A client wanted to revamp the nearly 40-year-old factory audio system in his 1979 “Fire Engine Red” Corvette! He expressed that he wanted more volume from the stereo as well as add a subwoofer for more bass that wouldn’t take up much room. The system needed to be clear and reliable as well as keep as much of a factory look as possible. We knew with Audio Dynamics car audio components we would be able to offer the remedy!
The traditional knob style stereo was on its way out and we also needed outputs on the rear to add the subwoofer to the system. We decided, with approval from our client, to modify the dash bezel to fit a single DIN unit. We chose to run the Kenwood KMM-BT522HD in this system. The Kenwood is a mechless unit, which means it mostly a media player, without CD playing capabilities. Many newer vehicles a being release from the manufacturers without CD players, this is due to the fact that CD’s are becoming obsolete. Our client has stepped his ’79 Corvette into 2018 now being able to use Bluetooth streaming, USB or AUX to play media while driving!
For the 4X6-inch speakers in the dash we replaced them with 4-inch Audio Dynamics 1100 series coaxial speakers and we replaced the 6X9-inch speakers in the rear of the hatch with 1100 series as well. We needed to construct new grilles for the dash speakers to fit with a factory look and new mounts for the rear speakers as well. All four speakers are powered off the Kenwood mechless stereo with Bluetooth audio streaming. The front stage became much louder and more prominent overall once we finished the installation.
To power the 8 inch 500 Series Audio Dynamics subwoofer we utilized the Audio Dynamics 200.2 Premium series amplifier. Seeing as how our space was extremely limited we found that running the subwoofer in a sealed enclosure would be ideal. Having the sub in a sealed box rather than in a ported or vented chamber would allow for more clarity of the bass response but slightly less output overall. The Corvette is fairly small so the bass that comes from this 8-inch sub setup really fills the cabin with clear and surprisingly loud bass!
We decided we would home the subwoofer and custom fiberglass enclosure in the small storage compartment underneath the floor just behind the seats. When opening the driver side compartment we will see the main vehicle battery and the subwoofer in its custom enclosure down in the passenger side compartment. We added a steel 3/8-inch thick metal grille to prevent anything from falling down onto the subwoofer while allowing the bass to pass through the compartment lid and into the cab. This process worked great for the application!
The Audio Dynamics amplifier is mounted to the rear wall of the hatch between the 2 6X9-inch speakers, as to remain out of the way. The full system came together very smoothly and right within our client’s budget, which is where we always try to stay. There will be a future LIS Audio Blog covering solely the construction of the custom subwoofer enclosure from beginning to end, along with details written up about the entire process, so stay tuned to our social media pages and check back here regularly for updates!
Here is a quick overview video of the entire Corvette system while being installed and after fully finished. Enjoy!
Thank you for taking the time to read up on the work we performed in this 1979 Corvette full of Audio Dynamics gear! If you have any questions feel free to contact LIS Audio for more information! Until next time #StayTuned!
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