I'm looking at putting some subs and an amp in my 82 camino and i was wondering what kind of subs and amp work good for not too much $$$ and also where is the best place to put them?? BTW i am running a pioneer head unit with 3 1/2's in the dash and 2 6x9's in boxes behind the seat.

im running one 10 inch cerwin-vega off of a mtx blue thunder amp ...the sub is behind the pasenger seat facing into the "spare tire" compartment rocks pretty good

i plan on doing two 12in. alpine type R and a hifonics 1500 watt monoblock amp all that can be picked up for $500-600 off ebay i cant say anything about the amp since i never used it yet. as far as the subs they hit good and sound real clean.

try circuit city and best buy they always have good deals on subwoofers and amps.

no stores. stores are bad. GO TO EBAY! and make sure not to get one of those crap brand things. If u find soemthin you like, put it here and let us know so we can help u out. But seriously, my brother has bought 3 complete systems off of ebay, and they all worked GREAT. he's had pioneer, sony, and audiobahn, all good new stuff. seriously, ebay is teh way to go for most of your stuff. i think he's tryin to sell his audiobahns if you're interested. i can get a price from him and all that.

I'm glad to hear your not going high dollar on the speaker department. It's not needed in an El camino. Some people spend bookoo amounts of money on subs in an Elky, yet never get their moneys worth. The problem with the Elky, is that you can't have a true box with the recommended space to fit comfortably in your Elcamino without compromising most, or all of the cubby space. I wouldn't both going high end kickers and such because you just won't get your moneys worth out of your system.

However, that doesn't mean you can't put in a very respectable system. I have 2 12" Kenwood KFC-W3003's in small boxes behind my seat. In between them, I have 2 JVC (I think) 6x9's, all run off of a Blaupunkt head unit shooing out 200 watts, and a 600 watt amp in the cubby.

These speakers are great IMO, and should be cheap. I got the pair buy one get one free on a close out from Circuit City, and they should be cheaper now, but harder to find. The shell is hard, so you won't get a lot of motion, therefore you don't have to worry about it kicking into the back of your seat and such. Cheap, compact, and LOUD. 2 12"2 will give you more than enough sound in your little space, enough to impress anyone at school or wherever your listening to them. Their great for 80's metal, and if you have a Loud setting, they'll do rap fine as well.


Good luck, don't break the bank, because it's just not worth it with the small space in our Elky's. Hope this helped. I can upload a picture of my setup if you want.

Yea, do that storr. I'm always interested to see what people have done. It helps me and gives me ideas on what to do with my ride.

The problem with the Elky, is that you can't have a true box with the recommended space to fit comfortably in your Elcamino without compromising most, or all of the cubby space.


I beg to differ on this one, you can get some subs specifically designed for small boxes that would work great in the smuggles compartment. I would highly recommend Kicker Solo-Baric's. Though they are a bit pricey (not much more that a pair of decent subs) one 12" will run you up to 400 for a top of the line to 250 for the lower model each, they are well worth it, i had a pair of 10's for years and they were by far the best subs i've ever had. I would think that a single 12" Solo baric with a decent size and quality amp would really sound great in the smugglers box and would not take up that much room, maybe half the space if that and it would blow away most pairs 10's and cheap 12's. Thats my 2 cents.

Chris

well it all depends on what you are looking to achieve (loudness, clarity, both, or just something for a little bass). figure that out first and then you will know what to buy.

Here's the pic's....

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/4027/stereoright.jpg


http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/4766/stereoleft.jpg


http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/9634/amp.jpg

They don't have much for boxes, but they do it HARD. You'll never use all that the subs have in your little space (unless you want your ears to bleed). Like I say, great bass for rap and metal. all that I need 8)

You'll never use all that the subs have in your little space Once again i disagree, what about subs in your trunk? there's less space there than in the cab and smuggler compartment combined.


I've installed many stereo systems and i'm speaking from experience don't get some cheap stereo stuff to save a few bucks it won't last, you get what you pay for. Save some money, get some quality components that will last you for years and have much better sound quality and take sometime and work on it install it right and make it look good, you'll be much more happier than if you get the cheap stuff and just throw it in your car.

Chris

You'll never use all that the subs have in your little space Once again i disagree, what about subs in your trunk? there's less space there than in the cab and smuggler compartment combined.


I've installed many stereo systems and i'm speaking from experience don't get some cheap stereo stuff to save a few bucks it won't last, you get what you pay for. Save some money, get some quality components that will last you for years and have much better sound quality and take sometime and work on it install it right and make it look good, you'll be much more happier than if you get the cheap stuff and just throw it in your car.

