Ok a little thread about upgrading the Hifi in a 914....

I Finished the interior today New carpet set went in which I ordered from appearance and performance, I also ordered some extra material so I could cover my sub box.

I'm running some pretty esoteric equipment in this 914, McIntosh MX406 & MPM4000 built int the dash (I deleted the glovebox and built an aluminium panel to hold the HU & meters. The amp is a Mcintosh MC4000M - The mother of all SQ car amps... The sub is a CDT 8" SQ sub, I managed to squeeze a 9 litre enclosure into the footwell. the sub faces up at the dash, rather than be kicked by the passengers..

I'm very impressed with the sub - it is in a TINY box, yet sounds like a much bigger enclosure, I'm chuffed.

Anyway some pics...

The car in question









The speakers are KEF Kar 160q's (They have the tweeter in the middle of the midrange cone)

Thanks A&P - very happy with your carpet set

looks really good, and very very clean!!

Very Nice.
What is that were the glove box use to be, can't quite make it out.

Thats a McIntosh MPM4000 It's a VU meter showing output of the amps. Matches the HU obviously, I never used the Glovebox and it's contents rattled anyway, so it was deleted..

Very nice! Now start producing them so we can buy some.

What the sub box? I realize there is a gap in the market for these things, as I would have bought one if I could have...... But it took me a long time to make this one off I'm in the UK too, I'm sure these would sell far better over with you guys, but shipping would be extortionate. If someone wants to make a mold, come over

GREAT JOB. I am to in the process of updating my sound system and restoration also. That installation looks very clean i do like the McIntosh MPM4000 .

Rod, The install looks great. I really like how the MacIntosh meters look.

T.C.

Very tasteful setup!
Got a amp question. How are you powering speakers and sub?
Is the amp for sub only, or are you doing a 3-way with amp powering sub and speakers too?
What is the rating of your amp? How about amp location?
One other amp question, I have seen 5-way amps, 4 outputs for speakers and 1 dedicated for a sub. What is your opinion.
The reason for asking is this is the same type of setup i am in the process of putting together for my car. It r3eally helps to see what other people are doing
to their cars.
TIA
Retrofit

OK Retrofit... I am powering the system with a Soundstream Class A 10.2 amp at the moment. This one amp is powering both the components and the subwoofer which is bridged across both channels. It is in the rear trunk, from where I have run speaker cables and power etc (big job)

Currently it is running purely passive, with these in the rear trunk too. I would not do it this way usually though, this is a temporary setup....

I have big plans for this system - I am waiting for a McIntosh MC4000M Six channel amp to arrive which I recently bought in the USA. This new amp will then take the place of the current amp.

In my opinion it is far better to have a separate channel of amplification for each speaker used, so if you are having a sub, get a four way amp, so you can bridge two channels to drive the sub. (2 Channels on the fronts, then 1 (bridged) on the sub.) Don't get too carried away though - this hobby costs me thousands.

If you want to see the build of the car, check this thread in the UK.. http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?t=268399

Nice, surely with all that sound heating should eb low on your list of priorities

The carpet set has made a real difference actually, it feels far warmer now

Regarding those Flapper boxes on ebay - The broken one is the one I need, so I may just leave it and get from Porsche??

Fired up the system tonight, and after a problem with me making a STUPID mistake and connecting the Subwoofer crossover back to front which was causing the amp to go into protection (only took me 6 hours to diagnose that one )

Sounds amazing, the sub is trying to shake the car apart

Beyond awesome. Keeps in line with the spirit of the original car, reimagines it for the future. Bravo!!!

Paul

McIntosh makes some good stuff. very good stuff. They also have some seriously nice styling. It looks good in there.

Thanks, thats such a kind comment I did try to integrate the sub box with the car rather than stick out like a sore thumb... Hence ordering extra of the same carpet from James & Heidi.

Thanks again.



The Mx406 is the best Headunit I have ever heard and it's so well made - I cant wait to get the big amp fitted too

Really delighted that you guys like what I've done, It's refreshing that the 914 as a general rule takes well to tasteful modifications without the usual belittling of all modifications. You wouldn't know by looking in the cabin, that anything has been done to it, but if you get in and listen you'd be amazed

thought you guys might want to know how this is progressing, So I'll do an update for you...

The cabin was all done last time, now through the wonders of Fedex I have received the amp I had been waiting for from your side of the pond.



It is now residing in the boot of the car, I have made a panel beneath it where the X-overs sit and the fuse box etc.



You dont have a direct youtube link within this forum do you (I couldn't see it on the panel,) so here is a link to something a little fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkaXuA5qqPo

Making a cover for the whole thing too, this is having a ttoughened glass window showing off the amp, then the rest will be covered in vinyl which matches the interior.




