Yes, there's a better way...
Yes, there's a better way to get some tunes in your classic Ford than this. Read on to see how you can enjoy your music with today's technology and not hack your ride up.
One truly useful accessory to have in any classic Ford is a great stereo. But let's face it: if you've got a '67 Fairlane like we do, it's a sure thing that it didn't come from the factory. Our car has the OE AM radio. It still plays music through its one tiny dash top speaker, and it's OK for listening to the ball game-barely. And despite the limited usefulness of our stock radio, we'd like to keep it in place to preserve the original appearance of our Fairlane's interior. We'd love to have a good stereo in our car but we don't want to modify the face of our dashboard in any substantial way. The first people we think of when this is a major requirement are the folks at Custom Autosound. They have been specializing in modern car stereos that fit into the original dash openings on classic cars for more than 30 years.
Custom Autosound has just released its newest Secretaudio SST stereo system. The Secretaudio SST is a hidden audio system that offers great flexibility for mounting in any type of vehicle. The main receiver/amplifier unit is usually hidden under the seat or behind the dash. A 10-foot cord from the receiver/amplifier plugs into an LCD display. The system can be operated from up to 40 feet away with the included RF, or radio-frequency, remote. Included with the system is a flush-mount bezel for console or dash mounting of the LCD display and the small dimensions of the flush-mount system allow you to install the LCD display almost anywhere; great for drop-in consoles or other custom interior areas. The LCD also comes with a bracket mount for easy installation in the glovebox, under the dash, inside the console, or wherever you choose. Since it's only 1-inch deep it's especially handy for custom applications.
Here's our Custom Autosound...
Here's our Custom Autosound Secretaudio system fresh out of the shipping box. The main unit has no faceplate, simply the input and output leads and a heat sink. To the left of it is the 10-foot cable, which allows the LCD display to be placed anywhere within the car. The small rectangular unit is the LCD display while the round remote control is shown directly beneath it. The RF receiver is shown at the upper left, and it simply plugs into the master unit as well and has its own antenna. The swivel mounting bracket is shown attached to the LCD unit while the flush-mount bezel is shown at the top of the photo.
But the real lowdown on the new system is the power and performance that it offers. The amplifier has 200 watts of power available at 50 watts to each of up to four speakers. This is enough power to play your tunes over engine or road noise with the windows open and still hear clearly. We were excited to have the opportunity to check out this new system using a pair of Custom Autosound 6x9 speakers for mounting in the rear package tray. We found the system for $279.95 and the speakers for $79.95. Before we show you how easy it was to install the system into our Fairlane let's look at a complete list of features of the system.
Secretaudio SST Specs
1. The system includes a hideaway 200-watt AM/FM CD controller with USB, MP3/WMA, flash drive and iPod interface built into receiver/amplifier unit, including the iPod docking cable. An iPod is not included of course (see Custom Autosound's website for iPod compatibility).
2. Because the RF remote uses radio frequency for command, no line of sight is required. As mentioned the remote is good for up to 40-feet in range.
3. The alphanumeric LCD display shows the artist and song titles for USB, iPod, and satellite.
4. The radio has a satellite radio input for an optionally available Sirius satellite-radio tuner.
5. There's a direct CD changer controller to run an optional CD changer and an auxiliary audio input.
6. The unit has four-channel three-volt RCA pre-outs allowing for optional amplifiers, and a subwoofer pre-out for an optional subwoofer amplifier.
7. Controls are available for volume, bass, treble, balance, and fader. There are five selectable iEQ curves for pop, jazz, classical, beat, and rock.
8. The unit features zero memory current draw so it won't drain your car's battery when not in use.
There are 24 station pre-sets, 18 for the FM band and six for the AM.
9. To operate your car's power antenna (if equipped) there is a 12-volt trigger lead.
10. From a visual standpoint the system features blue LED illumination on the buttons and the LCD display has contrast control.
11. To mount the display you've got a choice: flush-mount bezel or swivel mount bracket.
We began our installation...
We began our installation project by removing the front bucket seat on our Fairlane. Given the depth of the pocket under the seat we felt confident that we would have no interference with the seat movement and the stereo unit once it was installed under the front passenger seat, our first location of choice.
We crawled into the trunk...
We crawled into the trunk before starting this job and marked the location of the speaker holes on the underside of the package tray with a laundry marker. We're going to have to remove the package tray to cut our speaker holes, so here we begin the process by pulling out the lower rear seat cushion.
With the seat bottom pulled...
With the seat bottom pulled forward it's easy to access the retaining bolts for the rear seat back. Once these fasteners are removed it's a simple matter to lift the seat back up off its mounting hooks to pull it forward.
Once the seat back has been...
Once the seat back has been moved out of the way it's possible to remove the rear package tray from the vehicle as you see here.
