'96 GTO SR Custom Hertz + Audison Install

[autopsycho]

The Story Begins...

My car came with this Pioneer Double DIN HU



Stock Tweeter removed... Hmmm...



Door panel removed, a pioneer coax was installed in the stock location by the earlier owner



Utility pocket removed. Why? Read on...



Car being stripped of almost entire interior



Boot Stripped



Work starts on sub enclosure, which will be where the utility pocket was on the floor. Note masking work on interior plastic panels.



Fiberglass work progresses



Rough edges eliminated



Sub ring being made



...Contd.

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Ring test fitted on enclosure



Fiberglass work proceeds...



Enclosure test fitting



A layer of FonoGel used for the enclosure's internal sealing






And then begins the damping of the car and boy did they damp it







Now for the stuff thats going in...

Fronts: HERTZ HSK Custom 3way with Dome Midrange
Sub: HERTZ HX250 10" sub





....Contd.

[autopsycho]

The sub enclosure again, now carpeted



Final test fit of enclosure



Cables going in...





Connection Audison Reference SONUS ST interconnects used





Cables laid





And now back to the doors... umm... where the hell are the doors...



Yes, they removed the doors, why? cuz they can... heh heh, read on...
As you can see, the inner skin of the door has been damped



...Contd.

[autopsycho]

Stock door cabling gets a new conduit



Doors get more damping



Close up of custom MDF ring installed on door



Panels finally go back on the doors once doors finally go back on the car



cosmetic ring installed



HERTZ HV165L high output 6.5" woofer going in





And the doors are GO! seen here with grill



...Contd.

[autopsycho]

Remember the rear stock 6x9 locations... we made new cosmetic rings for them, seen here with and without AZcomp vinyl



And used as a crossover mount location





Back to electricals, stuff used for connections






Also note new optima battery to car chassis ground installed



Now to the HU, an Alpine 9857 with the full speed iPod cable





Alpine full speed iPod cable comes into glove compartment and HU installed. See the round black thingy in front of the HU, thats the controller for the bluetooth handsfree kit



...Contd.

[autopsycho]

while the mic goes on the top of the A pillar and the little display onto the center of the dash, affixed to the windshield.







Now for the handsfree kit's dedicated speaker... we removed the ashtray.



and used the location to house the bluetooth kit's speaker.





Of course we also fabricated a custom grill for this, covered with AZcomp speaker grill cloth





Now that things are beginning to look good, its time we go back to audio

Dome midrange and tweeter installed.





...Contd.

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Audison LRx4.1K amp





Amp Installed, note trim plate on top with concealed neon lighting









More lighting...






...Contd.

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Boot top cover installed



Sub close up, note gap in floor board in front of sub



Sub gets cool ambient lighting effect





System power up time



HU checked, iPod interface checked







And she's done...



End result: Exactly what I wanted. A light yet powerful SQ setup that can sing as well as kick. All this literally with no loss in boot space or functionality. And the sound, especially vocals and midbass, is to die for. The fronts get 130w per side and the sub gets 500w. The BT kit adds a new dimension of convenience, enables safe driving and works very well.

Cheers,

Arush

[Monster Stealth]

Damn!, looks sweet. I like it.

[Dave57]

Great quality work and nice comps. I like the hidden crossovers. I think part of the reason to take the door off is the wiring installation. It's was a pia to drill a 1/2 inch hole in the door for a grommet. Worse yet the drill caught when it went thru pinned my finger. I had to yank the drill cord out out of the plug.