"No matter where one is parked, there will be a crowd around it," Marshal says. His team completely disassembled his company's microcar, a '57 BMW Isetta 300, and fully restored it to its original glory with the addition of some obligatory audio upgrades.
Aware that his hard work can't be widely appreciated in the confines of an office building or on his hometown streets of Van Nuys, CA, Marshal intends to show it off at all Al and Ed's events. The vehicle debuted at the California Auto Show in October 2006 and will continue to make appearances at future microcar gatherings. After $25,000 of upgrades, this little bubble car is exactly what Marshal wanted: a vehicle that uses technology the company offers and "demonstrates small-footprint amplifiers and shallow subwoofer and speaker technologies."
The sub was put in the perfect (and perhaps only available) space-the spare tire well. A Rockford Fosgate Punch P3SD410 shallow 10" sub, just 3.5" deep, sits inside the 31/44" MDF sealed enclosure. "The sub is beautifully finished, hits hard and plays nice, low bass," Marshal says. The area behind the seat was trimmed off with a 11/44" hardboard panel and later carpeted to unify the look of the interior.
Since it's important to keep this $40,000 Isetta blemish-free, Marshal installed a Kenwood CCD-2000 backup camera inside the air inlet located at the rear of the vehicle.
Knobs and buttons are in short supply in this two-tone rolling egg. Instead, a Kenwood KOS-L702 touchscreen monitor controls all audio and visual upgrades. Marshal and his fellow Isetta expert, Greg Hahs, used sheetmetal to fabricate a sturdy mount for the monitor and then welded it into place. An iPod video is the source of video files and is hooked up to a Kenwood CarPortal KOS-V500. Basic tuning was accomplished through the unit's built-in "very basic equalizer and crossover setup." The 6.95-inch monitor also displays navigational information provided by a Kenwood KNA-G510 and controls the Sirius SIR-KEN1. The antennas for the units are "mounted under the rear deck, which is upholstered hardboard material, so both antennas function perfectly," Marshal says.
The Focal 165VRS 6.5" component system is hidden behind perforated covers that allow the speakers to sound off without compromising the original sleek look of the interior. These shallow speakers were perfect for the install because of the limited amount of space between the interior panels and exterior skin. Sheetmetal mounting panels were constructed and welded in place. Dynamat Xtreme sound deadening material was applied to the entire interior of the vehicle.