Anthony Morris got this 1959 VW Bug back in 1986 for only $500, but it's not a derelict wreck anymore. In fact, Morris estimates that $9,000 and 200 hours over nine years went into upgrading the Bug's A/V system alone, not to mention the time, money and hard work that went into the rest of the vehicle.
"All the speakers in the car are home-audio speakers," Morris points out. "I thought they would give me an advantage in the sound-quality department, and it worked out well." Because he's an audiophile and a sheetmetal worker, Morris could have done much of the work himself, but he enlisted the help of his friend Bryce Nordstrand (who was an installer at Audio Shoppe in Riverside, CA, at the time) to make the system a real showpiece.
Bugged Out"We tore the car apart," says Morris, "and put Dynamat Xtreme on the roof, rear compartment and door frames; we put HushMat on the floor and [Evercoat] Q-Pads in the doors and quarter panels." Work on the A/V system was done at Nordstrand's home and at Audio Shoppe.
To head the system, the Panasonic CQ-VAD7300U receiver/monitor in the dash plays CDs and DVDs, and the Panasonic CX-DP88U changer can hold eight CDs. The head sends a video signal to an 8-inch AcceleVision monitor mounted in the front of the trunk (and also powers old speakers from a drive-in movie theater).
Frequencies For The PeopleMorris selected Xtant's P500A 5-band balanced-line parametric equalizer "to compensate for the deficiencies in the sound mechanics due to the interior of the car," he explains. Also, the built-in noisegate reduces hiss and other background noise in between tracks and during quiet passages. When Morris wants to tweak the bass, a remote-mounted bass knob lets him boost or cut low frequencies from the driver's seat. On either side of the Xtant EQ in the front trunk are two custom-built 3-way Madisound passive crossovers. Filtering was modeled in the LEAP computer program and performance was measured by an Audio Precision computerized test rig.
One Xtant 302A amplifier powers the left-side speakers, another 302A powers the right speakers and an Xtant 2200ix mono sub amp pushes the two 10" Peerless subwoofers. Bridged, each 302A is rated for 300 watts (mono into 4-ohm loads) and the 2200ix is rated to put 800 watts into the subs (2-ohm loads). The active filters in the amps have slopes of 12dB per octave (except for 24dB/octave slopes for the subwoofers).
The Dub's Subs (Plus Mids And Highs)Morris designed a 4-way system with nothing but high-end home-audio speakers. The tweeters and mids went in the kick panels, and the woofers went in doors (making them "indoor" speakers). The sub enclosure behind the rear seat holds two 10" Peerless subwoofers that take electrical power from the sub amp and two 10" Peerless passive radiators take acoustic power from the inside of the enclosure. The subwoofers only get frequencies under 70Hz, which can be hard to localize, so bass images should stay up front and not smear to the rear. Morris wanted "low and accurate bass extension" and, he says, "the goal was met; no problems."
Clever Finale"Our only difficulties were where to put the amps and how to run all the power, speaker, RCA and other cables in the car," says Morris, "so Bryce came up with a sweet idea. Since I wasn't going to run heater boxes for the heat, he decided to use the heater ducts to run all of the [Stinger] wiring." In conclusion, Morris states, "This vehicle is for show. I rarely put it on the streets due to the amount of money involved in this nine-year project. The system is used for demo purposes at shows or at Audio Shoppe." Next time you're in Riverside, check it out.
TechPrimax wheels: 16 x 7 front, 17 x 7.5 rearSumitomo tires: 205/40/16 front, 205/40/17 rearAir-bag suspension
Driver ProfileAnthony Morris of San Bernardino, CA, is 36 years old... so his '59 Bug is about 10 years older than he is. "I got into car audio in 1990 after hearing an a/d/s/ demo vehicle," he says; "I was hooked after that. I listen to a little bit of everything-Fiona Apple, Ani DiFranco, Sade, hip-hop, R&B, jazz-anything with a good beat for my system." Morris gives props to Bryce Nordstrand (formerly an installer at Audio Shoppe); Alan Hickman (president of Audio Shoppe); former sound-off competitor Dave Baird of Dave's DC Electric for the custom-built alternator; Ron T (Morris's "transportation guy"); and Car Craft (which does turbo kits and more for VWs, Porsches, Audis, BMWs, sandrails and dune buggies). All three businesses are in Riverside, CA. "I wanted to build a sound-quality system in a car that people would least expect," Morris explains. "I called on my friend and installer Bryce, and the rest is what you see."
Two 10" Peerless subwoofers and two 10" Peerless passive radiators are located in the back of the seat. | 
There are actuators on the lid of the seat to motorize the amprack. | 
The old air conditioner hangs on the window to remind us how things were 47 years ago. |
An Xtant equalizer made to match; the fuel tank; and the 8-inch LCDP84 AcceleVision monitor surrounded by tweed fabric. | 
The Panasonic receiver/monitor is countersunk into the dash. | 
MB Electronics MCD 25 1" titanium-dome tweeters and MCD 51 2" titanium-dome midranges were installed in aftermarket ABS kick panels. |