Even tough a hell of a lot of equipment has gone into the car, I am trying to keep it as stock looking as possible

What do you reckon?

I reckon you won't have to turn the V knob up much.

Your work looks good mate.

Looks cool! That amp is a monster!!!

That's an absolutely beautiful setup for a show car. You obviously couldn't park it anywhere in Southern California as the components would be gone in an hour.

In fact, I work hard to make my stereo equipment as invisible as possible...

So is this car going on the show circuit?

No just for my own use. You can only see the HU when you look in the cabin, now don't forget that I am in the UK so McIntosh is reasonably rare and unknown over here - A couple of friends who don't know about audio saw the Headunit and asked if it was the original 1970's unit So I'm confident that the car doesn't scream "expensive car audio inside" at the passer by.

Did you do any charging modifications to keep up with that amp? I know my Soundstream Class A 10.0 has a 60 or 80 amp fuse on it. Can the charging system handle that much of a load?

If necessary I will have the alternator rewound to give me a higher output

All I have done so far is improve the cabling throughout and the battery is an Odyssey. The original loom is not being used for any form of audio equipment, the feeds all come from that Streetwires combo block in the rear. The next job on the list is an engine stripdown check and rebuild - so I'll cross the alternator bridge when it's out of the car.

The Soundstream Class A does have an 80 amp fuse in it, but it only ever drew that sort of power when running 6 x 10inch subs at 145db!!! The McIntosh will not pull that much power, I have had it running at normal listening volumes and it needs 7.5 - 12amps.

Beautiful setup!

Should sound wonderful (at least when parked ... dunno how good its going to sound wizzing down the road with the top down. I don't even have a radio in my car, but with the Kerry Hunter header and Supertrapp I wouldn't be able to hear it anyway )

Has anybody tried BassShakers in a Teener?

I had one set of these http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.c...tnumber=299-028 except mine were not the Pro, but a set rated at only 35W screwed to the floor boards under the front seats of my '93 Chevy C1500 truck. Everybody who rode in that truck looked around for the big "box" because they really had that effect. At the time I paid $100.00 for the set, and they did eventually burn out (I powered them with a 200W amp).
Later I got a promotional email and I picked up four sets of these (eight units total) for $100.00. I don't have the rear vinyl cover on my firewall, so I'm thinking of mounting maybe four on the firewall between the seats, and two more in the floor in front of each seat.

Personally I have never used one, I remember them coming to market and heard good reviews, but I have never heard one or installed one.

Maybe someone else has hopefully - they go against my ideas of Sound quality

Cool. I have never monitored what the amps were doing in real time. I just make sure I have enough reserve capacity for a balls out run. The two Odysseys and a 240 amp alternator in my truck should cover it. But then I am running a Class A 10.0, a Class A Picasso, and a Reference 1000s in my truck. I don't want to run out of juice.

Cool system! I'm into Soundstream stuff too, I have a Class A 10.2, Picasso, renoir and a Balanced XO to run it all, and two Soundstream SS10rs

Rod, how did you make the sub enclosure? Any pictures of that process?

Sweet collection. I love the old Soundstreams.

Small update -

I have finished the amp cover, this will be covered in vinyl to match the backpad etc..





This then lifts up like so..



And the amp tips forward to reveal the gubbins underneath..



The head unit is being returned tomorrow, so I start tuning at the weekend..

This is definitely not one for the Wine & Cheese crowd

I need to start thinking about contacting Jake Raby about building me a 2270 motor to pull it around a bit smoother soon

I had no idea they made stuff for cars. That's pretty crazy putting that in a 914.

Rod, that is beautifully engineered. One question though -what type of music is played through it, I bet it ain't the cheeky girls?

I love it, Very nice cabinet in the back. Im a little jelous, you made it look like it belongs there. Too bad we cant hear it.

I am also working on a rear trunk cabinet for my car. Its fun to see what other people are doing.

i would appreciate if you critique mine

Thankyou, nice comment I mainly listen to 'Aqua' and the Spice girls.



Well thanks, the whole intention was to make it look 'factory' Once the cover is covered in vinyl, it really will look (hopefully) original.

Post yours up, I'll have a look and give criticism/advice/praise, whatever is necessary

Well I have very nearly finished We had a couple of rare days of sunshine over here in England over the weekend, so I got outside with a sander and finished preparing the top cover..... Then got some 6.5mm laminated glass cut to size and covered the build in matching vinyl... Pic fest to follow!!










So I hope you think it looks reasonably factory fresh??!! It sounds amazing, I get a strong central image and vocals come from on the bonnet. It actually sounds as good as my home setup which is a miracle in such a small car

The best comment was from my wife, who came home from work yesterday and said, I quote "Wow, did you do that??"

Does it get too hot back there above the exhaust for the amp to be properly ventilated?

