ok, while theres a thread about mk1 audio, Id like to throw this in.
since its cheap, and dosent involve cutting any holes, or removal of the stock system. all the components in this stereo are relitively cheap, but I was EXTREMELY thrifty in aquiring these components which ultimately led to the final price
my mk1 still has the stock tape player/am/fm raido in it... and I wasnt one who enjoyed buying CD's but enjoyed insane heart stopping bass that 25 watts per speaker did not provide.
so, I got a hold of a 2 channel alpine 300 watt amp from a garage sale, and a EQ/preamplifier that boosted the signal by something like 12db that was made sometime in the late 80's (I know because my dad had one JUST like it when I was like 2, and he got me to move the EQ bands because the nobs had fallen off and his fingers were too big.)
and then fed all four channels from the tape deck (because It was the easyest to get at, and luckly, the radio functioned through the tape deck.) through the EQ and then the the corrosponding speaker, so the fader and balance still worked.
now for bass... I bought some RCA cables, and a wal-mart electronic crossover with a 12db bass boost at one of THREE frequencys! 20 bucks cdn! (my friend said he had one he would give to me... didnt find it untill I baught mine... so I lied, took his, and sold it.) now, preouts didnt exist when this car was built, so... I had to make believe. I chopped off one end of the first set of RCA's and soldered that end to the right and left speaker wires in order to get sound. after that I hooled the wal mart crossover to the yard sale amp mounted the crossover under the seat, where I could reach it to change the many settings, and mounted the amp on the sub box which housed a 12 inch alpine 150 watt rms sub that my friend had given me because he thought it was blown. turned out, It just had sand in the connections from too much off road play in his corrolla.
now the end product was the worlds loudest stock tapedeck with two knobs. *self proclaimed... Im sure there is louder* the raido sounded great too, and there was no tape hiss.
prices
Sub - Free
Crossover and RCA's and pack of chocolet coverd peanuts - ~ 20 bucks
Wiring - All speaker wire, and all found behind TV in a big ball. 2 hours to untangle. so, almost Free
sub box - Made out of an old coffee table - Free
EQ/Preamp - I don't even remember where I got this thing. but after one look at it, it couldn't have cost more than 20 bucks.
300 watt amp - Garage sale special, haggled em down to 25 bucks. its really nasty looking... I don't think its worth much anyway, but it works great for the Free sub.
total price $65 and the look on peoples faces when they saw me plug in a "mix tape" was worth every penny.
All the system needed was a CD changer mounted somewhere in the rear but I couldn't find one at a yard sale, and Ive heard bad things about the wal mart ones.
(not a boat...just an old BIG car). They actually look good in there, even though you are now practially sitting on the floor and my size can barley see over the dash, but welding is always an option if your any good at it or have someone to do it. Just try and get at least one bolt to hold before you weld it in...it will give it a bit more strength. They do hold strong tho 8)
