Well, i finally got around to installing my "Response" splits i got from Jaycar a few weeks ago. Took up the good part of a weekend getting everything in and all wired up.

Cleaned up the amp, came out looking like new..

Before

After


A shot of the amp mounted up..

Space at the rear with the seat all the way forward


Decided to mount the crossovers in the map pockets so i drilled a hole in each of the map pockets so that i could run the wiring through the hole and into the door. What a b**ch of a job this was when it came time for refitting the door trims. I dread the day i ever have to remove the door trims again

Anyway, got it all sussed out. Mounted the tweeters on the sail behind the mirrors, mounted the woofer in place and refitted the door trims. Screwed the crossovers in place and presto.




Now that they are all in and running, all i can say is WOW!! I can't believe how much difference a good set of splits amped properly makes to the front stage. It completely s**t all over my cheapo splits i had running off the headunit, that's for sure.

The woofers produce some very tight punchy midbass notes, much better than what i had before and the highs are bloody awesome, i am running the Response tweeters at 0db attenuation at the moment, and they are running along with the other tweeters i have mounted in the cowl panel so it's very, very clear up front - funnily enough, the tweeters don't even sound harsh at all, it's just clean, crisp sound. Have angled the tweeter to face the opposite side headrest and the staging is pretty much spot on. Jeez, it's bloody loud now too, i can easily turn up the volume more and more without distortion, i think i may need to look at upgrading the sub and amp later on to keep up with the front stage

great result in the end mate, amp came up a million bucks!

amp looks sick! much better then what it originally was. personally wouldnt have put the cross overs there would have probly hid them but thats not always easy, but good work any way!
cant wait to get some money in the bank so i can start my sound system.

What model splits are they? And how did you mount the amp? Excellent work, looks very neat.

Cheers man!! Yeah the amp came out looking pretty after a quick sand and a few coats of gloss black. I could easily flog it off for double the price i paid for it if i ever feel like upgrading

The amp goes well for what it is, and now looks the part so i can't complain


Thanks dude!! Definitely, the amp looks heaps better than it's washed up condition it was in before. Regarding the crossovers, i did plan on mounting them under the seat but seeing as the crossover units themselves are vented, not fully sealed, dust would have built up inside the unit very quick. Thought about putting them in the dash somewhere, but they are just too bloody big

I had to resort to the map pockets which i didn't really want to do, but it's a pretty practical place to mount them for me. That area doesn't get much dust build up and the crossovers are pretty easy to remove if i ever play around with tweeter attenuation settings. I plan on getting a set of LTD door trims sometime in the future so i may relocate the crossover when the new trims go in.


Thanks buddy!! The splits are the 6" Kevlar Response ones. Model is CS-2327. Great set of splits for the price IMO. I did actually plan on going with a set of Alpine Type S splits for the front as i liked the sound of them, but these came up at a bargain price which i couldn't say no to. Glad i did snap them up though, they sound awesome with the music i listen to. Apparently some of the Response gear (splits, coaxials etc) have now been discontinued or something which is why they had a massive clearance on the Response range of speaker last month.

The amp is just mounted to an MDF board, placed underneath the carpet. So i have the amp screwed through the carpet and into the MDF board underneath, this way the amp stays perfectly in position and you don't have to worry about drilling holes into the floor or anything

Thats an excellent Idea, I hadn't thought of that.

Hey mate - You want any poo brown interior bits (cuppa / cuppacino)?? There's a car around here that has some bits left on it....

Hey Fiend,

Hmm, i'll have to get back to you on that one. At the moment, im still processing - trying to think if i need any bits for the interior but nothing springs to mind. What car is it? Any other parts available? Cheers for the heads up by the way

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Well, since i am here, i may as well make an update... Nothing much has changed since the last time i posted

Boot install has been put on hold as i have had a few things i need to get done before April 11th which is Auckland All Ford Day. I am planning or hoping, to make an appearance there for the first time ever at it's new location - having not been to an AFD event since i was like 15 is quite slack, so i will do my best to make it this year. Should be special one too being it's 10th Anniversary

I am planning to maybe put the Fairmont on display on the day, even though it's nothing special really, it's wearing the blue oval and looks half decent, so that's all that counts. Have decided to make a few changes in the engine bay before the big day, so the boot install is on the waiting list. Need to tidy up a few things in the engine bay, polish a few things, paint a few things and maybe add a thing or two. Also need to fix up a few things on the exterior, needs a good wash, polish and wax. Hopefully i can get it looking as best i can before AFD.

Anyway, today i started working on a new mod which i will hopefully have finished by next weekend providing i can get all the materials before then. Will update when it's done

Don't you need that vertical piece in the centre of the dash, under the glovebox? On the LHS of where the radio mounts? Has had holes drilled in it?

Preparing for the AFD will keep you busy. Be sure to get up lots of pics of the day, I'm keen to see what cars are there.

I wonder if any of my family will be there. Look out for a Yellow XA GT 2 Door, blown 460, Powerglide, Tubs, etc. Plates are HYPOXA IIRC.

Hey mate a question:

When you painted your dash black (i mean the from above your head unit to the cluster, that piece) How did you paint the trip computer and climate control unit to match?

Do the buttons come out, or does the surround pop out so you can paint them separately?

you can pull apart the trip/climate control so the buttons come out

Hey, you know what, you are absolutely right!! Jeez i have forgot all about that side of the dash as i'm always in the drivers seat, i have no idea what was there before, the original owner just filled the holes with 4 black screws

I also have no idea how i will replace it though, iirc it looks as though it is part of the complete lower half of the dash - i will have to double check it all though. Cheers for pointing that out.

Yeah for sure, if i make it, there will be stacks of pics. We have some really nice Ford's in NZ, from what i have seen from previous years pictures, there is a mixture of old school (XW, XY, XA, XB etc) and newer cars (AU, BA, BF etc). E-series Fords are very rarely modded around this part of NZ, you see the odd one lowered on nice rims, but that is about it.

I'll be on the look out for HYPOXA, with plates like that it will be hard to miss




Yep, as FF said, the units can be pulled apart so you can remove the faceplates and spray them. Once you remove the trip computer and climate control, just pull them apart. I can't remember now what exactly holds them together. I know you have to lever up the faceplate clips and then undo a few screws to remove the circuit boards, then remove the buttons etc. Best of luck with it mate

also a good idea to take a pic of climate control buttons before pulling them out, cause they all seem to be the same shape

Pulling the climate apart (along with all other instruments in higher spec clusters) is do-able. Easy even. What is not quite so easy is changing the colour of the read-out on the climate control. You will need to remove about 30 solders that go through the circuit board in order to pull the screen part out (in which lies an amber diffuser.)

Cool thanks guys, will keep it in mind and add to the to do list.

I know you mentioned this before KWIK, but the paint you used on the dash was...?

Any clear or primer used?

Cheers.