How many times have you thought about modifying your spouse's vehicle? We've all wanted to at one point or another, but getting the approval of our wives is usually the problem. James Ngim, AKA "Junior," was able to convince his wife Michelle to give him the thumbs up for this one-of-a-kind build. Moreover, Michelle wanted to work and design this system together with her husband. Obviously she's not the average wife.
Junior started his career in 1989 working at various shops before he landed a job as an installer for a premier high-end shop called Sound Innovations in Hayward, CA, in 1997. After years of creating and competing with customers' vehicles, he decided it was time to build his own. He had been approached by Sony rep Matt Delgado years before when the company needed a vehicle to represent the Sony Xplod lineup for its invitational sound-off held each year in Henderson, NV, so when it came time to build Mrs. Ngim's Civic, Sony Xplod became the gear of choice.
For those of you who don't know, Sony has had its own sound competition for its consumers and competitors for many years. Winners not only get well-deserved recognition, but cash prizes as well. After countless conflicts in scheduling Junior and Delgado were able to work together. We have to say the result is quite stunning.
Center stage
Since this was a ground-up build, the vehicle had to be gutted - including the dash. They picked up a dash from a junkyard where the top half was cut and the center section air ducts and vents were removed. Only the defrost and lower vents remained. This made for ample room to build individual speaker enclosures for the left and right sound stage (as well as the vehicle's instrument cluster now located in the center of the dash). Each enclosure houses Sony XS-L82P5 8" midbass drivers, and Sony XS-D170SI component speakers.
Fiberglass and baffle rings were used to position the speakers, while stretched polyester fleece went over the framing to achieve the shapes for the dash. Body filler and resin were mixed together to coat, and then sanding and filler were employed for the final stages. Quick disconnect plugs and mounting bolts were fabricated for easy removal and future modifications if necessary. Sony speaker rings were formed from aluminum with a CNC machine.
The centerpiece on the dash is trick in that it not only houses the gauges, but also acts as a sealed enclosure for a modified center channel speaker. A Sony XS-D130SI component speaker was made into a coaxial to form in behind the center dash. Factory wires had to be extended and re-routed for this part of the install. Some of the additional switches such as the fog lights, rear defrost and bass control knob were relocated to the left of the steering column.
Just underneath the dash is the Sony CDX-GT705DX head unit and two Sony DVX-11A DVD players. Above the steering column sits a Sony NV-U70 GPS for convenience. Hidden in the center armrest are the Alpine RUX-C701 and PXA-H701 Multimedia Manager. Alpine was employed here simply because Sony did not make a processor.
To complement the audio, there is a monitor in each visor, Sony XVM-H65's, which are able to switch between two sources for entertainment.
Back it Up
Moving to the rear, bass is achieved using Sony XS-LD125P5 12" subwoofers located in each of the rear quarter panels. The enclosures were built into the rear wheel wells to save space, leaving plenty of air volume to ensure maximum performance. Cascade sound dampening material was added along with SEM truck liner spray and Dynamat to help suppress any vibrations and rattles.
Five amplifiers are displayed in an artistic array behind the rear seats. Square steel tubes were welded to the base of the strut tower to hold the amplifiers and clear acrylic pieces with neon light rods help to accent the entire rear section. Cover plates upholstered in black suede help hide any trace of metal. Directly behind the amplifier rack sit two Optima YellowTop batteries in a sealed enclosure which vent to the outside of the vehicle. All of the system's fuses and distribution blocks are located above the sealed enclosure. Underneath the amplifiers you'll find a Sony Xplod logo on a cover plate used for accessing the spare tire.
Tailgate party
The tailgate is used for rear speakers and also serves as a multimedia display. Since Sony did not make coaxial speakers, Junior customized a pole piece to attach the components just like the center channel. Two Sony XVM-H65 monitors are molded into the tailgate and finished with a nice display of Sony Xplod pride. Once again this part of the build was accomplished using a mixture of fiberglass, body filler and fleece.