Donation Thread for Military Veteran and Fellow SQ Enthusiast

[Afghan Vet]

I'm cross posting this from the other website

Thank you all for your contributions here:
http://www.caraudiojunkies.com/showt...light=donation

Thanks to you, we're able to make this happen for a great guy. Now that the donations have come in, this thread will be used as the announcement and to follow the progress along the way. For anyone still interested in donating funds toward the installation expenses, we welcome your support. You can find the paypal address in the link above.
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Well, it is finally that time! The connections have been made, the donations have been coming in and the planning is about to begin. Without further ado, it’s time to introduce the recipient of this collective effort…

I want to tell you just a little about a new friend of mine who I was fortunate enough to meet at the North Carolina audio meet hosted by Jay and Mike. I met Dustin early on in the day and got a chance to give him a quick demo in the Mazda before it ran into issues. I would say he was one of the “lucky few” who got to hear it, but I honestly drove it down to NC without any gain structure setting and no tune and didn’t have much time to properly set it up. So perhaps I should say he was one of the “unlucky few,” haha ! After we listened for a while we headed over to Dustin’s Explorer so I could see the progress he was making on his build. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one experiencing ‘technical difficulties’ that day as he was having some issues with his system as well.
Regardless, we hooked back up around lunch time and got to talk for a while and get to know each other a bit. I found that Dustin was super passionate about the hobby and was excited to do more work in search of the great sound we’re all trying to achieve. Secondary to that however was his humble nature. Dustin has served active duty in our military forces and deals with some health issues on a daily basis as a result, but you would never know it-he doesn’t complain one bit. On the contrary, when I remarked about my desk job being insignificant in comparison to what he’s done, he deflected saying “sitting behind a desk all day is hard work. I respect what you do.”
I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I respect the sacrifices he has made on our behalf, and the type of character he exhibits. To that end, I started a motion along with our own Jay Bertholomey (another military veteran btw!) to do something special for Dustin. We know he has a passion for car audio and we decided to reach out to our friends here on the forums as well as to some fantastic industry people to try to put together a great system in his vehicle- and we were NOT disappointed. The response was fantastic! It’s my pleasure to announce that several industry titans have also been touched by this effort and wanted to be a part of it.

There will be more specific details to follow, but I wanted to take a moment to offer my sincere gratitude to these individuals for their generosity. Without you, this would not have been possible.

Scott Buwalda of Hybrid Audio Technology- Thank you so much for stepping up and offering your support for this project. Scott knew that Dustin was already part of the Hybrid Audio family as he currently owns some HAT speakers. Scott is a stand-up guy who has always taken the time to assist me personally with questions. In fact, I remember back when I was first looking into purchasing some Hybrid Audio gear. It was a Christmas weekend and I sent him an email with a plethora of questions about the product and ordering expecting to hear back after the new year. Scott not only got back to me the same day within an hour, but also provided his phone number for me so we could chat. That’s just not typical service in any industry. When I asked Scott about whether he would like to be a part of this his response was “Of course, I am in!” I’m happy to say that Scott is providing some Hybrid product to make this a truly exceptional sounding vehicle. You rock Scott!

You can learn more about Hybrid Audio’s products here: Home - The Home of the World's Finest Loudspeakers, and World Championship Car Audio speaker Systems.

Jacob Fuller of Sundown Audio- Jacob responded immediately and was happy to be a part of this project. This wouldn’t be the first time I have heard of Jacob’s generosity. He is an asset to our community and his company continues to build upon its success from humble beginnings. It’s always rewarding to see truly good people succeeding at what they love to do. When I spoke with Dustin initially, I believe he made mention of getting a great deal from Jacob on the Sundown amplifiers that he already has. He remarked that he was very grateful for that gesture. Knowing this, I felt it was important to keep Dustin in the Sundown family as well with this build project. I’m very happy to report that Jacob and Sundown Audio have been kind enough to provide the additional amplification needed.

