on. sounds like poopy. thanks for the props on the rack! subs are going in the center console, actually subs will BE the center console.


Sounds cool. Just pulled the two Alpines I had out of my work truck- 2006 Ram Quad Cab. The enclosure was the center console as well. Downfire does very well in most quad cab trucks, for whatever reason. You sticking with the DIYMAs?


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

mikey7182 said:


> Sounds cool. Just pulled the two Alpines I had out of my work truck- 2006 Ram Quad Cab. The enclosure was the center console as well. Downfire does very well in most quad cab trucks, for whatever reason. You sticking with the DIYMAs?


yep, nothing i put up for sale sold. only thing that got alot of action was the horns. coulda sold them 10 times prolly. but, those are one of those things that you never get again, and for the measly $125 i could get for them i might just as well keep em. not sure how they are gonna work out. i only have the EQ in the 9855, an no plans for any external processing. well see, cant be worse than rockin the stock door speaks. they actually hurt my ears. i turn the radio on in the morning to listen to Holmberg on my way to work, and thats it, its usually off. i actually cant wait to get the QAA and DIYMAs going. that combo seems perfect to me, cant wait to hear it! im starting to get a little cranked back up! took my ipod to work today, ive got a decent set of budds, and i was jammin all day. boss kept lookin at me like i was some kinda freak bangin my head all over the place LOL.


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Awesome install. Liking that amp rack!...
I too have had to do "midnight" install work, so share your pain.

who are my kidding, you gots an ADCOM in there, I would love it even if it was poo! (which it isn't, you know what i mean...)


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

wheelieking71 said:


> yep, nothing i put up for sale sold. only thing that got alot of action was the horns. coulda sold them 10 times prolly. but, those are one of those things that you never get again, and for the measly $125 i could get for them i might just as well keep em. not sure how they are gonna work out. i only have the EQ in the 9855, an no plans for any external processing. well see, cant be worse than rockin the stock door speaks. they actually hurt my ears. i turn the radio on in the morning to listen to Holmberg on my way to work, and thats it, its usually off. i actually cant wait to get the QAA and DIYMAs going. that combo seems perfect to me, cant wait to hear it! im starting to get a little cranked back up! took my ipod to work today, ive got a decent set of budds, and i was jammin all day. boss kept lookin at me like i was some kinda freak bangin my head all over the place LOL.


Holmberg FTW!!  I ran the 2118 with fullsize ID horns on both the 9835 and 9855 before switching to the P9 combo. The Alpine heads do surprisingly well in terms of processing power. Not TONS of options, but I honestly found them to be adequate for the horns. Plus, you can change the tweeter output to "Full Range" in active mode so you can run the horns as low as you want. The P9 combo defintely sounds better, but not because it is tweaked a bunch more. In fact, my tune is almost identical to what I did on the Alpines. Bottom line: hang onto those horns/8s.


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## Lothar34 (Oct 6, 2006)

Hey does anybody know what size that bastard rear speaker is? Or how big the opening is? I have a friend with a reg. cab Ram and he thinks he needs rear fill and wants to put something there.


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## PABowhunter4life (Jan 3, 2009)

Everytime I think I know where I am going with my Ram I come across a thread like this lol 


Looks good bud. Very nicely done!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

PABowhunter4life said:


> Everytime I think I know where I am going with my Ram I come across a thread like this lol
> 
> 
> Looks good bud. Very nicely done!


thanks! i know the feeling. i wish i knew where i was going with this!  LOL


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

new deck! i hated the glide touch on the 9855. i mean hated. so it got sold, and replaced times 2. have my choice now of a CDA-9887, or PRS-800. sucks to be me LOL. i guess first up well try the alpine. so, since assembling the harness is always a pain. and to insure that i dont have to listen to deck power anymore! i simplified the harness greatly HE HE HE:








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i didnt just not hook the speaker outputs up, i freakin removed them! :devil:

now if i want tunes i hafta install more gear! so i did. i actually think ive had every amp i own through there over this last week just to get reaquainted (its been so long). currently riding *****......








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man those stock door speakers sound like shiat!


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Glad to see you are back at it with this build!


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## kkreit01 (Aug 27, 2009)

Great idea on removing the unused speaker wires from harness. There's so much crap behind my HU, that I can barely get it to lock in place whenever I remove it. I need to do this next time.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

kkreit01 said:


> Great idea on removing the unused speaker wires from harness. There's so much crap behind my HU, that I can barely get it to lock in place whenever I remove it. I need to do this next time.


ya, doesnt seem like much, but it made it a whole lot easier to install the deck. it was nice for everything to just fall neatly into place. next up is the most important part of the whole install, and the part i always dread. deadening the doors. i hate working inside doors! my big fat meat-hooks were never designed to work in there. i always end up bloody and scraped up. but it has to get done. i want tunes!!!!!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

im workin on my truck!!!! WOO-HOO
well, i was gonna takle deadening the doors next. but the rear wall of the cab has been haunting me and holding me back for a long time now. mostly because i wasnt sure what to do. my intentions were "no wood" in this truck. but, im throwing that out the window. i want a decent set-up now! steel, aluminum and glass take too long, and cost too much for anything to happen quick. so its back to basics to get tunes NOW. so, here is the stock "beauty panel" that is supposed to go back there.
check this crazy-convoluted-conglomeration. i see no "beauty".








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and the contour on the rear edge of the side-panels is the biggest challenge of building something to cover the back wall that will look nice. shown here:








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my original plan was to use the outside contour of the factory panel as a mold and build a new peice from fiberglass. which i would still prefer. but like i said. i want tunes. so, sometimes when you dont know where to start, you just hafta start hackin and slashin. with that said i guess this is a good start:








[/IMG]

then i did some quick measuring, went to lowes and bought a sheet of 1/2. and i am currently cuttin and fittin. not sure where im headed, but at least im moving. and being as how the road noise from the cab vents is atrocious, i have great motivation LOL. and the wifey hates the road noise with a passion, so im hoping she will leave me alone long enough to get er done. and, not throw the usual honey do list at me.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

could you just build standoffs for the factory trim to go back? Basically, build some spacers from strips of mdf/etc the same height at the tallest component on the rear wall, then attach the stock cover to the wall via the spacer strips?


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

the problem isnt the wall, or the contour of the rear of the sidepanels (thats the challenge). the problem is the cover is feakin ugly. i just want a nice, flat, carpeted surface. emphasis on the flat. that stock cover is anything but flat. and its flimsy. and it doesnt do a very good job of quieting the noise from the vents. and it doesnt go all the way to the floor in some spots. i could go on, but it doesnt matter. i cut it up LOL....


