# Pontiac Grand Prix Install



## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Hi all. I am back from the dead and finally begun my new install after a long drought. I posted by sound deadening install here:
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5425

I have since added Ensolite to all 4 doors, the rear deck, the entire trunk and part of the roof. It is nice and quite.

Anyway, on to the install.

Well first some pics of my engine bay and my baby. 







































Under the hood. Added a Red Top and a 200A alt from Excessive Amperage. Did the big 3 with 0 gauge, etc. No dimming now.



















Here is my beautiful wiring job. Just not interested in making it look great, when the rear seats cover it all the time.










Here are the amps for my comps. They look crooked in the pic, but they aren't.










Here's a voltmeter i added to a little opening in my dash, covered with speaker cloth. When off you can't see anything. When you it glows through the cloth. Sorry for the small pics.




















OK. On the DIY door pods and kick pods. First off, I have to get props to jmelan and his thread for doing his pods and kicks. It was the inspiration for my install. The thread can be seen here.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8413

Basically I am installing Seas Excel W18NX mids in the doors and LCY 110 ribbons in the kicks.

Starting with the doors. The stock door panel cutout was too small and angled bad to allow my mid to come through. I did not want to install the mid on the plastic door panel. So I built a decent sized baffle that is 2 3/4" thick. It comes all the way out past the door panel opening as seen below.










You can see in this pic how the door panel blocks half the mid. I cut out the panel along the marked line.










Here it is after the panel is cut out to allow the mid baffle to be unobstructed. Also the baffles are angled about 15 degree upwards and toward my ear. Sounded a little better than just firing straight out.










I had to cut part way into the map pocket as seen below. I will cover that somehow later on.










Next, I taped off the entire area I plan to build a FG baffle to cover the newly cut panel.










Next, I added resin and 3 ounces of chop mat to the area and let it dry.










Afterwards, I trimmed the piece down the desired size. I added bolts to the base so that I can screw the new piece directly to the door panel. The bolts were glassed in.




























Next I covered the baffles in poly resin to make them waterproof. I used 5 bolts to go through the baffle and door. I then reached into the opening and used nuts to hold the baffle to the door. I use silicon adhesive to make an airtight seal.










Next I covered the entire baffle in non-hardening clay to assist with deadening the baffle even more.










I will finish the door pods later on and post pics of my progress in the coming days.


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Now on to the kick pods.

I built speaker rings to hold the tweeters. The tweets are very large and deep . I used a round over bit on the outer ring. First time with the router, EVER.




























Next, I taped off the area for the kicks. I could not utilize the stock kick panel since it is very small. So the kick pod and the stock kick panel will not be connected in anyway.



















After the base dried, I cut out the desire piece with a diamond cuting bit for my dremel. I then held the baffle to the base with plumber strapping. I used a laser to aim the pods to hit the window exactly 5 inches in front of my ear and 1.5 inches below it.










After I found the right angle, I used wooden dowel to hold the baffle to the base. Used hot glue.










Once this dried, I covered the base in cloth. First time doing this, so I ended up with the some wrinkles as seen in the pic. Hopefully body filler will help hide them.










Then I painted to pods in resin and 3 ounces of chop mat. Just finished this part two hours ago. I will post more pics and I progress throughout the week.

Also I will be covering the kick pods and door pods in a light grey vinyl that matches the light grey in my car's interior. Vinyl is new for me too, so hopefully it will look good. Thanks for taking the time to look.

Gregg


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## csuflyboy (Apr 20, 2005)

VERY NICE SIR!  When do I get to listen to it?


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

csuflyboy said:


> VERY NICE SIR!  When do I get to listen to it?


Hey Matt. Thanks a lot. I would still love to get a meet going this summer. If not, I will have drive up and get your input on how it sounds.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Can't wait to see pics of the speaker in the door. I actually am considering going this route with my midbasses, so these pictures help me get a visual.


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## Suneet (Jun 19, 2007)

Looks great so far man! Can't wait to see the finished product.

I went the same route as you with my 7" mids. I built a wooden baffle just like yours, but I didn't angle it. Definitely going to think about angling them now though. Now that I think about it, doing so will actually make them a lot easier to fit. 

Your install gives me inspiration, because I'm going to have to modify my door panels just the way you did.. and cut into the map pocket. Please post more pics of your door panel build.

And is that a Levoc shifter you've got there? I've got one too, and I modded mine  The chrome didn't match anythign in my interior, so I painted it the color of my leather. 










Sorry to thread jack, I just got excited that you have a Levoc as well 

Also, you're probably not too worried about this, but did having a HO alternator reduce your gas mileage? By how much?


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Thanks Suneet. Don't have any more build pics. Sorry. Check out the thread I linked up top. He has way more pics.

