# designing a system for a 1969 Corvette



## noah100 (Sep 13, 2010)

OK super noob here. I mean super noob, a few weeks ago i didnt even know what an amp was, but im eager to learn. (and yes i do know what an amp is now lol, to some extent at least) Can anybody help me design a sound system for my 1969 corvette, Id like to spend maybe 300 dollars, would that be enough for an at leats decent system, at this point, im mainly looking for which brands and what things to go with ie. 6x9s, subs, amps ect. as well as placement of these for the best aound and , as it being a c3 corvette there isnt much room.

Any help would be super appreciated as you guys are the pros and I am real grateful for any tips and ideas.

BTW i am pretty proficiant at fiberglass if that helps at all

I can also post pictures if that would help just let me know


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## noah100 (Sep 13, 2010)

Thanks for the quick reply!

That what I was going for, I was thinking of leaving teh stock radio in, and installing a newer HU in either the back compartments, or fab up something around the parking brake console, because all i want to do is use my mp3 player, i dont care about cds. For the back, I was thinking of making a shallow wall for the back wall, like 4-6 inches deep, kinda like the one here.

And yes I would be willing to put a sub in if I coulg get it to fit 

post #78 

What Stereo System is in your C3? - Page 4 - Corvette Forum

If anyone can shed any light on how I would "hide the HU", which is what ill probably end up trying to do. At one point I was thinking if there was a way to install teh faceplate somewhere on the car and have the back of trhe HU stored in the back compartments. Is the feasable and would it be worth it in this situation

And yes I would be willing to put a sub in if I could get it to fit nicely


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## bakkenar (Jun 8, 2010)

$300 won't get you very far. It can get you a cheap HU and some crappy coax speakers, but you've got a sweet car, so you should up your budget a little!!

For starters, it would be handy to see what you've got to work with. Pictures of the speaker locations, deck/console, and rear area would be great.


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## sq_assasin (Nov 10, 2008)

noah100 said:


> OK super noob here. I mean super noob, a few weeks ago i didnt even know what an amp was, but im eager to learn. (and yes i do know what an amp is now lol, to some extent at least) Can anybody help me design a sound system for my 1969 corvette, Id like to spend maybe 300 dollars, would that be enough for an at leats decent system, at this point, im mainly looking for which brands and what things to go with ie. 6x9s, subs, amps ect. as well as placement of these for the best aound and , as it being a c3 corvette there isnt much room.
> 
> Any help would be super appreciated as you guys are the pros and I am real grateful for any tips and ideas.
> 
> ...


If you could up the budget to $500, and bought everything used you could land a decent system. I am sure more than you are expecting.

Alpine Headunit - $100
Component Set - $150
Sub - $100
Amp - $150

Run midrange off headunit. You would still need wiring, but could get something decent at this price. Better equipment at this price in the used realm. Ebay is the way to go.


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## noah100 (Sep 13, 2010)

Ok so im going to try to scrounge up some more money, and yes i plan on getting a new aftermarket HU, but id really like to keep the old radio in for that stock look. 

There were no speakers in the dash in a 69 vette, and Id really like to avoid drilling into my dash, maybe some remotly mounted tweeters or something, but ide like to avoid that if I could.

There are speakers behind the kickpanels, which have small holes for an outlet. Im guessing this is mostlikely not the best way to get sound out of teh kickpanels lol, so ill probably end up glassing up some kickpanels so the speakers protrude out of them. Any suggestions on the angle the speakers should face coming from teh kickpanels?

