1986 fleetwood brougham install

Have a cool car stereo? Post your install pictures here! No PG? No problem! Competition grade or sub-in-box setups: ALL are welcome!
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CK1991
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:38 pm

1986 fleetwood brougham install

Post by CK1991 »

figured I'd put up a thread on my caddy. For the past 3 years, I've been working on this car (couldn't tell by looking at it though LOL).
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When I bought it had the factory symphony sound, and I quickly swapped it for a junkyard early 90s bose system (thinking bose= better). I was disappointed with it, as the amps kept burning up (apparently bose car amps are known for bad caps) and the sound SUCKED! It could get loud without distorting, but it had no range. As they say, no highs, no lows (and muddy mids) it must be bose. Definitely not worth the 1k cost from GM. Delcos UX1 was much much better in every way than the delco bose system. I yanked out the bose crap and threw the factory setup back in.

Well, I ended up getting in a wreck in it and parked it. the accident did very minor body damage but the hit (which was very hard and would have done alot of body damage if my caddy didnt have the monster chrome front guard rail) blew the head gaskets on the lowly 307. After saving up and having a new engine and transmission put in (mild 350 chevy and built 200r4) I worked on the interior and decided to put in an aftermarket sound system. After looking in the stores and magazines, I found that I couldn't get alot of the features I wanted unless I stepped up in to a several thousand dollar system. I also didn't like the looks or quality of alot of what I saw and felt that the stuff now was boring (black and brushed chrome look plastic). So I decided to look at vintage components. I had picked up a TOTL harman kardon SQ tape deck HU and an old kenwood amp and a hodge podge of midfi speakers at the junkyard, and a friend had given me a couple amps he had picked up, but I wanted an eq. So I turned to craigslist (not having the several hundred dollars to buy a new one) and found a phoenix gold zx200v2, eq215ix, and PLD1 line driver for cheap. Looked around online and phoenix gold seemed to be a good brand, so I called the guy and picked them up. I was impressed with their weight and the quality, plus they were USA made! I talked with the guy and he said he used to be big into car audio back in the 90s (back before you needed a cheater + 18db bass knob on your dash to make your system pound...as he put it.)
PG stuff on a side board of my trunk (mock up). decided to mount the PLD in the front console instead
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So a few days go by and remember the guy saying he had some more stuff lying around, so I call him up. We arrange a time and I meet up with him again. He starts handing me stuff and asking "you want it.: I ended up walking out of there with 5 or 6 amps (all but one need work), 2 head units (1 is an old alpine with full logic control issues), 2 crossovers, an alpine cd changer (which I got the wrong HU with so I couldnt use it), and some nice speakers. I figured I had enough stuff to do a full system install, except subs (he had some nice 80s CV woofers in a box but he wanted to keep them).
orion and PPI amp on a custom board made for the side of my trunk
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and these
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heres the head unit I have decided to use in my build. pioneer 2 DIN with built in 13 band eq, time delay, and a bunch of other stuff. I just had to find a harness for it (found out it is the same as a current BOTL kenwood but with different pin out)
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I got alot more stuff, but I'm not using that stuff in my build

So a couple weeks go by and I'm looking on CL, and I see a super cheap (price wise) woofer box with 3 hifonics woofers in them (along with some really clean looking but double market value JBL GTO amps and some nice NIB but also way overpriced orion xtr subs). I keep passing by the ad, figuring the guy sold the woofer box. I finally decided to call (after a week or 2) and surprisingly, no one had called on it yet. so for $50, I got 3 decent entry level woofers and a big box.
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along the way, I also picked up a recapped old school first gen rf punch 150 for $30 from a guy. Oddly enough, a friend from out of town asked me to see him to pick up a nice 70s tape deck from him that he had listed on CL, and I ended up buying the guys tape and record collection and the rf punch (said it used to get him in trouble with the cops as it running a pair of alpine 6x9s woofers and tweeters could be heard for blocks away). I didn't believe him until a friend of mine with a 12V power supply hooked it up and cranked it. Running a pair of minimus 7s, it was ear splittingly loud (and this was in his kitchen...in a car (a giant semi sealed enclosure) it would be flat out deafening.
I've also modifed my console to hold the pioneer radio (I have buckets and a custom made center console). I still need to stain the wood on the new panels (I've been rather busy lately). There will be a panel above the radio with a digital clock and seperate switches for the remote turn ons for the amps
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After reading alot of install threads on here and DIYMA, I decided to rethink my trunk layout (make it more practical and better looking). I've since decided to put my zx amp on one side behind the wheelwell and the eq215ix facing it on the other side, and covering them in plexiglass (I would add vents and fans)then put woofers behind them...although I might put the woofers against the wheelwells and the PG stuff closer to the back of the car). I'd also like to get an M series amp or 2 and put them between the wheelwells going up the axle hump.

I've got 0 gauge running to the trunk to a 2 way distribution block, then 4 gauge running to a smaller distribution block.
heres a pic of what I have to work with (I removed the factory carpet so I could get a better look at the not very flat floor)
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if anyone has any ideas on layouts, i'd love to hear them. I figure you guys have alot more experience in layouts.

I have a ton more pictures of my car and my build on it, but I figure since this in an audio forum and this is the area for audio installs, it wouldn't be appropriate to cover the rest of the build.
Pioneer keh9595 + deh80prs, Phoenix Gold xs6600 PG M10p, and some randon speakers in a van
CK1991
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:38 pm

Re: 1986 fleetwood brougham install

Post by CK1991 »

picked up some new subs for the car. Got 2 orion xtr3 10" and an image dynamics IDQ10 (v1) to choose between. My hifonics will be going to a buddy with a suburban (and that monster box looks small in his truck)
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been thinking out my system layout (wiring/ setup wise). Figuring on having my HU run through the PG 215 eq, then to a MTX 2 way xover. I'll have the subs run off the lows on the PG eq through my punch 150 (until I get a M series PG amp), and the mids/ highs run though the 2 way xover. I'll have the lows run from that to my PG zx200 to my RF punch 6.5 woofers (door mounted) then have the mids/ highs run through my PPI sedona amp (which has a built in xover) and have the highs sent on to another amp (probably one of my unkillable jesen mini amps because I don't have any other amps rated under 50 wpc rms, which is what the tweeters I have are rated at)

I also picked up a set of kickpanels to mess with for speaker pods
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and am looking at these for the speaker pods (gonna get some mat from my body guy and pick up the resin and hardener at the auto parts store.)
ebay speaker rings
Pioneer keh9595 + deh80prs, Phoenix Gold xs6600 PG M10p, and some randon speakers in a van
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