2000 Saleen Mustang - White Noise

A 2000 Saleen Mustang

By Michael Waddell

0102 01Zoom 2000 Saleen Mustang Passenger Side Front View

Gabriel Watts had his eye and heart set on a Mustang Saleen for quite some time. When the white 2000 limited edition S281 hit the streets, he could no longer resist the temptation. He gave in and purchased his dream car in May of 2000. Watts, who had previously owned a '65 Mustang, had always been a fan of great audio systems. He had installed various components in his previous vehicles over the years. This time, he decided to go all out and turn his new car over to experts at an audio specialty shop. Sound Innovations in Hayward, California, car audio experts for the past 12 years, tackled the extensive project. Owner Ernesto Onate and installers James Ngim and Daniel Rodriguez performed all of the work on the vehicle. Watts only had one stipulation that he wanted the team to stick to: the Mustang's interior had to remain intact. Watts explains, "I did not want to alter the interior visually, and I felt that the stock locations would work well for the system."

The installation began with the mounting of a Pioneer multimedia motorized in-dash unit in the factory head unit location. It features a 7-inch active matrix LCD color display. A matching Pioneer 6-disc changer is located below in the factory single disc spot. For video capabilities, a Pioneer DVD 6-disc changer and television tuner are hidden in the trunk. Pioneer's 8000R hideaway audio/video processor controls all of the multimedia functions. It is also hidden in the trunk, behind the DVD changer behind a cosmetic panel. It runs the DVD changer, TV tuner, video output to the monitor; and it includes audio/video inputs, outputs to the amplifiers, and built-in crossovers and equalizer. A pair of MB Quart Referenz Premium components provides the midrange and high end to the front stage. Each set is installed in the factory locations in the doors and is made up of a 6.5-inch speaker and a one-inch tweeter. A matching pair of MB Quart's is installed in the factory rear locations as well.

"We went with the MB Quart because they work very well with the rest of the components in the car," says Onate. "Their products' quality, reputation, and reliability made it an easy choice." Since the Mustang is a convertible, bass performance was a large concern. A few modifications helped to solve this problem. A single reflex bandpass enclosure was designed to produce a very high amount of bass output. Two JL Audio 12-inch subwoofers are located in the trunk in the enclosure. The sealed rear chamber consists of a two cubic foot fiberglass tub molded into the spare tire well. The ported chamber is made of 3/4-inch MDF.

It is laminated with brushed aluminum for a "machine race" look that matches the rest of the car. The subs, "Sound Innovations" logo, and ports entering the car can be seen through a 1-inch clear acrylic window; green neon highlights the enclosure. "To overcome the bass restrictions, the ports had to protrude through the back seat and into the car," Onate explains. "The back seats were altered and the opening were re-upholstered. The addition of the new Speedster top also greatly enhanced the bass output. I now have maximum low end with the top up or down." Another potential problem with the design of the sub box involved the Saleen's convertible top. There had to be room for clearance of the top when it was fully lowered. The team at Sound Innovations recognized this problem in advance and factored it into the box's construction. If the enclosure had been too tall, the glass of the rear window would have smashed upon entering the trunk.

Also in the trunk are two Precision Power amplifiers, staggered on top of one another. A PPI 4800.2 powers the high pass, and a PPI 1800.2 runs the low pass. The area surrounding the amp rack is laminated with aluminum, and green neon also highlights this area of the installation. The amps were not covered with Plexiglass in order to help everything remain cool. The staggering effect is used again in an aluminum-laminated box on the left side of the trunk. Four MB Quart competition crossovers (included with the four MB Quart speakers) are encased in the box in a "staircase step" arrangement. Once again, green neon illuminates the box's contents from behind. To finish the trunk, an attractive cosmetic panel was designed from hand-laid fiberglass. The panel is upholstered in black vinyl to match the rest of the Mustang's interior. The masterful end result is a trunk that is fully loaded with a plethora of equipment. "Fitting all of the equipment into such a small space was probably the largest challenge of the project," says Onate.

"We used just about every bit of available space." Cascade Audio heavy-duty damping material is used around the front and rear speaker locations as well as throughout the trunk to help minimize vibration caused by the intense sound waves. A Clifford Intelliguard 7000 security system provides protection against burglary. The popular system features control by remote of the windows, neon, and trunk release. Monster brand speaker cable and Apature Studio Pro interconnects are used throughout the Mustang. For additional power, an Optima 800u battery replaces the factory battery under the hood. Sound Innovations completed the full installation in less than three weeks. In addition to the audio system, there were quite a few modifications to the body of the car including the addition of a fiberglass hood, roll bar, speedster cover, a 5351 tailfin, and a ground kit. Saleen front and rear bumpers and Saleen decals were also added. Watts drives his Mustang every day and plans to use it as much as he can in the near future. He and his wife, Melissa, and son, Gabriel Jr., who live in San Francisco, enjoy the car's A/V functions when they travel on various road trips across California. "For now, I don't have any future plans for the Mustang's system. I just want to enjoy its power, performance, and incredible sound," he says.