TC's "61derful" - A 61 Short Fleet Show and Competition Sound Build

[par4tom]

Background on This Truck - this truck was purchased by my dad back in May of 1966, and has been in the family since then. During this time, it has seen many years of use as a farm truck and has gone through two or three medium restorations.

Since about 1998, the truck has sat in my dad's garage and was being used as a storage bin for bicycles, toys and various varment droppings.

Back in 2012, my dad had had some health issues and so on a lark, I unloaded all the junk, pushed it out onto the driveway and proceeded to clean it up a bit. Had I known on that day the direction this truck in my life would take I probably would've taken a couple of pictures or pushed it off a bridge!!!

However, like a lot of you guys out there, you never really know what you're getting into until it is too late and you've been sucked into this serious addiction that should require massive amounts of counseling or public floggings.

My original intent was simply clean it up a bit fix a few carburetor and vacuum leaks and get that thing running again. However, as you will soon see I was not successful in stopping at this point.

Background on me - I am 53 years young and have loved cars and trucks just like a lot of you guys out there going back to the days when I was a kid. I actually learned to drive on this truck at about age 9 or 10 when my dad would take me out to teach me how to drive.

During the 1980s, I fell in love with Chevy trucks and my first truck was a 1975 Chevy stepside. Also during the early 80s, car stereos were becoming all the rage and I was always tinkering.

In the late 1990s, I built my first competition sound system and competed for a couple of years. I was fortunate enough to go undefeated on the competition sound so good here out on the West Coast during that time. I always felt that there was a higher degree of satisfaction when you did the work yourself versus jobbing it out to a shop someplace.

Somebody must've liked my work because in 2000 my car was featured at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. A couple of years later I was asked to build a truck for CES and while at CES I was asked by a producer from one of the FAST ANd FURIOUS movies to build a truck for their upcoming movie.

Now… Before anyone thinks that I am some hot-shot builder I can assure you that I am not. I'm just an enthusiast who loves great cars and trucks and loves what you guys are doing here on this forum. I hope I can give back to some here on this forum as much as it has given me.

Sound systems do not appear to be a the most popular topic here on this forum. I'm hoping that more guys will take an interest in creating incredible sound systems in these incredible trucks through this thread...

So without further ado and a lot of detail work still to go here is my build thread...

God's Best To Each One of You!

Tom

Early pic November 2012 - bit of rust along with 52 years of oil, grease and dirt

[par4tom]

Here are some pics from my first car show. Out of about 450 cars, I was one of about 20 to win an award!!!

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Another angle Attachment 1526067

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Interior shot with IPAD Mini in the center console

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Headliner with Tweeter on Far Side in the A pillar. I plan to cover the bottom portion of the pillar in the next few weeks.

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Another

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A little blue LED in the grill...

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Old school 383 Stroker...

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Oak bed made by my dad and stained and polished by him (I didn't even help) Spanish Walnut stain with Mar K stainless strips...matching Ice Chest

[par4tom]

Center console with F--- Focus cup holders turned backwards and molded in. CDT Audio 8" sub and Zapco z-400 Class AB Amp. The trim piece around these subs is probably going to get changed when time allows...

[par4tom]

Another center console shot with CDT Audio speakers in custom fiberglass kick pod. I'll show my kick pod build later on as the ones I have seen on here make kick pod building too complicated. There is a better and simpler way...and a better way to get better imaging...this photo is a bit earlier and does not have the IPad in it...

ARC Audio AEQ in the dash and Pioneer PRS 80 with Digital Sound Processor head unit. Pioneer allows two USB inputs as well as Blue Tooth. I don't use Blue tooth for sound files as they are compressed files and not quite as good as Lossless files or CDs.

2nd Zapco z-400 for highs can be seen on the left.

And yes... This is a 4 speed with an Np-440 / MY 6 transmission. Love driving a four speed again. This truck was originally a 4 speed and I wanted to continue that tradition. Old guy...old school!!!

[Captainfab]

WOW! very nice truck.....and a lot of nice details

[par4tom]

Thanks Captain... I hope you noticed your brake booster bracket on one of the pics...a nice custom touch and very well done by you...

[par4tom]

Thanks Captain... I hope you noticed your brake booster bracket on one of the pics...a nice product and very well done by you...much appreciated!

[Low Elco]

Good looking stuff! HOw do you find the Pioneer HU comparing to pre-Ipod Alpines? You know, the good stuff? I'm on the hunt for another circa 2003 alpine hu now. CAn't wait to see more!

[61K10]

great job--nice tk. one little question, your license plate. Is that one of ca new black plates?

[par4tom]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Good looking stuff! HOw do you find the Pioneer HU comparing to pre-Ipod Alpines? You know, the good stuff? I'm on the hunt for another circa 2003 alpine hu now. CAn't wait to see more!