Chris

I have to hearlity disagree. There is NO WAY you can fit a proper box for a 12" sub in your El Camino. I'm talking Spec's here, you can cut corners here or there, but you will not get 2 12's to fit in. You can't get boxes bigger than mine directly behind the seat, and the smuggler's box doesn't offer much more room. You do a vertical mount like that other guy has, but he spent over 2k on it, and has NO boxes at all. PLUS he just rendered the smugglers box unusable, as will anyone looking to put spec box's in an el camino.

My subs have lasted me 5 years. I spent about $700 bucks on the entire set up (receiver included) and my friend who competes in Sub competitions loves and respects my system. There's no need to spend tons of money on a stereo system that you won't even be able to touch in your El Camino.

but you will not get 2 12's to fit in

my friend who competes in Sub competitions loves and respects my system. There's no need to spend tons of money on a stereo system that you won't even be able to touch in your El Camino.

For one thing i was talking about installing one sub not two, and second you need to spend some time and install that system properly it looks like it was just thrown in it may sound good to you but it looks leave something to be desired. And you can think what you want about putting speakers in the smugglers compartment but it can be done and looks alot better than sitting them on the floor behind the seat. With proper Q specs on a sub you can build a box about any size and shape you want as long as the sub fits and the air space is the correct amount. Its not that hard, a little math, wood,a saw, and a little imagination is about all you need to build you a box. So i guess to each his own you can do it cheap and if your happy with it than good for you, or you can put a little money and work into it and have something you'll be proud of.

well ive been thinkin and shoppin and i just want my music to sound good not blow eardrums and break windows so what ive come up with so far is 2 rockford fosgate punch 8's [

subs (http://www.cardomain.com/item/ROCP18S42PAK)

and an amp thats not too big but should push those subs id think

amp (http://www.cardomain.com/item/POWAREA520X2)

plus it looks kinda cool :P i was thinking of building the boxes into the smugglers box because i never have anything in there and at 11 mpg i highly doubt if the car is goona leave town so the spare tire isnt super important

if you want quality then i think you've made good choice with the punches and the P.A. amp. friend of mine has two rockfords and i do have to say they sound good. and that amp is sweet.

You'll never use all that the subs have in your little space Once again i disagree, what about subs in your trunk? there's less space there than in the cab and smuggler compartment combined.


I've installed many stereo systems and i'm speaking from experience don't get some cheap stereo stuff to save a few bucks it won't last, you get what you pay for. Save some money, get some quality components that will last you for years and have much better sound quality and take sometime and work on it install it right and make it look good, you'll be much more happier than if you get the cheap stuff and just throw it in your car.

Chris

I have to hearlity disagree. There is NO WAY you can fit a proper box for a 12" sub in your El Camino. I'm talking Spec's here, you can cut corners here or there, but you will not get 2 12's to fit in. You can't get boxes bigger than mine directly behind the seat, and the smuggler's box doesn't offer much more room. You do a vertical mount like that other guy has, but he spent over 2k on it, and has NO boxes at all. PLUS he just rendered the smugglers box unusable, as will anyone looking to put spec box's in an el camino.

My subs have lasted me 5 years. I spent about $700 bucks on the entire set up (receiver included) and my friend who competes in Sub competitions loves and respects my system. There's no need to spend tons of money on a stereo system that you won't even be able to touch in your El Camino.


buyin a sheet of MDF and cutting it to fit in the smugglers compartment will provide you with tons of space for 2 12' speakers. alpine type R's require around 1 cubic foot of space. that room in the compartment should be good enoughfor almost any sub on the market i plan on running 4 12's in mine but when i get to that stage of the biuld i'll determine if thats the final plan or not.

You'll never use all that the subs have in your little space Once again i disagree, what about subs in your trunk? there's less space there than in the cab and smuggler compartment combined.


I've installed many stereo systems and i'm speaking from experience don't get some cheap stereo stuff to save a few bucks it won't last, you get what you pay for. Save some money, get some quality components that will last you for years and have much better sound quality and take sometime and work on it install it right and make it look good, you'll be much more happier than if you get the cheap stuff and just throw it in your car.

Chris

I have to hearlity disagree. There is NO WAY you can fit a proper box for a 12" sub in your El Camino. I'm talking Spec's here, you can cut corners here or there, but you will not get 2 12's to fit in. You can't get boxes bigger than mine directly behind the seat, and the smuggler's box doesn't offer much more room. You do a vertical mount like that other guy has, but he spent over 2k on it, and has NO boxes at all. PLUS he just rendered the smugglers box unusable, as will anyone looking to put spec box's in an el camino.