You can learn more about Sundown Audio and their products here: Welcome to Sundown

Don Sambrook of Sound Deadener Showdown- Don has been a pioneer in research and information in the design and application of vehicle acoustic treatments for quite some time. Don has always been the type of guy to take the extra time with you to help not only plan out your vehicle’s sound deadening treatment, but to also help you to learn the science behind it so that you know ‘why’. What other company can you recall that recommended LESS of their product to reach your goal? I’ve always appreciated his honest approach to business and his generosity as well. Don is well known to add ‘extras’ in your order, especially if you come out to pick things up. In addition, he’s always taken care of active duty military with discounts as well. Just a truly stand-up guy who embodies the DIY spirit and totally fits for this kind of endeavor. Don is stepping up and providing some acoustic treatment materials for Dustin’s install and we couldn’t be happier that he’s aboard. Thanks Don !

You can learn more about SDS here: Welcome to Sound Deadener Showdown | Sound Deadener Showdown

Installer extraordinaire Mark Worrell- I got the opportunity to finally meet Mark this summer and see his work close up. Not only is Mark very skilled in his craft, but he also is just a great guy. During our North Carolina meet, I was having some issues with my system and Mark took about 2 hours of time out from the fun of the day to pull out his tools and help me to trouble-shoot the problem and to teach me a little about gain structure and setup. Mark consistently puts out quality work and I’m excited to have him involved with this project. On the flip side, he was excited as well to offer his services to help take all of these great donations and put his magic touch on it to make a beautiful end result. Thank you Mark, you’re the man!!

If you’re in the North Carolina area and looking for a quality, skilled installer- look no further. Mark Worrell is your man. For those who haven’t seen his work, here is a very small sampling from some of our own members:
Jay’s BRZ: 2013 Subaru BRZ Build Log
Deadpool’s BRZ: Deadpool's 2013 Subaru BRZ - Simple SQ


In addition to these folks, I want to extend a personal thank you to the following fine gentlemen who have donated in the form of paypal contributions and/or parts & supplies toward the installation. Thank you all for your generosity and for helping to make this thing happen. You guys are awesome!

Al (BigAl)
Matt (El Chupo)
Dennis (OSN)
Erin (Bikinpunk)
(ca90ss)
Mike C (69Voltage)
Jason H (ImJustJason)
Ben R (Benny)
Tim B
Kevin (Hic)
Jason (Bertholomey)

In addition, a very special thank you to my cohort for this project, Jay Bertholomey. Jay embodies everything good about this hobby. He is one of the most kind and generous people I have met and his passion for the hobby is constantly leading him toward that extra “n-th” of performance from his system. Jay does all of the little things behind the scenes that rarely get mention, without asking for anything in return. Whether that’s lending drivers out, making demo discs up for meets or simply the surprise package in the mail with some goodies he wanted to share. He’s just a hell of a guy and I’m proud to call him a friend.


We are going to work on hammering out the logistics and time schedule for this soon. When we do the build, we plan to take plenty of great pictures to share with you guys. We hope you’ll continue to follow along!


-Steve

I also want to update that Don has gone above and beyond (again!) and is sending out 40 cld tiles, butyl rope and a roller for us and left the door open if more supplies are needed.

Don- you sir, are the man. Makes me even happier to know that SDS products are being used in my car as well.

That butyl rope is fantastic stuff BTW. Much better than the "speaker gasket" type materials that usually come in very thin butyl strips. It made it very easy for me to get a good seal and some decoupling for my midbass kick pods when I installed them.

From Dustin

Family, I am lost for words after learning the level of appreciation you guys all have for me. Steve, Jason, Mark, all of you as I'm sure there are so many participants that I did no, name and wish to recognize. Thank you to each and every one off you. Thank you to the vendors as well. I cannot express the level of graditude I have for everyone. Most of you have light years more experience than me in the quest to obtain perfect acoustics. It should be me supporting you instead of me. I am honored to serve in the armed forces of a country that has fine citizen who selflessly volunteer to support my passion to the ultimate level. There are so many more deserving people than me who are worthy of this build who are also contributors. I thank them as well. I will also be forever in debt to all of you, not just those who contributed but also to those who would have liked to if they were able. I salute all of you. Special thanks to all the contributors and Scott Buwalda, Jacob Fuller, Don Sambrook, installers, organizers, and all others who are making this possible.