Not as yet, No. The amp has four fans built in which work in various stages...

two fans either end -

1 - stage one, one end fans on low

2 - stage two, above fans kick upto full speed

3 - stage three, fans at opposite end switch onto full.

So far I have had it upto stage two, playing music loud on a hot day, but it wasn't really too hot. This amp is a fabulous piece of engineering - it seems to take everything in it's stride. I was into Soundstream old school amps before McIntosh and they were as reliable as 1980's Alfa Romeo electrics....

the system has now been tuned and it sounds fabulous - it images above the dash and the soundstage extends outside the car left/right - I am very pleased with it, but have now finished so am a little bored and need another project.

geez that might actually over power the ambient noise in my teener....V E R Y nice!

It does in mine Just got back in from a spin and when it's pumping all you can hear is the music you want to listen to Hotel California never sounded better!

with the soundproofing on the firewall I can't hear the engine at speed at all.

I realize that this may be against the ethos of the 914, but I just love it

I have hear yours...no stereo would overpower that six....

R

Thought I'd keep you guys upto speed as some big changes have been made to the front of the system.. I don't know but my 914 could be the only one in the world to have HLCDs' or horns fitted??

So I had heavily modified morph speaker builds in and loved thise for a while, but wanted to try something different, so I wanted to put some speakers in the doors and tweeters on the A pillars and horns under the dash - not an easy task.

I didn't want the doors to rattle at all, so I deadened the hell out of them and then cnc'd up a 4mm steel panel which is bolted to the door and the speaker is bolted to that..









Then the horns - These fit under the dash and sound best as far back as possible, so remove the lower dash pad and fit horns to metalwork..



Then I stripped the lower pad and cut the lower half of the vinyl away, level with the top of the horns.. I then put a piece of speaker grill cloth from this cut - hotglued in (attached to a piece of baton the width of the car) so when stretched you literally can't see the cut/join between the two fabrics)) The grill cloth was then glued again to the underside of the horns following another piece of metal bar being ran from one side to the other to enable the grill cloth to flow smoothly. And they then look like this..





To someone that doesn't know the car you can't see any speakers which was my initial want for the system, so I reckon It's nearly there... Tweeter builds on teh A pillars coming next - What do you reckon??

loving your work there Rod 8)

Thankyou The Hifi is now finished and I need a project this winter - so come over, take me for a spin in your six and persuade me that I can't live without an engine change!!

Your system is awesome, I love the work and detail. Can you post a pic of the door once it is all back togeather? i cant wait to see the end result.

I am working on a system of my own as we speek.

The last picture looking through the car is with it finished... I didn't want to be able to see anything in the way of hifi when it was parked up with the top off, so it all fits behind the standard door cards, which I have left totally factory apart from cutting away the board around the driver itself and then punched out holes covering the diameter of the speaker. The door cards are houndstooth and I removed the lower indentations in the fabric - so even if you look closely, you can't see there's anything there.. - It was then re-stretched and fixed back on the original door card

I found another couple of pics, which may explain it better - if you look at the speaker, it's flush with the door..

That's crazy stuff !!!! WOW !!!

You CANNOT LIVE without an engine six transplant . I only have Enrique Iglesias and Ndubs in my stereo though.

A new boot build has been done

Now running three Soundstream amps.. I have built all this so the amps can be covered by a piece of carpet which is being made up for me.

Install looks great. I have always wanted sound stream gear (remember the Tarantula?!) But it was always out of my budget when I was younger and now its still out of my budget and priorities Have you ever thought about building a ported box for the front trunk and porting it into the cabin? I have been thinking about it but it would require a hole through the gas tank which could be be fixed by welding a piece of pipe or pipes (depending on design) though the tank giving you a tunnel to feed the port/ports through. Or run a fuel cell and you can use the existing tank area for the box and have much shorter ports. I do prefer sealed boxes but these cars are limited in space. An Isobartic design might be good too. These are just some things I think about while I build my car.

Regards'

Jon

Hi and thankyou!

I love these old Soundstream amps, they are all the Class A series from around 1994. One Picasso on each side and then a 10.2 running the sub. I loved these when they were new, but couldn't afford!!!

I have often thought about how I can improve the bass, and in my opinion a sealed box always sounds better for sound quality, ported boxes are great for spl, but a sealed one is tighter and more correct, so I'll stick with those.. What I would love to do is put a fuel cell in the spare wheel well, remove the fuel tank and put the sub in a metal baffle in the firewall, using the space the fuel tank once filled as the sub box. It would need to be well sealed and the correct size volume for the sub used, but easily achieved.

This is my next 'upgrade' but what I really want to do is get another 914 and go all out, removing the dash and putting the midbass in the firewall too. The horns could then sit even further back so the image appears beyond the screen.