At last it's finished!! What started out as an idea to throw a cheapy $90 or so replacmeent headunit in the Kombi as the old one didn't work has turned out to be bigger than Ben Hur!!

With some good audio advice from CAA ( http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/ ) (Opressa will now that site well!!) and also here of course I was able to complete the project.

The end result is Pioneer 6x9s (box mounted) in the back, Sony Xplod 6 1/2" splits in the front, jvc headunit 4x50W rMS and two preouts, boss 1000W amp (4 channels 250W (70W RMS) per channel).

Some pics below...


(1) the helpers


(2) couldn't stand the old brown door trims anymore so had new boards made and vinyl covered but had to cut holes etc (thanks Kol for airvent info)


(3) wanted to improve sound and reduce road noise and resonance form the panels so sound deadening in order...Brown Bread deadener first (the silver stuff)


(4) then deadener paint


(5) apply to panels


(6) like bitumen


(7) mdf over the cavities


(8) rear speakers (bit dark - white speakers with black grilles)


(9) keeping cable neat in conduit


(10) amp out of sight mounted on top of the cupboard


(11) wired for sound


(12) front splits


(13) the headunit (that's a bird magnet from our Victoria holiday in case you were wondering)


(14) and finally the nice new (bright) trims


[Edited on 17-5-2003 by KOM123]

Well done mate!! Those door trims look good. Did you use some spray adhesive or something else? Where did you run the wires for the rear speakers? I bet it sounds 100% now! :thumb

How well are those rear speakers bolted on? The rear speakers put in by a previous owner of my kombi were attached by flimsy brackets that would have given way in a breeze, let alone an accident. I became a bit paranoid about the thought of several kilos of speakers waiting for the chance to whack me in the back of the head!:o

I hope the rears are mounted well!! From what I can feel there appears to be a thin metal beam that runs across the roof at that point and I have mounted the boxes first with hex bolts going through the INSIDE of the speaker boxes into the beam and then put the speakers themselves into the boxes.

Great install , will hear you coming for miles. Thump Thump Thump.

Does that sound deading paint work well? Been thinking about sound proofing the oval a bit.

Great sound but if you see me with the kids in the Kombi I'm sure it will be pumping out high decibel Wiggles or something!! I definitely think the deadener helps to reduce road noise. I've only done the front doors so far (and it seems to give the front splits more bass too) but I still want to do the sliding door, some of the back panels and the firewall so I'm hoping then there will be a much greater effect. At $30 per tin for 4 litres I don't think you can go wrong anyway.

Oh well the Wiggles can pump bass too. "Wake up Geoff"

What was the name of the sound proofing paint you used. And what was that silver backed stuff you put on first called.
Sounds like the way to go for me:thumb

You've got a great, neat install there. I really like the door trims They arent as easy to do as they look, I know as mine were a pain to do in the beetle.

About speakers being restrained - I was unfortunate enough to be in an accident in my 67 (may it rest in peace). I rear ended someone who was parked in the right lane of a highway in the middle of the night , around a corner, with no hazard lights.

Anyways, my 10" subwoofer and box and amp used to sit behind the rear seat, not tied down at all. It pushed the rear seat down, bounced off of the passenger seat (knocking it off its rails and bending the mounts) then hit the roof putting a big dent in it, before it came to rest in the back seat. I was lucky it didnt bounce off my head, as it would have killed me without a doubt.

Moral of the story is - anything loose in a car can and will become a projectile in an accident. Speaker boxes are all the more dangerous because of their weight, they take a lot more to slow down than a tissue box for example. Bolt everything down (it sounds like you have already,so good work) with good, solid fasteners.

Cheers,

Doug

Excellent work. :-) I will keep this post for when I do Mr Fasty's sound system.

Andrew

Okies to answer some questions from the replies so far:

* spray adhesive used on some parts of the trims but not all (3M brand offhand if I recall correctly)

* rear speaker wires go down one side of the Kombi only behind all the cupboards then back right speaker wire goes up through a rear pillar to the box and the other cable actually goes THROUGH a safety bar that we have at the back of the Kombi (to which the kids seats are anchored) then out the other side and up to the rear left box

* rear speaker boxes mounted from within their interior with 5/16 hex bolts so quite sturdy (I hope!!)

* the silver sound deadener is called 'Brown Bread' see http://www.b-quiet.com/brownbread.html  for details; not the best stuff around but quite good and not as expensive as some other (even then it's $26 for two only 30cm x 30cm sheets)

* deadener paint is Septone Brushcote Body Deadene, just under $30 for a 4 litre tin at SuperCheap Auto

* yes work on the door trims was a bit fiddly, one thing I learnt was, you know the old 'scissors, paper, rock' game? well stanley knife beats finger every time

Hope this helps

Thanks for the Chat tonight KOM in the chatroom. Took your advice and had another look at your install. Looks like top sugar mate.