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

alriight, i just kinda winged it cause i had no idea what to do. and, i ended up with this thing:








[/IMG]

man i wish i had the time and $$$$ to make something out of glass, but i dont. this is kinda heavy and cumbersome, but it was also only $20. the above pic is the final test fit of the day. upon which i determined i needed another 1/4 inch on the top surface. so i ran to lowes for a little peice of 1/4 MDF. cut to fit, glued and screwed everything together. and after some initial sanding it looks like this. front side:








[/IMG]

and here you can see all the funky crap i had to do to get it to fit the wall.
rear side:








[/IMG]

not much to look at right now. tomorrow after work i will sand a little more, and test fit again. once i like the fit, i will slather it in resin. then fill the "steps" created by the laminations with filler. then sand my brains out to get nice curves. then carpet. i actually think once its done it will look just fine. havnt decided yet if im gonna just screw the amps to this peice, or build another bitchen rack. i really think floating amps would look cool. on the last rack you could see tha framework and it was obvious what the amps were screwed to. im kinda thinkin it would be cool if i could hide the framework and it looked like the amps were floating. hmmm.....


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## arrivalanche (Jun 27, 2008)

thats just sad. I was going to say how BA your metal amp rack was then I see you pitched it and went with wood. You could have done a few easy things and had it looking great. Wood is just too simple.

Either way, you are doing great work.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

arrivalanche said:


> thats just sad. I was going to say how BA your metal amp rack was then I see you pitched it and went with wood. You could have done a few easy things and had it looking great. Wood is just too simple.
> 
> Either way, you are doing great work.


hey, thanks! this "stupid wooden thing" isnt neccesarily a new amp rack. its main purpose is to make the rear wall of the cab look good. i am also hoping it helps me in the fight against road noise emminating from the cab vents. so, lets formally call this thing a "carpet holder" LOL. to be honest i hate working with wood. i think its because im no good at it. and i dont have good woodworking tools. i prefer metal. i build everything i can from metal rather than wood. but there was no good way to do this quickly AND cheaply, other than wood. itll work. and, dont count a new bitchin amp rack out yet!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

epper: epper: Billy got a new toy today !! epper: epper:








[/IMG]

game over, im done. ever since i was a kid, there have been 3 amps i just had to have. i honestly didnt think i would ever own all 3. especially not all at once. the ADCOMs are a huge weakness of mine. and for good reason. they sound wonderfull. ya, i know, "a watt is a watt". ********. and i have been a soundstream fan since i owned my second ever amp. my first was a proton D275. it was cool. then i got 2 soundstream D200s and i was hooked. now the linear power is another story. i always wanted one. and being an old mopar fanatic, plum-crazy was my color of choice. but i had come to grips with the fact that i would never own that one. so, when Mooble put his up, well, i had to! i literally got sick to my stomach when i saw the thread. what the hell is wrong with me? LOL. it doesnt matter now. here are the KEEPERS!








[/IMG]

and thanks everybody for the props on the last amp rack. it was cool! and way overcomplicated. and definately not practical. and i just wasnt feelin it. i bet you all can figure out what direction im headed with the new one!


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## mxer657 (Oct 13, 2009)

damn great job building that rack


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

whoa... LP, Adc & Ref500!!! DAMNG!!!


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## ECM (Dec 23, 2007)

It's cool to see you are using all your favorite amplifiers at once! Most installs try and match all the amps and you went in the opposite direction, cool indeed my friend.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

ECM said:


> It's cool to see you are using all your favorite amplifiers at once! Most installs try and match all the amps and you went in the opposite direction, cool indeed my friend.


thanks! ya, cool is cool weather it matches or not. i just want good sounding tunes. that will be cool! i find it kind of strange how technology works. since digital came on the sceen there have been huge leaps forward in SQ, tunability, and practicality (physical size of components) on the low level side of the market. and with better materials, construction techniques, and constant refinement you can definately buy better drivers today than you could 15 years ago. but from a purely sonic standpoint (i dont think) amps have come very far in the last 15 years. sure, you can spend a butt-wad of cash and equal the performance of these 3 amps, but you would be hard pressed to do better without spending thousands. i have less than a grand in all 3! boy im gettin excited. that is what has been lacking in this build- direction and excitement.


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## james2292 (Aug 26, 2008)

looking good


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

did some more shaping with a rasp, and sanding tonight. then test fit again. ive got the shape of the wood just about perfect. HOPEFULLY, tomorrow after work i can mix up some resin, and give it a good coat. then fill the "steps" with kitty hair. then it will be sand-sand-sand. you all know the drill. need to stop and get a chunk of carpet, and a couple cans of glue. and hopefully this dreaded step will be done! i purposely left the plastic panels out because i plan on permanently installing this this weekend. cant wait to start the new rack !!


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## ECM (Dec 23, 2007)

wheelieking71 said:


> thanks! ya, cool is cool weather it matches or not. i just want good sounding tunes. that will be cool! i find it kind of strange how technology works. since digital came on the sceen there have been huge leaps forward in SQ, tunability, and practicality (physical size of components) on the low level side of the market. and with better materials, construction techniques, and constant refinement you can definately buy better drivers today than you could 15 years ago. but from a purely sonic standpoint (i dont think) amps have come very far in the last 15 years. sure, you can spend a butt-wad of cash and equal the performance of these 3 amps, but you would be hard pressed to do better without spending thousands. i have less than a grand in all 3! boy im gettin excited. that is what has been lacking in this build- direction and excitement.


Couldn't agree with you more! That's why I have old Orion amps, MTX amps, and Xtant amps put away for a rainy day. These are all pretty much basic A/B amps without all the bling and displays new amps have. And being A/B amps, they still sound great!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

slowly but surely! slathered a couple layers of resin on tonight to give the filler something to bite to.








[/IMG]

hopefully tomorrow night, fill the "steps". sat morn sand-sand-sand. glue carpet on! rammat the rest of the rear cab wall. and install it! hopefully all goes well so i can get a little amp rack action in there to. should be able to spend the whole weekend on it (unless the boss okays saturday O.T.)


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

now im motivated!! 








[/IMG]

the rear wall of the cab has been haunting me for a long-long time. not knowing what to do, and not having the time-money-ambition to do what i wanted. i am pleased to say that this will do just fine. color isnt a perfect match, but there are at least 4 different shades of grey in this interior to begin with. one more isnt gonna hurt, and i bought way more than i needed. i think im gonna cover the removable top dash peice, and some inserts in the door panels. that will tie everything together nicely. time to start on the new rack!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

inspiration!!








[/IMG]








[/IMG]








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he-he-he, time for sparks to fly.....amp rack soon


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

laid the amps out on the table and measured everything up. drew up some plans. and, cut the pieces for the main amp mounting framework:








[/IMG]

then tacked and welded it all together:








[/IMG]

and then - i struggled through the last 2 welds because i ran out of freakin gas on my welder - DAMNIT!! i was cruizin right along to. i would have definately had the rack ready for paint tonight. oh-well. i have no school till gateway finds us an instructor, so i should be able to pick and poke at it in the evenings. after i ran out of gas i decided it would be good to drill and tap all 18 mounting holes. thats always a time consuming pain in the arse thats out of the way now. amps fit on there perfectly. the amps are not going to stand as vertically as the last rack did. i am going to just tip the rear up slightly. will probably fashion some kind of lexan cover for them eventually. right now i just want tunes. and since ive got a good head of steam built up im gonna try and keep rollin.....


