Does anybody have any tips for installing a new sound system in an El Camino? Anything would help. I have never installed a sound system but I plan on buying everything I need on Ebay and then paying someone to install it for me. What's the best to get for an El Camino?

I don't mean to pick...but ebay is not always your best choice. Figure out what you want (ask questions here). Shop wisely (ask questions here). You really can do everything by yourself without paying someone to do it for you (ask questions here, we'll help!). Put the checkbook down, get your hands dirty and save a ton of bux. Get the hint! :D

I agree, spending a lot of money on a system that is overkill is a waste. I installed an AC Delco AM/FM cassette with a 5 band equalizer out of a 95 Trans Am, I am very happy with Delco systems and always have been. I plan on installing some speakers in custom enclosures (that I'll fabricate) in the smugglers box with an amp, nothing big, maybe 50 to 70 watts. I think it will be more than adequate for the small Elky interior.

I want to really get a good sound system going. I want lots of bass but at the same time I want to be able to hear what they are saying. Lot's of bass.

I put some really nice rockford Fosgate 3.5" in the dash, a Sony Xplode Head unit that will play MP3's in the dash. (you will need to modify the plastic a bit for this), and a 200W(in your dreams) Audiovox ($79.00) 8" sub behind the driver's seat in the Smuggler's compartment. I still have room for the chains, and tools in there next to it. You can't get any bass out of a 3.5"! It doesn't pound you, but it's a full sound on a small budget. If you want to crank it, it sounds great. XM radio is the newest addition, and it's worth the $10/ month.

Details at: http://home.comcast.net/~johncgg/stereo.htm

JC

Don't eBay try www.crutchfield.com lots of electronic stuff there.

A 50 watt head unit, 3 1/2 coaxles in the front & 6x9 triaxles in custom boxes under the rear carpet is all the system I will ever need!

A good tip for purchasing Sound System Components is... Save up your money and buy quality components. The cheaper ones off of Ebay are just going to fail you quicker... That's my 2 cents.

I put some really nice rockford Fosgate 3.5" in the dash
Details at: http://home.comcast.net/~johncgg/stereo.htm

JC

I was told by someone at "Car Toys" that Rockford fosgate speakers were "basically" garbage. I had specked out the system for my 80 which included Rockford Fosgate Component speakers and amps. I went to Car Toys to see if they had a better price than Crutchfield and they didn't carry them and told me this story and tried to sell me something less.

I still will end up with Rockford Fosgate component speakers and a Kenwood (probably) head and CD changer for mine when its time.

Crutchfield is way too expensive. Circuit City or some other discount place will have pretty much what you want at a better cost than most mail order / internet places.

Speck out the system and then go looking for the best prices. Don't E-Bay its a rip off anyway.

Installation could be a big deal if you have absolutely no mechanical ability at all but if you do its not that big of a task.

Just mi opinion.

I installed a Sony and Pioneer Speakers in my 79. I have no complaints. Even better in my 85 I found the 120 Pioneer System that had the stereo and 4 speakers. I made boxes for the back speakers and put them behind the carpet. Make sure if you decide to make your own boxes to cut a little hole on the top so the majority of the bass does not get lost inside the box. Great Sound!!

i got 2 pioneer tweeters up front and 2 pioneer 6x9s behind the seats with a 200 watt alpine amp for now, but later i wanna put either 2 12's or 4.

i would go to a car audio store. maybe like mobile one or something like that. they will be able to help you with any questions you have.

As elcaminofactory pointed out, Delco unit from later GM cars will fit easily and there's usually a pretty fair selection at your local vendor of pre-tested auto parts.

And pawn shop in my area has several last year's model AM/FM/CD new in box for $80-100. They're single DIN size, so actually a little smaller than the stock old radio/cassette.

BTW I found the stock unit was already wired for front/rear sprakers, but rear leads were not used. So I put in some small speaker boxes into the hole behind the seats, and I'm still using the stock radio till I can work my way down to it on the priority list.

So dig into the dash and put what you want into it yourself. It ain't brain surgery. And you'll start to learn how your car is put together.

Maybe u could try to make the sound a little better and get two speakers for behind the seats in the smuglers comp. and mount them in a custom box with 2 8 inch subs in box in the middle of the comp.

I am not very good at explaining so if anyone else understands please explain more detailed

Good luck

I have found that the best sound system for a El Camino is a alpine or a kenwood system.

