This page has some pictures and descriptions of the stereo in my
previous 1982 Firebird.
These are a couple hatch view pictures of two different setups:
This picture shows my fuse block, my Punch 60, and my 12" subs. The 60 watt amp powers my entire system, which consisted of 8 individual drivers plus 2 coaxial speakers. The drivers included the two 12" Punch subs, two gutted poly Radio Shack 6x9's in the B/C pillars, two punch tweets above them, two Hafler 3 1/2" coaxial speakers in the stock 4x6" opening, and two Infinity Kappa 3 1/2" drivers where the AC vent would be(if it had AC). I achieved 122 db in a local competition with this setup. I did poor on my RTA and soundstage because I didn't know what I was doing. The treble needed help, but the bass was over scale big time. Have you ever FELT pink noise?
My install wasn't the greatest either, no flex loom under the hood and all of my speakers used stock locations and/or were hidden. No creativity points there and the soundstage wasn't centered well. I also lost points for not being hooked directly to the battery(went to the starter), and my portable cd player killed me in ergonomics. I learned a lot at that competition.
I didn't have any good pictures of my head units to put in here, they all turned out blurry. The first unit was a JVC KS-R135(?) two knob and center nose style. Best one I had, up to that point. At one time time I added a passive Realistic EQ half din which mounted right below the JVC. It wasn't in there long, no engine noise problems(that I couln't fix), but the added hiss was unbelievable!! Took it back the next day.
My next(and best) head unit was a Clarion DIN tape player w/ CD control. I don't know the model, but it sold new for around $300. No one could have EVER told me head units could make such a difference! Almost ZERO noise of any kind, less boomy, more defined bass, and much cleaner treble. Also, the tape player was built like a tank. When you hit fast forward or rewind, it was like a home deck, nothing bogged it down.
This second picture shows a later setup with the 'stealth' look. You can see the amp rack through some holes in the carpeting. I never really finished that one.
In the amp rack was a punch 60, a punch 40, an Audio Control EQQ, and a cheap Realistic active crossover. The 60 watt amp powered the subs and the 40 watt amp powered everything else.
The last setup(before the head unit was stolen) used the two previously mentioned Haflers in the A/C plates, and added Punch 5 1/4" mids in each door. The Kappas were gone(blew one up) and my crossover networks were mounted in the stock(dash) speaker locations along with a rear volume control. The rear tweeters were removed and the 6x9's were run mono with midrange only for rear fill. I also experimented with a center channel which was just a punch tweeter and an L-pad. Really centered the soundstage, but I never actually got to mount it permanently.
The addition of the Punch 40 really cleaned up the sound of the system and increased the SPL capability. Unfortunately I never competed with this one so I don't know how I would have done.
The Audio Control EQQ was also a welcome addition too. Line level adjustments assured almost zero added noise. Adjustments every octave above 250 hertz and every half-octave below 250 allowed for some serious fine tuning. It had four channel capability, but I only ran stereo so I only used half of the EQQ.
The Radio Shack electronic crossover sent 80 hertz and below to the punch 60 and the rest of the band to the Punch 40. It worked well with minimal noise, although I had compatibility problems with the x-over and the EQQ somehow interfering with each other. I also had problems with the x-over sending subsonics through the left channel, bottoming the speakers. Whaddaya expect for $50?
I just thought of it now, but I could have used the EQQ's subsonic filter by using the extra two channels for the subs and putting the EQQ between the x-over and the amps. DOH!! Too bad I didn't think of it before.
The amp rack had vent holes with a little 12 volt Radio Shack fan circulating air through it. I also had a brass fuse block and a gold plated ground collector block.
Also, I ran the 4 AWG amp wire directly to the battery this time using a gold plated battery terminal. I couldn't hear the difference, but it looked a lot nicer(flex loomed it too).
This is a view of the subwoofer backside and the inside of the sub box. Notice the dual stacked magnets on the woofer, they DON'T bottom out. The box is kind of a weird one to build, I saw a design for one at a local stereo shop and I copied it. Works rather well. I used regular house insulation for a sound dampener, crude, but cheap and effective. Also, the speaker wire is soldered on, no cheesy spade clips here. The ports were 3" PVC pipe, each one was 18" long! I had a local stereo shop calculate them using TERM-1 software.
This is the inside of the amp rack I built. Notice the air openings on each end and the fan in the middle. Again, I never detailed it. I would have liked to formica the inside, that would've made it look a lot nicer. Left to right: Realistic X-over, Audio Control EQQ, Punch 60, and Punch 40.
You can't see them in this picture, but the fuse block and ground block are on the front side of the box behind the rear seat.
This is what some stereo thieves did to the 1980 Monte Carlo I owned.
It happened shortly before I owned it, the lower part of the dash was gone
when I bought it. Just makes you want to reach out and hurt someone,
doesn't it?
Last Modified 10/18/02.