So I bought a pair of 150W 6x9's and have spent the last week fabricating brackets and wiring harnesses and bass cups and a rubber antenna under the dash (in that sparse 1.25" gap the designers left us to work with). My basic little Comet didn't come with so much as a spare inch of accessory wiring to work with and the package tray doesn't come with any guidelines as to how to mount anything inside it. A factory radio cage would have been nice. But today was the first glorious sunshine of spring we've had in rainy ol' Vancouver... warm, sunny, and as I finished zap-strapping the rubber antenna against the passenger fresh-air lever (if someone yanks the duct open it will probably change the reception) the purple hues and reddening sun of dusk beckoned me for a cruise... Stereo FINALLY finished I was primed for a "test" outside of the carport - I grabbed a ZZ Top cd, opened all the windows, and headed for the highway to watch the sun set from behind the steering wheel... just me and my baby and my tunes... I bombed up and down the North and West Van passes with a crescent moon sneaking up between the mountains and city lights glistening over the ocean below me and you know what?... I can't hear the freakin' stereo! S'okay... I like the cackle of my glasspack (you guys with V8's got it made) but even at idle the rumble still competes with a faint thumping from the rear deck. On the highway, I could only discern the occasional high note over the drone of my engine. Once the header is in I'll just give up on music altogether. All the hot rods and muscle cars are coming out of the garages for a cruise tomorrow night and for the first time in 10 years I'm gonna join 'em... it doesn't get any better than this... Whisky
The next step ... Some front speakers and more wattage ... you need something to drive those speakers. When I first put the stereo in my Comet, it was an Alpine head driving 4 inch speakers in the kick panels, and 25 watt/channel secondary amp driving 6x9s out back. It got the job done ... was a nice setup. Then I put the 351 motor in and left the a/c off the car. Running through the same turbo mufflers, this motor is a lot louder. Running at 70 mph with the windows vented was getting to be a push for the stereo. At 80 mph, the carb must have been getting into the secondaries a bit ... you could have the stereo turned all the way up and not hear it at all! All you heard was ... ....waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!....... A replacement 100 watt/channel MOSFET-rated amp for the rear speakers took care of that. Still not a system for listening to rap music on (no worries there ...) Just very clean and very loud when needed.
mmmmmm all i hear is a whisper from the ...A/C vents... turn the stereo on...nothing but...Steppenwolf " Born To Be Wild". Pink Floyd "Dark Side Of The Moon" ......LMA/C--LMAOD--LMRDB...
Frank, Give up the 8 tracks already, will ya'? At least move up to cassettes, OK? ... JK A few years ago, I had a nephew from up north staying with up. Took him for a ride, and one of his comments was "wow ... vintage Alpine stereo". Hey,... I bought it in 1992. :bananaman
Frank: You got SteppenWolf on 8 Track! WOW My next progect I'm working on has original 8 track AM/FM I'm keeping it! Enjoy Guys!
I have thrush glass packs with turn downs in front of the rear tires. Flying down the freeway with the windows down forget the radio, you aint gonna hear it. I wouldnt have it any other way.
Oughta try the Flowmaster Super 44s... If I don't have a pair of 12" subs in the car, I am not going to hear the music... Actually, mine isn't that bad...I have juted the inside of the rear fenders, rear quarters, and trunk, and heat/soundproofed the floor and firewall, and if I roll the windows up, it really is quiet inside the car. Subframes and new suspension parts help to quiet even more. Hanging the fuel pump on rubber grommets further quieted it down. Now, if you are listening from OUTSIDE the car...
