WhitsEnd Transformation

[DuckRyder]

OUCH!

That is a bit of a shocker of an update...

I’d like details on the Lokar pedal if you get a chance... been considering the same...

[WhitsEnd]

And so it begins

[WhitsEnd]

Head unit...


https://www.alpine-usa.com/product/appl ... o-ilx-w650

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500ILXW65 ... -W650.html

[DuckRyder]

That looks like it is going to be very cool.

Let us know what you think of that head unit, considering one for my 02 Ranger.

[redstone65]

Plenty of guys are now doing exactly as I did and discarding the 360 stuff to build a 445 stroker because there are a number of kits available now to do so (360 block is exactly same as 390, by the way).

Did you ever do the 445 stroker build you mentioned here? I was just looking at those kits. Very reasonably priced.

[WhitsEnd]

Did you ever do the 445 stroker build you mentioned here? I was just looking at those kits. Very reasonably priced.

No, and as I recently shared, the 390 block was destroyed by accidentally dropping a fastener down the throttle body. So, I resurrected the 360 block and put some work into it, along with balancing the 390 crank for the new pistons. So, I'm still running a 390 and no longer have an extra block to build the stroker from.

[WhitsEnd]

I’d like details on the Lokar pedal if you get a chance...

The pedal mounted to the floor. The lever protrudes below the floor, where the cable attaches. It has adjustable hard stops as well, to ensure your foot doesn’t stress the cable or anything at the other end.



And this is a shot to show the relationship with the seat. Much more comfortable, and nice linear feel with the Sniper. I was able to remove the bracket on the Sniper that I previously added to make it less “touchy”. With my heel on the floor, the control is much improved.

[DuckRyder]

Thank you for those pictures.

That looks really nice...

I may have to do something similar.

[WhitsEnd]

I’m not looking for an obnoxious, booming system, just decent quality and modern convenience. A simple 2 channel system with a small sub to fill in the lows is sufficient. This truck is essentially a tin can with lots of hard surfaces and a throaty exhaust, so high end fidelity is not the goal.

Speakers will be Alpine X series 6x9s, with separate tweeters. The 6x9s will go in the doors. The tweeters will go in the corners of the dash, aimed at about 45 degrees, toward the occupants. These speakers are unique because they use neodymium magnets and require very little depth. They will be driven by a small Pioneer amplifier with the 4 channels bridged to drive 2. No need for a huge amp this way.
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-Shn6Da0o1 ... gLCa_D_BwE

Subwoofer choices are limited, especially since the truck still has the gas tank behind the seat. So, the sub will go under the seat. The biggest decent quality under seat sub I could find is a 10” by Powerbass
https://powerbassusa.com/us/en/products ... closure-1/

Here is a shot of the sub, power, ground and amp wired under the seat. As I t turns out, I didn’t account for how low the back of the seat is and had to change the position of the sub (in yellow) after this photo.

[WhitsEnd]

Placement of the speakers in the doors is a bit controversial. I posted on a FB page stating I was going to mount them within the removable panel but toward the front of the door. I was told they can’t be mounted there because there’s no room...they have to go to the rear of the panel where the big cavity in the door is or down in the bottom of the door. I was also told not to cut up my truck.

Well, it’s my truck, they are going in the doors and they are going where they will look and sound the best!

I have researched the internals of the door and it turns out there is plenty of room to put the speakers exactly where I want them. To help, the speakers I have chosen are a high quality and compact design that use neodymium magnets and a cast aluminum body.

Quick mock-up...

[WhitsEnd]

This is what had to be removed to mount the speaker. The strength of the door has not been impacted at all. Actually, it will be stronger because now the steal panel and cast aluminum speaker body will be screwed to it. The window is rolled all the way down in these pictures.




I bought these mounting adapters that angle the speaker up slightly.

[WhitsEnd]

...and with the panel prepared



Meanwhile, driver’s side is coming along as well...

[DuckRyder]

Nice underseat set up. The back is low, and the slider cable/rod doesn’t make it better either.

I think if you got Ford door speakers they were in the back of the door, in the metal part below the vinyl door panel firing into the seat which is certainly less than ideal.

Mine has a set of 6.5 in the doors...

Not sure what I will do for speakers in mine when I get to it, I’ve contemplated building kick panels...

[WhitsEnd]

I really wanted the speakers to go in the kick-panels and was all set to build some custom fiberglass panels. However, the parking brake and the high beam selector would have to be dealt with. I thought about replacing the parking brake with a hand operated mechanism like the early Mustang because I thought I had seen it posted that it was available on certain 67-72 trucks. I couldn't find one anywhere and didn't want to buy a Mustang unit and have it not fit right.
I'll be posting pictures soon of the finished speaker install. The only thing left is fabricating the upper surround for around the overhead unit. I've changed direction on that a bit.

[DuckRyder]

Looking forward to how it turns out.

Was watching autorestomod youtube where he actually cut the kick panels for a component set. Mines too solid there to cut though. Maybe when I do the A/C I could replace the vents though...

Looking forward to seeing the finished install, with overhead unit.