[par4tom]

Background -

I got into car audio back in the early 1980's and it has always been a favorite hobby of mine. Back in the day, 100 watt amps were a rarity and the "more is better" theory prevailed. "More" meaning, how many speakers and amps could you fit in your car or truck.

During the 1990's, my career had progressed and I was able to afford to do my first competition car audio car, a 1994 Acura Legend that actually was featured in a CES Booth for Zapco in 1998 or 1999. It was a rather simple system and went undefeated the year I competed.

Fast forward to 2014 when I started building my dad's old 1961 truck, I determined to push the cutting edge of car audio thought...just this time in a classic chevy truck.

So whether you're putting a system in an old truck like ours, or the latest sedan or coupe, the first rule of thumb is to:

Always build your system to your vehicle.Not vice versa!!!

Too many times I have seen guys (much like I did in those early days), cut holes in the wrong place or try to fit too large a subwoofer (or too many) into too small a space with very poor results and very empty pockets after.

When it comes to kick pods, I happen to be a very lucky guy because Steve Brown (who was an IASCA National Champion the year I competed) and later went to work to head the fabrication division for Alpine Car Audio, befriended me at a competition in Carson City, NV.

So you know, Steve was years ahead of his time when it came to those early days of fiberglass. He was also the only guy I ever met that was competing with fiberglass kick pods. And his were good enough to win a National Championship.

To make a long story shorter, I had Steve come up from Southern California to the Central Valley and put on a class on how to build fiberglass kick panels...which he did. After I watched him, I made my own set of kick panels. They weren't very good compared to his, but they helped me receive an invite to nationals in South Carolina that year.

With that said...I am not an expert...just a long-time hobbiest. And I've learned a few short cuts along the way...so here we go!