2005 Monte Carlo: from half-ass to whole-ass

Quick note: I am not going to include any of my old build(s) on here. I am moving on from that - far away. I am also not going to be updating much along the way, and definitely not at all on DIYMA, until everything is done and done right. I want to avoid the, err, overly critical eyes of some of the Monday morning quarterbacks on DIYMA (not naming, but it ain't hard to figure out), and I also may well end up changing everything yet again if I don't like it. So, this build will be slow.

As some of you may know, the Monte was hit by a tornado not long ago and I decided to just start over, essentially. This was a few weeks ago.


http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/...ps17a4cbea.jpg
I am the tornado ;)

After several years and more screwups than successes in building, I resolved to start completely over after Finals. Enough was enough - I was fed up with taking 5% of my time building and 95% of my time tuning and trying to fix things that couldn't be fixed with EQ. I didn't have a plan laid out, but I went ahead and tore up the car anyhow. It was the first step in what is going to be a very long journey.

This past weekend at Erin's GTG, I was fortunate enough to demo his reference system with the doors closed and relatively little outside noise. It was enlightening, to say the least. Later, I hopped in his Civic shortly before I left. It was in that car that I had sort of an epiphany about where I was at and where I needed to go with the system. I had no idea how to get there, but I had a goal. A destination. But, as many of us have found out through our own attempts, that's simply not enough. There is the hard way, and there is the right way. Every past iteration of my build has been the former. I was always in a rush; I didn't always use the right tools; I had no prior experience or knowledge in any of the stuff I built; and worst of all, I took shortcuts. Lots of them. And it shows.

Like a 12-step program, the journey begins with admitting you have a problem: I was clueless. I didn't know nearly enough about sound, and how and why we hear what we do. I didn't know how to build anything either, I mostly improvised and half-assed. To my great fortune, I had a few kind souls who have so graciously educated me on all of the above, and continue to do so. Mentors, perhaps (if you don't have at least one of these guys yet, get one. They are out there, and they are invaluable). Whatever comes of this build, and what will set it apart from my previous failures, is due in large part to their donated time and generosity.


With that prelude out of the way...

Currently the car is in the same state as above. I have found it necessary to deconstruct it even further though. I have ordered new mids, and they'll be here tomorrow. That's when testing really begins and the build takes off. The past couple weeks have been spent learning as much as I can that I didn't know before, planning out several different iterations to test, and eyeing that naked dashboard menacingly. ;)


To be continued, one day...

SWEET! And good luck with it. Did you tear out the doors and trunk also?

Alrighty then, I'll tune in. Damn the teasing though, if mids are gonna be here tomorrow, then you can surely tell us what and why!

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Originally Posted by AL9000

SWEET! And good luck with it. Did you tear out the doors and trunk also?

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This ain't full-on NASCAR, my friend. I may fit through the window, but I still need the doors! Trunk is staying for quite a while, it's cosmetic and the last priority, and I need power to be able to test and tune while I'm doing all this. It will get a polishing up though, but that's much, much later. Once I've gotten the hang of vinyl, lol.

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Originally Posted by claydo

Alrighty then, I'll tune in. Damn the teasing though, if mids are gonna be here tomorrow, then you can surely tell us what and why!

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I'm keeping quiet on things until they're done and permanent. :) Mids may or may not be staying. I have yet to find out! This is as much of a surprise for you as it is for me. Playing it by ear for now (literally).

So you were happy with your amps, but not your drivers and the install?

Kudos for having the ovaries to start over. I saw the pic of your car at the GTG and thought, what happened there?

I look forward to hearing about what you are changing and why.

Hmmm... tuned in for this next part. I never got to hear your car at Jason's those many moons ago, but everyone has always said how good it is.

Allly, I have nothing but respect for you and the journey you're about to take. The fact that you're willing to drive around for months without a dash in your car shows you have more dedication than most in this hobby. The big thing is to not get frustrated. If you do, step back and reflect on the problem at hand for a couple days to prevent doing something you will regret later. You have a lot of talented people around you to lean on so you're a lucky girl there.

Now, my brain got to stirring about your dash a couple days ago and thought of something that would look sweet if you're brave enough to take it on. And would give you a way to step into 2-seat judging if you so desired...like going with a center channel. Have you thought about doing a fiberglass enclosure all the way across your dash? It would only have to be about 3-4 inches tall depending on what mids you use.

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Originally Posted by astrochex

So you were happy with your amps, but not your drivers and the install?

Kudos for having the ovaries to start over. I saw the pic of your car at the GTG and thought, what happened there?

I look forward to hearing about what you are changing and why.

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It's not so much that I had any issues with the drivers. They could always be better, though, but my main issue was the install. That was the most important part of every build I did, and I never once got it right.

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Originally Posted by chithead

Hmmm... tuned in for this next part. I never got to hear your car at Jason's those many moons ago, but everyone has always said how good it is.

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It was always ok for what it was. A lot of little details were missing, for numerous reasons. Details that most wouldn't realize weren't there until they actually were. Those details are crucial. With the way I had the car setup, it just wasn't ever going to happen there.

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Originally Posted by Hillbilly SQ

Allly, I have nothing but respect for you and the journey you're about to take. The fact that you're willing to drive around for months without a dash in your car shows you have more dedication than most in this hobby. The big thing is to not get frustrated. If you do, step back and reflect on the problem at hand for a couple days to prevent doing something you will regret later. You have a lot of talented people around you to lean on so you're a lucky girl there.

Now, my brain got to stirring about your dash a couple days ago and thought of something that would look sweet if you're brave enough to take it on. And would give you a way to step into 2-seat judging if you so desired...like going with a center channel. Have you thought about doing a fiberglass enclosure all the way across your dash? It would only have to be about 3-4 inches tall depending on what mids you use.

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I am calm as a cucumber, dude. I am not in any rush to throw the dash back in and start playing music. If I have to go without a dash for 5 months to get it right, then so be it. I learn from my mistakes.

One of the issues I was having was always getting ahead of myself when working on the car. You can bet your ass I'll have a 1-seat car that would have Ludwig van Beethoven crying tears of joy before I ever think of stepping foot into 2-seat. I'm just simply not there yet. Much care will be taken in this build to ensure easy adaptation of future mods and different drivers if I do one day decide to go a different route.

Hoping I make it home in time today to catch the FedEx guy.

You've got a lot more patients than I; I couldn't drive around with my dash torn apart from more than an hour or so. I'm interested in seeing what they final product looks like.

While you're at it, you could re-make the dash pad out of rigid fiberglass insulation and cover it in acoustically transparent fabric, thereby making your dash one big reflection-absorber. :thumbup: