Hello, I have a 1971 el camino, and im not very sure of what to do. But I am trying to install a sterio system in my car and seeings as im doing this on my own without any help, I dont want to cut into the doorpads and dash. Im trying to make something behind my seat along with a few of the others, but what I dont know as the 1971 el camino doesnt seem to have a very large "smugglers box" and when I build my enclosure, do I make boxes for the subs? or does everyone else just have the subs, speakers, and all just use the smugglers box. Will the subs and the speakers work in the same box? Also, I am completely restoring the interior of my car, I can actually see daylight through the back of the spar tire compartment, should I just weld a panel? I am trying to do this on my own because my fathers health is not in very good condition. Any help would be appreciated.

Good luck with your el camino. Hope you're not taking too much flack from your buds' for your choice of vehicles. The best way to see what you can do with the smugglers compartment is to open it up. The panel at the front of the bed is bolted in so all you need to do is remove the bolts.

My 72 only has 6 bolts holding it in place, but I've heard/seen others that have more. Once all the bolts are removed pull up the panel. It may be held down with some factory glue. If so, you will need to GENTLY pry it loose in one corner. Take your time. If you pull too hard or too fast, you can bend the panel.

Once you have it open, you can design a sub enclosure to fit. But DON'T remove the brace that goes acrossed the middle of the smugglers panel. It adds strength to the body. Also you can clean up any rust thats inside. Good Luck !

Rick, I am wondering if bakerskater was talking about the box behind the drivers seat, that looks like a large glove box without a lid? as opposed to the 'smugglers box' under the bed that you are talking about???


But since you brought that up.......what IS the purpose of that area of the car anyway??? I mean I know Elky's are very popular in Southern California, so did they use it for smuggling Tijuana Gold across the border, or maybe some illegals or something.... 8O :?

But since you brought that up.......what IS the purpose of that area of the car anyway???

The elky floorpan is the same one used for 4 door station wagons. The "smugglers compartment" is the area that would be the back seat of a wagon. Even back then the General was multi-tasking 8-) .

Bakerskater, can you be a bit more specific about where you can see daylight? Is it thru the hole behind the drivers seat? The spare was actually mounted on the wall behind the passengers seat. Now I'm confused :confused:

But since you brought that up.......what IS the purpose of that area of the car anyway???

The elky floorpan is the same one used for 4 door station wagons. The "smugglers compartment" is the area that would be the back seat of a wagon. Even back then the General was multi-tasking 8-) .

Bakerskater, can you be a bit more specific about where you can see daylight? Is it thru the hole behind the drivers seat? The spare was actually mounted on the wall behind the passengers seat. Now I'm confused :confused:

Thanks Rick....I never thought of that....always curious about it.

Now if I can figure out how to put in it a hydraulic lift with a firing mechanism that can raise up and shoot out a small guided missle at some of these morons on my roadways here.... :cool:

Just go to Radio Shack and Home Depot, theres enough parts, tools and how-to books to not only put in rockets, but machine guns, oil slicks, lasers and maybe a small kitchen sink.

As for stereo, to answer his questions you can go either way using the area as a box or building a box to slide into it. If you don't build an enclosure and use the box be sure to seal it well, coat it in rustbullet or something, then lay down some thick dynamat. You can put the speakers in the same box but be aware that the lows coming out of the subs tend to drown out mids when they are close together. If at all possible build walls to seperate speaker chambers from sub chambers and play with speaker or port angles/placement/sizes to get the sound coming out as crisp as you can.

Elkys are like pick-ups in that your sound stage is basically all the area you have to work with. You'll want to fire the high notes off the windsheild to reflect into the passenger compartment.

And thats where my experience ends, I havn't decided where to install the front speakers yet, you can always go with the doors as there is lots of space but if you don't want to cut the panels you can try the kick panels or behind the dash (this would be the most difficult place to install). Spend the extra money on really good front speakers, they are what you will be hearing the most from with the rest rounding and filling out the sound.

Custom Autosound makes some replacement front kick panels (http://www.custom-autosound.com/prodList.php?FamID=4) that have speakers in them, if you don't want to cut up the interior. The Chevelle model will fit your El Camino.

If you've got problems with the sheetmetal in the back, you should definitely fix that before investing money in speakers and amps to put back there. The area below the rear window on El Caminos typically rusts out. You can get a patch panel for that area for about $30-$40.

If you take your time and measure it out, it's not too hard to make a box for the rear area. I have seen some people hide away a Bazooka powered sub in the box behind the driver's seat.