This is our company demo car that we have been building for a few years now, making upgrades all the time to it.

1983 Buick Regal, all chrome removed and painted to match the new stock color paint, Grand National hood and deck lid spoiler. Both front and rear bumpers have been shaved. Lowered with Belltech dropped spindles in the front and coils in the rear. 16×8 Center Line Style 89 wheels.

1959 Chevy Impala dash heavily modified, 1966 Chevy Chevelle console, English Wool custom fit carpet, custom fabricated door panels, trim panels, headliner and every other piece of trim in the car. Dakota Digital Gauges.

Custom built bucket seats with custom Buick emblems.

Hand fabricated fiberglass trunk panels. ARC Audio ARC12″ subwoofers, ARC Audio FD1200.1 Mono Block, ARC Audio FD4150 4 channel amp. The whole car is wired with Hooker Audio wiring. Dakota Digital amp temperature and volt meters.

Custom bend white 10mm Neon lighting.

Chip Foose signed ARC Audio Foose series 4 Channel amplifier.

We built a complete custom front end for this Ferrari. We used about $7000US worth or European Hella lights and accessories. We replaced all the factory lighting on the front end of the car.

This is a custom air ride system we installed along with a Baer Brake front and rear disc upgrade kit, Bilstein shocks, 19″ Asanti wheels and a Dakota Digital air ride controller

We finished this job a while pack, thought we would post it up for you to see.

New gauge install

We just finished up this crazy system in a 26 foot Pontoon party barge. We installed 8 pairs of ARC Audio FD6000 components, 4 AVI SLS300 subs, 2 ARC Audio Foose 4150 4 channels and 2 ARC Audio Foose 1200.1 mono blocks.

We build two home theater style down firing enclosures for under each of the boats coolers.

We used two AVI SLS-300 woofers in each box, the small opening beside the terminal cup is a conduit for the drain tube of the cooler above the box to properly run through and out the floor of the boat.

8 Pairs of Arc Audio FD6000 components make this boat scream. The use of multiple Federal Signal FireRay stobes make this boat the ultimate party barge. These lights are commonly found on EMS trucks etc, so they are bright !

All the panels were made from treated marine plywood, then the speaker plates were molded to project the sound upwards and opposite from one another to eliminate any chance of phasing issues in such small quarters.

And yes……….for those that noticed, that is a full fledged brass stripper pole !!

Custom welded and powder coated steel amp rack for easy access and wiring off all the major components.

This purple rotating beacon is tied into a dimmer module and air horns, it’s a “Shot Caller”. When the horns and light go off, it’s time to take another drink !

Drunk proofing the system as best as you can.

Click here for a short video clip of the boat in action !

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We finally got the door panels finished for the Camaro.

This is what we started with when we got the car.

This is the new ABS door panel base. This is what we will build off of.

We needed to build some tweeter grilles for the tweeters in the door. I actually took the arm rest and traced it out on paper, I then downsized it to the size I wanted, while keeping the general look of the arm rest. I then made a plug out of 3/4″ mdf from which I did a combination of rabbeting and flush cut to get my template. I then transfered that over to ABS, used a round over on it and then inset studs to mount the grille to the panel. Once we had the grille trim all smoothed out I textured it and gave it a couple of coats of satin black and low luster clear to protect it. THEN, I took my template again and made another piece that will be mounted to the door panel. This will give the grille a “molded up” look to it, basically it will raise the tweeter grille up and make it look like it kinda grew out of the panel.

This shows the “riser” for the tweeter grille.

We also made a riser piece for the two edges of the top sections.

We then took 1/8″ landau foam and covered the three top sections, sanded the foam and we are all ready to go.

Then we wrapped each section separately.

We then started gluing each section to the door panel.

A bit of a closeup showing the rises between the sections.

Finished product. (I hate photographing black, never shows the color right……)

I wrote this a few months ago for my monthly article in RPM Motoring Monthly and I thought I would post it here as well.I wanted to talk about what’s new in the world of head units (radio’s, CD players, decks, just pic your terminology) but there really hasn’t been anything “new” for quite sometime, so lets talk about what has changed and been improved on.

Almost every car sold now in the world comes with a CD player as a factory feature, so why do people still want to remove them ? They want to get better sound quality and better features then what the OEM is offering. People think that stock systems are now at a all time high as far as sound quality but it just isn’t true. In the 80’s and 90’s we had tapes, that was the standard back then and they sounded OK but nothing special, the fancier systems like “Bose” and other sounds a little better, but nothing to write home about. Today the standard is CD so all the cars have CD players and most people think that because it has a CD player now it’s a much better sound system, but it’s not. It’s the same thing we have always had. Now there are some cars out there like the Acura TL and the new Lexus that have really good sound systems but we all can’t afford those kinds of cars.

In the modern car, is it worth replacing the factory CD player with an aftermarket one? Yes it is and if you choose to do this there are so many options out there for you. With most aftermarket head units you can now expand them so far beyond just a tuner and CD player it isn’t funny.

We live in a portable world, and the portable world is ruled by the Apple iPod. Every head unit company out there has teamed up with Apple to allow you to control your iPod from your head unit just like you could with a CD Changer. Radio is a ever changing world as well, you have your standard AM/FM radio that we have always known but now you have the world of digital quality Satellite radio from Sirius and XM Radio. With hundreds of channels at your finger tips, you will always be able to listen to something that you like, for $12.95 a month. The owners of terrestrial radio stations are losing listeners left right and center to Satellite radio because of it’s higher quality so they got behind the movement of HD (High Definition) radio. Now we have seen radio formats come and go over the years all claiming better sound but the radio stations never got behind it. Now that Clear Channel (the largest terrestrial radio company in the world) has gotten behind the format, it seems to be here to stay.

Navigation has been around for years now, but it has only been in the last year or so that it has become affordable and portable. You can get your head unit with navigation built in or you can have a portable stand alone unit that you mount to your dash or suction cup to the window to guide you to your destination.

