Installing a Stereo Into A Classic VW

[1968BUGMAN]

I posted this in my build thread already, but I wanted to make another thread dedicated to the audio work that way it would be easier for people to find. Also, please post any stereo install that you have done so that future people interested in this have a lot of inspiration. So I always wanted to know how to install kick panels, and what size speakers really work, so I will talk about it in detail throughout the post. Before I start though, I did do as much sound deadening as possible, but I still need a carpet padding or foam so that it absorbs more echo. Also don't be retarted like me and decide its too much work to put in a headliner. Put sound deadener on the room then put in the headliner and its padding, its not that expensive and would really help cut down on echo, but oh well its too late for that. Anyway, yesterday I put in the front speakers and an amp, I get the head unit in a couple of days so for now I am just running an aux to rca cable and plugging directly into the amp. Throughout the rest of this stereo build I will link to everything that I buy so anybody who wants can recreate it. I started off with Infinity 6530CX (6.5in ) Component speakers, these would be mounted in the kick panels (yes 6.5s fit in kick panels), and I wanted to mount the tweeter a little higher so I decided that I would build a bracket for that. For now these will be powered by an old Zapco Z100S2 amp that my dad used to use until I get the funds to replace it with a Rockford Prime 500 x 4. I ran a turn on wire from a switch under my dash so that I can have the stereo on without the coil being on. Then 14 gauge speaker wire is ran, along with 8 gauge power wire, and a 4 gauge ground. For most people 16 or even 18 gauge speaker wire would probably be fine, but I will use this when I hookup subwoofers, so I need to be able to handle the extra power. (See bottom of post for sound review)

RCA
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016QVZEZ2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Head Unit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y2DZWPS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Speakers
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B8TXHRL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Battery terminals
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0834YLJR2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

8 Gauge Power Wire
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N58Z7UX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

14 Gauge Speaker Wire
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CSZAYF0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Here is the bracket thing for the tweeter, it is a piece of 1/8 in plywood with a piece of 18 gauge sheet metal attached to the top, it isnt very sturdy but it works. I did end up painting the metal with Rust Oleum Gloss Harbor Blue, which is very close to the color of my car. I also ended up bending the metal closer to 90 degrees.

For the power I got battery terminals that you can put 2 8/10 gauge wires, 1 4 gauge and 1 1/0 gauge.

I put the fuse above the heater channel and attached it with a self tapping screw.

I then began too hook up the amp.

Next, I cut the holes in the kick panels (with a jig saw), these are the regular (not max) kick panels that you can get from JBugs or Amazon, they are plastic, not fiberglass like the nice ones, but they worked well.

I then put sound deadening on the inside of the kick panel.

Then the midrange driver and the crossover were installed, the crossovers were velcroed into place.

Then I attatched the kick panel to the car with velcro and a screw through a hole where the heater vent controls used to be screwed in. I did this becuase I didnt want to put screws into the new paint and especially screws that could go through to the outside and potentially cause rust.

Now that everything is installed its time to listen, I turned up the gains about 3/4 of the way on the amp, and use my phone to control volume, if you install a head unit, which everybody should, you would match the gains to the output of the headunit. Then you use the headunit to control volume. So it sound ... hollow, is the best way to describe the bass, even with sound deadening it sound weird, but these speakers are not known for having great bass performance and are intended to be used with a sub, which I will do. This car will get 2 10s, Kicker L7Rs, recieving 750 watts. Also, most people would run an eq profile on their head unit which I cant do for now, once I do that, set a crossover at 50 hz or a bit high so I dont hurt the speakers, I can boost the bass, and eq it in a way that it sound a little fuller. But what is very, very clear is vocals, anything that is accapella sounds insanely clear. The beginning to Renagade by The Styx sounds amazing. I think most people would be satisfied with these speakers hooked up to a head unit with its deck power, and with a little eq, but I will be adding more. Another thing to note on why I chose these specific speakers, they are very sensitive, they produce 93db at 1watt from 1 meter away. That is a lot of sound on low power, which is important in these cars, especially if you want to sit with the engine off and listen for an hour of so. I was originally considering some pioneer D series speakers and chose the Infinity's for that reason. Also, these 6.5" speakers do fit it the kick panel (top mound depth of just over 2in), and there is a little bit of room where a larger magnet speaker could be installed, but I think it would be to close to the metal and it would affect the sound. A set of 5.25 speakers might even fit better, but 6.5 coxials would be perfect for almost everybody. But having the tweeter pointed directly at you means that you shouldnt lose as much high frequency to the engine and road noise. Although I will update you once I am able to drive the car (later today).
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[1968BUGMAN]

Okay so I thought that it was still lacking midbass more than it should. Do I checked the photos and they are hooked up to the crossovers properly, but when I went to look at the amp on saw that the polarity was reversed on the right side. So it was out of phase and therefor lower notes were being canceled out. I'm not sure how I didn't notice that before, but oh well. Never think that your installation wasn't the problem until you double and triple check it. It still isn't a powerful low end, but at least you can hear the notes now.
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[H2OSB]

Nice amp. You don't see those too often these days. Those are from back in the day when a Punch 45 could run two speakers and a sub.

