Thunderbeat - as of Feb. 2006 (tons o' pics)
02-09-2006, 06:15 AM
#1
500 Watt CAFz'r
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 756
Thunderbeat - as of Feb. 2006 (tons o' pics)
So, I fell asleep on the couch at 7:30.... And now I'm bright eyed & bushy tailed at 4:00 in the morning 
So... I figured I'd post up some pics of the van that I've been promising to do for quite some time. Keep in mind that I am not an installer, I couldn't care less how pretty it all looks, functionality is my main issue. I call my install "Ghetto". My brother calls it "Redneck". I'm sure some of you installers, amid all the cringing you're doing, could pick out a few more choice words...
And the van has 407,000 km's on her now, I'm sure we'll replace her in the next year or two...
The last time any of you guys saw van pics (or in R/L), was way back in November, after I had just installed my second 1200D amplifier. It looked like this:
So, I've done a LOT of work to her over the winter. First, I got a bundle of R12 insulation from Home Depot, and some old wood paneling from when my brother remodeled his basement. This was a huge jub, took us almost a week of evenings just to get it done enough to drive again.
This is a good pic... It shows wiring for dome lights & DVD screen, 1/8in. flat rubber glued to all flat steel (something I did years ago as a cheap sound deadening solution - works great!), wreckin' yard seat belt (yes, it's a cargo van, that means it didn't even come with a rear seat when I bought her) bolted to roof strut, and pink stuffed into all the nooks and crannys I could:
Cousin Kyle and Cousin Jimmy helpin' me out:
The roof piece was the nastiest, of course. Combination of a stool, some C clamps, and a floor jack to slowly raise it up as we stuffed it full of R12, and then squish hard with the floor jack to attach. Used self tapping screws with fender washers to hold it all up to the roof struts:
Kyle was proud of this "Action shot"
So then it was carpet time. I cut up a thick old area rug, again from my brother's basement, stains and all. I'll shampoo it in the spring. Just laid it right on top of the stock rubber matting. If I need to load up dirty, shmooey scrap batteries in the back on a workday, I can just flip up the carpet easily, and the shmooey goo can sit on the rubber matting.
K so I kinda didn't have the camera after that point, and we're gonna jump to current pictures, that I just took yesterday.
Side door shot: You can see the overhead DVD screen, and the console I got from a wrecker's. I cut the DIN chassis DVD player into the back of the console, it needs some trim around it still, but it looks pretty good for my ghetto van
And a closeup:
As for all my amps and everything, they couldn't be bolted to the walls anymore due to the wood paneling. So I left the "twins" (two Orion 1200d amplifiers) under the seat, and for the rest of the amps, I mounted a board to the back of the fold down part of the seat. Then I screwed in the three amps, and routed cabling so that the seat can still be moved up and down. You'll also see an XBox, under it an inverter to power it, and also you can see one of two batteries that are back there. The blue string lights are cheapy ones from Princess Auto, but they work great. They're a little to bright still, I'm still gonna lay some trim over them so that the light is reflected just along the ceiling, not throughout the whole van. When the van is parked at night, you can't see any of the gear in the back, the seat is flipped up and my jacket there blocks the view through the gap. Rear windows are painted black.
So, the insulation and carpeting made the van SO much quieter, no more rattles as I drive down the road. Music sounds better too, the tinny metal box sounds I had are all but gone now. Warmer too. Happy with my amp setup, I can adjust all five amps' crossovers from the driver's seat. But I think I'll be adding some sort of cover to the three amps on the seat, mainly to hide the cabling a bit. Need trim for the DVD. Need trim for the blue lighting. Need a centre channel speaker setup.
And need a new van.
So... I figured I'd post up some pics of the van that I've been promising to do for quite some time. Keep in mind that I am not an installer, I couldn't care less how pretty it all looks, functionality is my main issue. I call my install "Ghetto". My brother calls it "Redneck". I'm sure some of you installers, amid all the cringing you're doing, could pick out a few more choice words...
And the van has 407,000 km's on her now, I'm sure we'll replace her in the next year or two...The last time any of you guys saw van pics (or in R/L), was way back in November, after I had just installed my second 1200D amplifier. It looked like this:
So, I've done a LOT of work to her over the winter. First, I got a bundle of R12 insulation from Home Depot, and some old wood paneling from when my brother remodeled his basement. This was a huge jub, took us almost a week of evenings just to get it done enough to drive again.
This is a good pic... It shows wiring for dome lights & DVD screen, 1/8in. flat rubber glued to all flat steel (something I did years ago as a cheap sound deadening solution - works great!), wreckin' yard seat belt (yes, it's a cargo van, that means it didn't even come with a rear seat when I bought her) bolted to roof strut, and pink stuffed into all the nooks and crannys I could:
Cousin Kyle and Cousin Jimmy helpin' me out:
The roof piece was the nastiest, of course. Combination of a stool, some C clamps, and a floor jack to slowly raise it up as we stuffed it full of R12, and then squish hard with the floor jack to attach. Used self tapping screws with fender washers to hold it all up to the roof struts:
Kyle was proud of this "Action shot"
So then it was carpet time. I cut up a thick old area rug, again from my brother's basement, stains and all. I'll shampoo it in the spring. Just laid it right on top of the stock rubber matting. If I need to load up dirty, shmooey scrap batteries in the back on a workday, I can just flip up the carpet easily, and the shmooey goo can sit on the rubber matting.
K so I kinda didn't have the camera after that point, and we're gonna jump to current pictures, that I just took yesterday.