I must truly be the luckiest Service Member of all. May God bless each and every one of you tremendously.

Simper Fi

Veterans Day!

Indeed! Happy Veterans Day to you both !

T-minus 1 month until we commence the build for Dustin

Thank you everyone who has contributed to this project thus far. The support has been fantastic! We now have the "gear" needed, but could still use some funds towards installation costs. If you feel compelled to contribute to this cause, we would certainly appreciate any donation you're able to make. (paypal is smokey@worldlynx.net) Please PM me so I can keep the list current with those supporters of this project.

Happy Veteran's Day to all of our military personnel here and thank you for your service!


-Steve

[Afghan Vet]

Thanks guys

Like Jay said...it was a long drive back home today. We had a nasty winter storm over here in the northeast corridor and it was just mayhem getting home. I95 was shutdown halfway home.

Anyway, onto the good stuff

We got things kicked off this weekend to start the build. First off, we had to remove all of the seats, carpet and interior. This car is new to Dustin, but had some "special" wiring done by some previous craftsmen as I like to say, so out with the old, and in with the new! We ran 1/0 awg copper for the power and managed to squeeze it through a factory grommet on the passenger side. Getting anything through the firewall (and doors) is quite a challenge in this vehicle- that is unless you like to remove the entire dash. We also ran new speaker wiring, remote and antenna wires as well as some high quality rca cables made of RG-6 for excellent shielding and noise rejection.

Inside the engine bay, we mounted up the circuit breaker to a nice HDP mounting plate Mark measured up and routed out. It looks great...something I should consider doing in mine...but I digress! The battery is an older stock unit that will be replaced with something a little newer and more powerful. Speaking of power, the ground for this car was a little questionable (again, previous craftsmen) so we installed a new 1/0 ground. We found a useable spot on the chassis frame near the battery, wire brushed and cleaned the area and then bolted in the new terminal. Connections are made to the existing battery for now, while we wait on the new power and some battery terminals. All wiring was tech-flexed and heat-shrinked to keep it protected and looking good.

Out in the back, Mark started working on the trunk layout and began cutting some panels. We talked about the configuration and he's got some nice ideas going that will have the trunk looking real purdy. He's also elbows deep into the midrange/tweeter setup, which we'll have some pics for down the road. I can't wait to see the way these come out- I love where Mark is going with them.

Dustin was able to stop down to the shop yesterday to hang out for a while and even get his hands dirty on some work too. We worked on installing some of the awesome SDS sound deadening products in the vehicle, focusing some good efforts on the front doors. We used the butyl rope inside the doors between the crash bar and metal panels and cld tiles on the inner and outer metal. Thanks Don !!



We had a visit from the fine fellows over at Sundown Audio as well. Jacob and Brian stopped by the drop off some awesome gear for the install including a new 125.4 amplifier and the sweet new SA8's. If you haven't seen them yet, they are very impressive. TONS of linear stroke, good venting, beautiful frame and details as well. Nice job by the boys on this one and I'm excited to hear what they can do. Thanks again guys!



More updates to follow as we slowly progress with this build (it's a marathon!) and plenty of pics as well.

[Afghan Vet]

The car is a 1995 Nissan 240 SX, and as Steve mentioned, it is a dream car for Dustin. He recently purchased it, and he is working to get it up to the level he wants it to be. Mark and Steve put in some extremely long hours this past weekend to get a lot of work done on this car.



Dustin and his friend Alex were at the shop the entire day on Saturday. It was a great opportunity to discuss music, military, the hobby, and his plans for the car.

Discussing the plans for the amp rack and sub box.