Bluetooth is one of those formats that was finally agreed upon by the manufacturers as being a standard of wireless communication between devices. While it is used everywhere these days, the one place that has greatly benefited from it is the automotive world. Bluetooth Hands-free in-car cellular kits will make the roads a much safer place. Back in the 80’s, in-car cellular phones had the hands-free feature with them, well when the world went portable, these were forgotten by most companies. Bluetooth now allows you to wirelessly hook up your cellular phone to a hands-free kit so you can keep your hands on the road and not holding your cell phone while trying to drive (yeah you know who you are). While these are stand alone units, almost all head units have this as a option as well, so not only do you have the safety of hands-free communication, it will also mute your stereo when a call comes in and allows you to control your phone from your radio.

Companies like Harmon Kardon has gone so far as to incorporate iPod, Bluetooth Hands-free and Sirius satellite all into one stand alone unit that can be added to any car.

The stock radios of today’s vehicles are integrated into the dash board more then ever. The simple fact is that in more and more cars the radios simply can not be removed from the vehicle. Auto manufacturers are running more and more vehicle functions thru the radio then they ever have. If you need or want to retain your stock head unit but upgrade your system, there are modules to help you do that, there are also modules so if you remove your factory radio you can retain your steering wheel controls, retain your Onstar system, retain your Bluetooth cellular system, and retain almost anything or add anything.

The year is 1985 and the stereo system in your new vehicle is just not good. It doesn’t sound good, it doesn’t look good and it didn’t have a CD player. Fast forward to the year 2006 and the stereo system in your new vehicle is pretty darn good, or is it?

Factory stereos overall quality in vehicle are at an all time high. With features like a CD player (not even a tape deck anymore), MP3, iPod ready, steering wheel controls, rear mounted controls, satellite ready, navigation and Bluetooth cellular hands free they have all the bells and whistles. Some cars manufacturers have even gone to the aftermarket companies to help them with their factory stereos by even badging them with names like Rockford Fosgate, Alpine, Pioneer, Dynaudio, Infinity and Boston Acoustics. Can you get any better then this? Sure you can, but you have to know a thing or two or three or maybe four for it to sound better then what the factory has provided for you.

The first thing you need to know is about head units, decks, source units. They are all the same thing just pick your terminology. In the modern car, is it worth replacing the factory CD player with an aftermarket one? For 75% of the people that want to improve their sound quality of their vehicle it is not worth replacing their CD player sounds just fine. The stock radios of today’s vehicles are integrated into the dash board more then ever. So why do people do it, well it’s because the general public has been conditioned to think that if it’s stock then it must be no good (remember our step back to 1985). The simple fact is that in more and more cars the radios simply can not be removed from the vehicle. Auto manufacturers are running more and more vehicle functions thru the radio then they ever have. Yes you can buy modules to take care of this but is it really worth it?

These days everything is done with a module. If you remove your factory radio you can get a module to retain your steering wheel controls, retain your Onstar system, retain your Bluetooth cellular system, and retain almost anything or add anything.

We asked if it was going to sound better, the simple matter of the truth is that the CD players provided in a KIA sounds no better or worse then the CD player found in a Lexus and most aftermarket decks are not going to sound any better either. And with the crazy flashy cosmetics of most aftermarket decks is it even going to look good in the dash board of your car. If you fall into that 25% that really want that higher sound quality, your going to have to be prepared to spend some good money on a higher end unit.

People will say “well the stock deck doesn’t have RCA’s on it, how do I plug my amplifiers into it. We have a module, several in fact to take care of that.

The simple fact of the matter is, if you want better sound spend your money on speakers, amplifiers and subwoofers.

The second thing you need to know about is speakers. A speaker is the most important part of a stereo system; after all it is what you hear the music coming from. If you have good speakers you will have good sound, bad speakers and you will have bad sound (back to 1985 again). Well what is a good speaker you ask? Ask 10 salesmen and you will get 12 opinions. Go online and ask 10 people on a forum and you will get 30 people responding with just as many opinions. The best sounding speaker is, are you ready for it? It’s the one that sounds the best. Brands, models, wattage, color, looks and opinions aside the only speaker worth buying is the one your ears like and the only way to tell this is to listen to them. Go into a store, tell the sales people to stop talking and listen to the speakers. The best sounding ones that you can afford are the ones you should leave with.

Not every speaker will fit into every car so you want to make sure you are listening to the type of speaker that may be installed in your vehicle. Any reputable shop will be able to custom mount most speakers into any car but you want to make sure they have the capabilities.

The third thing that you need to know about is amplifiers. Amplifiers do just that, they amplify the music coming out of your radio. Just like speakers, people ask “well what is a good amplifier”. This is a little trickier to explain then speakers because if a cheap pair of speakers sounds good to a person then that is ok. With amps there are as many cheap amps as there are good amps, and by cheap we mean poor quality. The market is flooded with cheap crap in every corner of the world. To sort this out you need to do a little research and find a good reputable shop or person to help you thru this mass confusion that can and will be brought on by the hundreds of options out there. Matching up the power ratings of the amp with the speaker is a good thing but it not written in stone; for the most part you can never have too much power when it comes to speakers. You will always do more damage to a speaker by under powering it then you will over powering it. It’s like having a 4 cylinder motor or an 8 cylinder motor. When you’re driving fast the four cylinders simply has no more and tops out, well then a speaker “tops” out it will keep trying to play louder and that is when distortion happens and that kills more speaker then anything else. With the 8 cylinder you can just keep going and going (yes you will also run out of power at some point, but as quick).

The fourth thing that you need to know about is subwoofers. Most people think that if they add a subwoofer they are now one of those annoying “ground pounders” that drive around and piss everyone off. Adding a subwoofer means nothing of the sort, in fact it simply means that you want to have a complete and enjoyable sound in your car. Subwoofers come in all sizes and even shapes and finding one to suit your car and your needs is as simple as talking to your qualified shop about what you need.

The last thing and the most important things is installation. This is an area where everyone says they can do what you want and how you want it but few are actually capable of doing a quality and professional job. Some things to look for and know when it comes to who you are going to get to work on your vehicle and what to expect when having a installation done.

