After more than 1 year driving around in the money-pit called a 1993 Saab 900 classic (3dr Combi-Coupe), we hope the car will become reliable one day, so we decided building an install in it:
The car:
1993 Saab 900classic 2.0i 16valve, 3door Combi-Coupe, Odoardo grey exterior, soon to be blue fabric and vinyl interior (stock: grey fabric+vinyl)
(not a picture of our car, but it's exactly the same)
Car-audio history since 2004:
- 2000 Renault Clio: cancelled... - 1992 Volvo 940: cancelled...
- 1990 Saab 900: cancelled....... - 1994 Citroën Jumper: cancelled...
- 1989 Volvo 740: cancelled...... - 1993 Saab 900: cancelled... I really should start building faster than the car breaks down!
We started by making a sketch of how we would do the trunk-area.
The text in black means: "latch that hides the spare tire, tools..."
The text in blue means: "space for amps etc..."
You might think: "subwoofer-cabinets? I thought they were using IB subs!"
Well, you're absolutely right: those "cabinets" are completely sealed, except for the top, which is attached to the rear-deck that will get grilles...
This way, the subs will see the entire trunk-space, minus the "cabinets" as their "box", and the sound will go trough these cabinets, through the rear-deck, into the passenger-space...
Car-audio history since 2004:
- 2000 Renault Clio: cancelled... - 1992 Volvo 940: cancelled...
- 1990 Saab 900: cancelled....... - 1994 Citroën Jumper: cancelled...
- 1989 Volvo 740: cancelled...... - 1993 Saab 900: cancelled... I really should start building faster than the car breaks down!
Although the trunk of a Saab 900 classic is quite roomy, it isn't as spacious as we thought...
I figured that out after building the bottom-plate and subwoofer-"cabinets"... The amp just won't fit side-by side between the subs, so we came up with this:
This is how it will look if you're watching the install from the back of the car, between the trunk-floor and the rear-deck, so the amplifiers will be mounted vertically, one behind the other, with the back one a little higher so both display-rows are visible.
Car-audio history since 2004:
- 2000 Renault Clio: cancelled... - 1992 Volvo 940: cancelled...
- 1990 Saab 900: cancelled....... - 1994 Citroën Jumper: cancelled...
- 1989 Volvo 740: cancelled...... - 1993 Saab 900: cancelled... I really should start building faster than the car breaks down!
That's it for now!
People that have followed our threads might remember a few things that didn't make it in this install:
- Fountek NeoCD1.0 ribbon tweeters --> They are too big to mount easily and nicely to the narrow A-pillars and we can use these in a home-audio project, so we will try with the compact ND20's...
- Centerconsole sub with CSS Trio8's: We will start building this install very basic and with low power, so the HiVi M8a's should be able to play down to 40Hz without bottoming out. We might implement this idea later so we can apply more power to the midbasswoofers (which means increasing the HPF-frequency on them), without having to raise the LPF-frequency on the Dayton IB's...
Car-audio history since 2004:
- 2000 Renault Clio: cancelled... - 1992 Volvo 940: cancelled...
- 1990 Saab 900: cancelled....... - 1994 Citroën Jumper: cancelled...
- 1989 Volvo 740: cancelled...... - 1993 Saab 900: cancelled... I really should start building faster than the car breaks down!
What I like about it: the displays have that typical show-effect of a car stuffed with cheap ass "7 gazillion Wattzzzz" amps, but internally, it's pretty much a McIntosh
Ow, and don't worry guys, I am working on this, but I'm also spending quite some time looking out for a job as truck-driver, which isn't easy as an inexperienced female...
I work on this project in my parents' garage and I always forget my camera. It's in the car now, so next time (probably this week-end), I'll shoot a picture of what I've got so far... Don't expect too much.
Isabelle
Car-audio history since 2004:
- 2000 Renault Clio: cancelled... - 1992 Volvo 940: cancelled...
- 1990 Saab 900: cancelled....... - 1994 Citroën Jumper: cancelled...
- 1989 Volvo 740: cancelled...... - 1993 Saab 900: cancelled... I really should start building faster than the car breaks down!
What I like about it: the displays have that typical show-effect of a car stuffed with cheap ass "7 gazillion Wattzzzz" amps, but internally, it's pretty much a McIntosh
Ow, and don't worry guys, I am working on this, but I'm also spending quite some time looking out for a job as truck-driver, which isn't easy as an inexperienced female...