Yes that is a levoc shifter. I love it. The paint on yours looks great too.


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## chuyler1 (Apr 10, 2006)

Wow! DIY installs are getting better and better! I'm impressed with how well people are navigating this site (and other sites) and creating top notch installs.


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

chuyler1 said:


> Wow! DIY installs are getting better and better! I'm impressed with how well people are navigating this site (and other sites) and creating top notch installs.



Thanks a lot. I have been impressed with your install equally.


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## SQKid89 (Feb 22, 2007)

Good to see another GP owner on here and see the route you took. Also helps to get some ideas to revise my own install


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

SQKid89 said:


> Good to see another GP owner on here and see the route you took. Also helps to get some ideas to revise my own install


Glad to help. Have you been to clubgp.com.

Great forum on the GPs. Also has an audio section with some so so input. But you can at least see some custom installs for our cars.


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## dBassHz (Nov 2, 2005)

Keep up the good fabrication work! I specially like the grill cloth over the voltmeter idea.


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## SQKid89 (Feb 22, 2007)

yeah, been on clubgp since i got mine about 2 years ago. same sn over there too, but don't say much. more of just a watcher, like over here


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

More progress.

I cut out the desired area for the base of the door pod and made sure it fits snug with the door panel.










Next, I cut out the middle area of the base to expose the midrange.










From here I added my baffles to the base and held them together with wooden dowels.










Next comes the wrapping of the pods in cloth. No wrinkles this time. 
I will glass them tomorrow.










I also cut out the inside of the kick pods and sanded them to get em smooth and ready for body filler. Tomorrow I will post more updates.



















DIY is fun boys and girls!!!


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## less (Nov 30, 2006)

Nice work bud! It looks like a great start. Like Bikinpunk, I have a 06 Honda Civic and would love to see how your door panels look in the end and hear if you notice an improvement. The civic door speakers are not terrible, but far from great and tend to shoot directly toward your leg and through a think plastic baffle.

Not bad for your first router run - they are one of the funnest tools but require a bit of work to master. I hope to start my first fg work in my car this weekend - weee.... so I know how it feels to be doing new things!

Please post more as you go!

Jim


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

I can't believe you are capable of all that but paid for that intake =/

-aaron


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

ArcL100 said:


> I can't believe you are capable of all that but paid for that intake =/
> 
> -aaron


Hah. Well I bought the intake before undertaking any DIY projects. MOre pics to come this weekend. Just got back from a 10 day vacation.


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

ghart999 said:


> Hah. Well I bought the intake before undertaking any DIY projects. MOre pics to come this weekend. Just got back from a 10 day vacation.


Lol, I just can't believe they ask like $150 or something outrageous for a tube and some thin ass heat conducting sheet metal when I was looking at them for ex-gf's car.

Can't wait for update 

-aaron


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

ArcL100 said:


> Lol, I just can't believe they ask like $150 or something outrageous for a tube and some thin ass heat conducting sheet metal when I was looking at them for ex-gf's car.
> 
> Can't wait for update
> 
> -aaron


It's actually pretty well built and fits the engine bay like a glove. Can't complain with the quality and construction.


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## thekl0wn (May 31, 2006)

Holy crap man... Work looks excellent! You mean to tell me you did all of that, and didn't make the angled rings yourself? BTW, very nice car!


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

thekl0wn said:


> Holy crap man... Work looks excellent! You mean to tell me you did all of that, and didn't make the angled rings yourself? BTW, very nice car!


Thanks for the praise. I don't have a belt sander, hence the reason I needed someone to do the rings.

I have the pods and kicks all glassed and done with body filler. They look decent. Pics tomorrow. I am having someone local help me with the vinyl as I don't want to screw it up.... Will keep posting.....


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Some more progress. Got the pods and kicks filled with body filler and glazing putty. They are sanded down nice and smooth and ready to apply the vinyl which will happen this week.


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## dBassHz (Nov 2, 2005)

Great work so far. Just a suggestion but you might want to do some more sanding-filling because I can see some waves and bumps.


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

omarmipi said:


> Great work so far. Just a suggestion but you might want to do some more sanding-filling because I can see some waves and bumps.


Actually these are slightly older pics as I have done some more sanding since those pics.

Thanks for the suggestion and good words.


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## illnastyimpreza (Oct 25, 2006)

lookin good ! mad props for the time it takes to do all that !


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Well I finally finished my install after being lazy for 2 months. here are the final pics. Sound is fantastic in my opinion.

Crisp, tight, loud. Solid sound stage height and width. And 144dB too.

Can't complain.

Passenger side.










This is what the ribbons look like with the grill off.










Driver side.










Shot of the head unit as well. I love the Alpine 7998.


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Pics of the subs in the trunk soon to follow.