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

small progress tonight. cut all the old framework off the base of the last rack. hafta reuse that peice. its paid for, and it has some hard to locate holes in it already. so that was a couple hours with a grinder. and i got the bottle for my welder filled today. tomorrow night i hope to finish the fabwork. hope to have it painted, and prewired before the weekend.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

AMP-RACK!!

















WOO-HOO, need to weld a few tabs on tomorrow. shoot it with a coat of satin black. and call it done. i had the amps mounted on it just to make sure all the holes lined up, and nothing pulled or warped during welding. everything fit perfect. after the paint drys i will pre-wire it. what sucks is that i have to pull the seats and carpet out before i can mount it. i ran the RCAs according to the other rack. and, now my lengths are all jacked up, and the extra length is bundled in the dash. bummer, thats what i get for changing my mind all the time. thats not happening again. like i mentioned earlier, i just wasnt "feelin" the last system. but im super stoked about this one! diyma has an "old school showoff thread". and i have an old school showoff rack!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

rack is officially complete! got some prewire action in. still hafta wire in the volt-meter, and wire up the remote relay. but, other than that its ready to install in the truck and screw the amps down. 








[/IMG]








[/IMG]








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tomorrow morning (maybe start tonight??) out with the seats and carpet. pull the trim panels out of the back. finish the rammat back there. fill the unused rear speaker holes, and try to somehow seal up around the seatbelt mechanism that bolts to the inside of the cab. adjust RCA lengths, and ASSEMBLE! woo-hoo!


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## ACRucrazy (Mar 13, 2007)

Great Job! I will say I am jealous about your back wall. I hate the stock backwall and since I have a quad cab making something as solid as yours is out of the question. 

Those vents allow too much noise into the cab, I have some ideas how I want to tackle mine, but wish the rear seats didnt make it soo difficult.

Looking good!


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## GSlider (Jun 11, 2009)

Oh man that amp rack is awesome! You have some nice fab skills.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks for the compliments! i know what you mean crazy, about the noise issue from the cab vents! mine almost got covered with raammat and closed cell foam today. almost! i couldnt bring myself to do it. the AC in this thing is weak to begin with, i didnt want the blower motor to have to fight cabin pressure when running the AC. instead i stapled some carpet on the back of the panel to try and help diffuse the sound. and i am in the process of packing polyfill in the voids along the sides of the panel as i type (well in a minute anyways). i have been working on this pretty much non-stop since friday morning about 9:00. and i still havnt got the rack mounted in the truck yet! im SLOW! there are just so many small steps. and i have to give huge props to the guys who go above and beyond on thier deadening jobs. i freakin hate doing it. its such a pain in the ass. and i cant stand the mess. butyl all over everything. just getting the carpet out after it had been installed on the raammat i did months ago was a battle. so to all you guys who do such a thorough job, you guys kick ass! my hat is off to you guys. i will post some pics of the progress in a while. you would think after working on it for 2 days straight i would have a bunch of pics. nope. i think i have taken 1 picture LOL. my fingers always had too much butyl on em to grab the camera! nothing to see anyway really. totally gutted the cab (short of the dash and headliner), raammat on rear wall and b-pillars. move some wires around. weld some nuts to the floor to hold the rack down. where the hell has 2 days gone?! im tired.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

as mentioned, i applied raammat on the rear wall and b-pillars:








[/IMG]

what you dont see in the pic is a layer on the outer skin behind the seatbelt mechanisms (cab corners) then the cab corners were totally stuffed with some funky colored foam i found in a closet (hope she didnt need that!) then i stapled some carpet to the back of the "carpet holder" to try and help diffuse the cab vent noise, and reinstalled it. then i stuffed poly fill tightly in the voids all around it. then stuffed polyfill tightly around the seatbelt mechanisms. then a layer of adhesive backed closed cell foam on the b-pillars. which i am sure will help but the main reason for that was i didnt want to be able to see the raammat through the unused speaker grills in the plastic panel that snaps on there. now you just see black. and for some reason i just kept going like the energizer bunny, and finally set the rack in the truck:








[/IMG]

here are the 2 main bolts that hold the rack in place. these are threaded into inserts welded to the cab that originally held the third seat belt mechanism. so they are plenty stout. and there are metal collars under the rack between the floor and rack so that it doesnt just tighten up to the carpet. it tightens metal to metal so it will stay tight:








[/IMG]

and here you can see one of the other mounts. i welded a hardened 1/4-28 nut to the cab over an existing hole. and again, stacked washers on the nut so it tighted up metel to metal. you can also see the hole where the speaker wires come through. there was an existing hole in the carpet there, so i utilized it and cut a hole in the rack that lined up with it and viola hidden wires:








[/IMG]

and here you can see how the RCAs come straight up between the power and ground, and run along the top rear rail of the rack. this was my effort to keep the low level signal and 12v power separated as best i could. and i also tried to make them cross at 90degree angles if they had to cross (2 spots):








[/IMG]

and the official time of powering all 4 amps up was 4:47am! whew im tired! so its now 5:15 sunday morning, and i have had about 4 1/2 hours sleep since 9:00 friday morning. good thing i enjoy this stuff!








[/IMG]

another angle:








[/IMG]


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## arrivalanche (Jun 27, 2008)

very nice. great to see you are back to your medium of choice.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks! ya, those have always been my 3 favorite amps. i never had a hankerin to run them all at once till now though?? i just liked them. i guess when mooble put his 2.2 up for sale is when the idea hit me. there are a ton of other amps i lust after, but these 3 are the biggies for me. always liked the lunar amps, just about anything zapco is badd-ass in my book. alpine used to build some killer amps. old school phoenix gold is really cool. as far as new stuff goes ive got a big boner for the TRU steels. i think its the similarity to the ADCOMs that grabs my attention with those. so, ya, there are lots of great choices. but this is my dream team.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

and the rest of the system (tentatively, i have been known to change my mind LOL):
DIYMAs didnt sell, so im gonna run one in the truck (not a bad thing!) took a buch of measurements for the box and started drawing up plans tonight. if i build the box the way i have it figured right now it will and up at .9375cubes before driver displacement or fill. i am crowding the large side in an attemp to be polite to the cone. sub will run off the soundstream.

im not sure on the mid-bass yet, but i am leaning kinda heavily towards the morel CAW-938s. will be in heavily prepped and modded doors. sealed as well as i can (can you ever really seal a door? no.) mid-bass will be powered by the linear-power.

and the highs will be a pair of the audience 3" full-range drivers. mounted on top of the dash in pods. not sure if they should be sealed or infinate baffle?? i have been wanting to try full range drivers for years. i mean years. (about 8) but i was always worried about output. i knew they wouldnt get as loud as a conventional comp set with bokoo power, so i never gave it a shot. well fast forward 8 years and i put much less value on output. so i was stalkin parts express a couple weeks ago. and i found myself lookin at the audience 3"s. i was thinkin "i bet those would sound awsome if i could get them installed right. but the price-whew! 2 days later what pops up on here? at a cost of less than 2 for 1. seemed like an omen. now these guys wont be for everybody. they are 16ohm drivers. hence 2 4302s for high-pass amplification. each amp will be bridged on one audience 3". 

so other than deciding on mid-bass drivers, i am pretty confident there wont be any more major system redesigns. im to close now!! i havnt had a complete no loose ends system in MY vehicle for goin on 5 years. im stoked.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

looky what showed up on my doorstep today! 