I have an install coming up soon and I hope my wife lets me go out with 90 bucks and still lets me in when I walking with all that under my arm!

Boom bomph Boom bomph Fruit Salad - Yummy yummy! :bounce

Cheers mate!

Whenyou've blown the budget and need to sneak stuff back in the house, remember to use variation on the following quotes:

"It was on special..."
"I got a real bargain today..."
"These are normally $x but I saved..."
"They're second hand..."
"A mate of mine...."

and sometimes risky and can only be pulled off once in a blue moon:

"I got you a present..."
"They're for the kids..."

Good luck and lemme know how you get on

just a question about the deadner paint.... can you paint it striaght onto painted metal (or do you have to roughen up the surface first)... secondly do you know if you can paint straight ove the paint deadner???
Thanks for the help

P.S. Your install looks really good KOM123... i hope mine looks that good whenm i am finished......

One suggestion kom, the tops of those cupboards tend to become the storage place for any odd item lying about such as jumpers, blankets, etc. I'd expect the amp may get warm with things lying on top of it.

Would it be a good idea to add a false top over the amp with an opening to allow ventilation?

Doh! Just checked my old thread because of a stereo question on a different/new thread and noticed there were two posts in April that I did not reply to.

Sorry guys, not sure how I missed those

Col, I just make sure that I don't put anything on top of the amp. The way the cupboard is built there isn't much room for anything else anyway now that the amp is in place. The top of the cupboard is reasonably high up and close to the roof so the primary reason I have it there is it is totally out of sight form anyone having a casual glance into the interior of our Bus.

Newbie, I just whacked the deadener straight onto the door because there wasn't a glossy paint surface there already. Also, in some parts I painted the deadener over the top of the deadening paper and it has had no detrimental effect that I have noticed either.

Again guys, sorry for the delay in replying.

Well done. That must sound Great.!
Can you balance the sound to get the effect from all four speakers?
I love that effect in the Kombi.

I cannot control all four speakers individually but I can adjust the left/right balance and the fade from the front/rear speakers. I believe higher end head unit can but I'd plucked the last of the leaves from the money tree and very happy with what eventuated luckily

hey KOM

just wondering how many coats of that sound deadener did you apply? I know for sure this stuff should be applied in thin caots, otherwise it takes ages to dry!
I'm thinking of doing my oval in the summer holidays as it is a ruckus in there right now...

Cheers

ive used the sound deadener before its a heaps thick tar like substance that doesnt take very long at all to dry usually 1 coat is enough but if you want to cut heaps of noise out use two :thumb:thumb

:sandrine
Hi Kom,
Great effort you went to with your stereo.
Nice to know you can play the Wiggles so loud, you will be a real hit at childrens parties.
Hire that kombi out for kids parties....ummm great idea
Grood effort,
Judy

Ooooo yeah, high decibel Wiggles, Hooley Dooleys etc etc etc.

Luckily that's not too much the case as Amy is appreciating my type of music even though she is only four And the fact that I leave most of the kids music CDs in my better half's car...hahaha.

It is a fun bus though and the kids love to crank up the volume sometimes.

OvalTOFU, I think from memory I did one thick coat but is was a hot October day and it dried pretty quickly. The other thing that really surprised me was it didn't stink out the Kombi like I thought it would :thumb

Hey Kom123 GREAT Stereo, looks good.

I just wondering how the unprotected MDF is going in the door panels. That stuff if it is not MR MDF will absorb water and swell (HEAPS). Even if it hasn't swelled yet or is only showing small amounts of localised swelling I would still replace it or atleast coat it a couple of times with some sorta paint (even that sometimes doesn't stop swelling).

I am just concerned about all that lovely work you have done going to ruin as that MDF will absorb and hold water, then next thing you know - RUST!!.

I LOVE the job you have done and now you have inspired me to do something similar, Cheers. :thumb

Man awesome awesome idea, you now need to strip everything outta the back and have speakers runing al along teh walls v kool

[Edited on 17/9/2003 by Black_math]

Just another question.. why do you need the mdf to cover those holes?
Wont they be covered by the door panel anyway if the clips are used properly?

Salahahdin thanks for the advice on the MDF, it is something I did think about though and am keeping an eye on

Black_math, I can think of alot more audio ideas but time to spend money on other things (unfortunately!!).

Azz, covering the holes was just additional sound proofing and a little protection of the new backing boards on the trims.

Thanks all for the positive feedback