My subs have lasted me 5 years. I spent about $700 bucks on the entire set up (receiver included) and my friend who competes in Sub competitions loves and respects my system. There's no need to spend tons of money on a stereo system that you won't even be able to touch in your El Camino.


buyin a sheet of MDF and cutting it to fit in the smugglers compartment will provide you with tons of space for 2 12' speakers. alpine type R's require around 1 cubic foot of space. that room in the compartment should be good enoughfor almost any sub on the market i plan on running 4 12's in mine but when i get to that stage of the biuld i'll determine if thats the final plan or not.

You will have a nice mount, agreed, but you won't have an adequate box for your speakers. Speakers are designed with a vertain amount of space in the box for optimal performance.

I'll look up the spec's on my speakers and post them, but I gurantee you can't fit a box designed for my speakers in the smugllers compartment of the El Camino. There's just no way. What you say can be done, I agree, it's a good way to go, but why spend bookoo bucks on high end speakers when you can't provide an adequate box for them? High end Rockford's won't sound any better than Jensen's and on down the line. Without a box, your not moving the air the way the speaker was intended. In return, your not getting the output that you paid for. My speakers sound MUCH different in my boxes than my friends ported box built to spec's (he has the exact same speakers). He gets a deeper bass sound, and a LOT more volume. Mine starts vibrating and has about half the output, however the speakers hit harder. The result of my smaller box, is mine sounds better wtih rock, his sounds bettwer with Rap. The size of the box makes a HUGE difference in the sound of the speaker. So why spend Kicker money, when you'll end up with RCA sound?

ive had many set ups in my camino ...ive had 2 10 inch kickersin a truck box in the smugglers ........with a cheaper amp and it sounded ok but nothing special .......ive had a "high end mtx" in the same box set up as i have now and that blew up in 2 months ...... i ran the mtx with a cheap amp and then got a good amp and it made a huge diference not wattage just quality.... and now im onto my cerwin vega whitch is amazing the box is behind my passenger seat and the face of the sub is facing the smug. compartment .....my sub sounds better than the 2 jL 10s my friend has in a hatch back running on a 600 watt pheonix gold amp , the space behind my seat is usless on the entire passenger side but for me its worth it i love it.............finally i disagree with anyone putting in 8 inchers unless they are in the door but definitly not as your main sub and QUALITY DOES MATTER!!! i dont care what you drive put some decent spekers in it

ive had many set ups in my camino ...ive had 2 10 inch kickersin a truck box in the smugglers ........with a cheaper amp and it sounded ok but nothing special .......ive had a "high end mtx" in the same box set up as i have now and that blew up in 2 months ...... i ran the mtx with a cheap amp and then got a good amp and it made a huge diference not wattage just quality.... and now im onto my cerwin vega whitch is amazing the box is behind my passenger seat and the face of the sub is facing the smug. compartment .....my sub sounds better than the 2 jL 10s my friend has in a hatch back running on a 600 watt pheonix gold amp , the space behind my seat is usless on the entire passenger side but for me its worth it i love it.............finally i disagree with anyone putting in 8 inchers unless they are in the door but definitly not as your main sub and QUALITY DOES MATTER!!! i dont care what you drive put some decent spekers in it

i didnt know there were 2 pages to this post... after reading the second page i have this to say ,.........jensen is crap i bought a newer model jensen than yous at a pawn shop for 20 bucks cdn. just to fill my box untill i got paid and i gave it away when i was done with it hoping not to ever have to listen to it again hahaha .........secondly the smugglers compartment isnt a hugely usefull area except for a spare tire ive messured mine and its about 1 x 2 x 4 now if you do the math thats 8 square feet if the argument is that the sub takes a cubic foot you should be able to fit 3 or 4 12s in the hole with a little skill and time ......not something i would do but hey.... the set up in the pics is pretty cool but can you move your seat all the way back? im only running one cerwin vega and i would bet my car it rocks better than 2 jensen subs .......so i guess you could say you only need half as much if you buy the good stuff

jensen is crap i bought a newer model jensen than yous at a pawn shop for 20 bucks cdn. just to fill my box untill i got paid and i gave it away when i was done with it hoping not to ever have to listen to it again hahaha .........secondly the smugglers compartment isnt a hugely usefull area except for a spare tire ive messured mine and its about 1 x 2 x 4 now if you do the math thats 8 square feet if the argument is that the sub takes a cubic foot you should be able to fit 3 or 4 12s in the hole with a little skill and time

im only running one cerwin vega and i would bet my car it rocks better than 2 jensen subs .......so i guess you could say you only need half as much if you buy the good stuff

Exactly what i was saying.