[/IMG]

Audience 3" widebanders. very very interesting. i have high hopes for these little gems.
more:








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[/IMG]







[/IMG]

cant wait! i see towels stuffed in each corner of my dash tomorrow after work HE-HE


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

and im not sure what was most effective in my efforts over the weekend to quiet the road noise from the back of my cab down. but, i am happy to report that cumulatively, my efforts were pretty rewarding. much quieter! the rushing sound of the exhaust is gone. now i just hear a faint little growl. tire noise is all but gone. much much better. now the most annoying things i hear are the passenger seat-back ratling back and forth over rough road, and the fuel pump is really obvious when it runs.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

well, the 3"s are stuffed into the corners of the dash:








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[/IMG]

and they are met with a very mixed initial impression. the ADCOMs are obviously plenty of power. but the linear power is to much power for the stock door speaks. so i lowered the gain on the LP in an attempt to get them to blend. then set the crossover up real quick, high-passed the mids @ 63hz, low-passed the mids @ 500hz, and high-passed the 3"s @ 630hz. at first no EQ (flat). they were a little lacking everywhere. top end extension is kinda weak. impact is not very good. so i bumped 17.5khz up a little and that was much better. still no impact on cymbal crashes. hmm. this is where i am going to get frustrated with my lack of tuning experience. i will say though, i am very impressed with the tonality. female voices (sahra evans, patty loveless) sound fantastic, detail at low to moderate volume seems very good. i just need to get the impact on cymbal crashes, and a little edge on guitar work. this was the first time i ever listened to eruption and it was pleasing to the ear LOL. so, being that the back of these drivers is wide open, and they are just stuffed in towels, does anybody think i could be experiencing cancellation issues? not sure how much effect cancellation has at higher freqs???


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

well, the towel is also reducing reflections, which also soaks up some of the top end. I think don't worry about tonality or freq responce, but concentrate on how it stages.
Set the angles to staging is good, then pod properly and see how freq responce goes.
You may still need a tweet up high though...
Have you put both drivers on seperate Baffles and heard them in doors/house first? That will show you how good/bad the drivers can sound.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks for the input!! i havnt tried them other than in the towels. i need to do some research and figure out if i should seal the pods, or vent them into the dash. but what i did do was play with the aiming of them. i have the 3"s aimed almost straight towards the rear. which seems kind of strange, but it is the best angle i have found yet. i have a pretty good stage, and i havnt touched the EQ or TA yet. and i went into the crossover and lowered the output of the midbass even more. they were overpowering the 3"s by ALOT. that alone made a huge difference. so, between those 2 small tweaks, hello, there they are. im pretty confident there is alot more to gain the more time i am able to spend tweaking.
but, what is most impressive is that the stock 6x9s in the doors, once crossed between 63-500hz dont sound half bad! the doors are buzzing and rattling like crazy when the volume is cranked, and they are obviously in distress, but at low to moderate volume it aint half bad. i couldnt hardly stand to listen to those things playing full range though. the midrange was horrid! the LP is giving them a serious workout now as midbass!


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

wheelieking71 said:


> but, what is most impressive is that the stock 6x9s in the doors, once crossed between 63-500hz dont sound half bad! the doors are buzzing and rattling like crazy when the volume is cranked, and they are obviously in distress, but at low to moderate volume it aint half bad. i couldnt hardly stand to listen to those things playing full range though. the midrange was horrid! the LP is giving them a serious workout now as midbass!


This is funny because I believe 15W is printed on the back of the stocker. Obviously they can take a bit more! 

After deadening the actual door, I recently discovered the panels are where a lot of buzzing is coming from. Will have to re-visit the deadening process.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

chithead said:


> This is funny because I believe 15W is printed on the back of the stocker. Obviously they can take a bit more!
> 
> After deadening the actual door, I recently discovered the panels are where a lot of buzzing is coming from. Will have to re-visit the deadening process.


i know! it does say 15watts. and the magnet isnt evan as large as what you would find on a large format tweet. and the voice coil might be 3/4". and they are bangin away. but, like i mentioned it is pretty easy to put them into obvious distress. i think alot of the door noises i am hearing are the stock vapor barrier flapping around. the 3"s are sounding pretty good. i am also wondering if maybe they need some break in time. not sure how much time the original owner put on them, but i dont think it was much. it doesnt look like he ever screwed them down.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Yeah definitely give them some break in time. I think you'll be quite impressed.


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## Melodic Acoustic (Oct 10, 2005)

I can tell you this sir, with a crossover point of 630hz on the 3" your sound is going to be a little thin and the sound will pull down to the doors, with the door mids playing up to 500hz. I just went thru the same thing with one of my team members cars. We lowered the crossover point to 300hz on the wide-band mid and it all came to life. Think the doors are at 250hz. At least try to get it down to 350hz, this will do wonders for your vocals fullness and impact of the upper range, also your stage height. The Audience 3" should handle this with no problems; I know the origins of this driver. Power handling will go down a little.

This by know means the end of your tuning, the fun hasn't even started yet.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks ALOT for the input. i usually have no idea what direction to go when it comes to tuning. i know when something sounds "right". my problem is knowing how to get there. it usually just ends up being hours of trying all kinds of different things. so thanks for the direction....


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

well, i tried lowering the crossover point on the 3"s down to 315hz, and didnt really like it. the only disk i had with me at lunch was patty loveless, and her voice became kind of nasaly. so i bumped it back up to 400hz and it sounded much more natural. cymbals are still a little weak in general. but everything else is awsome! guitars are fantastic. i think i really need to get to work on the doors and get rid of the 6x9s before i will realize the true potential of the 3"s.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

spent some more time out in the truck tonight jammin and tuning. i am happy to report that the 3"s are really starting to impress me. they are providing the best vocals i have ever had in a vehicle. and everything else is super clean. so far my tuning consist of the 3"s crossed @315hz with 24db slope, the 6x9s bandpassed 50-250hz with 12db slope. 3db boost @20k, 2db cut @1k. everything else flat. and i played with time alignment till vocals were dead center of the top of the dash. also lots of different aiming. my only gripe is that no matter how i aim, i cant raise the stage. it stays right on top of the dash. not bad, but eye level would be nice. my biggest surprise was how much time alignment affected not only imaging, but also SQ. i had a couple rough spots that i couldnt put my finger on no matter what i tried with the EQ. so i gave up and went back to the settings mentioned above. then started playin with the TA. next thing i knew the rough spots were all but gone. i cant wait to hear them in proper enclosures! (and without this stupid cold i have had for a month! my head is so congested)


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

That is good news to hear (pun intended). It's funny how the excited we get with the equipment and installing it, and don't even think about the nightmare of tuning.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

well, i spent about 5 hrs today out in the truck. jammin, tuning, and swappin. and i am sad to report that the 3"s are gettin nixxed. as good as they were in some respects, the bad outweighed the good. i was swapping between the 3"s, a pair of Morel MDT12s, an old pair of JL XR tweets, and a pair of the vifa tweets that come in the recession buster kit. tweets win!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

which tweets won??
and I bet your glad you did that BEFORE installing permenantly?