As for the sub, if you guys think that that back panel idea with teh 2 6x9s is a good idea, I was thinking of puting the sub between them. Either that or teh sub would go in the larger passenger rear compartment, (see pic below)

I would like to hide the amp under one of teh seats, but was not sure if it would get enough ventilation

Here is a pic of the front and back area so you guys can see what I have to work with.

http://www.cs.unc.edu/~keller/cars/1969_corvette_convertable_interior.JPG

http://image.superchevy.com/f/9164496/sucp_0709_13_z+1972_corvette_coupe+interior_restoration.jpg


P.S. Im sorry if I seem like such a noob at this, but I really want to plan everything out well and am not really an expert on this stuff


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## SparksAI (Sep 3, 2010)

I just got through designing a system for a C3 vette. It was an 82 but still C3. For $1000 we were able to set him up with a HU, Front and Rear, Speakers, Sub, and an amp. $500 like someone said you could build something ok, but personally at the $500 mark I would say forget the sub and amp at that point and concentrate on your Head Unit and speakers. Up front you have 4x6 speakers and what we did in his car was set him up with some Pioneer plate speakers, these are a plate that fits the 4x6 location and has a seperate tweeter and mid driver. In the rear we went with 6x9 speaker boxes because the rear 6x9 stock locations provided very poor sound. The boxes cleared that up alot. For your head unit I know someone makes a plate that you can fit up front to replace the stock shaft style HU without cutting your dash. I don't sell them and this guy already had it, i will try and find out where he got it from. They do still make aftermarket shaft style HU's so that is an option.


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## sq_assasin (Nov 10, 2008)

SparksAI said:


> I just got through designing a system for a C3 vette. It was an 82 but still C3. For $1000 we were able to set him up with a HU, Front and Rear, Speakers, Sub, and an amp. $500 like someone said you could build something ok, but personally at the $500 mark I would say forget the sub and amp at that point and concentrate on your Head Unit and speakers. Up front you have 4x6 speakers and what we did in his car was set him up with some Pioneer plate speakers, these are a plate that fits the 4x6 location and has a seperate tweeter and mid driver. In the rear we went with 6x9 speaker boxes because the rear 6x9 stock locations provided very poor sound. The boxes cleared that up alot. For your head unit I know someone makes a plate that you can fit up front to replace the stock shaft style HU without cutting your dash. I don't sell them and this guy already had it, i will try and find out where he got it from. They do still make aftermarket shaft style HU's so that is an option.


What made the rear 6x9 locations sound so bad? They couldn't be modified for better sound? The last resort, in my opinion, would be to install 6x9 boxes.


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## SparksAI (Sep 3, 2010)

They sound terrible in the stock locations and the larger magnets interfere with t-top storage. Unfortunately in the C3 either speaker boxes or custom boxes are the way to go.


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## bakkenar (Jun 8, 2010)

as far as the HU, you could try mounting one hidden somewhere, but it would probably be very annoying to try to use. I don't know how these are for operation, but it would look kinda stock and old timey... kinda spendy though

RetroSound Classic Model RC-900C Digital media receiver for classic cars at Crutchfield.com

If you are good at fiberglass, I would definitely put a decent set of 6.5 components in the kickpanels and power them with an amp. I wouldn't put 6x9s in the rear anywhere. They pull the soundstage back, and are more expensive.

I would start there, then if/when you get more $$ for stereo, I'd throw in a sub and another amp (or start with a 4 channel amp, and use the front channels for components now, and bridge the rear to a sub later)


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## sq_assasin (Nov 10, 2008)

cajunner said:


> okay, we've got a lot of people working outside of the budget here!
> 
> let's stay at 300 bucks, much more challenging, and perhaps satisfying as well.
> 
> ...


That's stretching a dollar. Why are you thinking bandpass?


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## sq_assasin (Nov 10, 2008)

cajunner said:


> because it's more output, and you can sling stuff at the box in back without worrying about a woofer cone.
> 
> it's also cool because you don't need a crossover, you can throw two channels off the four channel into mixed mono and keep your crossover for the high/mid bands.
> 
> and, if you're being fun, you can bridge both sides of the 4 channel full-range, into a DVC sub while using passives for your tweet/mids.


Ok. The op should be warned that the bandpass enclosure will likely be "boomy", and will have greater output in a limited frequency range (peaky). Therefore, it's a compromise on sq for ease and cost.