1. Do they have examples of the type of work you want to have done? Everyone can talk the talk, but can they walk the walk.
2. Do they have a car in the shop at the time that shows the quality of work they do, and it doesn’t have to be the same type of work you’re asking for?
3. What does their shop look like? Is it a mess, as in a bomb went off or is it a working mess but in general is a clean shop. This can tell a lot about a shop.
4. What does their showroom look like? The pride and detail a person or business takes in their showroom and shop can tell you a lot about the type of work they turn out.
5. Knowledge, do some prior research regarding potential issues with your vehicle and or type of install and test their knowledge. No person will know everything about every car or product but how they answer will tell you a lot about them. Maybe your research was off and they will correct you.
6. Quality Control, ask them if you can see the work as they are working on the car. Most shops won’t let you hang out in the bay for safety and security reasons but most good shops shouldn’t object to you coming into the shop, with permission and escorted just to see what things look like when it’s all apart. If they don’t want to do that then I would question having them work on your car.
7. Parts, your going to need parts no matter how big or small the job is and knowing what all of these parts are before you start is sometimes hard but make sure you ask what the parts are and what they do if you don’t understand them. Don’t just pay for it and be uncomfortable about it after the fact.
8. Appointments, plan on the job taking longer then expected so it is usually good to just make plans to drop the car off in the morning and pick it up later in the day or at the end of the day. This way you’re not rushing around if there was a delay during the installation, and the installer won’t rush to get the job done in the expected time frame. Not to say that every job is that way but there can be unforeseen circumstances that are out of our control. Ever wonder why it takes the dealership 4 hours to do a oil change? It’s better to under promise and over deliver then over promise and under deliver.
9. New cars, if you drive a new car or even a car that is a few years old there is always the chance that their may be a unforeseen complication. These days it is really hard to have all the information about ever vehicle ahead of time. A lot of information and knowledge an installer has is actually from working on the actual cars. Things like wrong speaker size, factory amp or no factory amp, antenna adaptor or no antenna adaptor are just a few examples of unforeseen complications we run into all the time. The hardest part is, there are so many different options and sub models of every model car that it is impossible to know everything. A good example is the Ford Aerostar from several years ago. To put a aftermarket radio into one, it requires rewiring the speakers because of a headphone module in the rear side panel. I personally know of 6 different ways that Ford wired these vans, and I don’t think the Aerostar was on the market much more then 6 years. These different wiring configurations were different based on trim levels, options and even which plant it was built in.
10. Warranty and extended warranty, do your research on this. A vehicles environment is one of the roughest out there. It’s hot, cold, damp, dusty and then there is coke and kids. Know how long your product is covered and what it is covered for. Some extended warranties are great, some are a cash cow for companies.
11. Satellite radio, is Sirius better then XM Radio or is XM better then Sirius. I have heard them both with excellent sound quality and poor sound quality. I have seen excellent reception from both and poor reception from both. Just like everything, ask 10 people get 10 opinions. Most aftermarket and OEM radio companies allow you to use either on their radio’s now. The difference in my opinion is the content. You have to decide what you want to listen to. The 60 odd music channels are all going to be the same, it’s the other 40 or channels that sets each one apart from one another. The only thing that is a for sure thing, is a direct plug in option is always going to sound better then one that plays thru the FM modular.
12. MP3’s, iPod and downloading music. They are only as good as how they are downloaded and what they are downloaded from. 99% of the time a bad sounding song is the download, not the radio it’s being played thru.
13. Radio Pricing. Is a $399.99 radio that much better then a $199.99 one? Not generally, as the price goes up, quality of parts goes up a bit but it’s mostly just features and cosmetics.
14. If you buy a radio for $399.99, by the time you pay for all the parts and labor needed you may be well over $500 and it isn’t going to actually physically sound better. Spend that $500 on 2 or 4 new speakers and a amplifier, maybe at a small subwoofer. All of these kinds of options is guaranteed to improve your listening experience.

Is this all of it ? Not even close, it would take a few dozen of these magazines to even come close. It really comes down to finding the right person and shop to deal with. Service is everything, everyone will give you the “lowest price guarantee” but can they give you service over and over again. There is never a dumb question so if you ever have a question please email us at info@hzemall.com

Remember, “a fool and his money will soon be parted” so do some research and ask some questions.

A little while back I wrote, “Getting a Deal?” and I want to expand on this a little. You see I really do not understand why people do the things they do to “save” money, as I stated in the article. NOW, with that said what really blows me away is that the customer, dealership or Insurance company will question a person who fixes the issue more than the person who claims to have fixed the issue. A little confusing you say??? Well here is how it’s works. Customer has an issue with the car; in most cases they bring the car back to the Dealership where for some reason the Dealership cannot find the issue…. IF the car has any aftermarket product installed it is then sent back to the shop where the product was install with breakdown explaining that the Aftermarket product is now the cause of the issue but with no proof. This will most likely cost the customer a few hundred dollars and the added bonus of the car still having the issue. Ok, the car now shows up and the Aftermarket Installer takes a look at the car, and time after time in my own personal experience I have found that the issue has nothing to do with the aftermarket product installed and is a warranty issue and the Dealership should have taken care of it. Now before we fix the car, if possible, we show the customer what the issue is and then bill out for time spent in properly diagnosing the issue. If the car is older and out of warranty the customer is even more upset when they get a bill. My question is to everyone out there is: WHY ARE YOU MAD AT THE GUY WHO FIXED YOUR CAR????? I would think you would be upset at the person who billed you out to tell you the obvious issue with your car that you knew before coming in, in fact that is why you came into the shop in the first place.

Example: Customer has an older out of warranty car, the Battery keeps dying, the customer brings the car back to the dealership where he bought it new, they tell him the battery needs to be replaced, bills him and sends him on his way. Few day later the battery is dead again, so now the dealership tell the customer the Alternator needs to be replaced, bills him and sends him on his way, few days later the battery is dead again, the dealership now tells him they have no idea what is the issue and it will take a few days for them to hunt down the issue. It is fair to say now that the car is completely OEM (Which means no aftermarket product install ever). The customer who has now spent a lot of money and still has the same issue he had in the beginning now brings us the car to have a look. We had the car for about an hour and started to look over the car to see what could cause the battery to drain, turns out in the end it was a faulty trunk switch keeping the trunk light on, we unplug the light and now the car’s battery doesn’t die. The Customer is kind of pissed that we billed him an hour and show him what we found, BUT we fixed his car and he knows it…but he never goes back to the Dealership to question them in why he needed to buy an alternator and battery and yet still have the issue…. my favorite is when the Dealership tells the customer that there is no way the light could killed the battery and that they will not refund him any money and show him the door. Where is the customer service in that???