[Afghan Vet]

The car was in pretty rough shape when Mark received it. We pulled an array of wires (power, relay, RCAs, etc), and we even discovered a couple pounds of sand in the rear corner panel.This turned out to be an amazing opportunity to get the car stripped down, cleaned out, and reassembled - to put it on the right track for Dustin to have a show-level car.

Trunk when it arrived



Trunk (after pulling everything and starting to run wires)



Interior



(Sneak peak of the tweet/mid speaker placement plans)





Old Sound Deadener

[Afghan Vet]

The look of determination





Steve and Mark ran the wires through the car (RCAs, 0 gauge power (very challenging to get it through the fire wall), remote, USB - all tech flexed and tied off).





Steve did a fantastic job getting these power wires squared away - to include new vehicle ground wire.



Doors.......Dustin had some Hybrid Audio L8's that need to go in the doors.

[Afghan Vet]

Amp Rack

Mark's plan for the amp rack is to use a simple affair where the 3 amps would be mounted with an effective fan layout that will give complete air circulation. He will finish it with a false floor.







Test Fit





Mark also fabbed a 'box' to hold the 6to8 DSP that Steve donated and the StreetWires distro block that another member donated.



It was awesome to see all of the items that folks donated for this build. Between wiring needs, speakers, and amps.

Jacob and Brian from Sundown Audio came by the shop to provide in person the 125.4 Sundown Amp and the two Sundown 8" subwoofers that they were donating. It was fantastic to get to talk to Jacob again and to meet Brian.

[Afghan Vet]

If I'm remembering this correctly, one of the DIYMA members at the last NC Meet donated 2 of the Version 1 Sundown 8" subs to Dustin (on left), and Jacob exchanged those for the Version 2's. Mark has a plan for a bandpass, ported box to utilize the 2 subs that will fit around / over the gas tank. Should be fantastic!











Dustin also had a pair of Hybrid Audio L3 SE drivers, and a pair of Hybrid tweeters. Scott Buwalda of Hybrid Audio graciously exchanged those tweets for the top notch Legatia Pro L1 Ring Radiator tweeters.



The pillars in this car are extremely thin, and the rake of the windshield and the depth of the dash make it extremely challenging to place the tweets / mids. Mark has a fantastic plan on placing them on top of the door card - I'm looking forward to what this will look like when completed!

[Afghan Vet]

Here's some low quality pics from my iphone.

These are mainly of the wiring. Again, everything techflexed and heat-shrinked, tie wrapped up.











Wires were fished and pulled through the factory door grommets. No easy task as it's very difficult to get your hands up to the hole on the inside of the vehicle. Especially when you're pulling 3 sets

[Afghan Vet]

I decided to run the speaker wires up to a terminal block for distribution to make any changes easier. All connections are crimped and soldered- including the 1/0 gauge runs





New ground. The rusty area you see is the battery tray. Just needs to be wire brushed and rust treated.





Under the hood, power wire run and the circuit breaker.









You can see the nice grey piece that Mark fabbed up to mount the circuit breaker to. It's secured to the body metal and provides three mounting points.

[Afghan Vet]

Steve:

Just wanted to clarify that the DSP was purchased from me on the cheap but the CBR44 distro block I donated in full

Thanks go again to all of the guys who have donated various items (and funds) toward this build. We are still accepting any paypal donations you may feel so inclined to make which will go directly toward installation. I matched the total of the current donations made but we will still need more to get this finished to a high level.

I've received some PM's about donation, and we're very thankful for all of your support. $10, $50... whatever you would like to contribute would be helpful. No gift is too small and we're thankful for them all!

I'm very happy to be associated with all of the fine people who have, continue to be, and will be involved with contributing to this effort. We've been very blessed with a great team of people to work with and are really working to make this a fantastic build sponsored by the kind donations of the car audio community. You guys rock !

Awesome, thanks Casey!

Here's the paypal address: smokey@worldlynx.net


The body kit is pretty slick. I believe Dustin has plans to change out the front bumper in addition to some other modifications. It also has a carbon fiber hood, rolled fenders and massive wheels on it. I want to say it's something like 18x10 on the rears but I'll let Dustin fill in the details.

