Mobile Soundwaves of Atlanta has been in business for more than ten years, during which time the family-owned operation has become well known for its work on exotic cars. When they first opened the shop, they knew they would be appealing to serious car audio aficionados, and sure enough they found a great market for those who weren't satisfied with anything less than perfect sound systems. Adhering to high standards of quality, the shop has established itself by executing smooth installations in a variety of unique projects for fabulous vehicles.
So when the time came for shop owner Jake Kunz to create a demonstration vehicle he accordingly spared no expense. That meant starting with the right car, a black 1995 Ferrari F355, which the team at Mobile Soundwaves set to work on immediately. The goal was to show the car audio world that an audio system could be done tastefully and flawlessly inside the strict confines of a Ferrari. "We chose the [F355] because we wanted to take on a vehicle that very few others have tried," explains Kunz. "We knew we would be dealing with very limited interior space, so we knew we were in for a big challenge."
With such an incredible vehicle, only the best audio equipment could possibly be considered for its system. Kunz and Monty Knight, the shop's head installer, decided to use all Alpine components for a few reasons. "We went with Alpine because their finest components are simply amazing. They can't be beat," says Kunz. "We also wanted to use all of the same manufacturer for compatibility reasons."
Completely stripping the interior of such an expensive car might make some shops a bit nervous, but not these guys; they kept a steady hand as they dismantled the inside of the Ferrari. In order to dampen some of the sound waves, the car was gutted and Dynamat X-Treme material was applied to all surfaces.
Front StageThe Ferrari's head unit is Alpine's best model, the CDA-7990. The factory head unit bezel was removed, and a custom fiberglass counterpart was made to trim the new unit and house the gauges. The new bezel was painted with matching Ferrari paint, and aluminum trim was fabricated and polished to accent the piece, as well as to match the factory shift gate.
The Ferrari's video monitor is used exclusively with its navigation system. A 6.5-inch Alpine TME-M750A widescreen monitor was disassembled to show only the screen, and a fiberglass housing was made to trim the monitor. It is mounted in the center air vent location. An aluminum ring was cut and polished and added as an accent to the other interior pieces.
To make room for the center channel, Alpine's top-of-the-line SPX-F13M, the factory console was cut away, and an enclosure was built to house the speaker. A fiberglass baffle was made to trim the speaker, and an aluminum bridge was cut and polished to suspend the tweeter over the center speaker.
In order to accommodate the new door speakers, quite a bit of work was done to the lower part of the doors. The original lower section of the door panel was covered with carpet; the guys at Mobile Soundwaves thought it unattractive and therefore quickly replaced it. With the carpetted area removed, part of the inside of the door also had to be cut out to make extra room for the speakers. Metal braces were welded in place to provide structural integrity. Fiberglass mat, layered to approximately 3/8-inch thickness, was placed in the spot for the enclosure. Medium density fiberboard rings were attached to the enclosure, and grill cloth was stretched over the rings to form the correct shape. Next, Knight applied resin to the cloth and five layers of mat for added stability; and then he finished, painted, and bolted the enclosure into the door. After mounting Alpine's SPX 5.25" speakers, Knight cut and polished aluminum for the trim rings.