An awesome display of power....
An awesome display of power. JBL GTi W12 woofers are installed in a custom wood and fibreglass enclosure. The amp rack and enclosure top meet and fit together as if they were one. The wave that you see is where the two meet, and is highlighted by Plexiglas and neon backlighting.
It takes six JBL amplifiers to drive this system to euphoric levels. Three BP-1200.1 mono blocks drive the three 12-inch subs, one amplifier per sub. Three P-180.2 stereo amplifiers power each set of component drivers, and the 5" x 7" 2-way speakers in the rear doors.
Amplifiers are installed on a very trick amp rack that displays, rather than detracts, from the amps. Even though it took the installers a great deal of time to create the wave-like rack, which flawlessly matches the enclosure top, it doesn't hide any portion of the amplifiers. Serving merely as a solid mount for the amplifiers, the rack does not hide wires or the sides of the amplifiers; Thompson requested that they be seen in all of their glory - nothing to hide here. A clean job of wiring and a creative rack are all that were needed to display these fine units.
Integration of Phoenix Gold accessories into the side panels was treated similarly - the products should be shown in a working environment. The left side panel properly displays Phoenix Gold fused distribution blocks mounted to a gel-coated fiberglass tub and covered in clear lexan. These are great fuse blocks because they sport LED fuse indicators (in this case the green lights are glowing).
Facing the fuse holder display is a Phoenix Gold Powercore Ti. This awesome distribution system supercharges the amplifiers with a 15-farad jolt. Main power comes in from the battery and splits to the amplifiers through the Powercore, while getting a push. When the amplifiers need a big rush now, the Powercore delivers it.
Like the fuse blocks, the Powercore was installed in the side panel on a white gel-coated tub fabricated by Cesar. It is covered with clear lexan and the whole side panel was recovered in vinyl. It shows how much time was put into the details, as the installers could have simply mounted the accessories to Formica covered wood, something which most would have been satisfied with.
Neon lighting was used beneath the amplifiers to highlight the installation. Acrylic windows were used under each amplifier, and where the amp rack and enclosure meet, filter neon light provides a soft, glowing effect. Perhaps the component pods splashed with a lighting effect might have been good, but the halogen lights installed in the headliner will have to do.
Thompson and Taylor Marketing didn't expect the installation to take quite as long as it did, but in the end no one's complaining. In the few short months the vehicle has been on the road it has made an impact at every showing. Even Thompson's 6th grade son is the envy of all his classmates. Who knows, maybe they're future car audio enthusiasts that will always remember the cool Expedition at soccer practice.
 Rear Pods: JBL GTi C608 component...  Rear Pods: JBL GTi C608 component speakers are installed into custom c-pillar pods. The pods face rearward to create a stage for spectators from outside the vehicle. Pods were made using wood and fiberglass, finished with white Formica and beige vinyl. One piece of vinyl was used per pillar for a seamless installation. |  Fuse Holders: Another example...  Fuse Holders: Another example of the detail poured into this installation. While the installers could have simply mounted the fuse holders to a Formica-covered wood surface, they took the extra effort to build a fiberglass tub. Trick |  Powercore: The installers...  Powercore: The installers went out of their way to fabricate custom gel-coated fiberglass tubs for the side panel accessories. Here a Phoenix Gold Powercore Ti provides the punch to power hungry amplifiers. |