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

hells-ya im glad. i think i liked the morels the best. maybe because im used to them. i have been dragging that particular pair of tweets around for a long time (prolly 12years?) and have used them several times. the vifas were also good! the JLs got loud and thats about all i can say about that. now im not sure what im gonna do???? im kinda starting to think about maybe running a smaller midbass in the doors (5 1/4) to help with vocals, and crossing the sub higher to help with mid-bass.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

hmm, is your main adjective staging or overall tonality/responce?

I ask because you're (like 99% of cars) at a crux of a compramise. I personally prefer a bigger driver for the same job as the alternative, if you can properly fit it. Let me explain, I prefer a 1.5" tweet over a .75" for the same job assuming everything else is equal. I prefer a 6" mid than a 4", again same job all equal.
Hence if your willing to give a little in staging for output & responce then I would stick with the larger drivers. 
But if your focus is staging, then by all means trail the smaller mid as long as you understand that all else being equal your going to have a little less output (varying) and when driving around that is an issue, in that to get over this, you need to wind your volume that much higher, components play that much harder, you draw that much more current, you get that much more distortion etc...
JUST a thought, you may still prefer the smaller mid. 
Cars change so much when parked to when driving...


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

sydmonster said:


> hmm, is your main adjective staging or overall tonality/responce?
> 
> I ask because you're (like 99% of cars) at a crux of a compramise. I personally prefer a bigger driver for the same job as the alternative, if you can properly fit it. Let me explain, I prefer a 1.5" tweet over a .75" for the same job assuming everything else is equal. I prefer a 6" mid than a 4", again same job all equal.
> Hence if your willing to give a little in staging for output & responce then I would stick with the larger drivers.
> ...



thanks a million for this post! your initial question has reminded me of my main objective. tonality and response are far more important than staging. i listen while i drive. rarely do i listen while parked (for more than a few minutes). and i dont know about others, but i cant concentrate on how well a system images while i am driving. not in the valley anyways! (i swear, drop a stop sign anywhere in the valley and everybody becomes a freakin idiot!) the rest of your post reinforced things i already know, but have lost grasp of in the component choice process. thanks for bringing me back to earth! i am now considering a pair of SEAS, or Peerless 7"s for the doors, and a new updated pair of Morels for the dash. (which ironically were my first choices when i decided to do a system in this truck 1 1/2 years ago LOL). simple, affordable, easy, and will probly sound great! i really need to tear into the doors. those 6x9s are killin' me. the wife and i have been talkin, and it looks like this truck will prolly only be around for another 6 months. so i need to button this up so i can enjoy it for a while before i have to tear it all out and start over in something new.


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## f150ff (Feb 12, 2007)

I just read all this pages and i need to get off my butt and get started again too. Great job on your install. Im an electrician and this is my hobby , nobody understands why I buy amps and just hold them. I tell them until you get into this you dont understand.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

ya, its a crazy, hobby! there are so many choices! what is really funny is that you have countless choices to accomplish the same goal. the equipment doesnt really matter as much in the final product as most would lead you to think. BUT, even knowing that, there are so many choices!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

all good wheelieking, i just hope it helps. Its hard to be genuine over the net, but I like what you have done so far. Good that you're re-asserting what the focus is for you!
When I see a system over the net, then main thing I think about is what does the owner/operator of it think.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

You sound like me. After getting the 8" in the doors and the Dayton RS100 in the dash... now I am contemplating a 3-way setup. Just seems like there is something missing... Hopefully the addition of some 4" mids and tweeters can fix it.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

chithead said:


> You sound like me. After getting the 8" in the doors and the Dayton RS100 in the dash... now I am contemplating a 3-way setup. Just seems like there is something missing... Hopefully the addition of some 4" mids and tweeters can fix it.


ya, i am a firm believer in the fact that it will never be done. there will always be new ideas poppin in my head. which takes us back to all those choices....LOL i have already modified the new amp rack (in my head anyways)


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Again? Wow, can't wait to see what it is this time. You definitely have great ideas. Hopefully it will come together before it is time for this Ram to depart. Are you thinking another one after this?


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## burger (Nov 4, 2009)

looks good


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

havnt updated this in quite a while. mostly because i pulled everything but the wire! LOL been driving with not even a radio in the dash for well over a month. i ended up getting a decent pair of 6.5s, and a pair of SPXpro tweets. did a quickie install on the 6.5s in the stock door locations (need to revisit the doors for sure!) and temped the tweets on the a-pilliars. did a quickie plain square console box for a diyma 12. all powered off the previous amp rack. the adcoms on tweets, LP on mids, and SS on the 12. didnt like it. at all. bass was thin, and mids were shrill. tuned for a while, but couldnt get it. swapped the LP to the diyma, and the SS to the mids. better. bass was much better. mids marginally better. again tuned for a few days. nope, didnt like it. (even though the tweets sounded fantastic!) then i bought an ARCaudio IDX crossover. just for giggles i did a temp hookup of the crossover into the system (powered by a battery sitting on the ground next to the truck! LOL) and used a home CD player as a source feeding the ARC, and used the ARC gain as a volume. WOW, big difference. okay, the 9887 is outta here. bye-bye. and that was it, i tore it all out. since the LP did not impress me at all, and it was worth a decent amount, i sold it. and, began turning that money into SoundStreams. i thought the SS sounded better than the LP, had decent power, and a VERY small footprint for its power. and the other thing i noticed really bothering me was the fans in the ADCOMs. the SoundStreams had no fans. so this install is turning blue.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

then i decided that since i havnt been happy with any of my last 5 or 6 decks, i was going to somehow run the factory radio for a source. it sounds decent. looks like it belongs in the dash, and may sway would be onlookers, or plain old P.O.S. thieves to keep on walking. since i had the ARC crossover i went to thier website cause i thought i remembered they had a line driver and sure enough they did. so i got me an ARC ALD, and hopefully i should have a fairly clean source now. my big dilema was how to wire up the speaker outs from the radio to the input of the ALD. i refused to cut or splice any wires. so i started looking for replacement pins so i could remove the speaker wires from the radio plug (without cutting) and replace them with new pigtails. couldnt find anything. so this morning i went looking at a few junkyards for a wrecked truck i could steal a plug from to pirate the pins from. couldnt find anything new enough to have the right plug. then driving through a ****ty part of town i spied this hole-in-the-wall mexican stereo shop i never saw before. i walked in and they had a whole freakin wall of random harness plugs. after 20 minutes of digging, and a couple trips out to the truck to compare plugs i actually found aftermarket plugs that matched the stock chrysler radio plug!!! male AND female. ohh this just got easy and clean!!! the wires werent all in the right holes, but the plugs were right. here is a pic of the plugs after i removed all the unnessesary wires and moved a few around so it would all work:








