Who here remember outfitting your car with aftermarket audio

[Stormtrooper1320]

My buddy in H.S. was forever getting some new unit and/or speakers and would slap it up under the dash of his then new used car. They ALWAYS sounded like crap, WHEN they worked, which was less than most of the time. He'd crank it up and the speakers would rattle more than they would make music.

Then we'd go cruisin', floor all 7 cylinders of the V8, making at least 100hp, getting 10mpg if we were lucky, smoke pouring out of the tailpipe.


What were we talking about?

The base auto shop at El Toro was closed for remodel when I first got there, so they let us use the movie theater parking lot across the street from it for fixing our cars. People were always coming by and asking us to help them out, and if they found out you worked avionics, they brought you every electrical problem they ever had on their cars. That also lead to many stereo installs for beer, or beer money. The cars I hated the most for stereo install was the late '70's and early '80's Camaros. Too cramped working under the dash, and too much junk stuffed in there. Good times

 

[Stormtrooper1320]

What did y'all use as your music reference to test your car audio system. I used Steely Dan "Aja" and Rush "Moving Pictures". Production on those albums was first rate. You could really isolate the instrumentation.

Musical reference? Uhhhh.....whatever tape they had laying in the car at the time. Loud was most people seemed to care about at the time...so.... loud it was.
Somewhere around '85 I started to take musical clarity a bit more seriously when I got my first home cd player. It was a Pioneer single disc. I got myself an Onkyo receiver, and some Cerwin-Vega speakers and I was living the dream. After that, I would take either a Kenny G cd or some smooth jazz to the stereo store to check out components. All of those stereo stores back then used to want to crank up some rock and show you how loud it was, and when I'd tell them to throw in one of my cd's. Some smooth jazz would tell the tale pretty quickly on what they were trying to sell me.
I loved Cerwin-Vega speakers, and still have my 4th set. I may have to dig them out and see if they still work.....

 

[jroyk]

We had some sort of under dash 8 track unit in my parents '70 Road Runner. I don't remember the brand but it sure seemed fancier than the factory am radio.

Anything was fancier than those am only radios.

 

[Diboblo]

I'm not unhappy with the factory HK system in the Challenger however it sucks not being to play CDs or lossless files like FLAC. MP3s are just too lossy for any serious audio enthusiast.

You need a HIFIMAN FLAC player.

They are the best... any one of them!

https://m.hifiman.com/products/detail/266

Bob
Riverside, California

 

[Purerock105]

Anything was fancier than those am only radios.

 

[Piening2150]

I used to do all that crap. Had Cerwin Vega separates & subs (back when they were still good), a full Kicker system w/ 3 amps & 2 12" Solobarics, 3 JL 12W6s at one point, and all Soundstream Reference stuff w/ 2 SPL160s. I didn't go nearly that far with my Charger, but I still put a bunch of Dynamat in it and replaced all 6 speakers with Infinity (no subs or amps this time). Still got the Reference amps, some JL separates, and an Infinity Kappa 10" in the basement along with a bunch of power and RCA cable crap "just in case" I get the itch again...

 

[BULL]

The base auto shop at El Toro was closed for remodel when I first got there, so they let us use the movie theater parking lot across the street from it for fixing our cars. People were always coming by and asking us to help them out, and if they found out you worked avionics, they brought you every electrical problem they ever had on their cars. That also lead to many stereo installs for beer, or beer money. The cars I hated the most for stereo install was the late '70's and early '80's Camaros. Too cramped working under the dash, and too much junk stuffed in there. Good times

You guys were supposed to have the really high ASVABs and be wicked smart, so that's the perception you were dealing with.

Next was the Flightline guys (me)

And at the bottom, sheet metal and Hyd.

I suppose under them was the supply shop, those guys were one step under 0311s.

@Speedy! excepted

Speedy, how'd you crawl out from under that rock anyway?! You got way more going on in your brainhousing group than your average 0311...

 

[Decay]

I installed a cassette tape player of some sort in my 69 SS Camaro that was promptly stolen which led to the return of the "boom box" stereo which could be used in the house when it was removed from the car.