Claudio Piccolo

We made a bunch of progress on the Camaro this weekend.

When the car came in, the air ride tank, the solenoids and the compressors were all mounted to the floor with drywall screws. We welded up a frame work for the compressors and solenoids out of 1/2″ square tubing. We welded flat bar to the rack and then drilled and tapped them to mount everything to it. We bolted the tank to the floor and then the rack was bolted to the mounting tabs of the tank.

We then sprayed the rack with an epoxy coating from Eastwood, it’s “Satin Black Chassis Paint”

Next up was the amp rack. The car has some issues with the trunk sealing properly sometimes so we wanted to make sure that should water get into the trunk there was nothing there that would be damaged by water. Traditionally we would make the amp rack out of MDF but if water gets into the trunk, it won’t last very long. We took some more 1/2″ square tubing and welded up the amp rack and welded flat bar to mount the amps to it just like the air ride rack.

We then welded the top section of the rack and welded mounting tabs to it so it can be secured into the truk. Like the air ride rack, we sprayed it with the Eastwood Chassis Epoxy Paint.

The amp rack is bolted to the floor of the trunk using thread inserts and stainless bolts/washers.

We relocated the battery to the trunk. Using thread inserts we mounted the rack to the floor of the car. We then welded up a simple bracket that we mounted the Streetwires combo fuse block to, we then drilled and tapped the side of the battery rack to mount the combo block bracket.

Like all the other racks in the trunk, we coated them with the Eastwood Epoxy Chassis Paint. We mounted the heavy duty relays for the compressors out of the way behind the hinges. We also mounted the main ANL fuse for the cars electrical system for easy access.

We also started framing the subwoofer box between the rear seats. It will be housing two 8″ woofers that will be firing against the back seat sheet metal and will be ported out the bottom/front of the console/enclosure.

One of our good customers wanted to update the front of his Navi, we searched high and low and the only things we could find was your typical billet grille but no lower. E&G makes a mesh grille, but it looks like a chicken coupe and they don’t have a lower either and the STRUT package in Canada is WAY overpriced. We found a mesh grille that had really fine mesh from Putco that is part of their “Liquid Mesh Grille” line, but again they didn’t make a lower. Everyone has a lower up to 2003, but nothing for the newer one. We got the Putco grille ordered in only to find out that it is meant to go over the stock plastic section, there was no way in HELL that was going to happen, so we cut up the stock grille and fabricated our own mounts so that it fit flush with the plastic part of the grille. We then order a grille from a 2004-2006 Ford F-150 since it had the largest piece of mesh in it and decided to make our own.

We made a template out of cardboard of what we wanted the lower grille to look like and got it fitting perfect. We then transferred the template to 1/4″ MDF (so it would still bend) and got that to fit perfect in the opening. Finally we took a piece of 3/8″ aluminum and adhered the MDF template to the aluminum plate. We then fired up the router and the lube and 2 hours later we had a new grille surround. Once we had the piece made, we rabbeted a 1/4″ groove on the back for the mesh to recess into from the back. Once we had the grille made, we then begin the painful task of slowly and carefully bending the grill to match the curve of the bumper. Using body parts (chest and legs) and tables as bending tools we got the grille bent perfectly Billy Lane style.We fabricated a half dozen mounting tabs and adhered them to the grille. Using thread inserts into the lip of the bumper we test fitted everything into plate. Starting with 120grit sandpaper and going up to 2000 we slowly worked our way up to a dull polish. Several rubbing compounds and polishes later we had a pretty cool looking grille. We then cut the F150 grille apart and mounted the mesh into our new grille.

We recently got the PDF proofs for the magazine article that was done on the shop. Each month Performance Plus profiles 2 or 3 shops in Western Canada and we were picked as one of the shops to be featured.

Click on the thumbnail for the fullsize version.

I have been burning up my PVR this week with the 40ish hours of Barrett Jackson and as I am watching what is called “Prime Time” at the auction I have some observations that I would like to talk about.

Thumbs Down - It is no secret that BJ has been setting the bar for the car market for years no, but in a lot of ways they have unintentionally also driven the price of cars up. Not every old car is a one off, low mileage collector car but there are way to many people out there who think that because they saw a Camaro or Mustang go for X amount of dollars that they will get close to that for theirs.

How many of these low mileage cars are really out there ? How do we really know they are low mileage ? We can verify options, models etc with hard facts, but what system to they use to verify mileage ? Where do all these build sheets, window stickers and protector plates come from ? We have all owned these cars and who was thinking 30 years ago to save these things ? How are these things verified to be original or are they just reproductions like so much else that people use to “restore” these cars ?

I have been working on cars for long enough to know that A LOT of these reproduction restoration parts are crap, the fit and finish on most is garbage, are these 6 figure cars built with this crap ? I know there are a lot of authorized parts out there, but there are more nonauthorized then there are authorized. I hear lots of people talk about how they changed the color of the car during the restoration process, why does this not affect the price on some of these cars, if they put a period correct upgrade item on the car it sure as hell knocks the price all to hell. I don’t get it.

Shouldn’t it be against a law or a rule that Craig Jackson can bid on cars ? It’s obvious he is trying to bump the price, it just doesn’t look right. The most annoying thing I find with the whole BJ process is everytime bidding stalls or the price is lower Craig or Steve jump up and start spewing stuff that is in the program. I am pretty sure that anyone who is looking at a particular car knows all about it, I’m sure they aren’t hiding the fact that it was owned by Carroll Shelby, or it was one of a kind etc. I think it is in poor taste and unprofessional to tell the bidders that this is well under the “market” value and they should bid more. It’s not a secret that the numbers are down as far as overall sales this year. I think by them jumping in all the time and almost begging people to pay more for car just because it’s at Barrett Jackson is disturbing and unprofessional, not to mention makes them look very pathetic.

Am I the only one who thinks that Craig Jackson looks like the JOKER when he smiles or grins ?? Steve……..take off the sunglasses, you look like a dork…..

