Radio changes

Hi, I have a 1989 911 and I thought the same thing about the tape deck "Blaupunkt Reno" that was in mine. Besides, all the paper speakers were cracked or buzzing anyway and I thought it was a good time for a change. I was told that Crutchfield had a good model "Blaupunkt Toronto" that was a single cd player with changer capabilities and better overall spec's that the original. It fits in the same din housing as the original. You will need to cut the old harness off and splice in a new one, (very easy). It keeps the original look but sounds fantastic. It was a good price too $299.
I also changed all the speakers keeping all the original opening dimensions the same. My car came with the factory tweeters and amplifier. I used infinity kappa speakers all around, In the front a component system with 5 1/4 woofer and separate tweeter. The rear deck gets 4x6 2 way plate speakers. The original grill fits perfectly on top of these. A rockford fosgate 4 channel amp is mounted in the front on the floor of the trunk behind the spare tire. The toronto has 4 channel preamp's to supply the signal. The original wiring in the car was fine which saved alot of work.
I knew I wanted the amp because I have a Borla exhaust competing for sound so the volume would have to be higher With a 4 channel amp, you can always bridge 2 of the channels for a subwoofer and use 2 channels of the deck..
The result.....a HUGE improvement over the original with absolutly no change to the interior of my car. The toronto is a high powered deck but the speakers I chose needed more power to run them right. There are other good speakers that will work fine with just the Blaupunkt's power (25 x4 ). Crutchfield is an excellent company. I had no fear in returning items if they did't fit. Now to figure were I can put a subwoofer.

[This message has been edited by 89911 (edited 02-06-2000).]

I work for a mobile electronics company called CAR Toys in Portland,OR and have a 1981 911SC. Since I sell stereos for a living I had to have a great stereo in my 911. I chose to go with the MB Quart 5 1/4 components in front with no rear fill. I added a subwoofer in mine by building and enclosure over the a/c access door in the front trunk. My JL Audio 10w6 is in a .70 cubic foot sealed box firing down into the a/c blower box. To do this I removed the access panel and sealed the box to the car with gasketing foam. The bass travels through the ducts into the car. I don't have bass for blocks but that was never the intention. I do use a Phoenix Gold ZX475ti four channel amp for lots of power. This setup actually improved my weight balance because I didn't add any weight behind the driver. Another bonus is that I could remove everything and except for 8 screw holes nobody would ever know what I had done.

Davep
1981 911SC

[This message has been edited by Dperlas (edited 02-06-2000).]

MB-quartz are great speakers no doubt. That what the local audio stores were selling. Since I never know how long I'm going to keep cars, I did't want to put alot of money into a system that I can't recoup. I had better luck shopping arount for the infinity. Your idea for a subwoofer sounds interesting. My system really could use some bottom end but I was told not enough sound will get through the firewall by mounting a subwoofer under the hood. I did't like the option of putting one in the floor of the back seat either. My kids like to sit there. Any other idea's on how you can mount one without getting into custom enclosures?

hey 89911,

just wanted to say that i just put a stereo system into my 76' Targa as well...the Alpine 4 channel (60Wx4) amp mounted in the front trunk i like, and the Polk 6.5" component system in the side panels is also doing a great job...the Alpine 7940 head unit, although highly recommended, disappointed me...the CD unit skipped when plowing over railroad crossings (sometimes even when driving over the center bumps on the highway!), and the lights on it were so cheezy, i wondered what i nwas thinking when i purchased it...

i also did a lot of research and chose the Blaupunkt Toronto...back to the stereo installation place, out with the Alpine, and in with the Blaupunkt...wow, what a difference!...beautiful unit, looks like it belongs there...not a single skip under any circumstances...what a sweet unit...

i will go up to sacramento in a week or two to have the sub-panel put on the front of the backseat floor area ( http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/suben.htm ) to address the lack of juicy bottom...i'll let you know the results, although i certainly have respect for your kids' needs ;-)

does anyone know whther i can put in a newer model rear-deck in order to get the extra space for the rear-speakers? my 76' deck is not only a bit warped, but also too shallow to put anything there...having back-fillers would surely make for an even better listening experience.

happy cruisin' and jammin'

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1976 911S Targa

Till - see www.moch-1.com they have a nice rear speaker deck for 911s.

nice thread...

thanks rarlyL8...looks like a cool solution...i'll give 'em a call and pick their brains...

also michael, thanks for the e-mail that you sent me about the other deck solution that's more flush..i already talked to the guy over there (John) who gave me some info...

unfortunately, i can't deal with anything like that over the next week, becuae i'll leave the mainland for a few days...

miss my 911 baby and the stereo already...
boohooo...

when i'm back, it's all business though until this car sounds as tight as it drives...that's a challenge...

anyone who has experience with the flush mount vs. the raised deck, let me know...also how do the 2 8" woofers with tweeters in the rear deck sound when compared to the 6x9's in the rear deck and woofers in front of the rear seats...

just isn't easy to pick the right path to the ultimate sound...


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1976 911S Targa

Till, it is really tough to get anything bigger tin the rear deck without MAJOR custom other than the factory 4x6. I don't even recommend rear speakers unless sombody is going to sit back there. I had a customer that had to have rear speakers so we completely remade the rear deck for some Quart 6.5's. Turned out really nice.

89911, I mounted my sub over the blower access panel(after removing the door) and it fires directly through the a/c ducts. It provides a really nice even sound without being over bassy. It even fit under my cambermeister. I did it this way so that I would have better weight distribution.

I work at Car Toys in Portland, Or. Anybody can email me for more info.

Dave
1981 911SC
1984 Alfa Spider

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