[/IMG]

and here is my new custom harness soldered up and ready for shrink-wrap (which i actually remembered to slide on the wires before i soldered LOL). plugged into the radio, and ALD, obviously the factory radio plug goes to the unused plug in the pic. simple, no cutting, and clean! me happy:








[/IMG]

and here is the radio and ALD installed:








[/IMG]

still have to wire up power to the ALD, and figure out how to deal with the remote-turn-on issue. but, at least the interface hurdle is handled. the rest should be easy.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Wow, that is excellent work! I'll be keeping this in mind with my install. Decided a long time ago to keep the factory head unit, but line out source has been a dilemma of mine. Right now it is tapped in behind the kick panels going to a Wal-mart Scosche piece. This is new inspiration!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

ill try and dig the bags from the plugs out of the trash chithead, to get you the brand and part number for the plugs. this is the way to go dude! so clean and easy. dissecting the plugs to remove unnessesary, and move needed wires to the proper holes can be a pain till you figure out how to get the terminals out of the housing. but if you take your time its way worth it.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Ok man I appreciate that. I still have the green light for the end of this week on that GTi.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

here are the bags the plugs came in chithead (or anybody else interested in tapping the factory radio outputs in a chrysler):








[/IMG]

and here is a teaser of the third, and final amp rack build:








[/IMG]

how do i know this one is the last one? WIFEY SAID SO! she said if i start another one and dont actually finish the whole system shes gonna get pissed LOL LOL. i guess thats fair, she puts up with my crazy antics. she also hated the console sub. we always take this truck when we do anything together as the other one is terrible on gas. so, again, got to respect her input for putting up with my crap. so now that i need to put the sub behind the seats space is at a premium. that was prolly the main reason the SoundStreams made so much sense this time around (well, that and they sound pretty damn good). so, it will be a double tier rack. with the 3.0 and the 6.0 side by side under the 500s. the 500s are going on top because they are wider than the 3.0 and 6.0 which leaves enough room for the uprights that will hold the top tier, and the max width of the rack will be 24.5", the length of the 2 500s. and it will be approximately 6" tall. quite the power house really in a 24.5"x9.5"x6" area! obviously 3.0 on tweets, 6.0 on mids, 500s on subs.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

oh, and my initial impression of the ARC ALD / factory radio combo?? cleaner than any of my last 6 decks. sounds great! centered the tone controls, one click to the right on the balance, and its great. i will miss time alignment, and ipod, but thats it. (i can always use the aux for ipod, but it sounds ehh) but, most importantly, radio reception is great. doesnt anybody make a good non HD tuner anymore?


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## MRKBass (Dec 22, 2009)

Wow! Nice work! Looks like quite an involved project. Im a newbie to this forum and just getting back into some mobile audio stuff. Also working on a Ram reg cab (2003). Figured your project would be a good one to follow. Im curious about what you end up doing with the doors...Im trying to figure out a good 8" midbass. Funny coincidence is that I just dug out 3 amps I had from years ago. A ss ref 604, ref 500, and a 705s. Guess ill use them for sure now  Good luck on your project it should be awesome when its done!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

MRKBass said:


> Wow! Nice work! Looks like quite an involved project. Im a newbie to this forum and just getting back into some mobile audio stuff. Also working on a Ram reg cab (2003). Figured your project would be a good one to follow. Im curious about what you end up doing with the doors...Im trying to figure out a good 8" midbass. Funny coincidence is that I just dug out 3 amps I had from years ago. A ss ref 604, ref 500, and a 705s. Guess ill use them for sure now  Good luck on your project it should be awesome when its done!



cool, hells ya on the soundstreams. i have always liked them, ever since i owned a couple D-series back in the day. but they fell by the wayside for me. im sure glad i rediscovered them. i am absolutely in love with my class-A 3.0. that tiny little thing is amazing! on another note (ha! literelly. note, get it?) here are my new subbies:








[/IMG]








[/IMG]








[/IMG]

Peerless XXLS 10"s. should work great in 1 cube sealed each. behind the seats. each powered by a SoundStream REF500. i also have the mids ordered. SBacoustics 6.5"s. they should be here wed. at that time, it will be the first time i have every peice of gear to complete an entire system since i started working on this truck, and changed my mind 57 times. good thing to, im broke. have a big side job going, but im waiting on my deposit to purchase material. (i have thier machines though HE-HE. gimme my $$$$ suckers)


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Wow, looks like those Peerless should get the job done. Quite impressive build quality, always "hear" good things about them. 

I think you made a good choice going with 6.5" for the mids. I tried 8" and ended up stepping down. Even with 4" dash speakers, the 8" just weren't playing high enough for the sound I was looking for. Maybe if I went sub-less they would have worked... but mucho happier after swapping out for smaller midbass.


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## jorgegarcia (Mar 8, 2008)

wheelieking71 said:


> and here is the radio and ALD installed:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very nice, what did you end up doing with the "remote-turn-on" issue? I'm very curious.

===========

And stop mocking us with your welding skills. You know what I'm talking about. Nobody needs to make so many amp racks. showoff.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

AHH! the remote wire. i found an unused terminal in the fuse-box that is only powered when the key is on. so i pulled power from there, it runs along the main harness through the stock firewall grommet, to a toggle switch i hid up under the dash. from the switch it does 2 things. it is the 12v positive for the ALD, AND the remote turn on running to the amp rack. as far as the remote for the ALD goes, i just installed a jumper from the 12v + terminal to the rem. terminal at the unit. turn the key on, everything turns on. and if i dont want anybody listening to my stereo, i flip my hidden toggle, and nothing but the radio turns on. (without sound of course) works great!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

uh-oh, look at this rig creepin' back from the dead. i gots no school, and no overtime. time to tinker. we were planning to get rid of it a while back. and i stripped all the wire out of it. so, i have to start from scratch all over again with the wiring. might as well get the pull into the doors over with:










this is never fun, but once you figure out the slight bit of trimming needed on the doorjam bulk-head, its actually one of the easier pulls i have done. and since i had already been here once i knew what was going on already. piece of cake. and i have been threatening to deaden the doors for almost 2 years LOL.










90% coverage on the outside skin, then filled all the holes with 1/8" aluminum. and 90% coverage on the inside skin. should help ALOT! now i need to get some foam to go over the BXT to seal it off nicely. i bought some stuff from a member here that is awsome. self adhesive, thick and dense. vertex? something or other? i cant freakin remember. 

no pics of the other side, but it got the same treatment. not much of a first update back after 6 months off, but there is lots more coming........


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

I'm looking forward to it! What's the system goals this time around?


