85 Monte Carlo Kicker beginner build.

7388 Views 48 Replies 19 Participants Last post by mrmill, May 31, 2014

kjvsop

Discussion Starter · Apr 13, 2014

This is my first build ever. Seriously, I don't think I've ever built anything.
I am going with Kicker everything. I've explained why in my intro thread. http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/new-member-introduction/162097-i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing.html
So this is going to be a slow process as I will have to learn as I go.

This is my 1985 Monte Carlo.

]

The person I bought it from did awesome stuff to the car, everything but the sound system..

I wanted to purchase the more expensive (to me) stuff and start with the trunk.

Removed the junk from the trunk.

I did a very basic mock design with thin cardboard to get an idea of where I wanted to go with it. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you this took me 3 hours..

I found a surprise in the trunk! I named him Monte

After releasing Monte and getting some rest, I duplicated the previous nights work with some thicker cardboard to simulate the plywood I will be using.

I assumed I had plenty of room to fit the Kicker box because it is a fairly large trunk, so I laid some support under the cardboard and placed the box in.

I was wrong...

There is plenty of room in the trunk for the box to fit I just need to lower the floor a bit.
I made some more cuts (no pics) and I didn't like the way the floor was going so I need to go back to the drawing board. I plan to do walls as well and a mesh grill between the seat and trunk.

I have limited free time so there won't be much progress for a few weeks, but if anybody is interested I will continue the build log.

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KyngHype

· #2 · Apr 13, 2014

Clean MC

miniSQ

· #3 · Apr 13, 2014

Very cool car...and trust me that kind of thing happens all the time. Good luck with the build.

reithi

· #4 · Apr 13, 2014

Lovely ride you got there...but a freaking snake in the trunk !!!!

kjvsop

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 13, 2014

KyngHype said:
Clean MC

Right on.

miniSQ said:
Very cool car...and trust me that kind of thing happens all the time. Good luck with the build.

Thanks. I plan to do it a few more times :laugh:

reithi said:
Lovely ride you got there...but a freaking snake in the trunk !!!!

Thanks. Yeah I'm not sure how it got in there. The car sits pretty high off the ground. Maybe it was born in there

JayinMI

· #6 · Apr 13, 2014

Nice Monte. There was an article in an old issue of CA&E (IIRC, but it might have been Car Stereo Review) about a guy who put together a system in a Monte SS and he did it piece by piece and in the end I think he won his class (or came in top 3) at IASCA Finals. Those cars have a fair amount of potential.
Is it Fuel injected or carb'd?

Jay

TrickyRicky

· #7 · Apr 13, 2014

Sexy car, I always wanted an SS. Don't foget to damp the whole trunk otherwise it will rattle like you got empty aluminum cans in the back.

kjvsop

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 13, 2014

JayinMI said:
Nice Monte. There was an article in an old issue of CA&E (IIRC, but it might have been Car Stereo Review) about a guy who put together a system in a Monte SS and he did it piece by piece and in the end I think he won his class (or came in top 3) at IASCA Finals. Those cars have a fair amount of potential.
Is it Fuel injected or carb'd?

Jay

That's cool. I doubt I'll be winning any competitions haha. It's got an edelbrock carburetor with a 350 out of an old nova.

TrickyRicky said:
Sexy car, I always wanted an SS. Don't foget to damp the whole trunk otherwise it will rattle like you got empty aluminum cans in the back.

Thanks me too. I've been looking into it. May be my next purchase.

TrickyRicky

· #9 · Apr 13, 2014

Buy in bulk, don't buy a bunch of small kits because it adds up very quickly.

nittanylion64

· #10 · Apr 14, 2014

Where at in SEMO are you? I went to SEMO, and come back quite often. I love me some Burritoville, used to work there as well!
Nice looking Monte!!

kjvsop

Discussion Starter · #11 · Apr 14, 2014

TrickyRicky said:
Buy in bulk, don't buy a bunch of small kits because it adds up very quickly.

Right on. Do you have any suggestions? I just want to do the trunk for now.

nittanylion64 said:
Where at in SEMO are you? I went to SEMO, and come back quite often. I love me some Burritoville, used to work there as well!
Nice looking Monte!!

Poplar Bluff right now. Back to St. Louis shortly.

CK1991

· #12 · Apr 14, 2014

Hope you arent planning on reusing that trunk lid "ground"? pull the back seat bottom, remove a seat belt bolt (t45 or 47), clean off some paint (use a dremel, etc), and ground it there.
also, when you run through the firewall/ back seat trunk bracing, use grommits or at minimum some flexible plastic tube, slice it longways, and cover the edges of the hole/ trunk braces to make sure the cars metal won't rub through the wire casing.
if carbed, and the computer is abandoned, there should be a hole in the firewall where all the computer wires were ran. You can use this hole (may require enlarging) to feed the 0 gauge wire through. you will then need to pull the lower dash panel (hush panel), pass side kick panel, door sill plate, rear lower panel below the back window, and back seat bottom to make it easier to run the wire. run the wire on the floorpan where the floorpans start to curl up (if that makes sense). once you lay the carpeting back down, you can not tell there is a big wire under it if its in the right spot. run your rcas on the drivers side to avoid interference.

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Chaos

· #13 · Apr 14, 2014

Nice car. Good for you, going with Kicker like that. They make solid products that sound pretty good and rarely come back. The KS line is a really good value for the money, if you ask me, and even their low-budget (Walmart) amps are more powerful and more reliable than most of the import junk out there today.