Setting the package tray bottom...
Setting the package tray bottom side up on our work surface we see the previously made scribe lines. A small pilot hole is drilled first and then a jigsaw is used to cut out the speaker openings. Ensure you have sufficient clearance underneath while cutting.
We placed a speaker grille...
We placed a speaker grille carefully centered over the opening and used it as a template to locate the required openings for the four mounting fasteners.
The package tray was reinstalled...
The package tray was reinstalled into the car and we dropped the two speaker grilles into place, being sure they fit correctly. Inside the trunk we installed the speakers over the fasteners hanging down from within the passenger compartment. Installing a nut on each fastener, our helper inside the car tightened everything down with a Phillips head screwdriver, securing the speakers into position.
The speaker wiring is connected...
The speaker wiring is connected to the proper speaker terminals and then routed to the passenger side of the car. We used tie-wraps to tidy up the speaker wire routing so it wouldn't become entangled with items put into the trunk. The wires were next routed out of the trunk alongside the back seat between the seat bottom and trim panel along the doorsill area (under the doorsill trim) to the right front seat location where they'll be connected to the receiver.
The power, ground, and speaker...
The power, ground, and speaker output wires are all combined into one simple plug. Here we make the connection in preparation for the final positioning of the receiver.
At this point we accomplished...
At this point we accomplished all of the speaker wire connections. To avoid any problems down the road we got our trusty Weller soldering gun and soldered all connections. Once they were complete, we covered every juncture with shrink wrap. We ran our 12-volt hot lead directly from the fuse box and accomplished our ground connection with an existing fastener on the underside of the dashboard, running our wires underneath the carpeting directly to the receiver unit.
The Custom Autosound kit includes...
The Custom Autosound kit includes fasteners for hard mounting of the receiver unit to your mounting location. We decided that a trip to the hardware store for industrial strength Velcro might make for a suitable alternative mounting arrangement. The hook side of our Velcro made a solid grip on the carpeting during our testing and we decided that this was the way we would go for mounting the unit. Affixing two large pieces to the underside of the case got the job done and keeps the unit in place easily. After orienting the receiver so that the accessory plugs faced forward we accomplished the final positioning of our Secretaudio unit.
We decided to use the swivel...
We decided to use the swivel mounting bracket included with the kit, as opposed to the flush-mount bezel arrangement. Rather than use a fastener at each end of the bracket as provided for, we mounted it to the underside of the dashboard using just one fastener at the center of the bracket. In this way it would be able to swivel in all directions, left and right, as well as up and down. Here we attach the LCD to the bracket using the provided thumb screws.
Once the LCD unit was in place...
Once the LCD unit was in place it was a simple matter to complete the cable connection to the LCD unit, as seen here. We concealed the cable as it ran beneath the glovebox along the base of the dash. We were left with about 6 feet of extra wire.
To access the exterior antenna...
To access the exterior antenna lead and also to find a place to conceal the extra cable, we removed the passenger side kick panel. Here's the LCD cable end, which we routed underneath the carpeting toward the receiver unit.
Once our LCD cable and antenna...
Once our LCD cable and antenna leads were routed to our satisfaction we simply completed the connections as seen here. All leads coming from the unit are clearly labeled so there's no chance of making any of the connections incorrectly.
This little box is the receiver...
This little box is the receiver for the RF remote control. The small orange wire is the antenna for receiving command signals from the handheld remote. Although mounting ears are provided, once again we decided to use a different attachment method and used double-sided tape, which we are applying to the receiver here.
Here the receiver is affixed...
Here the receiver is affixed to the main unit. As you can see the lead for the RF receiver is right at hand and this connection was accomplished to complete the RF remote installation.
At this point we installed...
At this point we installed the provided thumb drive into the USB-style input. As we have already discussed, there are inputs for every sort of source we can imagine. The thumb drive comes from Custom Autosound loaded with information about the Secretaudio system, and the company's other available systems as well, to view on your computer. There are also sample tracks of music for you to enjoy and use to test out your new stereo right away. Once you've heard what's on the thumb drive you can delete the contents and use the drive to store several CD's worth of music. Of course, once you connect an iPod then you'll have almost infinite capacity. You can also purchase USB extension cables at any computer supply/electronics store to place your source connections in an easier to reach location, such as a glovebox or console so you don't have to plug your MP3 player in under a seat or in the trunk.
Here's the LCD unit up and...
Here's the LCD unit up and running. As you can see the screen is clearly visible even in bright light, making it easy to read in almost any condition. The screen is also easy to read at night. There's not much that shows and that's why they call it Secretaudio. As you can see by using one central hole and fastener to hang the mounting bracket instead of the two provided at each end, we were able to have the display swivel toward the driver.