Anybody done major stereo upgrades?

[Patriot_tech]

Hi everybody,

From the number of posts to the audio section, I get the feeling that most of you are primarily go fast types with no interest in car audio.

I was wondering if anyone out there had a serious stereo in their GN. Since my car will be street only I am going to put a nice system in it. Anybody done custom kick panels for the speakers or custom subwoofer boxes? I have been into stereos for years and am familiar with Richard Clarke and his GN.

I already have most of the components from my last car, and am more than capable of doing fibergalss and any custom work. I guess I'm looking for some install ideas and what other DIYers have done.

BTW, If anyone has any questions related to audio-alarms-remote starts, etc. Let me know, I will try to help as much as I can. I will definitely need a lot of help on the engine/speed side that I know very little about.

Let's hear about your stereos!
Thanks!

[kenmosher]

http://www.usdaudio.com/sw/cars/

[Patriot_tech]

This is the car I spoke of in my initial post. From what I understand, Richard Clarke bought it from speakerworks many years ago. I also believe that he has a large collection of GN's.

Anyway here's what I'm thinking about for my car. 15" subs in an inifinite baffle (free air) set up. 4" coax for rear fill in custom baffles, 5.25" in the doors and a tweeter and 4" in the kickpanel in custom kickpanels I'll build. I have a nice Kenwood head unit. I probably use 3 amps. My goal for the install is to be as stock looking as possible. I'll finish the trunk similar to that of the Richard Clarke / Speakerworks car.

Has anyone built anything else interesting in these cars?

[Patriot_tech]

OK then... No one is interested in audio, I get it. Go fast only - which is obviously the point with these cars. I'm sure I'll have other questions/input on other aspects of these vehicles. Thanks.

[Royal-T]

http://www.hzemall.com/our_gallery/installs_hzemall/regal/cover.htm

[ed39]

o you need to have a good sound system in your car... i used all the factory locations for the speakers just upgraded them..i also put two tweeters on the a pillars right by your head ware the sun visors are this is a great location for some tweeters i also added at nice 400watt amp and 10 inch woffer with ported box a good cd player ties my whole system together i can get a good boom out of my system that makes peoples heads turn

[buddiiee]

Yep, you guessed it. We are mainly go fast/luxury people. To put an excessively loud and albeit heavy stereo system in a rare turbo regal, would be counter productive. And, noone would ever butcher such a rare cars interior to do so either. I beg you not to either.
Loud stereos are heavy, and attract all the wrong attention. (cops and car jackers) trust me, a TR/GN will already attract ALLLL the attention anyways. No need to have the guy 3 cars over hearing your music as well. Its just not prudent. Plus, for the most part, it gives a bad impression, and it always has a negative connotation. Buick guys are for the most part, a touch older, wiser, and a little more prudent in their choices if you will. Sort of like special operations are within the army... If you demand a great sounding car (our cars sound good already with no music playing) just replace (careful not to damage the oem stuff) the stock speakers, with really good ones of the same size, say, from bose, jbl, blaupunkt or infinity, and get a really decent head unit, and you will be jammin. Plus, theres a lot goin on underneath the hood of our cars.. we usually like to listen to what our engines/exhaust is doin, while cruisin/racing. Its like theyre speaking to us. And only we can understand :) That in itself is pure magic to our ears...

[ed39]

you are not entirely right on the slightly older part im 18 haha but i hate those ricers crap cans with the FART TIP TAIL PIPE so pointless they tend to avioid me hehhe but i like the stock go fast look and chose the american car way

[Royal-T]

i've got subs n 6x9s n upgraded dash speakers and a good head unit and - really - most of the time i just like riding and listening to my dual exhaust and turbo spool..... maybe i'm just gettin old..... hahahaha.... but every once in a while i'll turn it up... go to that link i posted - hes done some pretty cool stuff.

[Patriot_tech]

Having only had my car a couple months, I am quickly understanding what Buddiiee speaks of. I would never do anything to this car to permanently alter it in any way (aside from the motor mods already done). Just too much invested in it to damage it. Anything I do will be as stock looking as possible. At 36, I'd like to think I'm a bit wiser anyway. I would setup mine for max sound quality anyway. I don't care if someone 3 cars over can hear me. If I do anything, it probably won't be until over the winter anyway. Thanks!

[buddiiee]

ed39.. note that i said: "Buick guys are for the most part, a touch older, wiser, and a little more prudent in their choices if you will."

Not ALL, but most. In fact, I just got home from a huge TR meet the other day, and I could confidently say I was the youngest owner there. (im 33, but look 24, so I tend to get looks, that suggest "are you driving your dads buick?) which I dont really mind to tell you the truth. :) FOR THE MOST PART, the younger guys tend to gravitate torwards the mustangs and f bodies.