I just picked up an 80, and it has a stock am fm, but it has a set up for 4 speakers. Some one in it's dark past, had mounted 2 speakers, which I can only descriib as being triangular. they are bolted at the front of the cove, on both sides So at least I have the wireing set up, ready to go! :D

I have two units sitting here amongst the parts and pieces. A new Bose head unit for a Nissan Maxima ( way to big for the dash ) so I would have to fabricate a console for the forward area of the tranny hump, leaving a hole in the dash to cover up. The Bose was a freebie donated by a Nissan employee from upper management. This seems to be the hard way to go so, I'm gonna install the Kenwood am/fm/CD changer head in the dash. It's 4 X 45 watts and that should be more than enough power inside the El Camino. I have boxed the area behind the seats and installed 2 small midranges speakers near the top of each panel and using 1 - 6 1/2" coax speaker near the bottom of each panel. It's just a matter of personal taste when it comes to a sound system. :)

I have 16 speaks total in my 76. in the cab i have mounted one 6 1/2 in. on each door and one behind each head rest, along with a 4x4behind the rear panal. i have two 12in. subs behind the seat , which are hooked up to a 800watt amp, and in the bed of the truck i have six 6 1/2 in. (2 are treb on a 300 watt amp, and the other 4 are triple bass, which are sharing the amp that my subs are on) and i have two 6x9 in. i installed all of theses my self and i will tell that wirering is very important. and if you want you system to sound really good but not so loud you should find a 300-500 watt amp( you may be able to find from $50-$70)

i've seen people build the smugglers compartment out a bit farther ( 3/4 plywood and a bit of elbow grease) they covered it with carpet from the floor and installed the entire soundsystem back there. 2 12 inch subs and 2 or 4 6x9's ... works great... just make sure you get a big enough amp.

I have 2 twelves i bought and it came w/ a box but the box doesnt fit.I figured it wouldnt but yea. ANy ideas on a custom box for the smugllers box?

I have 16 speaks total in my 76. Ya'll are nutz :onfire: . Do you wear ear plugs when you drive? Care to share some pictures?

I have 16 speaks total in my 76. in the cab i have two 12in. subs behind the seat , which are hooked up to a 800watt amp, and in the bed of the truck i have six 6 1/2 in. Talk about back seat drivers! 8)

Ah, To be young & not care about your ears! :cool:

Oh sure, lets fire up that APU and light off those 4 T56-14s while that F-15 does a high power maint turn at the end of the ramp...Whad cha say? Huh? :lol:

There are alot of options for head units that you could consider. Basically if you are looking for a quality sound with some ear pounding bass, buy a head unit that puts out about 45 watts per channel with four channels. This way you can run your mids and highs in the form of 4 way six by nines and some 4 inch speakers, then run an amp for a couple of subs in the spare tire well with custom boxes, you can build them or have them built for you. Dont buy a cheap head unit or amp, you may be impressed by it right away because you may not be used to the sound but you will want to make it better in the long run. Spend the money now and you wont have to spend more later.

I have a bit of stereo experience for the home and/or car from working for Tweeter for a few years. I've also done several systems in my past four Elcamino's. There are many many options and most are subjective to option so I will not knock anyone elses opinion, but will put in my two cents. The best system I ever had in any of my Elcamino's as far as sound quality at any volume level and a good degree of bass was as follows. 5.25" component Boston Acoustic speakers with the mids located at the bottom of the door and the tweeters located where the 3.5's would go in the dash firing upwards. Two A/D/S powerplate subs which is a total of four 6.5 inch subs firing backwards in the cubby space where the spare tire goes with an A/D/S six channel amp mounted in the rear with the rear channels bridged to the subs. Oh and I used a Kenwood deck. The brand names of the components are completely subjective, but the locations of the equiptment remain the same. Having a small sub or even bass tube in the cubby will give tremendous bass by firing it backwards, equivilent to two tens or twelves firing forward behind the seat. In order to install the 5.25 or even easier 4's if you want all you need to do is cut a piece of 3/4" MDF(medium density fiberboard available anywhere) to space the speaker out from the door. You do have to cut a hole in the bottom of the door panel for the magnet to fit through, but you can carpet the wood to match the door and because it is so low it looks factory. You can't see the tweeters in the dash at all. If I had to do it over again, I would probibly purchase the new Boston acoustics components using the optional axial tweeter mount(center mounted) and then also install their optional set of tweeters in the dash that only play a certain range as to raise the soundstage up a bit. Either of the methods give a very full sound and you almost can't tell where the sound is coming from, but it also looks good and sound great at any volume.

Whats up this might be too extreme for you but its my car!http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/549000-549999/549650_1_full.jpg

In my opinion, this is a decent set up. When i first got mt car, i built a couple of brackets and put 6*9 boxes under the rear window, behind the headrests. I found a pair of bazooka tubes on e-bay ( 10 inch ) for behind the seat. I 3*5's in the bottom of the door and 3" rounds in the dash. The dash were ran of the deck on the front channels. I ran the rest of the speakers off of amps on the rear rca's. This let me fade between the front and the rear, i had a 50 by 2 for the door speakers and a 100 by 2 for the 6*9's. A punch 200 ran the subs with a sony eq to level everything. Everything i had was swap meet and hand me downs, except for the subs.
I thought is sounded pretty good. Untill you get the loot to go all out it might be a starting point, later

Excellent! Thanx for sharing all of your ideas, expertise and setups, for those of us who are stereo illitirate. Those pics were great.
Thanx again dudes :cool: