Sub In A Bin...
04-14-2003, 12:05 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Monmouth, Oregon
Posts: 25
Hey guys,
I just picked up my 85 GS a couple weeks ago, and finally got around to ripping out my stereo out of my Celica to transfer over.. Only thing is, I have this chunky looking 10" Sub enclosure that used to go in my trunk, but well now as you know, I dont have one. What have you guys done with your subs, I see a couple of custom boxes out there, but those are mostly for like 3 subs, or take up the entire rear deck. I was looking at my car today and thought, hey damn that would be cool if somehow I could mount the sub in the storage bin(s) that are right behind the seat, and cover them with plexi or something, have it glow etc... They are at an angle though and I dont know if I could fire them up through whatever is there in the deck or whatnot. Basically, I want it to look cool, but not be super obvious, as I've had stereos stolen when they are on display.
Thanks,
Brant.
I just picked up my 85 GS a couple weeks ago, and finally got around to ripping out my stereo out of my Celica to transfer over.. Only thing is, I have this chunky looking 10" Sub enclosure that used to go in my trunk, but well now as you know, I dont have one. What have you guys done with your subs, I see a couple of custom boxes out there, but those are mostly for like 3 subs, or take up the entire rear deck. I was looking at my car today and thought, hey damn that would be cool if somehow I could mount the sub in the storage bin(s) that are right behind the seat, and cover them with plexi or something, have it glow etc... They are at an angle though and I dont know if I could fire them up through whatever is there in the deck or whatnot. Basically, I want it to look cool, but not be super obvious, as I've had stereos stolen when they are on display.
Thanks,
Brant.
04-14-2003, 12:32 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: teh frozen nort
Posts: 1,030
The storage bins are no good for subs, they are in the middle of the car and you will have frequency response problems due to wave cancellation. Best setup for a 1st gen is one or two eights in the back wall.
J
J
04-14-2003, 03:28 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 2,871
The sub box in my old car was covered with a carpet that Orion was selling. Basically it was just the weave, with no heavy backing. That way, you can cover the sub itself, and the sound still comes through clearly. It happened to match my interior perfectly, so you couldn't tell there was a 12" sub in my hatch, unless you happened to notice the missing space. This would work perfectly with a spare tire well, because you could leave the rear hatch area flat and it would look stock.
04-14-2003, 03:30 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 2,871
The slight depression on the previous photo is where the carpet is glued to the grill. After 5 years of carrying groceries you could notice the circle. The carpet and grill are glued to another piece of MDF you can see at the top of this photo that covered the box. This box built, installed and carpeted cost me $150 CDN. 
04-15-2003, 12:11 AM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 254
I have a 400 watt Jensen amp in my 84 RX...relocated it to the drivers side bin...actually i had to gut the bin but it looks pretty nice...I took some pictures of my setup before and i'll take some "after" shots tomorrow.
And actually...i had another thought on the trivial task of mounting subs in the first gen...It seems we don't really have any good places. While i was looking to figure out if a rear seat would be easy to place into my car i notice there is a metal plate laying on top of the bins that covers where the seat would usually be. I'm thinking it would be possible to mount boxes in the holes where the cubbys are and retain the cubby face atleast to hide it...have the speaker grill facing up in a hole cut thru the metal cover panel. You could also use a "free air" sub but i'm sure it would cause resonance problems because of the sheet metal...plus if your rx is like mine the chamber wouldn't be sealed much from all the holes in the body. I'll see if i can't dig up some stuff tomorrow and see if my idea would work. As long as the box was not too large you could also mount the amp below the box in the cubby...keeps it hidden from would be thieves
Also if anyone hasn't installed a system in their rx and plans to...by all means get one of the largest install kits you can find...and a battery with a gm terminal for a seperate hot wire running to your amp...thats how i have mine set up...when your car gets to be 19 years old its a good idea to bypass as much of the old wiring as possible...you never know what might catch on fire if you don't
oh...and get a fire extinguisher...it will be your best friend
next to electrical and duct tape
And actually...i had another thought on the trivial task of mounting subs in the first gen...It seems we don't really have any good places. While i was looking to figure out if a rear seat would be easy to place into my car i notice there is a metal plate laying on top of the bins that covers where the seat would usually be. I'm thinking it would be possible to mount boxes in the holes where the cubbys are and retain the cubby face atleast to hide it...have the speaker grill facing up in a hole cut thru the metal cover panel. You could also use a "free air" sub but i'm sure it would cause resonance problems because of the sheet metal...plus if your rx is like mine the chamber wouldn't be sealed much from all the holes in the body. I'll see if i can't dig up some stuff tomorrow and see if my idea would work. As long as the box was not too large you could also mount the amp below the box in the cubby...keeps it hidden from would be thieves
Also if anyone hasn't installed a system in their rx and plans to...by all means get one of the largest install kits you can find...and a battery with a gm terminal for a seperate hot wire running to your amp...thats how i have mine set up...when your car gets to be 19 years old its a good idea to bypass as much of the old wiring as possible...you never know what might catch on fire if you don't
oh...and get a fire extinguisher...it will be your best friend
next to electrical and duct tape