I work on this project in my parents' garage and I always forget my camera. It's in the car now, so next time (probably this week-end), I'll shoot a picture of what I've got so far... Don't expect too much.
Isabelle
I may have to borrow my parents' garage too lol. I really need to finish my systemz.
The left part of the structure is done: a "sealed enclosure" with a hole in the top to let the sub play trough the rear-deck. The rest of the trunk will act as the "enclosure" of these IB-subs.
In the middle, you see the beginning of the amp-rack.
Car-audio history since 2004:
- 2000 Renault Clio: cancelled... - 1992 Volvo 940: cancelled...
- 1990 Saab 900: cancelled....... - 1994 Citroën Jumper: cancelled...
- 1989 Volvo 740: cancelled...... - 1993 Saab 900: cancelled... I really should start building faster than the car breaks down!
There won't be coming more pics in this thread probably: the saab is letting down on us and annual inspection time is coming closer...
In June, I finally found a job, so we thought about buying a brand new little car, but my 3-month contract hasn't been renewed which made us realize it's not smart to pay off for a car...
At the moment, my old Volvo is back in use, but I wont be making a thread about it untill I'm 99% sure it'll end with a final result..
All these years beginning new installs in different cars, ending up in trash isn't really motivating...
Isabelle
Car-audio history since 2004:
- 2000 Renault Clio: cancelled... - 1992 Volvo 940: cancelled...
- 1990 Saab 900: cancelled....... - 1994 Citroën Jumper: cancelled...
- 1989 Volvo 740: cancelled...... - 1993 Saab 900: cancelled... I really should start building faster than the car breaks down!
really frustrating, I wanted to know your views on the HXD2 and his comments about the installation and sound system. I hope that good news will soon arrive!!
Its a real shame it never got finished but your ideas seem good. Keep it on the backburner untill you settle on a car.
Similar situation myself, my car is finished but still tuning issues and messing around with tweeters to do, but i know the car will be replaced in 3-6 months so its hard to keep going.
Well, the Volvo is so different from the Saab (4dr sedan versus 3dr hatchback-coupe, angle of the rear-window, size and shape of the spare-tire-compartment, ski-pass vs no ski-pass...) using the same design in it wouldn't work properly...
Also, the Saab is Xenia's car so we'd be using mostly Xenia's audio-gear (the APA4300HX's, the 15" IB-subs...) in it, while the Volvo is my car so we'll be using mostly my own gear in it (Genesis Dual Mono's, 12" Peerless XXLS's) and a more complicated approach (I'd like to experiment with a center-channel and ambient rear-fill), while Xenia likes to keep things as simple as possible (she'd do a tweeterless, subless F.A.S.T.-setup if she had the right car for it)...
To be continued... hopefully...
Isabelle
Car-audio history since 2004:
- 2000 Renault Clio: cancelled... - 1992 Volvo 940: cancelled...
- 1990 Saab 900: cancelled....... - 1994 Citroën Jumper: cancelled...
- 1989 Volvo 740: cancelled...... - 1993 Saab 900: cancelled... I really should start building faster than the car breaks down!
flyonthewall: Pics of the Volvo will be posted once I start a new thread about it. It's not worth taking a picture of it right now anyways, it needs some attention first...
coppertone: thanks for the support, we're considering to fix the Saab if the annual inspection is better than expected, or otherwise replace it by a van...
Xenia had a van after her previous Saab 900, but it was a French rustbucket and a little too long for the city (a few inches longer than the Volvo, which is already too big for our cities), we might go for an old Mercedes van with the short wheelbase if we find one for a decent price and no rust...
bradknob: I was hoping to finish this project too, I've never seen a 4th order bandpass setup with IB-subs before and I'm still wondering how it would turn out... You never know, maybe we can keep the Saab another year and I can finish this project anyways, or maybe I find a way to use the IB subs in my Volvo (both small chances, but you never know)...
jpeezy: thanks for the kind words, I hope I can soon come with pictures of a project that will actually get finished and hopefully be eye-candy too...
Isabelle
Car-audio history since 2004:
- 2000 Renault Clio: cancelled... - 1992 Volvo 940: cancelled...
- 1990 Saab 900: cancelled....... - 1994 Citroën Jumper: cancelled...
- 1989 Volvo 740: cancelled...... - 1993 Saab 900: cancelled... I really should start building faster than the car breaks down!
Xenia's Saab 900 classic
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