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

well, im not sure what the goals are. and that brings us to todays unorthodox wiring LOL. as mentioned, i removed all the wiring 6 months ago. so ive been thinking, i want to try a bunch of different stuff. 3-way, 4-way, 4-way with a widebanders and small tweets, 1 sub, 2 subs, bla bla. i want to try different stuff. but i dont want to pre wire for every possible scenario. and i dont want to have loose wires floppin around when i aint using them. and number one, i HATE pulling the carpet! it just takes the fun out of it. so i decided to go "*******" with the wiring. and i ran the speaker and signal wires right on top of the carpet from the center of the dash to under the console! totally ******* LOL, but uber easy and functional. now you see em:










and, now you dont:










now if i want to change, add, or delete something the most i have to do is pull the console (soon to be sub box). no seats, panels, or carpet. woo-hoo, i just eliminated a whole bunch of work. thats a good thing. as far as power goes, i just put the 1/0 i had installed a long time ago right back where it came from. i did have to remove all the trim panels on both sides to do that. but i wont have to do it again. my high-end signal wire is the wire that came with a set of JL XR 5.25 coaxes about 10 years ago. what can i say? im cheap. and here is just what the signal consist of:










that is my cool-ass harness i build to tap the speaker outputs from the factory radio, the JL wire is terminated at the radio end by the 4 gang plug, and the cheap-ass 99cent radio-shack RCAs at the other end. and to aid in my quest for quick and lazy change-ups, i fabbed up this little bracket to hold a pair of barrier strips:










and i can already tell, this little guy is gonna be my best friend!! adding and removing components is going to be a snap now, woo-hoo. i should have done this a long time ago. and here is my new "line output converter" LOL:










i called audio control up, and they said "sure you can feed a high level signal straight into the inputs." so thats just what im gonna do. i also have a DQT which will head this up soon, but i want to get something going tomorrow, so the DXS is gonna be flyin solo for a week or two. and i need to figure out how to mount them. im trying to figure out some kind of drawer system under the drivers seat. so, i can pull them out under my knees for tweakin sessions.
and thats it for today. this little session took me 14hrs! im SLOOOWWW. see why i want to make this easier? LOL


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

pff...
as if these needed a comment!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

they do need a comment syd, "i wish i still had them"  i have owned some really nice gear, but that quattro is one of 2 things i regret selling.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

bugger... so sold off then? never mind. I sold a CD45z a while back and had to rebuy recently after 7 years.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

ya, it happens. i just did the same with a couple diyma R12's. shoulda just kept what i had. woulda saved myself $100. after my last fiasco, im done buying used "old" gear. unless i personally know and trust the source. im gonna stick to the newer stuff from well known sellers.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

im hopeing to have some big updates soon! like a new rack build, and an actual sub enclosure, and the install of a DRZ-9255 into the dash (probly more than once, first with my cheapie dash kit, then hopefuly permanently). i "think" i have the amps im going to use nailed down. but that changes daily. for now though, here are my new (used) mids:



















and here is what happens when some crazy ******* hasnt been happy with the last 4 or 5 sets of baffles he has made for his doors:










1/2" 6061 aluminum. drilled and tapped for 8-32 screws. i think they will be rigid enough!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

WOAH! :0
did some one order some, how do they say?...mmm "big ****-off mounting baffles!"


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

nope, just cut them myself. here is a little update of the clarus install. ready for new baffles:










baffle screwed down nice and tight:










a layer of vertex IsoTech:










and finally, clarus screwed down:










i did extend the vertex to the rear of the door. i figure, due to the nature of the dodge door panels, this is as sealed as i am ever gonna get the mids. the door panel has "hooks" that hook into the holes you see just in front of, and behind the baffle, and about 20 other places spread about the door. i left the foam intact and just sliced it so the hooks slide through, but the foam is still there making an effort to help seal the hole. everything was going great till i noticed that the glue holding the surround to the basket has let go. see that little bulge in the surround at the 10o'clock screw. surround is floppin' in the breese right there. checked the other mid before i installed it, and yep, same thing. glue around screw holes has let go. my solution is going to be a set of rings that get screwed down over the top of the surround to "sandwitch" them to the basket. should work just fine. also going to add a ring of thick foam weatherstrip in an attempt to seal the mid to the grill portion of the door panel. not sure how well that is gonna work though, because when installing the door panel, you actually have to hook it on the door, then slide it down about 1/2". doesnt sound like much, but im not sure weatherstripping will stay put. i will hafta see what kind of stuff i can find. also gonna stick some eggshell foam behind the mids while i have the doors apart to install the rings to hold the surrounds down.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Glad to see I'm not the only one using machined aluminum in my install!  Those baffles rock man. My rig is all finished- let's set up a time to meet up. I wanna check out your build as well.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

ya man, we need to do that. ive got a few weeks worth of building, and i should be rockin'! how do you like the single GTi?


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

oh, and ya, Allison tells me im a "metal head" cause i come home smelling like a machine-shop, and i have to make everything out of metal. and when my buddy Rick comes over he always has some welcome wise-cracks about everything being metal. LOL i love it. wood is just so temporary. and plastic to flimsy. metal FTW! wait till you see my billet end-caps for the ADCOMs! and maybe for my "other" amp also, HMMMM, he-he-he!


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Wow I am REALLY liking the direction this is going. Very nice work!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

wheelieking71 said:


> ya man, we need to do that. ive got a few weeks worth of building, and i should be rockin'! how do you like the single GTi?


It's probably one of the best subs I've ever used. For my listening habits, I'd probably really need a pair of them back there to make sure I didn't launch one through the hatch though.  I have three, and might get rid of the two spares and keep the one around. I put the W15GTi in there last night and think it might be staying awhile... we'll see. If you know anyone with a single cab Dodge Ram that wants to throw a pair of 1500GTi behind the seat, let me know.  300w a piece in 6 cubes ported would scream in that truck.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

I have a single cab Dodge Ram and want to run twin 15"


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

chithead said:


> I have a single cab Dodge Ram and want to run twin 15"


Well if Bill doesn't want them and you're serious, shoot me a PM.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

dude, mikey, if i had anything other than this truck i would be all over them! there just aint no way i could get them back there.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

wheelieking71 said:


> dude, mikey, if i had anything other than this truck i would be all over them! there just aint no way i could get them back there.


