The system I'm building on $150
Inexpensive, but well executed, installs are always great to see. I like your story about the dumpster-find 4 ga. wire. I still have wire that I used in my installs 15 or more years ago and yes I still use them 
I have a few boxes and bags I've amassed over the years from installs removed from cars full of wire chunks, fuse holders, odds and ends, even screws 
In fact, just last week I put in some purple, square Rockford 12 ga. wire that was used in an install from the mid-90s. It actually complemented though the Blues 10s in a pre-fab sealed box from an even older time period!
I have a few boxes and bags I've amassed over the years from installs removed from cars full of wire chunks, fuse holders, odds and ends, even screws In fact, just last week I put in some purple, square Rockford 12 ga. wire that was used in an install from the mid-90s. It actually complemented though the Blues 10s in a pre-fab sealed box from an even older time period!
Inexpensive, but well executed, installs are always great to see. I like your story about the dumpster-find 4 ga. wire. I still have wire that I used in my installs 15 or more years ago and yes I still use them I have a few boxes and bags I've amassed over the years from installs removed from cars full of wire chunks, fuse holders, odds and ends, even screws In fact, just last week I put in some purple, square Rockford 12 ga. wire that was used in an install from the mid-90s. It actually complemented though the Blues 10s in a pre-fab sealed box from an even older time period!
I have a few boxes and bags I've amassed over the years from installs removed from cars full of wire chunks, fuse holders, odds and ends, even screws In fact, just last week I put in some purple, square Rockford 12 ga. wire that was used in an install from the mid-90s. It actually complemented though the Blues 10s in a pre-fab sealed box from an even older time period!
Funny how putting all those bits and pieces in a new install amounts to recycling....so now we're doing green installs....
I feel so 21st century.....time to go hug a tree.....
Nice work Mr. Chicken.....keep up the pics.....
Thread Starter
2000 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,026
Alright, so I've been crazy busy with work and family in the last few weeks, so the install has been going slow. So slow, that in my desperate effort to have tunes in for a 45 minute drive that I played my stereo with just tweeters and sub woofer . . . . I don't recommend the sound of a stereo without mids 
Anyway, that got me going on finishing the install. Last week I painted my MDF rings (I think I got 4 coats of paint on them), and I installed them. So here are the pics of the painted MDF rings installed in the doors
When I mounted the rings, there were a number of places that the sheet metal contours left gaps between the metal and MDF. I didn't want to have air leaking out from there, so I found something called "Black Gold." It is a rubberized compound that is fortified with fibre glass designed for repairing roof patches. It is good for temperatures of -40 C to 80 C so it is well suited for a car environment. I also think this is similar to the black goo that Toyota originally used to seal the moisture barrier to the car door - and I also used it to re-seal my moisture barrier. I went generous with the stuff because I reason that this will a second line of moisture protection for the MDF
I installed the door panels late last week and the mids yesterday. No pics of them yet, but I'll post them in the next couple of days hopefully.
Anyway, that got me going on finishing the install. Last week I painted my MDF rings (I think I got 4 coats of paint on them), and I installed them. So here are the pics of the painted MDF rings installed in the doors
When I mounted the rings, there were a number of places that the sheet metal contours left gaps between the metal and MDF. I didn't want to have air leaking out from there, so I found something called "Black Gold." It is a rubberized compound that is fortified with fibre glass designed for repairing roof patches. It is good for temperatures of -40 C to 80 C so it is well suited for a car environment. I also think this is similar to the black goo that Toyota originally used to seal the moisture barrier to the car door - and I also used it to re-seal my moisture barrier. I went generous with the stuff because I reason that this will a second line of moisture protection for the MDF
I installed the door panels late last week and the mids yesterday. No pics of them yet, but I'll post them in the next couple of days hopefully.
Thread Starter
2000 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,026
Thanks for the encouragement Keith - in my short time playing with this set-up I'm quite pleased with the mid-bass response, but I definitely will need to do some sound deadening in my doors
As for the rest . . .
The Speakers are in and I'm not that happy with the final look . . . Cutting the door skin nice and tight around the speaker mounting rings is very difficult. So, as you will be able to see in the next few pictures, there are a few spots where I cut a smidgen too much of the door skin off . . . oh well. I'm not planning on entering any SQ competitions where I would be docked for cosmetics . . . I'm just bummed that it didn't go better.
And with the grill on. It's too bad that the grill is so transparent, I would prefer the speakers to be more hidden, but these are the grills that come with 'em so I'll be happy that my colour match paint was a pretty close match for the interior of my car.
When I first powered the speakers up, I was really disappointed with the sound. I found that the tweeter and the mid didn't blend well at all with each other. The cross-overs have 5 different options for attenuation, and I tried all 5 options to no avail . . . then I remembered something that I read once about mounting tweeters "too far" from the mids can actually mess with the wave lengths enough to put them out of phase with each other. I reversed the polarity on the tweeters and the sound magically blended. With that issue solved, I'm happy so far. Tonight I'll give them a real test as I have to drive to a meeting 20 minutes away - I'm looking forward to hearing what they sound like with some acid jazz with a strong horn section . . . should be fun!
And last of all, when I'm finally convinced that I like my sound set-up, I'll find a better home for the X-over networks . . . I'll probably leave this for a few weeks yet, as I will likely play with a few more levels of tweeter attenuation as I demo more styles of music in the car.
As for the rest . . .
The Speakers are in and I'm not that happy with the final look . . . Cutting the door skin nice and tight around the speaker mounting rings is very difficult. So, as you will be able to see in the next few pictures, there are a few spots where I cut a smidgen too much of the door skin off . . . oh well. I'm not planning on entering any SQ competitions where I would be docked for cosmetics . . . I'm just bummed that it didn't go better.
And with the grill on. It's too bad that the grill is so transparent, I would prefer the speakers to be more hidden, but these are the grills that come with 'em so I'll be happy that my colour match paint was a pretty close match for the interior of my car.
When I first powered the speakers up, I was really disappointed with the sound. I found that the tweeter and the mid didn't blend well at all with each other. The cross-overs have 5 different options for attenuation, and I tried all 5 options to no avail . . . then I remembered something that I read once about mounting tweeters "too far" from the mids can actually mess with the wave lengths enough to put them out of phase with each other. I reversed the polarity on the tweeters and the sound magically blended. With that issue solved, I'm happy so far. Tonight I'll give them a real test as I have to drive to a meeting 20 minutes away - I'm looking forward to hearing what they sound like with some acid jazz with a strong horn section . . . should be fun!
And last of all, when I'm finally convinced that I like my sound set-up, I'll find a better home for the X-over networks . . . I'll probably leave this for a few weeks yet, as I will likely play with a few more levels of tweeter attenuation as I demo more styles of music in the car.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Inexpensive, but well executed, installs are always great to see. I like your story about the dumpster-find 4 ga. wire. I still have wire that I used in my installs 15 or more years ago and yes I still use them I have a few boxes and bags I've amassed over the years from installs removed from cars full of wire chunks, fuse holders, odds and ends, even screws In fact, just last week I put in some purple, square Rockford 12 ga. wire that was used in an install from the mid-90s. It actually complemented though the Blues 10s in a pre-fab sealed box from an even older time period!
I have a few boxes and bags I've amassed over the years from installs removed from cars full of wire chunks, fuse holders, odds and ends, even screws In fact, just last week I put in some purple, square Rockford 12 ga. wire that was used in an install from the mid-90s. It actually complemented though the Blues 10s in a pre-fab sealed box from an even older time period!