Thumbs Up - Just like other years, I use this 40 hours of coverage to get a constant crash course in the automotive world. I was not even crawling when a lot of these cars were sold new so having the chance to learn is a great honor for me. I enjoy learning what the different models are, options that were offered and what infact makes some of these cars 6 or 7 figure cars. As a shop owner in this industry, it is a huge benefit to be able to constantly be able to learn about the hobby and industry that I love so much.

I find SPEED TV’s coverage as always to be exceptional. The knowledge the crew of commentators have is simply remarkable. Speaking of knowledge…………. Steve Magnante, what is with this guy ??? His knowledge of vehicle RPO codes and VIN numbers is simply bind boggling. There are lots of people who specialize in certain models of cars or even one manufacturer, but the depth of his knowledge is almost scary. I can only imagine that he has a photographic memory or something to be able to retain such detailed information, especially at his age.

I liked the increase of charity auctions this year and I like that this is the first year that BJ stated clearly that they did not collect or charge any fee’s (makes me wonder about previous years) on the charity auctions. Seeing guys like Tony Steward do so much for charity there makes me proud to be a Tony Stewart fan.

Neutral Things - I have really enjoyed seeing A LOT of nice cars going for fair money. There are better deals at BJ then on eBay and in my local classifieds. I also think that some cars went for way more then they are worth.

While it is cool that all the cars are sold at no reserve, I think that a lot of car owners get screwed for reasons outside of their control. It’s a shame to see cars sold for half or a quarter of what it would cost to build them when others go for huge money. I think for a person to build a custom car and take it to BJ is a huge risk. Based on this years auction, the amount of cars undersold is greater then the cars that are sold for fair money.

I get real tired of watching the same old Cudas, Corvette, Camaro’s and Mustangs year after year. I was really thrilled to see the huge increase in Fifties “float” cars like the Chryslers, Dodges, Pontiacs and so many more. I loved the increase in Impala’s and Pontiacs. I am also very glad they didn’t have the onslaught of music “crap” like they did in 07.

Well enough of my rant, still have a hour to go tonight and 4 hours tomorrow so i am sure I will find more to rant about.

Never look for a good deal. Look for a good relationship.

Why? It’s simple, if you can find a good shop, they can help you spend your money on the right things. That is always a better deal then not having what you really wanted all along.

If all you want is a pair of Alpine 12’s in a box, then any shop will be happy to help. But when you walk into the right shop and say you want that, don’t be offended if you are asked more questions like what sort of music do you listen to, what car are you driving, do you have an amplifier, and there are hundreds more possible. It may sound like that sales person is just trying to get you to buy something else… but in reality, if they are a good sales person they are building a relationship with you. They are trying to understand some of your underlying needs and from that they can share their library of experience with you to help find wat you really want.

You see, that Brand X and size Z is just a label. Let’s compare it to shopping for shoes. Nike makes a mean pair of bball sneaks. But I’ve never seen the swoosh on a pair of hockey skates. They make soccer shoes, but are they better than Addidias? And who would wear a pair of Giorgio Brutini’s while white water rafting? No one! But every component in car audio has a purpose, strong points and weaknesses. A good shop knows their product line and their installers know your car. They can help you choose the right equipment and use it in the best way possible - no matter your budget.

Ok, they can’t do a complete alarm with autostart, windows, locks, hood, trunk, pager and the works in a VW Squareback for under $300, but they can help you choose the right starting point and install it right with the understanding that you intend to power the windows and thus need the outputs ready.

It’s always a good idea to ask questions about your car. Find out what they have done and what they have seen. If you are like me, bring in magazines or photos of things you like when it comes to custom work. Talk to the installers if you can. Discuss the ideas you have, the ones they have and talk about options too. Separates (mids and tweets) are more expensive and may be exactly what you came in for, but the shops’ experience may tell you that the best location for your front speakers means the cheaper co-axials. You would be surprised how many of the best sounding cars do not have an active mid in the door and tweeter up high.

Whenever it comes to spending a dollar on install work or a dollar on equipment, that dollar is best spent on custom work. Again, anybody can have a pair of 12’s in a box. How about a slick fiberglass enclosure for a single 12 that molds into your trunk yet rocks out just as much (if not more) than that 12″ pair in some nappy old box?

So…. about me - I’m NOT in the industry. I did work at a couple of shops way back when, but I’m the kid that read Car Audio and Car Stereo Review under the covers while the other kids had comic books. My first CD player was a Sony something (cdx-800 maybe?) car audio unit that I had to go to Radio Shack and buy a 12 volt power supply to use. I wasn’t 16 and when my dad discovered it, I was in a heap of trouble. He dragged me back into the store and made me return it. My eyes had barely dried, then the restocking fee hit me. Like I said, I’ve worked in car audio, but I’ve really just always been a customer. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on equipment and done probably as many hours behind the screw gun as well. Now I make computers work while planning the next ultimate system.

Every journey begins with the first step. That step into the right shop is the most important.

We got the Modo Innovations Electric Trunk Release kit installed (see our review of this product)

Got the stereo rack wired and mounted. As we always do, we used molex plugs on the power wires for easy servicing.

We were slammed the last week with a bunch of other projects at the shop so we didn’t get a ton done on the car but here is the progress.

Got the console almost finished, just have to modify the mounts for the console then Flock the storage compartment in it.

We got the wiring in the trunk all completed. We had to replace all the sockets, housings and everything in between.

We had to install a pin switch for the trunk but we didn’t want anything visible to detract away from the clean look we are going after. We took a small “micro” switch and built a ABS mounting plate for it so that when the trunk hinge is closed all the way it makes contact, if the trunk opens as little as 1/8″ it will trigger the alarm.

We also started to layup the fiberglass for the subwoofer enclosure/console for between the rear bucket seats.

Getting a deal???

