A Panasonic CD player was custom mounted in the custom leather center console. The signal goes through an AudioControl line driver (which provides six volts of output), mounted also in the console, out to Planet Audio P68NEO speakers in the front and rear doors. The carbon fiber set has 6.5" speakers in .4 cubic ft. fiberglass enclosures in the doors. The tweeters were flushed into the panel. The enclosure was hand made with four ounces of mat and Mar glass.
When not listening to music Jose can check out a DVD on the BOSS DVD4000 which was installed in the rear of the center console. A BOSS BV6.8 monitor was custom molded into the factory opening for the radio. The bezel was matched to the factory texture and color. A BOSS BV8 flip-down screen on the ceiling serves the rear passengers. All the switching is done individually at each monitor; they all have three inputs each.
The low frequency would also be handled by Planet Audio. Two 12" Vector models rated at 700 RMS were blow-through slot loaded in a sealed enclosure measuring 3.2 cubic ft. The box was made of 3/4-inch MDF and was fiberglassed for extra strength. The front wall is made up of inch-thick acrylic. The inside is finished with granite texture coating. The bass response is excellent. The goal was to make it sound good enough for a drummer's ears and that was achieved. The bass is tight and has excellent low-end extension. Between the subwoofers resides a second BOSS BV8 8-inch monitor, on which you can watch DVD's when the tonneau is open.
Planet Audio dominates in the power category as well. A 4-channel PA4004 (100 watts x 4) fuels the front and rear door speakers. The unit has a built-in crossover at 55Hz and up. It rests on an amp rack below the box opening. The rack was made of 1/2-inch MDF and fiberglass. The PA 1200D monoblock amp with a power rating of 1200 RMS and 1500 peak serves the subs. For a nice touch the amps are highlighted with black neon lights. Total system wattage is 2000 watts at 4 ohms. While we're on the subject we should note that the F150 received an alternator upgrade of 180 amps. And the factory battery was also replaced by a Optima yellow battery.
The bed of the truck was entirely custom built out of 3/4-inch MDF, fiberglass, bondo, Mar glass, and covered with House of Color Black Pearl lacquer. Speaking of which, about all the panels were painted with the same color. It came out to about a gallon's worth of paint, which is enough to cover 1.5 cars. In addition five gallons of resin and eight yards of 4 oz. mat went into the installation.
For security Jose had the guys at Safe & Sound put in a Prestige APS885. It features remote start, window up/down, and pager. Jose can also hit switches on it for the Fast Bags suspension system, allowing the truck to lower or elevate itself.
In a test run the vehicle did a 147 SPL. With a little work this F150 might be able to hit the road on a different kind of tour than those Jose is used to: the dB Drag competition circuit. But first there are other modifications that need to be taken care of. Future plans call for shaving the doors and larger wheels (23-inch Lowenharts)! And why not, the guy's a rock star. Certainly with the success the band is having it won't be a question of money. With the right people working on it, it's money well spent. So Jose would like to thank Gary Fisher, Brad Haber, Jeremy Wolfe at Safe & Sound and Darkside Motoring's Kenny Fong. And if readers would like to follow up on what's happening with the band they can check out www.enjoyincubus.com on the Web.