There really is no comparison anymore. While the earlier generation Alpines were great units, the latest generation of headunits with DSP allows you 1/3 octave equalization for 6 channels, variable crossover points, superior high quality d/a converters that are more musical than the old generation of d/a converters. Plus...this head unit has a microphone and pink noise generator that will solve all of the in-cabin acoustical problems including time alignments.

I never thought I would see the day that you could get all of this in a head unit. Plug in the mic...tape it to the headrest and in about 45 seconds the entire spectrum is swept flat including time alignment...

If you're not into all of this to this level...then the older Alpine units are still some of the best ever made. Especially the F1 series...

[par4tom]

Originally Posted by 61K10

great job--nice tk. one little question, your license plate. Is that one of ca new black plates?

That is one of the new plates. You can go to the DMV website and order. They will not reissue your old plates if that is what you are trying to do. That is what I wanted to do but they won't do that. Personalized plates only...

To restore my old plates - $400.

To buy new personalized plates - Around $50! And the new plates look better than the restored old ones...

I was cheap...wanted to save money.

[DaddyOh]

Very nice... will be following along. I like the LED 'touch', I also have something planned with an Arduino and LED strips.

Looks like you will be a good resource for audio questions... haha. Won't be doing anything to your caliber but am looking for a bluetooth capable amp to stream directly from an iPhone - to do away with a head unit - any thoughts on the Infinity K4, or similar?

[par4tom]

Originally Posted by DaddyOh

Very nice... will be following along. I like the LED 'touch', I also have something planned with an Arduino and LED strips.

Looks like you will be a good resource for audio questions... haha. Won't be doing anything to your caliber but am looking for a bluetooth capable amp to stream directly from an iPhone - to do away with a head unit - any thoughts on the Infinity K4, or similar?

DaddyOH...

I'm old school so I haven't kept up with a lot of the latest technology. For reference, this is the first time I have ever done an install with an IPad or Ipod unit. 10 to 15 years ago...the compressed musical formats to save space on the device were no match to CD's.

Today, you can rip hundreds of CD's and store them bit-for-bit and have them all on the Ipad. I'm learning this new tech...

In my system, I am using a full digital output via the USB into a USB direct input into the Pioneer. No more a/d/a conversions. Plus...my IPad has GPS and all the expandability for apps...I'll keep you posted how this develops.

But the best sound cars in USA have all moved to this technology...I'm trying to keep pace.

Infinity...good brand and should be good for street beats!! Blue tooth does use compressed formats but I doubt you can hear the differences between compressed and uncompressed in a moving car...

[DaddyOh]

Thanks for the info, appreciate it. Will be following along on your iPad adventures... Been considering one for gps capabilities and run something along the lines of MotionX. Need to find a good set-up on a gps that does 'on the fly' course re-routing when it 'notices' traffic on current route and provides voice command. Rented a car recently that had an in-dash unit with all the bells/whistles and my wife said she wanted that......

[par4tom]

Glad I can help...so far what we have heard in my truck in the first few days (I have another guy who is an expert in sound systems) seems to be pretty positive. I was really doing the truck and the sound system was going to be a novelty because from a competition standpoint (if I ever get to compete) trucks are much harder to work with because you can not equalize the path lengths from the left side speakers and the right side.

However, with a bit of time alignment and being able to leave the cowl vents open, I was able to go from a 5 1/4" driver to a 6 1/2" driver. The guy who is working with me and who heard my Acura Legend competition system told me that what we had done so far in a few days was the best sound system he had ever heard anywhere and the attack of the mid bass was phenomenal. You can really feel it hit you in the chest at moderate levels and that's with an 80hz crossover at 12db. Coming from him...I was a bit surprised but our older trucks may be a hidden gem!

As an aside...if you are looking for great sound in your truck, NEVER try to shoehorn a 6 1/2" driver into a SEALED kickpod. It will not work...ever!!! I have seen tons of guys try to get around this by cutting out the back of the kick pod to let the 6 1/2" driver breath...but that rarely works and is a band aid. That is why doors tend to work better than sealed kickpods for midbass impact...airspace!

However, these trucks are phenomenal because of the cowl vent openings.

In fact...before I forget...here is a really great link on car audio from a guy that has won several national competitions and one that I have studied extensively...there's even an item in there that talks about what brands are good...and which ones are not so good...lots of good stuff.

And IMHO...this is the single best information about audio that you will find anywhere for audio and for our trucks...

http://www.glasswolf.net/papers/index.html

Buzz down his page to the section "Speakers"...this is good starting point on acoustics and speaker placement. Then there is his "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" where he gives his opinions on brands. Pretty interesting and brutal!

I'll post my kickpod builds on here in the next few days as the ones I have seen here from previous posters...are way too hard to build and build correctly for GREAT sound. I've got a couple of ideas I'll pass along...specifically for our 60-66 trucks.

[markeb01]

Beautiful accomplishment!

[par4tom]

Here are a few early "before" photos...not good!!! Was getting ready to pull the old tranny and the interior...pretty rough!

[TJ's Chevy]

You've done a Fantastic job on that truck.