Not to be a downer though, but their prefab enclosures do leave a lot to be desired when it comes to sound quality. They are loud, but just too dang small and tuned too high to really achieve optimum performance out of their subs. Since you clearly have the ability to fab your own enclosure, you might want to give that a try sometime.

kjvsop

Discussion Starter · #14 · Apr 14, 2014

CK1991 said:
Hope you arent planning on reusing that trunk lid "ground"? pull the back seat bottom, remove a seat belt bolt (t45 or 47), clean off some paint (use a dremel, etc), and ground it there.
also, when you run through the firewall/ back seat trunk bracing, use grommits or at minimum some flexible plastic tube, slice it longways, and cover the edges of the hole/ trunk braces to make sure the cars metal won't rub through the wire casing.
if carbed, and the computer is abandoned, there should be a hole in the firewall where all the computer wires were ran. You can use this hole (may require enlarging) to feed the 0 gauge wire through. you will then need to pull the lower dash panel (hush panel), pass side kick panel, door sill plate, rear lower panel below the back window, and back seat bottom to make it easier to run the wire. run the wire on the floorpan where the floorpans start to curl up (if that makes sense). once you lay the carpeting back down, you can not tell there is a big wire under it if its in the right spot. run your rcas on the drivers side to avoid interference.

No way would I use that ground, or any other wiring the previous owner has in there. I plan on not taking any shortcuts with this build. I've checked and the only issue I should have is the new carpet seems to be held in place with spray adhesive. Where are you from in STL? I was raised in North County. I actually just purchased the Monte there a few months ago.

Chaos said:
Nice car. Good for you, going with Kicker like that. They make solid products that sound pretty good and rarely come back. The KS line is a really good value for the money, if you ask me, and even their low-budget (Walmart) amps are more powerful and more reliable than most of the import junk out there today.

Not to be a downer though, but their prefab enclosures do leave a lot to be desired when it comes to sound quality. They are loud, but just too dang small and tuned too high to really achieve optimum performance out of their subs. Since you clearly have the ability to fab your own enclosure, you might want to give that a try sometime.

I understand. I did not plan on building anything myself. I did research building custom enclosure's though, and after reading and watching tutorials I don't think I would be able to do it right atm. I would have even paid to have one built but where I live is lacking in car audio. That's why I went with the Kicker prefab enclosure for now. Depending on how this goes It is a possibility in the future.

[email protected]

· #15 · Apr 14, 2014

What engine is in there?

CK1991

· #16 · Apr 14, 2014

I am in south city. I hear ya on STL being dead for car audio. not many shops aside from the large chains. And good luck finding much besides the cheapest of cheap wallyworld equipment used.
got any interior pics of the car?

BTW, I recommend upgrading the alternator to a CS144 factory alternator. 140 amps should be more than enough for a good sound system. is basically a drop in for the later serp belt style 350s

kjvsop

Discussion Starter · #17 · Apr 14, 2014

[email protected] said:
What engine is in there?

350 from an 70's model Chevy Nova

CK1991 said:
I am in south city. I hear ya on STL being dead for car audio. not many shops aside from the large chains. And good luck finding much besides the cheapest of cheap wallyworld equipment used.
got any interior pics of the car?

BTW, I recommend upgrading the alternator to a CS144 factory alternator. 140 amps should be more than enough for a good sound system. is basically a drop in for the later serp belt style 350s

I'm in a small town south of St. Louis right now where there is little to no car audio. I will be back in 6 months or so. I'll get some pics of the interior. I think it looks pretty nice. It's all black with leather bucket seats.

I've been looking into an upgraded alternator but I'm mechanically inclined so thanks for the suggestion.

[email protected]

· #18 · Apr 14, 2014

CK1991 said:
I am in south city. I hear ya on STL being dead for car audio. not many shops aside from the large chains. And good luck finding much besides the cheapest of cheap wallyworld equipment used.
got any interior pics of the car?

BTW, I recommend upgrading the alternator to a CS144 factory alternator. 140 amps should be more than enough for a good sound system. is basically a drop in for the later serp belt style 350s

We have several good shops besides the large chains here. Feel free to PM me if you want to know a few of them.

kjvsop

Discussion Starter · #19 · Apr 14, 2014 (Edited)

Here's the interior and some other pics.

Sorry for the low quality cell phone pics. Plus it was cloudy outside.

Kenwood receiver I am going to replace. Not sure with what yet

Behind the passenger carpet. I didn't know there was sound dampener under the carpet

Behind the glove box

I hope to find or build a center console.

Previous owner said the lift was done by a guy from Bigfoot in St. Louis.

Needs a little work under the hood. Wires not properly mounted.

It seems like there was 2 different people working on it. A lot of stuff is legit, but there was a lot of corners cut too.
I have a lot of plans for this car. I think I got a great deal on it.

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CK1991

· #20 · Apr 15, 2014

a couple links that may be of interest to you

how to build kick panel enclosures for G bodies
GBody Speaker Kick Panels, Do IT YOUSELF! • GBodyForum.com - 1978-1988 GM G-Body Cars & Community

as for consoles, I suggest a factory G body console as a direct bolt in.

other consoles you can use include the 90s blazer and bravada console (I know guys who run them in 80s-90s b bodies)

apparently an early 00s grand prix console also works and IMO looks damn sharp

I need a new console! • GBodyForum.com - 1978-1988 GM G-Body Cars & Community

and if you're bored one day, take a look at all the repro g body parts that can be had

GBodyParts.com Online

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