[ed39]

hahaha it was daddys car but now its alll mine and the f bodies are nice but they dont have the sleeper look to them and i really love this motor...besides beating a ricer or one of those WRX STi is alot better in an old buick haha

[buddiiee]

Oh yea one more thing... no grand national is a sleeper lol. There were no slow ones for us to hide amongst like mustangs and f bodies. The all black grand national only came in one trim package. "fast". Thats the only option you got lol. When people see these cars, they already know whats goin on. No such animal as a sleeper GN. :six:

[carbreaksalot]

My t-type had 2 12'' subs in the trunk, but it was shaking all the rust off. So I removed one. I noticed right away that my car was considerably slower with both subs because of the extra weight in the back, It doesn't really matter thought because my car hasn't been running in the last two and a half years :stir:

[Patriot_tech]

I assume you had those both in boxes of some sort. Could you really tell a difference by removing one? They must be huge speakers as usually the box is the majority of the weight, which is why I plan to use a free air setup. Just a panel on the back seat. It will be a totally custom setup. The interior will look as original to the naked eye ( other than the radio ). The trunk will be tastefully done with trunk liner and panels to cover everything up.

I am amazed at the attention this car attracts already. These are not sleepers by any stretch of the imagination. I practically see mouths drop as I drive by. What's even better is the twinkle of envy in the eye of someone who knows what they are looking at. Did I mention that I am really enjoying this car in my short time of ownership thus far?

[godwingn87]

I'm in the process of putting a system in mine . I'm trying to find a way to
get the proper enclosure for my mid-bass going into the door keeping my
consert sound factory look...... one idea I did come up with for my head unit is to cut lexan the same size as the stock radio, cut the inside out for the after-market player,paint the back side black and install it around my cd player witch also has a all black face with a flip around display. it's kinda hard to explain but I can send pics when i'm done if you want. :pic:

[Patriot_tech]

I'm just going to use some MB Quart 5.25" for the doors. Trying to shoehorn an enclosure in there would not be fun and it may affect the value of the car. The MB Q are good for use in free air applications like that. I just got a set of underdash compression horns that should sound spectacular in this car.

I'm just going to use the regular old install kit for mine. It provides a simple look I prefer. I have a Kenwood deck that is black with chrome accents so it compliments the interior quite well actually. Do you plan to use some LED's or small lights to give the lexan a 'glow' at night? Using bright blue LED's would look cool if you want some flash.

[ed39]

this is referring back to gods statement... are you talking about the actuall cd player going in to the stock location and having extra space left over????

[godwingn87]

I have MB quart as well, (QM 130) componet set..... I've already built
the enclosure to go inside the door today, and what a difference it made.
still looks bone stock, which is what i'm trying to achieve. just didn't sound right before.
As far as the cd player goes it is a single din. I know it came with a din & a half but it's going to look great. the lexan idea is to match with the rest of the
dash area. BTW, the L.E.D idea sounds cool but not in a GN. :winkgrin:

[Patriot_tech]

Please expand on how you did the door enclosures. Any pics by chance?
I'm very interested to see how you got that done.

Still not totally clear on the whole lexan thing, pics of that if you can when its done too.

[godwingn87]

Sure thing, shootin' for the end of the weekend! :thumbsup:

[pgh grand nasty]

i must say (and i'm sure that most who are sound enthusiasts will agree with me) that we dont put systems in for the car 3 cars over, but for ourselves. i myself being a young person (18), am a fan of loud music. and i must say that the speakers in my GN sound straight horrible. its possibly because of the head unit i have (newer GM delco cd player/am-fm) and its EQ nonsense that i cant seem to make sound good at loud volumes. i wouldnt ever "butcher" the interior but i certainly plan on replacing the stock speakers with nice ones. you may say that putting a system in a TR is counterproductive, but its all in what you like my man. i personally can't stand the way my stereo sounds and i can't wait to have a system in that piece.

i plan on getting a custom box, upholstered with a rear seat cover to match the inside. i haven't done all the research yet to see if this is possible, but as of now i dont see how it wouldnt be. i've seen crazier things done. i'm gonna be getting 2 rockford 12" punch stage 2 subs. rockford punch amp. and a jensen 7" in dash dvd, mainly because of the ipod support. i've got a 60 GB ipod, with 500+ FULL Cd's on it right now, with 17GB left. so once i've got that jensen head unit in there, i'll have a varitable smorgasboard of audio to indulge in. :music:

[buddiiee]

changing your stereo to a nicer one, with better quality speakers in the stock locations is fine.. just dont drill 5" holes in the door panels, and have some 'kicker box' in the trunk that takes up the whole trunk, and weighs 500 lbs.. thats just rediculous.. and youll find out, that youll reduce the cars actual value by about 7 grand just by these rediculous modifications... :) look em up on ebay, youll see.

[godwingn87]

I tried to post pics but it said my file was too large........... I don't know how
to shrink them , any help with this would be appreciated................. Thanks!! :)