H2OSB
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(o\_i_/o) Funny thing about pigs, they're cleaner than you and me. Well....you.

[1968BUGMAN]

Yeah my dad got that and a matching monoblock in the 90s. He had 4 12s in a pushpush isobaric in a CRX and then a Toyota truck.. i know he also used to have red neon underglow on the truck,, si the whole thing was properly 90s. I wish he had a photo of the car so thar I could see it. Anyway, I am interested to compare it to a new Class D amp when I eventually get Rockford amps. Update on while driving, so yeah it loses a lot of bass to road noise as do all speakers. Engine is really loud as a still have yet to build a quieter exhuast, and I am scared to crank it up because I don't have the head unit yet and don't want to risk clipping. But no matter how loud the engine is you can still here the vocals.
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[Zundfolge1432]

I remember when we used to talk about clipping. That unit looks great I’m jealous.

[1968BUGMAN]

Hm, just looked and I'm not sure the head unit I bought will fit. Because it is a cd one it may hit the wiper assembly. I don't know why I got one with a cd, I will never use it but oh well. If it doesn't fit then I'll return it to Amazon and get a different one. These are the problems when someone else cuts the slot for single din. But I hope that because it was cut somebody used to use a single din and it will work. I will see when it comes today, I am very excited if it works though.
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[1968BUGMAN]

I got the head unit yesterday and it fit. I definitely dont care about having a cd player but I have it if I ever want it. The unit now sits on the bracket thing for support, fyi I have already taken out all of the rack and pinion gear things that connected to fresh air vents. So if you still have these you may need a head unit with less depth.

Putting in the bracket to mount the unit. I did have to file a bit at the bottom because it didnt quite fit. It was maybe 0.5mm at the most that was taken out.

Wiring #1 is the rca pre out to the amp. #2 is a switch under the dash that is my turn on. This connects to the amp and the red lead of the head unit. #3 is my always on that connects to the yellow wire on the stereo and also connects to the turn on switch. #4 is the parking and headlight fuse, this connects to the orange and white wire for the head unit so that it dims the screen when you turn on your lights.

Finished product

So after going through the eq, I figured out that I like the loudness setting on 1, the bass enhancer on low, and then I have a custom eq that cuts out some of the mid frequencies that sounded harsh. It now has a very full sound, I will probably make a second custom eq with a bit less bass so that I can use that one while not driving and the bassier one while driving. I also set the high pass filter at 63hz with a 12db per octave roll off so that I dont hurt the speakers with lower tones. I will post a sound clip later but it really does sound nice. I love Pioneers smart sync app, but for some reason I cant change the eq in the head unit, but I dont care too much. There is also a buzzing sound and Im not sure if it is from sound adjustments in the head unit, the bluetooth signal, or from the amps. Either way it isnt too big of a deal, I have not even gone close to half volume and it gets pretty loud. I probably wont hit full volume until I have the subs so that I can set the high pass around 80hz and I will have the amp gains set better, I dont want to risk hurting the speakers due to distortion or over excursion. By the way I have been suprised with how many of you guys have subs in your cars, and just in general how many have speakers, I would love to see some photos!
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[GArBa]

I went for a simplier route, but it still qualifies as a stereo I guess:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7529686&highlight=#7529686
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cars:
'97 type 1 1600i
'14 type AA Seat Mii (sadly dead after 270.000 km)
'22 type C1 T-Cross
'23 type AC3 Hyundai I10 (VW no longer makes small cars!)
-------------------------
moped:
'82 Benelli Magnum 3v

[1968BUGMAN]

Dang I really like that stereo that you have. It really does look like it belongs, nice job man.
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[1968BUGMAN]

So I have settled on 6x9s in the rear, these will be the Infinity 9632ix. I picked 6x9s because they would be cheaper than 6.5 component and they handled more power. Also, I wanted a little extra mid bass, as mounting the front speakers in the flimsy kick panels wasnt that great, but it works. Anyways, I first traced the outline in cardboard so that I could cut out a rough shape in wood, then I test fit and cut until it fit right, unfortunately the wood is very warped as I had had it for a while, but I will use it as a stencil for another one once the subs are installed and I know exactly what I need it to be. For now it sits ontop of the metal back of the rear seat and on top of the little ledge thing under the rear window. To take out the rear seat you must remove the speakers, but I made sure to use disconnects on the wires so that this is possible. Now for the sound, well the fact that while there is some vibration damping in the parcel area, there is no acoustic damping in the way of foam, or blankets, so it adds a lot off bass the resonates through the floor pans, which for now is fine considering that I dont have a sub, also, since they are just in parallel with the front speakers the rears are much louder, which isnt good for soundstage. But once I get a four channel amp I can just make the fronts louder so it is fine. They do have decent bass and actually the system sounds really good now, and I am very happy with it, even without subs. This is probably what I would recommend to most people. You can see that I tilted the speakers when I cut the hole, I probably tilted them a bit too much, but it turned out fine.
Cardboard template

Cutting the tray

Cutting speaker holes

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[sb001]

[Bobbyrjones80]

Hi, I am currently installing a head unit from Custom Autosound. Is it necessary to put an inline fuse in the battery and Ignition wires from the head unit. The old cassette deck I took out had 1A inline fuses for both wires but the new stereo did not come with these. I was considering adding a fuse in line but wasn't sure if it was necessary.