Those of you that work within 12V you have more than likely heard the comment: “My Buddy is going to do the Install”…I think the hardest thing when I hear something like this is the pain I get in my chest trying to hold the laughter back. The next best thing is when you get a car into your shop and the Customer explains that her ex-boyfriend did the install and now nothing works, or that he has been working on the car for about three days now…. and yes, still nothing works. This always brings a tear to my eye. Now my all time favorite saying that always gets me laughing and I end up with such a spaced out look on my face is “My buddy did the install, he knows what he is doing and it’s installed correctly……BUT it is not working right so can you take a quick look at it”. I stand there for about a minute and say that it will cost a min of a ½hr for me to take this “quick look” and always get the next response “ ½ hr??  But it’s installed correctly, that BS”. Please take note of this people, if the system is installed correctly THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE BOTHERING ME??!!!? It never fails to amaze me to see people trying to save money by taking short cuts that in most cases end up costing them a lot more money.

Lets break it down, you want to have a CD player installed into your 2004 Honda Civic. Most shop would bill out about $130.00 parts and labor to have the deck installed and would take about two hours of your time. Now, your buddy tries it, opps hold on we forgot the parts so back to the store again for them….OK we’re ready now…..lets see, hmmmmmmmmm how does the OEM deck come out, SNAP!!!!!!…..Nope, guess that wasn’t it. Hey Buddy, pass me another beer!! CRACK!!!!…..nope maybe this time, POP!!!!!! Oh ok now that OEM Radio is out how does the kit fit in…SNAP…..ok now we have to buy a new kit. All right got that in, little loose and you really can’t see those pry marks. Here we go with the wiring CRACK, oppss I dropt the radio……looks ok. Wiring done POP…..what was that??? Hmmmmmmmm now the Dome light is not working and the Radio is not coming on. (Two hours later) ok ok ok found that fuse and sorted out why the radio shorted out. Everything seems to be ok now, oh wait there is no FM Reception anymore?? NO, that’s normal and you listen to CDs more anyway, right?

I don’t know about you , but that seems way to painful to me.

Claudio Piccolo

While watching some TV and shows like American Chopper, Unique Whips, and American Hot Rod, to list a few, I started to come to the conclusion what exactly it is I am watching. They show case a personal opinion when it comes to building a Motorcycle, Car or what ever. Now, being that I have been making my livelihood working on cars I can respect the work being done on these shows even if they do not line up with my own personal style. That being said the second conclusion is these shows are shifting more and more to the people than the work. It is almost that the shows cannot stand on the talent of the people, just the drama. I can fully understand the frustration of hitting a dead line and I can kind of understand the Drama to sell the show but all this smoke and mirrors is taking away from the true Star of the Show, and really the only reason I watch, the Workmanship and Creativity. This “smoke and mirrors” is giving the impression to the masses that the task is done in matter of hours, a lot of swearing, and never really seeing the work until final episode. Countless people have come into my shop looking for work and were disappointed in the fact that what they saw on TV falls short on what really happens in “A day in the life of a Custom Car Shop”. Now don’t get me wrong in that I love to see the finish product, BUT the real meat of the show should be the work behind that finished product. Watching the progression from thought to finish product, seeing how the hurdles were overcome and learning new ways and different techniques to get the job done.

I would like to see a car/bike show similar to a show we have here in Canada called “Holmes on Homes”, in this show we see how people paid to have work done on their homes and the aftermath that comes with having the wrong people doing the work. The show goes on to break down on what was done, what is expected, what should have be done, and HOW it should have be done the first time. I think it would be great to see back yard installs torn down to see how they were completed, I have seen my share of scary installs and always wondered how the car did not burn to the ground. Most of these newcomers do not see or feel the need to pay their dues and therefore leave 12v but I think they lose out on doing something really fun while getting paid to do it.

Claudio Piccolo

Let me start by stating that I have been working within 12V for about twenty years now. This trip started as a hobby with Cars and led into a few courses in Auto Mechanics into a lucky phone call from a fairly large 12V Electronic Retailer then a left turn back into Mechanics the a right turn back into 12V and all through my trip down this road I have notice some changes.

The first company I worked for I learned that people wanted to personalized their cars and that meant have the product installed and this seemed like a dream job/hobby for me. I loved the learning curve, the challenge of putting something in a car that was not designed for that car and making it work. During this time I came to see how people came to grow their ability to work within the Car 12v world. During that time Techs were forced to “learn” how to make things work, the Tech Support was just not there yet, cars had to be modified to make deck fits, there was a lot of custom work, there was really no one to call for help, and in the end that is what made it so much fun. Don’t get me wrong now this was a very steep hill of learning and believe me you I learned allot for you see if you did not keep up with the “race” you were left behind.

Fast forward eight years where I began to see that the road I was on and love started to show a few potholes and after a couple of fender benders I decided to take that left hand. Soon after my left turn I found myself being called back to the race from a fellow driver. This time the company that was calling wanting to create a faster new racetrack for us to do what we do best and for while the challenge and love was back. I was excited and proud to see how we grew and grew, getting more and more talent and seeing that the race did change a little for the best. Now the Drivers (Techs) worked with each other and you had the feeling that you could call someone if you got a little stuck and you saw the passion with the Techs just getting the job done. Alas all good things must come to an end and I started to see fellow drivers turning off the course and after some turns myself started to see something on the road. It seemed that now, a few years older, I wanted to grow my hobby into a career to develop new drivers to take over the race and found myself running into larger potholes. The company that once had such high expectations now seems to not have lost that drive once had for the 12V Installed Team.

Now that I looked back I have seen us come from a Hobby to a Career back to just a Hobby. In today’s world the Cars are getting more and more difficult to work on and the call for Techs is greater than it ever was. Just removing your radio now can cause expensive damage to the OEM Computer system within the car. Knowing this I have found myself wondering why is it some Companies are so afraid to take the next step. This is reflective in the belief that the product is what drives the market. Now this is really not any Company’s fault, it is just the path of least resistances. Take for example a company wants to sell a CD Player, now they just need to set a price per market and all is done. The Deck goes for $149.99 and they even throw in “free install”, good to go right? The whole issue now is that due to the complexity of the cars means the install cost can far exceed the product BUT if installed incorrectly the repairs can far far far exceed both. I put it to you, what good is the product if it doesn’t turn on??? This is the next step, customers come into a Retailer looking to customize their cars and they only get have the value they deserved. They look at the price on the product, then sold the product and then told (if it even goes that far) that the Install Team is located in the back, now that the car comes into the Bay the shock of reality sets in when they find that the $149.99 CD Player they just bought will cost them another $199.99 for the install. The common question I always get is “Why was I not told about this before???!!?”