 

[Hickster]

Had the same idea. From the car to the house. Box speakers with smoke still inside. Puff away. Still here Edgar.

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

I had two MTX Blue Thunder 12” subwoofers behind the back seat of my 88 Ford Bronco. I could bounce a quarter almost an inch off the cab of the truck while playing Garth Brook’s “The Thunder Rolls.”

 

[MXS67454]

Pioneer Super Tuner under dash and Mindblower 6x9's in the rear deck in a 69 RR ....still into that stuff today. 900 watts of Kenwood and JL in my DD.

 

[Diboblo]

Man... I had a cheapo CASSETTE Realistic deck, going to a GIANTIC box, in the back of my 1959 VW bus.

The box was built over the rear engine compartment, behind the rear most seat. It was a sealed box, with two 15" DVC Kicker subwoofers and two huge horns.

I ran some Radio Shack crossovers, to the horns and subs and ran 3 amps. One 4 way, for the front composite speakers and horns, and one monoblock each, to the subs. About 1000 watts, to the subs, alone.

That thing was insane. The box would pick up infrasound frequencies and create a harmonic that oscillated the entire vehicle. You couldn't hear what was making the bus vibrate, but sure as hell... the thing felt like Jello, when it hit, just right. It was soooooo weird.

It wasn't a competition setup, but it sure left people scratching their heads wondering what the hell was going on, there. LOL

Bob
Riverside, California

 

[Hickster]

Bob, I can still here Edgar coming thru your NASA tuning set up.

 

[JRabq]

My buds and I weren't audiophiles, but we needed the tunes cranked for cruising. Under dash 8 tracks- yup...cassette deck in Matt's dad's civic for 1st Van Halen- yup. Best was whatever Jack K. had in his Challenger, cruisin the real Jersey shore in Avalon...windows up in the summer so all the smoke wouldn't attract attention, Freebird cranked to the max tho....THOSE were the days!

 

[Hunter]

I remember....
Just a few years ago.
Upgraded to a slide mount 8 track, and 2 6x9 co-axal speakers (no name).
Around 1978...

 

[1971demon]

In the late ‘60s, us average Joe’s usually installed 8-track Craig units under the dash with Craig or Jensen co-ax speakers on the rear deck. Rich kids had Lear Jet tape decks.

Wow...8 tracks...with speakers that sounded like tin cans...back in 70 my bud had a tempest...with a trunk load of 8 track tapes and a under dash pulsating light system...it looked like a kids light bright toy from the early 70's...the chicks dug it though

 

[fubar569]

I used to do all that crap. Had Cerwin Vega separates & subs (back when they were still good), a full Kicker system w/ 3 amps & 2 12" Solobarics, 3 JL 12W6s at one point, and all Soundstream Reference stuff w/ 2 SPL160s. I didn't go nearly that far with my Charger, but I still put a bunch of Dynamat in it and replaced all 6 speakers with Infinity (no subs or amps this time). Still got the Reference amps, some JL separates, and an Infinity Kappa 10" in the basement along with a bunch of power and RCA cable crap "just in case" I get the itch again...

How's the infinity sound in there with all 6 swapped? Thread/pics?

 

[Piening2150]

How's the infinity sound in there with all 6 swapped? Thread/pics?

Pretty good all things considered. Well worth the minimal time/monetary investment. Sorry I never did a write up. But there are a couple long threads on the LX forum with similar info.

 

[Stormtrooper1320]

Wow...8 tracks...with speakers that sounded like tin cans...back in 70 my bud had a tempest...with a trunk load of 8 track tapes and a under dash pulsating light system...it looked like a kids light bright toy from the early 70's...the chicks dug it though

 

[Stormtrooper1320]

I remember....
Just a few years ago.
Upgraded to a slide mount 8 track, and 2 6x9 co-axal speakers (no name).
Around 1978...

Oh man....my dad did that slide mount thing with our 8 track when cb's became a thing. That way he could just swap them out. I hated riding in the car with him when he put that cb in....just useless noise instead of cool music. Probably around the same timeframe.