[MDPotter]

Happy New Year everyone!

My dad and I had the day off yesterday and we got a lot done on the sound system. We built an enclosure to take place of the stock fuel tank (using the fuel tank mounting holes) to house two subs and two speakers and the amp, wrapped in vinyl. The subs are shallow 10" driven by a 1000W amp and the speakers are 6" components. I have slightly smaller speakers to install in the front kick panel vents next and the system will be complete. The specs on the subs indicate a minimum box volume of .35 cu ft and I'm at .44 so it worked pretty well. The system (even without front speakers) sounds great. They are slim subs with small boxes, but I'm not looking to shake the truck apart, just get some good bass.

When we modified the dash, we used a double din sleeve from an Alpine double din unit we had laying around. What I found while looking for a head unit was that Alpine seems to be consistent with their chassis size, so the head unit I bought fit perfect in the sleeve. I like this iLX-W650 because it's so shallow, light, and affordable. The only trick with it is that it's got a safety feature in which a lot of the functions and settings are unavailable unless the parking brake is on. However, "parking brake engaged" is a relative term - it just means that the unit needs to see a ground on the parking brake wire in order to unlock those functions. But it can't be a constant ground, the unit needs to see the ground appear after it's turned on. So I just ran it to my ground buss bar under the dash and installed a toggle switch in line so I can fool it whenever I need to. No relay or microbypass needed.

My console also arrived - it was pulled out of a 14-18 GM pickup/SUV before it went into service for law enforcement so it's basically brand new and fits perfect between the seats. They robbed the USB and charging ports out of it, but my head unit came with a USB cable that I ran under the carpet so I can plug my phone in from the console and charge or use Apple CarPlay.

I know some guys are cringing at the quantity of speakers and the modified dash, but I value a good sound system and I love the double din receiver.