Thanks.

[Bobbyrjones80]

Hi, I am currently installing a head unit from Custom Autosound. Is it necessary to put an inline fuse in the battery and Ignition wires from the head unit. The old cassette deck I took had 1A inline fuses for both wires but the new stereo did not come with these. I was considering adding a fuse in line but wasn't sure if it was necessary.

Thanks.

[1968BUGMAN]

I didn't put a fuse going to the head unit. This is because I ran the wires off of a free spot on the fuse block. Also, the head unit should have its own fuse. Assuming you run it off of thr fuse block, which you will probably do anyways so that you have it turn on with the key.
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[Bobbyrjones80]

Thanks, 1968UGMAN. I do have it run from the fuse block the same as the previous head unit. Everything is working. I appreciate the conformation. The last thing I want to do is blow up my new stereo.

[1968BUGMAN]

I forgot to post photos of the installed speaker tray, and I did my sub install and forgot to take photos of the completed thing but, here is the build. So I got 2 10in Kicker l7r subs. These require a box volume of .66 sealed to 1 sealed. I won't be running ported as it doesn't fit the music I listen to. These will be powered by a Rockford 750.1 and the mids/highs will be on a Rockford 500.4, both are Class D from the prime series. These class d is important because of the small 55amp alternator. With the dimension behind the seat I will be running about .65 cu ft box which is just ever so slightly undersized but it will be fine. The enclosure is made out of 3/4 in Mdf assembled with 1.5in Spax construction screws and Titebond 3 wood glue, and sealed with Silicone. I sealed the separation between the subs just because and there is a speaker terminal cup that was screwed in and them siliconed in as well. The 4 channel amp is ran through 8 gauge cca wire and the monoblock is 4 gauge cca wire. Yes its the cheaper wire but its fine. I also put in an 80 amp fuse for the 8 gauge and 150 amp for the 4 gauge. I am running the subs (dual 4 ohm voice coils) in parallel for the voice coils and then in parallel to bring it to 1 ohm. The box doesn't quite fit behind the seat properly but it works. I would recommend for most people to go with dual 8in subs that work in a smaller box. I think I already mentioned this but I listen to classic rock/metal/country music, so that is why I went with a sealed box. So the overall sound, the front speakers are lacking midbass do to the install, I may try some kind of baffle to make this better. But overall it has a nice balanced sound. The subs are loud, not quote as loud as I thought they might be, but they are loud. Also my voltage barely drops even with the car off, unless I am playing near max volume. Class d really is amazing. I will attach a Google drive link to 2 videos, one is a classic rock song demo the other is some trashy rap song that was on the radio. Keep on mind that this is no where near max volume as the head unit goes to 62 on the volume. Longer and louder demos are to come though.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y8dDfk140v5R4l8VcRzpZQ2B7bEVLKB8/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YAY0N-jniUMfXpNQ2LATJSFXJzLhp466/view?usp=drivesdk

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[1968BUGMAN]

I decided that I wanted to mount my kick panels better. I decided that I wanted to use 4 riv nuts to hold the panel on. I got a riv nut gun for $38 on amazon and it worked really well. Then I drilled holes in the kick panel where I wanted the screws to be. I then marked where they went through on the car so that I could drill holes in the car to put the nuts in. I then put the nuts in. I also wanted to install the speakers better while the kick panels were out. I thought that the tweeter mount looked kinda janky so I decided to mount it in the kick panel, to drill the hole I used a hole saw attatchment on my drill. For the 6.5 I used speaker gasket material around the hole before the speaker was placed in so that it would create a seal. I then used some speaker spacer things that the speakers came with and cut off the tabs and then screwed the speakers to it so that it would be a little more ridged than without it. I used a socket cap screw and nuts to attach the speaker. Next I wanted to create a better seal around the kick panel since I am not carpeting it. For this I used 1" by 1" adhesive back foam made for sealing window ac units. It worked great, I doubled it up in one spot so that it would touch the metal. Then I wired it up and screwed it together. It does sound a little better with some more midbass, but mostly it just looks better and is much more solid.

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[solorogue]

Really impressive!

[1968BUGMAN]

Thanks man! It has been a lot of fun. This is why I love bugs, there is so much that you can do. Nobody has the same car as somebody else. So much potential for personalization.
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[jeffrey8164]

Not a Beetle but...

This is all vintage 1994.
2-12 inch subs in the rear seat wells. Mids and Tweets in the back and in the doors. The head unit controls a 10 Disc CD changer. I’ve also added Bluetooth just to be modern.
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