You really don't think they'd fit?? I've seen people do some crazy things in those trucks. I couldn't believe how big the space was the first time I saw one. Course, if you're doing an amp rack and stuff back there, that's gonna eat up a lot of room.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

ya, an ADCOM 4304 is going to be the smallest of 3 amps back there, and rule #1 is the seats go all the way back, and recline all the way. honestly, i would be hard pressed to get 2cubes back there (ive already measured) with no amps. the sub will be the console. ala clineselect! 



mikey7182 said:


> You really don't think they'd fit?? I've seen people do some crazy things in those trucks. I couldn't believe how big the space was the first time I saw one. Course, if you're doing an amp rack and stuff back there, that's gonna eat up a lot of room.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

well, i worked on the truck all weekend. took me about 18hrs to install my new DRZ-9255. there was some other stuff mixed into that time. like staring up under the dash trying to decide where to put the dc/dc converter for about 2 hrs LOL. i changed my oil in there also. but most of the time was DRZ related. the only other thing i did was install the rings i cut at work to sandwitch the loose surrounds on the clarus. here is my solution for that minor issue:










they are 10ga high tensile steel. cut on water-jet. fit perfect and absolutely solve the issue! here is one installed:










actual time of powering up the DRZ was about 3:00am LOL. here is what greeted me!










i absolutely love this deck! the look, the feel, it screams high class. not to mention the features and essque! this is a keeper and will be the centerpiece of whatever i end up doing for a long time to come. AFTER i get it fixed! thats the sucky part. wont play CDs. i was soo pissed when i discovered the issue. im starting to calm down a little now. but, i have been reassured that parts are definately available, and that no matter what the issue, as long as the unit is intact, it can be fixed. i took a cat nap after finding the "issue". got up and went straight to the truck hopeing it was a bad dream LOL. nope. here is what greeted me after i hit the reset button the first time:










still refused to play a disk. i have a custom one-off over-kill mounting system that i build a couple decks ago. (pics are back a few months in here somewhere) that i also used on this deck. a buddy of mine thought maybe the screws were interfering with the mechanism, or distorting the chassis. i had already thought about clearance issues with the screws at 3:00am and checked that first thing. plenty of room! but i hadnt though about any chassis distortion issues. so i then pulled the unit part way out of the dash (and just took the screws completely out of the mount to completely eliminate that as a possible issue) so i could power it up, load a disk, and watch through the vents to see what was going on. its then that i discovered the issue. the disk loads fine. mechanism sounds silky smoth. transport locks down just like it should. and then, the disk never spins. thats as far as my troubleshooting is going to go. im not taking it apart or anything stupid like that. im just gonna send it to a pro. so i will spend 4 hrs tomorrow after work pulling the deck and dc/dc converter, and the harness (that is the big pain in the arse, i have to pretty much pull the dash to get it out). and speaking of the dc/dc converter. i never did find a good spot under the dash. so i decided to put it under the center console. along with one of my ADCOM line drivers. here is that part of the project:










that was 3:00am in the dark. here is from other side in daylight:










and thats it. take it all back apart tomorrow. im gonna change up the layout of the dc/dc converter _ line-driver mounting plate while its all back apart. to make it easier to acces the gains in the line-driver. and the console is really close to rubbing the converter. close enough that if i lean hard on it i think it will rub, and scratch the converter. so i am going to tuck it as far to the center as i can get it. it means a new mounting plate, but thats no biggie.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Wow. This just screams professional and extreme attention to detail.


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## stereo_luver (Oct 30, 2007)

Looks good from what I've seen so far (I didn't have time to read it all). 

2 notes:
That battery WILL NOT move whith the way its installed in the Dodge. I've never had mine shift 1/4" in all these years and have had some serious offroad events.

If you haven't already done so, replace the battery terminals. The stock ones suck.

Good work,

Chuck


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks for the props guys. ya, i had to laugh at the dude who thought the batt. was gonna short on the bracket. i can see his concern, but the pic is decieveing. they arent that close. and like you said, the battery hold down in this truck is really quite good. on another note, my 20-something hours of work over last weekend? waste of a good weekend! it all came out last night. my interior is now in shambles, and only assembled enough to get the HVAC controls to work. and the DRZ got shipped off for repair this morning. and i want to change up the layout of the under console mounting plate, so, once again, i will be doing something all over again. seems like i always have to do something 3 times before i get it right. and by then i change my mind! LOL not this time though, the DRZ stays!


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

wow...my head is going to expload from sitting here reading all this....but DAMN...you do some good work.....

so what amps are going in the truck now...or shall I say plan #??


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

What do you have planned this time?


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

well, tentatively, it will be:
DRZ
ADCOM 5450 bridged on Alpine SPX-PRO tweets (180x2watts)
ADCOM 5475 bridged on Hybrid Clarus (300x2watts)
PhoenixGold MS-2125 on DIYMA R-12 (500+watts)

at least thats the plan. im thinking of listing the 5475 and 5450 on ebay because they tend to be worth some $$$$$, if i sell them i have a 4404 and 4304 to fall back on!


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

wheelieking71 said:


> well, tentatively, it will be:
> DRZ
> ADCOM 5450 bridged on Alpine SPX-PRO tweets (180x2watts)
> ADCOM 5475 bridged on Hybrid Clarus (300x2watts)
> ...


I can see me selling one adcom to advance to another.....

I look forward to seeing what your thoughts are on the ms2125


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

not a big update to the thread, but a huge update to my sanity, and happiness! DRZ IS IN !!!! and permanently. knowing that i really wanted this to be the last time i was in the dash for a good long while. and, that i have no idea where i am going to eventually end up with this system, other than it will consist of the DRZ and some ADCOM amps. i took my time and did everything in a permanent fashion. and since i may end up using all 8 channels of the DRZ eventually, i build a custom RCA cable so that i have easy access to all 8 channels under my center console. rather than having to rip the dash apart everytime i want to add or change something. and rather than just use RCA plugs at either end, i used plugs at the deck, and built a little aluminum box at the other end to hold 8 female RCA jacks. that way i could screw the box down, and my junk wasnt just floppin around under there. heres a couple dumb pics:














































didnt get a pic of the deck, but it looks just like it did a few posts back. other than it works great now! and while Dave had it for repair, he somehow polished the scratch that was on the display out. i can barely see where it WAS. but if i hadnt known it was there when i sent it to him, i would think it was never scratched. i can see one faint line, more like a whitness mark of where the scratch was, but it is 99.9999% gone. very nice finishing touch to and awsome and very affordable repair job! also got to put the Hybrid Clarus through the ringer for an hour or so. not bad. not bad at all. very reminiscent of boston PROs. right now they are getting a solid 75watts. and crossed at 50hz (no sub yet). i dont think more power is really gonna get me anywhere, especially after i raise the crosover up to 80-90hz. (but you know im gonna try more power anyways! LOL) anyways, im stoked to be back on track. next up is get one of the DIYMA R12's in there, and see if one is gonna be enough. and if not, try to figure out how to squeeze 2 back there, and still have room for amps. should be interesting....


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Awesome! I really enjoy the level of detail you are putting into this.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks again chit! i think things will keep moving right along now. ive got to move my main ground for my amps, then i can start thinking about how im going to lay it all out. i might have to put one under the drivers seat??? well see....


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

ooohhh! liking that RCA set up!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

thanks SYD! ive got a bunch of honey-do's at the mother-in-laws this weekend, but next weekend i will be back at it! and the weather should break by then! summer is dragging on forever here in the valley! 107' today! tomorrows october and its still well over 100' here. YUK


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## HardcoreDiesel (Nov 8, 2010)

Wow! Just read the whole damn thing non-stop......AWSOME WORK!!:rockon::bowdown:


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