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## RMF419 (Feb 13, 2008)

Try this site, you may be able to fine the exact radio with todays technology. Vintage Car Radio .com


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## noah100 (Sep 13, 2010)

In thinking about it, I think now Id rather accumulate higher end things over time, so ill stick with getting a new head unit and some 6x9s, and maybe something for the kickpanels. 

I know you guys say to put the HU in the dash, but id really like 2 stay away from that, booth for theft deterrent, and because the Old style HU (ie. the "Vintage Car" one) is a littlel pricy, and a new bezel to fit a new style HU is also around 200-250$) 

So (for now at least) Im going to stash the HU in the back, or fab up something, I can always buy a new bezel in the future when I get the funds, and place up front.
What exactly should I be looking for in a HU. Id like to stay at 100 or lower, but I want the best value for that price range. I wil be planning on only using my mp3 player through it, no cds, and probably no radio, and no video. Im guessing the top brands would be Kenwood and Alpine. Any thoughts?

As for 6x9s, ide also like to keep them to 100$ or below. Again, what should I be looking for in these? Any brands you would typically go with?

That leaves me with 100 dollars give or take a few for possibly some speakers up front in the kickpanels. Im going to take a wild guess and say speakers sticking out are far better then speakers behind them, lol. What sizes do you think?

Do you think I need tweeters coming fromn the dash, like those ones you can build out of pvc in teh tutorials thread?

What guage wire? (I plan on putting a sub and amp in, in the future)


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## noah100 (Sep 13, 2010)

Sorry I just didnt know what was high quality and what wasnt. Ok so you say all those things are fairly good, I will look into getting some of those, especially that sub if you think it is a good one. Any reccomendations on this HU, with th remote eye?


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## DaveRulz (Jun 22, 2006)

Sound system on a 69 'Vette = side exhaust!

All kidding aside, it's going to be very hard to get anything resembling a decent system in that car for 300 dollars (any car for that matter)

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned, and would be a great solution to the HU problem is to remote mount the face of a detachable face HU. All you need is the correct length of multi element wire and a soldering iron. Then you could surface mount the face of your stereo and not have to cut up a classic. You should be able to do this with any old HU which will help with your budget. You just mount the HU chassis under the seat or in the glove box, making sure you have access to the CD slot, and then mount the face wherever you want. It's just a matter of connecting wires from each pin on the back of the face plate to the corresponding pins on the chassis. It's been done before many times.


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## noah100 (Sep 13, 2010)

Thats exactly what i would want to do!!!!

Any more info on this, ie. thread where this has been done? or tutorials?


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## The J (Oct 27, 2009)

If all the OP plans on doing is connecting an mp3 player to the head unit, is there any reason why he simply couldn't skip the head unit all together and just have the mp3 player output right into an amp?


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## sq_assasin (Nov 10, 2008)

The J said:


> If all the OP plans on doing is connecting an mp3 player to the head unit, is there any reason why he simply couldn't skip the head unit all together and just have the mp3 player output right into an amp?


Nope. That is exactly what I was thinking. That would probably suffice.


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## noah100 (Sep 13, 2010)

That would be absolutly perfect. If I could do that that would be my number one choice! Is the sound quality the same? I have read places that the sound quality is lower and the volume is really bad?


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

After reading.I agree 100%


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## noah100 (Sep 13, 2010)

agree 100% with what?


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## DaveRulz (Jun 22, 2006)

noah100 said:


> Thats exactly what i would want to do!!!!
> 
> Any more info on this, ie. thread where this has been done? or tutorials?


Relocating headunit and extending faceplate somewhere else. - MP3Car.com

pretty easy if you know how to use a soldering iron.


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## Rock The Boat (Sep 8, 2010)

I have a C3 I will be doing over the next few months, 1977 L82 4 speed.I will be spending a little more on my system. I'm using a Alpine HU, Hybrid Legatia's , 125.4 Arc Mini and a 10" Arc sub.
Will post photos as I go along....:drummer:


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## noah100 (Sep 13, 2010)

Thanks, that would be very interesting to see that build.

Is the soldering to make the remote HU fail proof, like if you fail at one solder are u screwed? or can you sand it off and try again?


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