I remember why I dont like installing stereos

[bb71challenger]

I am in the process of installing a stereo in my wifes Sebring. I forgot to take before pics but starting tomorrow I can take middle of the tornado pics for all to see. I remember now why I hate installing stereos.
I got a good deal on a JVC deck a while back and had some other stuff laying around. I bought a nice Total Audio 80x4 amplifier. Total Audio is a JL Audio company so the stuff is supposed to be good. I already had to take back the 6x9's for the back because they were too deep and had too big of a magnet on them.  I tried to get some Boston Acoustic SX 95's which are more shallow because of their neodymium magnets. Out of stock      I got what they had that would fit which is a pair of Rockford Fosgates. Never even heard them so we will see.
The front stage is comprised of Total Audio 6.5" components. Pretty nice little set with 3 way attenuation setting on the crossovers. I am going the extra mile and splitting the component set up and putting the tweeters in the stock 3.5"speakers dash location. I did the same thing with my neon and it really made a difference. I could not believe it but the stock front door speakers were 6x9's also. I had to make a set of speaker adapters to mount the 6.5's to.
I know you guys hate reading posts without pics but it is dark and I aint getting eaten by bugs. I took a couple of pics of the tweeter setup I will install tomorrow. I have to use plumber strap to build a mounting pad for the tweeter. It offers a lot of adjustability on height that way. The tweeters also can be moved around in their housing which lets me direct them a certain amount. I still have a lot left to do but running the power cable was a trip in itself, not to mention how I had to run the door speaker wires. I am doing away with the stock wiring all together so all the speakers are getting fresh new wire from their locations to the amp. To be continued..........

[bb71challenger]

Oops I forgot the pics I promised. Not much here just the tweeter setup.

[hemiken]

  you are doing a good job for your wife Brett i am not into wiring of any sort, have never gotten in to that side of things. So i am glad it is you and not me   But still a great thing to do for the Little Lady

[bb71challenger]

Thanks Ken. I hate the electrical part of cars too. Installing a stereo is much easier imo because you are running new stuff so the only things to go back over if you have to trouble shoot is what you put in there. I hope it all comes together because she freaked out when she saw how I had her new car tore apart lol.

[bb71challenger]

Ok, I am taking a break from the hot sun. I have a killer sunburn on my head and neck from sitting in the car fumbling around trying not to go crazy. I will post pics and highlight some of the trials and tribulations I went through. I still have to finish up wiring the deck and putting all the trim and seats back but that will go pretty quickly. The hard part is done and that is a good thing.

This pic just shows some of the wiring hanging out of the dash along with the new deck surround. The stock deck was 1.5 din and most aftermarket decks are 1 din. Since the stock deck was wider you have to buy an adapter plate that makes things look stock. I will end up with a small, pretty much useless storage area under the deck.

Here is some fun, I am having to run the door speaker wire through the factory loom. It is surrounded by a very strong rubber grommet that is a beach to work with. To me this was the biggest pita of the whole install. After doing the passenger side I found a couple of tricks and it made the drivers side a lot easier. This is a pic of the wiring loom rubber surround.

Here I am just starting to pry back the rubber.

Here I have taken it off one end to expose a hard plastic bulkhead type connector. It looks impossible to run a new speaker wire through it until you look at it sideways. It is honeycombed so I had room to run the wire.

First step involves running the speaker wire from the interior to the door jamb. I know it looks easy here but it was actually a pain to get the wire through the steel and foam that is packed in there.

Here the wire is run through the connector

Now comes the fun part. Getting that wire through the rubber surround and into the door itself. The passenger side drove me batty but I found a better way to run it on this side.

Tape the wire to a screwdriver.....

Slowly work the screwdriver through the rubber surround......

Presto! its through! Man that was easier than doing the other side lol.

[bb71challenger]

I have always wanted to know how you guys get the script right at each picture. This is the first time I have tried it and it was a complete failure lol. I dont want to type it again so I will leave that one.
Here are a couple of pics of the rubber surround back together on the door.

[bb71challenger]

Ok here is where I had to do some modification to make the mid driver of the component set mount up. The stock speaker was a 6x9 so I made some adapters to mount to the door which I then could mount the speaker to.

[bb71challenger]

The first pic is of the door back together with the new speaker installed. I then moved on to the tweeter and crossover which I mounted up high in the dash. I forgot to take pics of the tweeters but I will before I finish. The dash is still apart and I can get a few pics of the plumber strap setup and where it goes. With crossovers you end up running 3 sets of speaker wire. One set from the amp to the crossover, another set from the tweeter to the crossover and a third set from the door speaker to the crossover. When its all done what you get is a far superior sound than a regular coaxial speaker but it is a bit more work than just throwing a set of speakers in the door. Thats all I have for now, I will finish this post up later when I am done with the install. Thanks for sharing my nightmare   

[hemiken]

Hey Brett this was like a step by step installation buddy this would have been me
I look at all that stuff and see Spaghetti mamma-mia :2thumbs:good job.

[bb71challenger]

Thanks Kenny. I had a brain fart when I went back out and never took any more pics. The sun has roasted me for 2 days and I just wanted to get it done. Its funny, something that took me 2 days I could do again in about 4 hours now that I know how to install on this car. Not saying I want to though lol. I still have some tuning to do but it is already a big improvement on the old system. I will take a pic of the finished product another time and post it to this thread. Whew, felt like I wanted water or beer when I got done but an iced coca cola really hits the spot   

[hemiken]

It is just good you got it done old mate

[dodge freak 2]

I like to use wood to mount speakers. Best to custom fit everything...some sheet metal shears come in handy too, lol. 

I get a kick on Crutchfield site of what does and does not fit. They haven't seen me go to work, ha ha. Does take much time but you do a good job and use high end stuff, it should last a very long time.

Don't forget the amps...and the heavy wires. I have 2 gauge and 4 gauge running back to my trunk with 5 amps. High speeds and windows all open calls for some power.

Your wife should love you...try to get those best buys guys to custom fit anything in.