Side door shot: You can see the overhead DVD screen, and the console I got from a wrecker's. I cut the DIN chassis DVD player into the back of the console, it needs some trim around it still, but it looks pretty good for my ghetto van
And a closeup:
As for all my amps and everything, they couldn't be bolted to the walls anymore due to the wood paneling. So I left the "twins" (two Orion 1200d amplifiers) under the seat, and for the rest of the amps, I mounted a board to the back of the fold down part of the seat. Then I screwed in the three amps, and routed cabling so that the seat can still be moved up and down. You'll also see an XBox, under it an inverter to power it, and also you can see one of two batteries that are back there. The blue string lights are cheapy ones from Princess Auto, but they work great. They're a little to bright still, I'm still gonna lay some trim over them so that the light is reflected just along the ceiling, not throughout the whole van. When the van is parked at night, you can't see any of the gear in the back, the seat is flipped up and my jacket there blocks the view through the gap. Rear windows are painted black.
So, the insulation and carpeting made the van SO much quieter, no more rattles as I drive down the road. Music sounds better too, the tinny metal box sounds I had are all but gone now. Warmer too. Happy with my amp setup, I can adjust all five amps' crossovers from the driver's seat. But I think I'll be adding some sort of cover to the three amps on the seat, mainly to hide the cabling a bit. Need trim for the DVD. Need trim for the blue lighting. Need a centre channel speaker setup.
And need a new van.
02-14-2006, 06:06 PM
#9
500 Watt CAFz'r
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 756
Well, I would think they don't use home insulation because it works too good. And it's cheap. Kinda like welding cable for your stereo, or K&N air filters. Just because the auto manufacturers don't use it, doesn't mean it isn't better and/or cheaper than alternatives.
And all this was just to make the van a little more comfortable for another year or two, it DOES have 400,000 K, she ain't gonna last much longer. So slapping it all together fast & easy was important. Pink can get moldy/mildewy over time yes, but again, it's only gotta last a year or two, then it's to the crusher she goes. So let the mold begin!
Maybe if I had just bought the van, I would've taken the time to trim all the edges pretty and all, but I doubt it. I'm not in this to make a show stopper. I just wanted it nicer than a cargo van. I don't want to spend hundreds of hours working on my van, I just want it done fast, so that I can use it. There's tons of pride in that install, however beauty is in the eye of the beholder, all my buddys think it's pretty damn cool, but they don't go to car shows. But I wouldn't go showing it off at a car show, lemme tell ya.
Comparing it to a wheelchair repairman's work van isn't accurate. My van does P&D, one of the hardest ways to use a vehicle in a city all the while keeping it clean & maintained, let alone sexy. I'm not driving to a job and staying there for a few hours, then on to another job. I drive to a place, am there for 5 minutes or less, then on to another, and another, and so on. There's no tools (except for a set of booster cables) or work countertops. There's no cabinets full of small parts. It's just a van, to haul up to 1200 pounds of batteries, 300 pounds of stereo equipment, and 300 pounds of heavenly joy...
Nope, no beaver cut (but great analogy!). I used a soldering iron with a plastic cutter tip, to cut that hole in the console. Couldn't think of anything better to do it with. *shrug* Once I glue some trim around the exposed part of the cage, you won't be able to see the cut part anyway. The cup holder above, and pull out drawer below, both still work perfectly.
If I could've got a fold down bed in there, I probably would have. The rear seat I used came out of the same thing, a Chevy Astro, so it was a good match. My Mom's old '86 Voyager van had a fold down bed in it.... one of those seats'd work awesome!
I don't do beer, it was someone elses. The coffee cup up there was mine though... ehehehe
Oshawa? Nope, Calgary.
And all this was just to make the van a little more comfortable for another year or two, it DOES have 400,000 K, she ain't gonna last much longer. So slapping it all together fast & easy was important. Pink can get moldy/mildewy over time yes, but again, it's only gotta last a year or two, then it's to the crusher she goes. So let the mold begin!
Maybe if I had just bought the van, I would've taken the time to trim all the edges pretty and all, but I doubt it. I'm not in this to make a show stopper. I just wanted it nicer than a cargo van. I don't want to spend hundreds of hours working on my van, I just want it done fast, so that I can use it. There's tons of pride in that install, however beauty is in the eye of the beholder, all my buddys think it's pretty damn cool, but they don't go to car shows. But I wouldn't go showing it off at a car show, lemme tell ya.
Comparing it to a wheelchair repairman's work van isn't accurate. My van does P&D, one of the hardest ways to use a vehicle in a city all the while keeping it clean & maintained, let alone sexy. I'm not driving to a job and staying there for a few hours, then on to another job. I drive to a place, am there for 5 minutes or less, then on to another, and another, and so on. There's no tools (except for a set of booster cables) or work countertops. There's no cabinets full of small parts. It's just a van, to haul up to 1200 pounds of batteries, 300 pounds of stereo equipment, and 300 pounds of heavenly joy...
Nope, no beaver cut (but great analogy!). I used a soldering iron with a plastic cutter tip, to cut that hole in the console. Couldn't think of anything better to do it with. *shrug* Once I glue some trim around the exposed part of the cage, you won't be able to see the cut part anyway. The cup holder above, and pull out drawer below, both still work perfectly.
If I could've got a fold down bed in there, I probably would have. The rear seat I used came out of the same thing, a Chevy Astro, so it was a good match. My Mom's old '86 Voyager van had a fold down bed in it.... one of those seats'd work awesome!
I don't do beer, it was someone elses. The coffee cup up there was mine though... ehehehe
Oshawa? Nope, Calgary.
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