I can give you some info on what I did in my '99 F-150 Ext. Cab. First off let me start by saying I am by no means a professional audio installer. This was my first attempt at a system and I think it turned out pretty nice. I relied heavily on the help of good people on this forum.
I believe the '97 and '99 are very similar. The main problem I ran into was getting enough mounting depth under the rear seat for a good sub. I got it in my head that I wanted a single 12" sub under there and did what I had to do to make it fit. I used an FI Audio x12 in a 1 cube box under the passenger side rear seat firing downward. I ordered 4 pcs of 4" aluminum C-Channel, had them powder coated black to match the factory brackets and raised the seat. It looks nice and is very solid. I got the C-Channel cut to size from onlinemetals.com for about $44 with shipping. There are some companies out there that make boxes to fit these trucks to do single or dual 10's, but I wanted to build my own and I wanted that FI audio sub in my truck.
The rear speakers I used are a set of Boston Acoustics SL-80 6x8 which fit perfect. These I already had from my last truck.
For the fronts, I used a set of Massive Audio CK6 components. I made my own adapter plates out of MDF to get the 6.5" into the factory 6x8 openings with just a slight bit of trimming out the openings. The tweeters I used velcro initially and tried them in several different places before I settled on where to mount them. I had them high on the A-pillars, then lowered them down. I tried different places on the door panels till I found the sweet spot. This took about a month of playing with. They sound incredible but the tweeters are very bright. If you go with these, connect the tweeters to the
-3 setting on the crossover.
For the amps, I went with a Massive Audio d1200 mono, (very small footprint) and a used MBQuart DSC-4125 for the speakers. I built a 2 level amp rack and mounted under the drivers side rear seat. I don't really recommend the MBQuart amp, but it does work and I got a decent deal on it. The Massive amp drives my sub good and clean. I really like it. I started doing a small(ish) system for my car, but when I get that done, I will most likely remove the MBQuart and get something better.
For wiring, I used all Knukonceptz. a 1/0 amp kit with fuse holder under the hood about 12" from the battery, to a distribution block behind the rear seat with fuses, then #4 wire to the 2 amps. 12 wire to the sub and 16 to the speakers. Again, all Knukonceptz. I talked to a guy named Bill there, very helpful.
I used Elemental Designs edead 45 sound deadening. I removed all the interior and applied it from the back window all the way to the firewall. Then inside the doors as well as to the doors under the door panels. I did not do the roof yet. I want to mount an overhead dvd player for the kid and will most likely apply it when I tackle that project.
And for a head unit, I used the Kenwood x995. It is a single din sized unit but no screen.
SO that is my system. I spent somewhere around $1400. It adds up quick. Hope this helps you out. If you have any questions, please ask me. Like I said, I'm not a pro but I am willing to help.
I believe the '97 and '99 are very similar. The main problem I ran into was getting enough mounting depth under the rear seat for a good sub. I got it in my head that I wanted a single 12" sub under there and did what I had to do to make it fit. I used an FI Audio x12 in a 1 cube box under the passenger side rear seat firing downward. I ordered 4 pcs of 4" aluminum C-Channel, had them powder coated black to match the factory brackets and raised the seat. It looks nice and is very solid. I got the C-Channel cut to size from onlinemetals.com for about $44 with shipping. There are some companies out there that make boxes to fit these trucks to do single or dual 10's, but I wanted to build my own and I wanted that FI audio sub in my truck.
The rear speakers I used are a set of Boston Acoustics SL-80 6x8 which fit perfect. These I already had from my last truck.
For the fronts, I used a set of Massive Audio CK6 components. I made my own adapter plates out of MDF to get the 6.5" into the factory 6x8 openings with just a slight bit of trimming out the openings. The tweeters I used velcro initially and tried them in several different places before I settled on where to mount them. I had them high on the A-pillars, then lowered them down. I tried different places on the door panels till I found the sweet spot. This took about a month of playing with. They sound incredible but the tweeters are very bright. If you go with these, connect the tweeters to the
-3 setting on the crossover.
For the amps, I went with a Massive Audio d1200 mono, (very small footprint) and a used MBQuart DSC-4125 for the speakers. I built a 2 level amp rack and mounted under the drivers side rear seat. I don't really recommend the MBQuart amp, but it does work and I got a decent deal on it. The Massive amp drives my sub good and clean. I really like it. I started doing a small(ish) system for my car, but when I get that done, I will most likely remove the MBQuart and get something better.
For wiring, I used all Knukonceptz. a 1/0 amp kit with fuse holder under the hood about 12" from the battery, to a distribution block behind the rear seat with fuses, then #4 wire to the 2 amps. 12 wire to the sub and 16 to the speakers. Again, all Knukonceptz. I talked to a guy named Bill there, very helpful.
I used Elemental Designs edead 45 sound deadening. I removed all the interior and applied it from the back window all the way to the firewall. Then inside the doors as well as to the doors under the door panels. I did not do the roof yet. I want to mount an overhead dvd player for the kid and will most likely apply it when I tackle that project.
And for a head unit, I used the Kenwood x995. It is a single din sized unit but no screen.
SO that is my system. I spent somewhere around $1400. It adds up quick. Hope this helps you out. If you have any questions, please ask me. Like I said, I'm not a pro but I am willing to help.