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## brandont (Apr 22, 2005)

How do you like the ribbons in the kick panel, any rainbow effect? I've been going back and forth on that idea for almost a year.
Nice install BTW


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

brandont said:


> How do you like the ribbons in the kick panel, any rainbow effect? I've been going back and forth on that idea for almost a year.
> Nice install BTW



Love em. They sound awesome. But install and angling is everything.


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## illnastyimpreza (Oct 25, 2006)

ghart999 said:


> Well I finally finished my install after being lazy for 2 months. here are the final pics. Sound is fantastic in my opinion.
> 
> Crisp, tight, loud. Solid sound stage height and width. And 144dB too.
> 
> ...


the quality look good.... but are you going to do something about the color scheme though ? those things stand out like a CrackA in Jamaica ... ......


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

illnastyimpreza said:


> the quality look good.... but are you going to do something about the color scheme though ? those things stand out like a CrackA in Jamaica ... ......


Actually you don't see it in the pics, but the top half of my doors are the same color as the kicks and pods. So it look decent. Who you callin cracka?


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

Looks good bud! if only you were at the get together, we could have all listened to it.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

ghart999 said:


> Shot of the head unit as well. I love the Alpine 7998.


Is that a 1.5 DIN head unit? Sorry I haven't been paying attention to this thread. :|


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## ~Magick_Man~ (Jul 11, 2006)

HondAudio said:


> Is that a 1.5 DIN head unit? Sorry I haven't been paying attention to this thread. :|


it is a single din with an oversized flip out face plate.
and i want it in my car 

~Magick_Man~


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

Nice choice of tweeters  and excellent work on everything, wires , pods just all of it !!


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

~Magick_Man~ said:


> it is a single din with an oversized flip out face plate.
> and i want it in my car
> 
> ~Magick_Man~


a friend of mine has one for sale if u hav the cash for it =P
back to the thread things r lookin good but do u plan on paint matching? that would make it look awesome


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

camry_tuner said:


> a friend of mine has one for sale if u hav the cash for it =P
> back to the thread things r lookin good but do u plan on paint matching? that would make it look awesome





ghart999 said:


> Actually you don't see it in the pics, but the top half of my doors are the same color as the kicks and pods. So it look decent. Who you callin cracka?


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Nice install thus far... I have to ask something though... The pods for the ribbon tweeters... where they necessary? They don't require an enclosure, correct me if I am wrong? Wouldn't it have been much simpler and less obtrusive to have just mounted them in a MUCH smaller enclosure OR none at all? Don't take me wrong, I'm not dissing your work, just posing questions.. 

On that note, why did you chose to paint them white? Is your car not silver?


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> On that note, why did you chose to paint them white? Is your car not silver?


 
read the post above yours.


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Nice install thus far... I have to ask something though... The pods for the ribbon tweeters... where they necessary? They don't require an enclosure, correct me if I am wrong? Wouldn't it have been much simpler and less obtrusive to have just mounted them in a MUCH smaller enclosure OR none at all? Don't take me wrong, I'm not dissing your work, just posing questions..
> 
> On that note, why did you chose to paint them white? Is your car not silver?


I put the tweets in pods since they are so big. Didn't know what else to put them if not a pod. Also this was the smallest pod I could do and still be able to do a flush mount grill. Also they are not white, but light grey. The sun is so bright in these pics that they look white. I should take some more pics in better lighting as well as showing the top half of my door too.


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Hic said:


> Nice choice of tweeters  and excellent work on everything, wires , pods just all of it !!


Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

bobditts said:


> Looks good bud! if only you were at the get together, we could have all listened to it.


Yeah I am really pissed at myself for not keeping up on that.

Your's is looking great too Bob.


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

ghart999 said:


> Yeah I am really pissed at myself for not keeping up on that.
> 
> Your's is looking great too Bob.


Thanks bud! But as of a couple nights ago its completely different. Went froma mostly eclipse setup to a mostly alpine setup. I moved my 4" and tweet from the pillars to the kicks too. Ive been busy lol. As have you.


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## Antiwhy (Dec 20, 2007)

TY! Your thread assures me that I can fit my Mach 5's in my 97 GTP, great work.


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Antiwhy said:


> TY! Your thread assures me that I can fit my Mach 5's in my 97 GTP, great work.



Glad to hear I could help.


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## Liv2ride (May 12, 2008)

I like your pods man.. good work, i'm in the mist of doing mine, and I gotta tell yah, its harder then it looks sometimes haha 

Good work man !


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## ghart999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Liv2ride said:


> I like your pods man.. good work, i'm in the mist of doing mine, and I gotta tell yah, its harder then it looks sometimes haha
> 
> Good work man !


Thanks a lot. It was not really hard, just time consuming.


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