xCCTer

Hey Durango_boy,

I've been meaning to pick your brain about tunes for my '71 all winter, but one project after another on either the '71 or '88 kept rearing it's ugly head.

Now it's a little over a month before Cruisin' OC 2008, and I need to get a nice sounding stereo in the '71 once and for all.

http://www.specialeventpro.com/cruisin.php

I know you've said over and over that kick panel speakers are the best way to go in C3s, and I have no reason to doubt you.

Question...Are you talking about mounting some nice round 6 inchers on top of the kick panels? Should I be buying some aftermarket kick panels to cut holes in to accomodate the magnet end of the speakers?

Got pix of some installed maybe?

I was thinking of going with this head unit set-up or something like it.

http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?p...dept%5Fid=1030

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for what must be your 3,000th post on this subject.

Mark

Durango_Boy

Hey buddy, don't waste your time and money on that kit.

You can get your own head unit for no much more than $100 shipped, and mounting the speakers in the kick panels is simple.

Question - Will you be interested in mounting an amp to power the speakers? A small amp can be installed in the passenger storage bin so it's not easily seen.

Here is a good head unit for a good price.

http://item.express.ebay.com/KENWOOD...mdZExpressItem

These speakers work well both amped and head unit driven, though amped is always better.

http://item.express.ebay.com/POLK-AU...mdZExpressItem

You won't have to modify the kick panels to fit these speakers in. Just center the hole in the grill that covers the body mount pocket, set it high enough so the magnet avoids the body mount bolt, and I would even suggest backing the panel with a sound deadening mat like Dynamat.

If you amp the speakers, this amp is small, cheap, and will work great.

http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=5219

You'll need an amp wiring kit, so here's a good one.

http://knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KOL-AK4

If you want a sub, the amp choice will change to a 4 channel, and it won't fit in the storage bin any more.

xCCTer

Thanx for your time.

I'll post some pix after I get everything together next weekend.

xCCTer

Any idea where to get shrink tube to use after I solder the connections? What size?

Durango_Boy

They sell shrink tubing at most chain auto parts stores, as well as stores like Ace and probably Lowes.

xCCTer

xCCTer

Hey Durango-boy,

Speakers Are In!!!

I got some aftermarket kickpanels from Wilcox (nice) and dremeled the holes in 'em. Had to modify the right kick panel to go around the A/C stuff. PITA. Those magnets fit perfectly into the recess in the birdcage.

You are the Man.

Hope to have the head unit in and working this weekend.

You wouldn't happen to know what color the ignition and acc. wires, etc are do you? I haven't even looked that far yet.

I'm waiting for a set of replacement bulbs for the instrument and gauge clusters before I do anything else besides disassembly.

Thanx again. I'll keep you posted.

Mark

another-user

for the ignition and ground, you can just use the old plugs. for the always hot lead *yellow* i ran a fused line right to my battery.

as nice as those speakers look down there, i dont know if id be comfortable having them there in a manual car. id be willing to bet my foot would rip the grills off inside 2 weeks.

xCCTer

I thought about that too before I bought 'em, and it seemed there'd be enough room for my size 10 and 1/2s.

After I installed them, I found that there was plenty of room. I went for a quick cruise and my foot never hit the grill once. Even at rest my foot didn't touch it.

I think it looks closer than it really is to the clutch pedal because of the angle I took the picture from.

Thanx for the info on the wires.

ptroxx

looks good so far.... Not sure what head unit you went with, was wondering if you thought about an ipod connection. I ran mine to my storage area so its out of view and can be run by my head unit.
DB helped me with my system aswell...And man does it sound killer I went with an amp and sub. and still have room for my tops if i need to have them with me. here are a few pics of my system.....
Good luck with your system and lets see more pics =)

Durango_Boy

Those look great in there buddy, you did a GOOD job installing them and you should be proud.

Keep us posted on the rest of the install. I personally like running the head unit 12V constant and ground directly back to the battery, so a battery cutoff can be used and your head unit doesn't lose it's memory. Also, it helps eliminate a harsh ground loop.

xCCTer

I was thinking of going right to the battery with those also. What gauge wire would you suggest? Still no cluster bulbs yet, so maybe I'll get cracking on it tomorrow.

Durango_Boy

They don't need to be big at all. Using 16 gauge wire for the head unit power and ground will be just fine. You can tie the switched wire into the yellow wire behind the dash, or run one down to the fuse panel and tap into the ACC terminal.

xCCTer

Didn't know there was an Audio section...


Anyway, I have 14 gauge wire on hand. Will that do the trick, or should I go get some 16?

another-user

that 14 is overkill, but itll defiantly work.

about the audio section... i really wish they would leave the C3 audio in the C3 area. no offense to the guys that hang out in this section, but the C3s are completely different beasts from the C5s and C6s, mostly all thats in this section.

xCCTer

I just don't want anything too thick (14) that'll try to sap some of the power. It's just handy.

xCCTer

ttt

Durango_Boy

Using 14 gauge is not overkill and it'll work just fine. Using a larger gauge than you need won't really affect things that much because they are not signal wires...it's just power and ground. Only the draw of the head unit will pass through the wires and it won't draw more just because the wires are bigger.

xCCTer

Got a suggestion for speaker wire?

Durango_Boy

I use 16 gauge for speaker wire, and 10 gauge for sub wire...unless it's a sub that's rated for a LOT of power, then I use 8 gauge.