Thanks again for contributing and being a part of the effort!

Dustin:

I was surprised to see how you keep finding more and more ways to surprise me. You really got me good when I walked into the shop only to be surprised the autographed gear. I had no idea that the fine folks at Sundown Audio had reclaimed my highly anticipated SA8v1’s only to be upgraded to a pair of the SA8v2’s. Let us not forget it was our friend Chithead who contributed the pair of SA8v1's in the NC Summer/Fall 2013 meet. He just walked up to me and saw my sundown amps and said “you’re a Sundown fan, than you will love these," before intentionally leaving them in my trunk next to my (2) Sundown amps. He also refused to take anything in return. Just another demonstration of the type of people we have on this forum. By far some of the finest people I have ever met.
It was so much fun watching the Guru’s going H.A.M on the build. You guys have some amazing skills that I was absorbing as much as possible. Some of it felt painful just to even watch like the tall Captain Obvious, twist, stretch, bend upside down to battle a car in quest of getting wires to go where they were never meant. I also enjoyed having a meal with your guys. Outside of the shop was just as full of fun and adventure as well.
I’m going to jump to the drive home based of the conversation my friend Alex who though car audio was nothing more than a pair of 12's in a trunk on the 4 hour drive to Audio Masters in Pineville NC had a change of heart. It went something to the tune of him studying my IASCA/MECA rulebook (provided by Black Rain and Mrs. Black Rain) his remarkable thirst for knowledge in matters of, time alignment, imaging, staging, crossover slopes and distortion. With what I witnessed this weekend let us welcome 19 year old Alex to our 12volt SQ passion. I recall asking him if he though Mark W knew a thing or two about car audio, Alex replied "THE MAN IS AN AUDIO GOD!"
Jason, Steve—for providing Alex demo the high fidelity acoustics in your cars. It’s your fault “He’s hooked” LOL

This thing is going to levels I never even imagined. I haven’t been excited to this level about anything in years. Thank you to everyone who has made contributions and those who plan too.

Steve: You are a wiring maniac. Thanks for the lessons i learned about wiring this weekend.

Mark: I feel the same way Alex does about you and can't thank you enough for all your time and talent at our disposal.

Jason: I really enjoyed your help both in life matters, military and car audio your company has been a blessing. Alex is putting together a few albums of music for you BTW.
Sound Deadening Showdown: Don, This stuff is amazing. I’m not just saying that because of your contributions. Most owners know that Nissan 240sx cars are rattle cans. With just a few tiles the dorrs became so solid. Same for the transmission tunnel which is super thin. Both these treated areas feel so much more dense and resistant to vibration. I love the butyl rope fits so much. I’m going to use this stuff for so many applications outside of car audio as well. My prayers still go out for your family.
The Sundown Family: Jacob, Brian I am glad that you have shown me so much generosity and I am forever appreciative of both the contributions you have made to this build as well as the pride you have put into creating wonderful products. I wish I could have caught you guys while you were at audio masters but I suspect we will meet by the time the build is complete. The
Hybrid Audio Technologies: Scott, thank you for the world’s finest tweeter at any price range. Legatia L1 Pro Ring Radiator (R2). Once again you have lived up to the Remarkable level of character most of the world has come to know you for. I can’t get over the level of craftsmanship that went into creating them.
Contributors: The extraordinary ladies and gentlemen behind the curtain. I want to thank all of you for your contributions. None of this would be possible without you. But I wonder all the time who many of you are and I thank God that you all are the way you are. Your Contributions have motivated me to continue to do for others. See, your contributions are responsible not just helping with my dream, but 2nd and 3rd order effects in helping others in this world.

Thanks Casey,
it is the Charge body kit except the temporary front bumper. currently a good friend of mine. Aaron of A2Z custom paint and auto werks is repairing the Charge front bumper. thanks for your wilfulness to help with the labor. it would reduce Steve's battle scars attributed to my stubborn car. the wheels are by Work, they are 18x9 and 18x10.5