Customers have no issue in paying for a service they just want; deserve to have the whole experience spelled out for them so they can make an educated decision. This is the next step that so many 12V retailers are so afraid to take in transforming our hobby into a business. Customers are fully aware that different tasks on a car can cost different amounts, this is the way things are at their local Mechanic shop, Muffler shop, Body shop, and Oil Change Stop so why is it that they do not deserve the same professional courtesy at a Car Stereo Shop??

Claudio Piccolo

A complete custom C6. We did the Lingenfelter hood as well as molding the Lingenfelter air dam to the bumper.

We had these custom emblems made for the car.

The stock BMW door panel with the stock 5 1/4″ door speaker.

The new custom door panel houses a Morel Elate 9″ Subwoofer.

Custom a-pillars house a Morel CDM-88 midrange and a Morel Supremo tweeter.

We completed this project a little while ago, thought we would share it with our readers.

The start of the custom a-pillars. We created a small recessed area for a decorative trim we created to add some more detail to the a-pillar

We routered some custom rings out of 3/8″ aluminum, it took over 30 hours to create them.

We created MDF inserts for the rings.

Here you can see the finished tweeter ring with it’s insert, the custom made woodgrain insert and the stitching on the a-pillar.

We made a custom mount for the radio then had it as well as all the OEM burlwood redone.

A shot with all the OEM woodgrain panels redone in a Silver Burlwood. The process is done by a water transfer process.

We are having some custom LS2 emblems for thee Camaro, here is the initial raw aluminum emblem base. There will be a black insert set into the chrome aluminum and it will be raised about 1/16″ higher then the aluminum.

There needs to be a good taste police or something……..

WTF is this person thinking…………..(courtesy of eBay)

Online retailers that are not authorized by the manufacturer have changed the face of the 12v electronics industry. They source out these products from all different places around the world and sell them for next to nothing. The sources that supply these products are generally no mystery, but the manufacturers turn a blind eye to it because they are making a quick buck and have not looked at it long term. A company is only as good as the customer perception. Most customers think that because they are buying from a online store that there is nothing to suspect. When something fails, it’s the company who normally gets the bad rap sheet from the customer not the online seller.

What is almost as bad as the companies allowing it, is the companies that put out all these statements claiming they are fighting this, but then they usually follow it up by saying that the problem is so large that they can’t possibly control it. This is simply not true, everything has a serial number and everything can be traced. If they wanted to shut down these online sellers it would not be hard to do but they don’t because it will slow down sales. It’s a better situation really for the manufacturers because they don’t have to warranty the products  because it was not sold through the proper channels and through an authorized dealer.

Most sellers go so far as to remove the serial numbers from the products they sell, the problem with this is when then take product apart to do this, the product rarely works once the customer gets it We see it a lot where customers spend their hard earned money online only to find at the time of installation that the product is defective.

The biggest thing people need to be aware of is that this is a big problem. They need to do their homework to make sure that the online retailer is in fact an authorized retailer. Make sure that your warranty is still valid and that you can get your product serviced should you have a problem.

Rant off…………..

Street & Performance

#1 Hod Rod Lane

Mena Arkansas

71953

Phone: 479 394-5711

www.hotrodlane.cc

I recently decided to install a GM TPI setup into my Buick Regal. I started doing a lot of research on what was needed to do so and I ran across Street & Performance. I had seen their ads in magazines for years but it never stood out to me because they were usually small and B&W. We then got the 69 Camaro project at the shop and I needed info on the LS2 work we were going to be doing to it and again I came across S&P as a huge source of information about LS2 swaps.

I spent a lot, and I mean a lot of time on their website (www.hotrodlane.cc) reading about their products, going thru their online catalog and reading all their tutorials and information about TPI and LS2 swaps. I then had several questions that I could not find the answers to so I decided to give them a call. Without realizing it, I called there after their hours of business but they still answered the phone. I talked to the guy for about 30 minutes about my questions and I was amazed at his wealth of knowledge he was spewing, and I use spewing in a good way because he kept going on and on, it was great. He was giving me part numbers and options and answering stuff I hadn’t even asked him yet, I was pretty amazed and very impressed. At the end of the conversation he offered to send me a couple of their DVD’s for me to check out. Well I it turned out that this guy Mark was in fact the owner of the company, again……I was impressed.

A few days later (which impressed me again) a package arrived with their two TPI DVD’s, their LS1 and LS2 DVD’s, about $100 in DVD’s (that they sell on their site) for free.

I got home that night and put in the TPI DVD’s. Each one was 2 hours long. I was amazed at the information, the content and the knowledge on the DVD. I then realized Mark didn’t stop talking……there was no editing, no stopping………….he talked and moved from one thing to the next for 2 hours straight. It’s one thing to know that kind of information and be able to share it for 2 hours straight, but to then quote part numbers all the way thru the video was impressive. Ok, he’s reading from CUE cards or something I thought, well he acutally never looked at the camera the whole time.

After watching both TPI and the LS2 DVD’s I started ordering products for the projects we are working on.

I’m not sure when the video’s were made, it looks to be only a year or two old but one of the things he showed and talked about was that most of the Great 8 cars for several years at the Detroit Autorama had their engines in the cars, that is a great testiment to the company.

To sum things up, these guys are the real deal and if your in the market for a crate motor, motor swap or just some amazing information you need to look them up.

Oh, and they have this same knowledge for almost every motor from GM, Ford and Dodge.

With the 69 Camaro project well on it’s way, the one thing that we needed was to get a wiring kit for it. We normally would use Painless, but a lot of people on Pro-touring.com and Lateral-g.net have been raving about the American Autowire product so we decided to give it a shot. I ordered in the Highway 22 kit and once it came in, I was amazed at what was in the huge box. Now I have been doing Painless products for years now, and over the years they have become less and less painless over the years and while their products have always been at the upper end of the price scale, the product is no longer up there.

