A little Tech for your Street Rod Sound System to start out the Forum,

4 posts / 0 new

Tue, 06/07/2011 - 9:05pm

mel

I think this is a great addition to the web site, A place for us to share ideas and lean on each other for advice and knowledge,

I am going to share an IPOD sound system for your Rod that uses no head unit, and everything is out of sight, I seen this a couple years ago on another formand I have done this in two of my cars with great results,

Here is a list of what you need and a little bit about installing it,

1. iPod Classic ($125 on eBay). they are easy enough to find on eBay for silly cheap money. Any iPod with a dock connector will do, including your iPhone.

2. Pioneer GM3400 2-Channel Amp ($95)..

The Pioneer GM3400. It's small, affordable and gets the job done.

3. Rockford Fosgate Amp Install Kit ($25). You don’t really have to buy one of these kits, but they are handy as they come with all of the power wires, fuses, speaker cables, and RCA cables needed for installing an amp.

I got the Rockford Fosgate 10g install kit. It was just nice to know that I had everything I was going to need before I started.

4. PAC IS75 ($24.99). This is a simple cable with RCA connections on one side and a iPod doc connector along with power and ground wires on the other side. This allows your iPod to charge while it’s playing music and gets you the added benefit of a cleaner signal than your headphone jack.

My PAC IS75. It looks like spaghetti here, but it's actually quite simple to wire.

5. PAC LC-1 ($12.50). The one downside of using the PAC IS75 above is that when you connect your iPod via the dock connector, you lose the capability of controlling volume through the iPod. Typically, the PAC LC-1 is used to control sub levels on high-end systems. I found that it is also a great volume knob.

The PAC LC-1. I removed it from the plastic casing and ditched the press fit knob. You don't need any of that...

6. Custom Autosound DVC 5″x7″ Speaker ($49). I don’t know my ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to speakers, but I decided to give one of these a shot. They were designed to replace stock dash speakers in big 1950′s era cars and give you an almost stereo sound. In fact, it’s one speaker with a left and right channel… I guess that’s what “Dual Voice Coil” means.

First step is to find a location to put the volume knob and mount it I put mine under the dash where it is easy to get to but out of sight, Some mount it in the dash with and use a knob that matches the other dash knobs, Then figure out where to mount your speakers and get them mounted,

With the speaker and knob mounted, only the amp is left to locate. I decided to put the Pioneer under the seat on the passenger side. Rather than drill a bunch of holes in my floor plan, I just put some “no skid” pads on the bottom of the amp and set it under the seat. It’s not going anywhere…

With the “hard” shit done, it was time to get out the wire and go to town. Wiring an iPod system like this couldn’t be more straight forward. If a hack like me can do it, you can to… So, don’t let your knees start to knocking. Take a deep breath and follow the diagram:

Easy, right? Even if you take your time and do proper soldered connections, this install shouldn’t take you more than an hour an half.

Surprisingly, the sound quality isn’t half bad. It’s immeasurably better sounding than a stock radio and there is no hint that the car has a stereo at all:

Below is pictures of the AMP,Volume Switch,I POD / Wires, Speaker,Diagram of wiring,

……………….