Chris

you can always put some bazooka tubes in the smuglers box. there would be no need to build any boxes and the sound great. two 8 in tube can sound better than 2 10's. but like i said it's your car and you do what you want.

i had two 10in. alpine type r's in a sealed box designed to fit in the hatch of a fbody camaro in my elky it fit fine and it didn't even use the smugglers compartment. plus i had some room behind the back seat more room that the pics 86camino showed. as i said before there is enough room to put two 12in subs in the back and have a box with the proper cubic feet they sub require.

Back a few years ago, there was a version of the kicker sub called a solobaric. It required almost half of the cu feet. It was a .88 cu feet req. I built two boxes out of MDF and they fire face down (2 inch 'legs')in the smugglers compartment. I have to say, it works very well. Not only does it sound great inside, there is not a lot of external noise outside...like the rattle of the hondas....so, I have never gotten even looked at for a noise problem.

I do have to say, that if you are going to use the smugglers compartment, take the time to put a sound isolator in there. It will make a vast improvement in the sound, reduce exterior noise, and make the compartment act more like a box.

I have to upload some pictures for another thread, so I will go snap a pict of the box I made. ( I have them out cause I am redoing the interior.

Jimmy

Here is one of the subs I made for the 83 Elky:

http://www.collegecourse.com/Joe/DCP_1760.JPG

Pict 2 (http://www.collegecourse.com/Joe/DCP_1761.JPG)
In Car Pict (http://www.collegecourse.com/Joe/DCP_1762.JPG)

Jimmy

EDIT: I had a couple people ask, so here is some more info:

Height: 10.25
Height (-legs): 7.5
Width: 17.5
Depth: 15

Total Volume after cutting hole for a 12" speaker: .88 Cubic Feet
Material: MDF (Medium Denisity Fiberboard)
Cost: 4x4 sheet 12 dollars

Keep in mind that I have a special type of speaker that is designed to work in that small of a space. It's been about 7 years since I got them, so that might be standard now...but just a heads up. When I was into it, most 12" speakers required at least 1 cubic foot or more.

i didn't post any pics

IMO buy cheap subs of ebay and go no box.. they wont sound the best.. but if you blow them noone cares.. There are subs designed to go without and enclosure. i fabricated a new wall behind my seat that has 2 12" subs.. 2 5 1/4" speakers.. 2 5x7 speakers.. and a 1600 watt 4 channel amp.. I'm still working on wiring the head unit yet..

WROR

IMO buy cheap subs of ebay and go no box.. they wont sound the best.. but if you blow them noone cares.. There are subs designed to go without and enclosure. i fabricated a new wall behind my seat that has 2 12" subs.. 2 5 1/4" speakers.. 2 5x7 speakers.. and a 1600 watt 4 channel amp.. I'm still working on wiring the head unit yet..

WROR

Those speakers are called 'free air' speakers and were made infamous by the 82-92 camaros who just cut to holes in a peice of fiberboard and layed them across the back where the t-tops go.

Anyway, I had teh configuration once, two free air pioneers (12's). The kick was not there...I had better performance from a lousy boxed 10. The free airs also require more power...although, it sounds like you have the right amount of power to make it work. I finally switched to two free air 10's on the board with a 12 in the back. The 10's seem to dp much better...

I wish you luck....

OK, first off, ANY car that has what is called a "smugglers box" is SO freakin cool to me! :thumbsup:
Now, if you used a sound insulator inside the smugglers compartment, top side and bottom, and made a fiberglass enclosure where the hanging carpet is, would the whole compartment make a good box to handle a component speaker setup? Like subs, mids and tweeters?
I know that speakers have spec sheets and all that but I'm not looking to enter any ear bleeding competitions. I just want a good, full, clear sound. I need to build my own consol and might try to incorporate it into a cover for the smuglers box, and something to hang some speakers in.

i didnt know there were 2 pages to this post... after reading the second page i have this to say ,.........jensen is crap i bought a newer model jensen than yous at a pawn shop for 20 bucks cdn. just to fill my box untill i got paid and i gave it away when i was done with it hoping not to ever have to listen to it again hahaha .........secondly the smugglers compartment isnt a hugely usefull area except for a spare tire ive messured mine and its about 1 x 2 x 4 now if you do the math thats 8 square feet if the argument is that the sub takes a cubic foot you should be able to fit 3 or 4 12s in the hole with a little skill and time ......not something i would do but hey.... the set up in the pics is pretty cool but can you move your seat all the way back? im only running one cerwin vega and i would bet my car it rocks better than 2 jensen subs .......so i guess you could say you only need half as much if you buy the good stuff

Anyone else have trouble listening to this dribble, as he called my Speakers Jensen instead of kenwood? Show of a real audio expert there 8O

Free air subs.. thanks for filling me in I couldnt for the life of me remember what they were called.. Thanks again Jimmy Z... I'll fill you in on if i have enought power by monday.. I just have to mount up the head unit and plug it in. Of course the stock brackets won't work in my elky so I'll have to fabricate some.