Inside the Highway 22 kit was everything that a car builder would need to wire their car. It came with all the basic switches that you would use in a installation. Each wiring section for the car was located in seperate sealed bags. In these bags was all the wiring, all the connectors and very, very very detailed instructions on how to wire up that section and how to incorporate it into the rest of the wiring harness. Sections like the gauge cluster and lighting sections actually had molex plugs so that each section could plug into one another and make it acutally serviceable. In each wiring section there was also extra wires for options and upgrades that some builders might use.

The fuse box is designed so that you strip the wires and insert them into each section of the box. The connections are push tabs (spring loaded, just push them down and slide the wire in) which make for a cleaner install most times, especially when using multiple wires with each tab. The kit comes with a small flat head screwdriver for pushing down the taps. On either end of the fuse block is a “strip” gauge, so that you will know how far to strip the wire (I thought that was pretty cool)

The kit also had a bag of connectors to be used for practicing. It was labled “Practice Connectors”. In the bag was one of each of the various connectors used in the kit (I also thought that was pretty cool)

Each instruction page fully explains how each section of the kit works, how it interacts with the rest of the harness and how each connector is put together.

All of our future projects will be wired with American Autowire products.

American Autowire has a complete line of kits for custom projects as well as a HUGE selection of harness for restoration projects. They sell them as complete kits or as individual sections. They also have harness for restomods where most of the car will be stock but all the modern features added to it.

The only bad thing I have to say is that I didn’t do enough research or ask the right questions when I ordered the kit. I assumed (and you know what happens when you assume) that because it was called Highway 22 that it had 22 fused circuits, when in fact it was just 22 circuits. I was disappointed that there were no fused provisions for things like Power Windows, Power Locks and other add on’s like that. But again, that is my mistake for not asking these questions.

DSE (Detroit Speed & Engineering) make this motorized headlight door kit for the 68/69 Camaro’s with the Vacum operated headlight door system. This kit replaces the vacum motors with these new electric motors making this a hassle free system. If you own a Camaro with this system then you know how troublesome it can be. Now if your doing a full restoration then you want it original as possible. If your not, every Camaro owner should own this kit.

It was easy to install, it comes with very detailed instructions. The kit is extremely well built and should present years of hassle free operation.

We recently used one on our 69 Camaro project here at the shop and we give it a big thumbs up.

http://www.detroitspeed.com

We recently got one of their dash panels for the 69 Camaro project we are working on. I did a bit of research on the net and found that as far as custom panels this and the DSE panels were the only ones on the market. They had three options, a silver one, a carbon fiber one and a black one. I had seen some closeups of the silver and carbon fiber ones and they looks pretty good. We wanted a more subtle look for the car so we went with the black one to house the Classic Instrument gauges (black with stainless rings). Well I ordered it and three weeks later I got the call that it was in…………………..

Well I opened the box and I was horrified……………it was horrible……….I was PISSED………..The design and layout of the piece was nice. It is a injected molded ABS panel created from a modified OEM panel but with the new gauge provisions. The finish is what was horrible, the finish is your basic ABS texture, it looks like a cheap piece of crap, something you would get off of eBay for $49, not $299.99CDN………………….The same price as the well finished Silver and Carbon Fiber models.

I then found out that the Silver and the Carbon Fiber ones were covered with a heat formed vinyl to give it their smooth finish.

Now if your going to charge the same price for three different products, why not finish them all the same way…………………..

Now we have to spend hours and hours sanding this thing and creating a suitable finish for the panel so that it looks at home in the car.

It is no wonder all the pictures of the panels on their site are small, that way you not expecting much.

I should have went with the DSE one, I have never heard anything negative about their piece, infact I have always heard they are a stand up company to deal with.

If anyone is looking at getting this product for their vehicle, I would suggest something different or at least be prepared to spend A LOT of time making it presentable.

We are doing a basic, well not so basic but a basic system in the Camaro. The source side of the system consists of the Sony CDX-F50 Marine deck, a 10 disc changer, iPod module and the Sony Marine controller. Everything but the iPod and the controller will be mounted in the trunk. We will be also using Morel speakers and Zapco amplifiers in it. The only undetermined product will be which subwoofers to use. We were going to use the Focal 5″ (4) because of the space between the rear seats but not that we modded the shit out of the seat we actually gain about another 4 inches in the center, so we might squeeze a single 10″ or 2 8″ in there. It has to be loud (convertible) and play all kinds of music.

Anyways, here is the trunk rack we welded up to hold the deck, changer, multichanger module and have a place to strap up the excess cables.

The car also had a GTO console in it……………..I can’t even really describe what the guy did to it………….anyways, it had to be fixed.

Before (yes, that is carpet wrapped around the front, and yes it looked like he trimmed it with a sawzall…………….

The console didn’t fit right, it was to wide, it was digging into the seats and damaging the leather. We took the console and cut 1.5″ out of the center of the entire console.

We then used pieces of ABS and riveted the whole thing back together, we then molded everything together. (see how the top trim curves up to where the dash would be in a GTO)

We then added to the front of the console to round it off and modified the trim panel to flow with the new front instead of “up” like it did.

We removed the power window switches from the doors and rear panels and placed them in the console.

With it almost finished we wanted to get some pictures of it. The two small holes are for the door pop switches. The large hole is for the Sony marine controller. The client really liked the silver accent that came on the console to begin with, so we kept it. We still have to clear coat the console and flock the storage compartment but it’s almost done.

The car came in with 2006 GTO leather seats (as well as many other GTO parts). The person that installed them used some back straps and some drywall anchors to hold them in. The seats had this large “hoop” section on top that the head rests sunk into. This “hoop” actually stopped the top from folding down properly. We took the seat apart and removed the “hoop” and redid the leather on the seat. We also modified the entire metal frame so that we could mount the solidly. We also removed the center section to allow for the future home of the subwoofers. By modifying the metal frame we got the seats lower, back and created more of a gap for the future woofers.

Before

After

When the car arrived, the rear side panels were really hurting…….they were made up of 3 seperate secured with several visible chrome screws.

Before

Doing some panel repair as we join all three panels together and then adding the speaker mount.

We then covered it with fleece and fiberglassed it, did some sanding, filling and shaping. We want to do something else on it so that it isn’t just a big molded vinyl panel. We will probably add some billet inserts or something to match the theme of the car.

The building of the custom door panels.

Before

After (well the beginning of them)