boomin' brick 93' Volvo 240 build (4) 10's - Update: 6-20-14 EQ Install w/Build Pics

[Normvilla]

let me just start this build thread by saying, i love this site. i have been into car audio since i turned 16, i am now more than double that age and for the last 4 years i never thought i would be into car audio again. It's a long story and maybe someday ill share it, but for now lets just say that, thanks to this site and steve meade's video's, I have been bitten once again by the car audio bug.

I forgot how much i loved car audio and through watching videos and seeing some of the younger guys on here building some crazy shit. It made me remember how much fun you could have building a system. So for the first time in a long time I am building something for myself.

Now onto the build! I know some of you are saying "why the hell would anybody want to do a system in a 93' Volvo 240?". Well the sad part of this build is that this was my grandfathers car and unfortunately he passed a few months ago, and I ended up with his car. He was never into car audio, but he loved how creative everything about it was. i'm fairly sure that he didn't know what a subwoofer box was but he was impressed that i knew how to build one. So i thought what better than to use his car as a base for a build and to also restore my love of car audio.

For the most part this build will consist of old school equipment i had lying around with the exception of the front and rear speakers. Since I never sell anything I have a storage room full of some pretty decent equipment, though old its still works.

Equipment list :
alpine 9815 HU
alpine MRV-1000 sub amp
alpine MRV-400 4 channel
(4) JL audio 10w0's
Rockford Fosgate T152 front speakers
Rockford Fosgate T1675 rear speakers

So heres a few pics of when i got the car



nice and clean under the hood hahaha


now thats a sweet radio


a decent amount of room


first thing i decided to do was clean up the engine compartment a little and give her a tune up. I think it looks a little better now.


Next was the big 3
here's a pic of the alternator with its new 1/0 power and ground


heres where I grounded to the frame and yes i was down to bare metal under the terminal


here's the bracket i made to hold my circuit breaker


here she is all wired up. I know the battery could use an upgrade but im try to keep this cheap lol


all my connections are soldered


well i think she's off to a good start. i'm gonna update this build as much as i can but i getting tired of sitting in front of the computer and i feel like working on the brick lol I promise more updates later today.

[SnowDrifter]

Nice start!

Clean wiring too

[Normvilla]

Nice start!

Clean wiring too

thanks a lot man I Think i have wiring OCD I just need it to be tidy lol

[Normvilla]

well next on my list was to install the head unit. unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the install but here she is all finished.

I also installed a factory oil pressure and voltage gauge i picked up on good ole eBay.

after that was done i figured i should fix the odometer too

heres the tiny gear that makes the odometer work. notice the tooth missing on the old one.

I also replaced that huge factory clock all the way on the left with a factory tach. You dont have to wire anything it's a direct swap pretty sweet. pay no attention to how dirty it is right now lol

[Normvilla]

Well by this point i was sick of wiring so i decided its time for some custom work. what better place to start than the front speakers.

ass you can see the factory 4 inch speakers are not awesome lol

it was also nice of them to rivet the speaker to the door panel. Because, as we all know, speakers never need to be replaced hahahaha

here is the rings i made to fit the 5.25 rockford T1's in the factory location

some fleece and an upholstery stapler and these puppies are ready for some resin

need to make some room hahahaha wheres the damn air saw

had to do the same for the door panel

first test fit after resin

she's a tight fit but it works

prep for the duraglas

and then the duraglas filling in the gaps

all filled in and in need of a bit of cleaning up

I think she fits pretty good. some rage gold and its time to wrap them in some black vinyl

and the finished product

[Normvilla]

there's my 4 little buddies for the trunk, looks like they are gonna fit

I know that JL Audio 10w0's aren't the most impressive sub out there. but for the amount of power i'm gonna give them, they are plenty of sub for my need's.

[321slapinbass]

very clean build!

[Normvilla]

very clean build!

thank you

[Normvilla]

All the piece's of MDF that make up my box. It's going to be a sealed box since i need to save every inch of room i can and JL 10w0's work pretty well in smaller enclosures.

I'll put some pics of the box being assembled later on today.

thanks to all those who view this build, you are all helping me find the fun in car audio again.

[Normvilla]

well I got the box all assembled and using one of my favorite tools, I got to work cutting some holes out.

This is by far the best router compass iI have ever had. It doesn't hurt having a Porter Cable plunge router attached to it either

And onto some holes

it sure does make it easy

now the reason i had to mount the subs so low in the box is because of the rear headrest's. I wasn't about to reengineer them so it was easier to just grind some MDF out to make a little extra room.

I will put some fiberglass mat on these spots to make sure i don't have any problems in the future.