WROR

Of course the stock brackets won't work in my elky so I'll have to fabricate some.

WROR

No Prob. Ya, Fabrication is a must on those elky radio plates. What really sucks is where you are restoring and you go out and buy a brand new radio plate...and the first thing you do to it is hit it with the jigsaw. :-)

I just bought a newone, but it will not work with my Dashcap I am using...so I have decided to 'recondition' the old one. I'll post a pict when I get it done.

J

jlstorr you dont have to be a prick and kenwoods are on the same level as jensens go get some decent subs and i wont get them mixed up next time

:cool: well i got the stuff and me and a buddy made the custom boxes in a couple nights and i have to say that these rockford subs sound sweet they hit a reallly hard for only bein 8's they sound more like 12's

once i figure out how to get pics on here il post some

well thats cool that you got your stuff worked out .....and you sure caused some problems along the way .......hahaha good stuff

lol yea a little controversy now and then keeps people on their toes :P

btw i still havent figured out the whole posting pics thing anyone have some hints?

ok, ok, if you want subs, i would highly recommend jl audio subs, they can run in as little as a 1/2 a cubic foot of air space box for a 10"- 12" sub.use poly fill in the box if you want better midbass to low sub bass, it simulates more airspace to the sub by adding density to the sealed space. anything from a 200- ???????? watt amp is good for two subs, but keep the total harmonic distortion levels low for better quality amps. and the signal to noise ratios high too, like 0.08% etc. if budget is concerned, look into a powered bass tube. my friend had two 6 1/2 " tubes in his ranger pickup, and they absolutely rocked!!!!!they were non powered too, the best are the sas bass tubes, and they come in sizes from 6 1/2 - 15". i would highly recommend them if you are looking to save on space, and they are easy to hook up. best of luck, and DEFINITELY go to ebay!!! you could try CBR stereo, i got the site from e-bay, and the prices are unreal. also you might want to look into soundmove.com, they have kick panels with speaker pods built in for elkys. they even can have speakers put in for you. they run $75 bucks a pair for the 67 elky ones i'm getting. give it a try!!!!!!!!!!! good luck. Mike 8)

try going to www.ecoustics.com the have everything u need and the prices r aewsome

the people at soundmove wont answer their phone to get some thing ordered. i got my kickpanels through www.custum-autosound.com just ordered today. what are the cut-out diameters for them?

I just got a 84, and purchased some gear (JBL 4 channel amp, JBL p693 6x9, and Powerbass s-352 for dash until I can either build kick panels or door extensions for 6.5s, I will be using an old school Alpine 7347 head until and FM modualator for a souce. I thinking of 2 JBL 804s in a down firing box behind the drivers seat the box will be between .6 - 1 cubic feet and powered by a MB quart fx1.600 sub amp so the 2 ohm load should recieve 600 watts is this too much?

Currently working on rear made from wood to replace curtain an hold 6x9 speakers in a free air configuration to limit depth, and lower part hinged to hide but provide accesss to spare and behind drivers side.

JL AUDIO their W1 series are inexspensive subs and better than anything with a compareable price. Plus there very shallow and they can be put in very small boxes. Check out the JL HD900/5 amp 1 amp to run it all this is one bad ass amp

Can some of you people that know a lot moke about installing this stuff post some pics or send me to a place to see the boxs ya have made for your amps, sub, 6x9 speakers

For my 2 cents. I have 2 10" Jl w3s in two separate boxes that are tucked away in my smugglers box. Both boxes are ported. I have a jl 1000wt amp for the subs and a 300 wt alpine amp for my 5 1/4 alpine type rs up front. I used two small infinity speakers in the back for fill. Yes i lost a lot of inside cab space to store things, but its a truck for a reason we have a huge bed to haul things. And my system blows a lot of peoples minds because it is so tucked away. so it all depends on what you want, but if your gonna do a sub just take out your spare tire build the proper size box and mount it there.:beer: