Back in 1988, the other George Bush was President, the Dodgers were World Series champs, INXS's "I Need you Tonight" was number one on the billboards, and a young Link Ahlers was ogling over Car Audio and Electronics' first magazine. By this time, Link was already a three-year expert of car audio. At age fifteen, he installed his first system in his own vehicle. He had wanted it to be professionally done, but simply put, he couldn't afford it. Having no patience to wait and scrounge up the dough, Ahlers gave it a try himself. The installation came out better than he expected and he started to tinker with other components.
Well his hobby is today his livelihood, as Ahlers owns a stereo shop along with partner Jose Herrera called Audio Concepts in Simi Valley, California. Ahlers and Herrera wanted consumers in the area to know all about their products and services. Even with a beautiful storefront and plenty of cars always in the shop, the two still felt that they weren't marketing Audio Concepts enough. There had to be more. One day, as they both sat at the front counter staring at Ahler's shiny black 2000 Lincoln Navigator sitting idle in the parking lot, they looked at one another and knew instantly that their marketing tool was right in front of them. That's how the idea was spawned. The vehicle would be the "Rolling Billboard" for Audio Concepts equipped with the product lines that the store carries and all assembled with the latest installation techniques.
 Eclipse monitor in the double...  Eclipse monitor in the double DIN location. Remote eye was relocated in the air vent. Left: The Eclipse 5083 8-disc CD changer and Precision Power PAR-245 preamp. |  |  In place of the climate controls...  In place of the climate controls an Eclipse 55090 AM/FM/DVD player with CD changer controls. |
Once the decision was made on what equipment was going to be used and where the components would be installed, Ahlers and Herrera, along with John Thurman and Chris Clayton (two of the installers) started to pull the SUV apart. With all the interior parts removed and only bare metal remaining, Dynamat Extreme was applied to all the metal surfaces. The doors also include Tac Mat to reduce any standing waves. After a dose of sound dampening material, the interior pieces were installed one by one and the crew started with the dash.
Generous Offerings
The Navigator offers a generous double-DIN opening for the radio straight from the factory. Audio Concepts took advantage of this by installing a 7-inch Eclipse LCD monitor. The screen was taken out of its original housing, leaving the bare screen itself. A trim panel made from black Formica(tm) finishes off the monitor (which was mounted with the top of the screen recessed about a quarter of an inch). This was done to ensure a better off-axis viewing angle. The remote eye that was once part of the original housing was relocated in the air vent, just left of the screen. Typically, below the double-DIN opening are the climate controls. They were removed to make way for an Eclipse 55090 in-dash AM/FM/DVD player with CD changer controls. The climate controls were moved to the factory pocket in the center console. This required a little patience as all the wires for the controls had to be extended in order to accommodate its new home. An aluminum housing was fabricated to hold the control in place.
 Diamond Audio's 6" HEX midbass...  Diamond Audio's 6" HEX midbass drivers. |  The Audiovox vehicle specific...  The Audiovox vehicle specific monitor looks as close to OEM as you can get. |  Five and a half inch HEX components...  Five and a half inch HEX components have been incorporated into each door. Mounted in custom-made baffles, angling was performed here as well to help with the imaging. |