The
Speed of Sound
It May Be a Ragtop but this C5 is Far from Shabby
By Derek Lee
Photography: Carl Edwards
The C5 Corvette ragtop
is an exceedingly cool car when standing still; and it doesn't lose any
of its aura at high speeds on the road. So what could you possibly do to
improve on the fastest production car around? Moreover, what can you do
that other C5 owners couldn't? After all you can obtain a Corvette just
like anybody else's by purchasing one "off the shelf" at the dealership.
If you haven't shipped your ride to Caravaggio Corvette and dropped 50
large in the process, you've got just another Corvette.
Secondly, the factory stereo sounds like, well,
factory! In other words, it's lame! That was not good enough for Kevin
Silva, so he turned to Chris Merrill, owner of Audio Illusionz in
Redding, CA, and his team to make the interior performance match the
exterior, giving him a truly unique vehicle.
The final presentation of this modest system is
stunning. This is not a complex project, made up of dozens of subwoofers
and megawatts of amplification, devouring a budget that would eat up the
gross domestic product of a small nation. The system is mission-specific
in its integration in the vehicle, and possesses enough cool tricks to
make it worth lusting after at any car show.
Dashing
The center instrument panel area was rebuilt to downsize the existing
radio opening to a DIN-size for the source unit. Useless items like the
ashtray and cigar lighter were also excised to allow for a more
ergonomic positioning of the entertainment system controls. The
centerpiece is the Panasonic CY-VMD9000U 7-inch LCD motorized screen,
with DVD video player/CD/AM/FM, taking top position in the stack so that
its motorized screen would easily flip up into a comfortable viewing
position. Immediately below the Panasonic source unit is a half-DIN
height ARC PEQ7 parametric equalizer that is "morphed" into the dash,
its 10 unlabeled controls leaving a very clean look. The ARC EQ also
serves as a signal magnifier, increasing the gain of the Panasonic
source unit from 4 volts up to a robust 8.5 volts of output.
Below the key audio source components is the
factory heater control panel which is the only interruption that
separates the source units from the power and eject buttons for the Xbox
game console and its conspicuously absent disc tray. So, how do you put
in an Xbox disk? More on that later.
The center instrument panel was fabricated using
a variant of the tried and true method of 1/8" Lexan, 1/4" MDF and auto
body filler, formed, smoothed and sanded into a fluid single shape. The
color scheme was a simple decision: match the exterior! The task of
color matching and paint application was passed to Dougie Boy Customs,
of Redding CA.
The Xbox game console rounds out the equipment
list at the source end. This proved to be the biggest challenge. Kevin
wanted to locate the CD-ROM drive in the dash, which required attempts
at producing different lengths of ribbon cable, only to find that the
cable could not be lengthened by conventional installer techniques. The
solution would be to locate the hard drive as close as possible to the
main circuit board of the Xbox and lengthen all of the other wires as
needed. As is common practice for any good installer, a bit of research
was in order. A phone call was placed to Redmond, Washington. As it
turned out, the technicians at Microsoft said the modification couldn't
be done (which probably means they couldn't figure out a way to make it
cost a lot of money while building a monopoly at the same time).
The outstanding mobile electronics installer is
renowned for one key attitude: "If someone says 'it can't be done',
let's prove them wrong!" With very little difficulty, the game console
was dismantled, the hard drive was located in the dash and the disc tray
motorizes neatly out of the rear console, facing forward for reasonably
convenient access. The game control plugs for the controllers were
relocated to the dash and rear of car, just under the trunk latch,
allowing for control of the Xbox outside the rear of the car for use at
car shows.
Rack 'em
Amplification is handled by four ARC Audio 2100-CXL's, putting out a
total of 950 watts. One amplifier is used to drive the front stage,
while a second amplifier is dedicated to the rear speakers. The subs use
one amplifier, and the fourth unit provides power to a set of coaxial
speakers mounted in the deck lid. Construction of the amplifier rack
required a bit of thought. Being a convertible, the fabric top would
need space in the rear storage area during top-down driving.
Once again it was custom fabrication time.
Select Products mold fabric, medium density fiberboard and auto body
fillers were used to form up an amp rack that would feature the
amplifiers while maintaining a low profile, lightweight assembly fitting
of a high performance car. The amplifiers are laid out in pairs, viewed
under a pair of acrylic windows that were cut with a jigsaw, and beveled
and polished to a fine gloss. Trim frames were constructed and color
matched in silver to transition the acrylic to the main structure.
House Speakers
ARC Audio 10D4/ subs are housed in subwoofer enclosures made of 3/4"
medium density fiberboard and fiberglass. Here is where fiberglass is a
real advantage: the cabinets were formed to drop fit into the recessed
areas of the trunk, providing 1 cubic ft. of volume per driver in a
sealed enclosure, with a loss of cargo space of only 1 inch in height
and no weight penalty compared to fiber board. This would allow Kevin to
carry a couple pieces of luggage whenever on a very enjoyable trip.
Sealed cabinets are ideal where size is a factor, and the need for a
crisp, tight bass with little drone is a must. Once again, acrylic was
used to create a protective, yet visually stunning grill assembly.
The back end was finished off with a fiberglass
trim assembly that is integrated into the latch tower that holds the
tonneau cover in place. Several trim pieces all painted in the same
exterior body paint accent the workmanship and maintain a constant theme
through the vehicle.
The factory door locations were used for the
Rainbow CS365P3 6-1/2, 4" midrange and tweeter professional series 3-way
components. Not willing to trust the stock mounts for anything more than
a stock speaker, new baffles were constructed using medium density
fiberboard and fiberglass. The factory door was re-trimmed with
custom-built accent baffles that are painted to match the exterior.
To tame unwanted resonance, the outer door skin
was covered with three layers of Rammatt. The interior of the door panel
along with the baffles were covered with two layers of Rammatt. Cascade
Audio deflex pads were also used behind the front speakers and mounted
to the inside of the door on top of Rammatt. Talk about going to
extremes on a vehicle that has no tinny, resonant sheet metal to start
with! It didn't stop with the doors, as the complete interior of the car
was gutted, and two layers of Rammatt were applied on the entire inside.
An additional set of Rainbow SLC230. 5-1/4
coaxial speakers were integrated for rear fill using the factory
locations. These were also trimmed in the same silver paint.
Open the trunk of any car and you will usually
see that a nicely done trunk cosmetic that is ruined by an unfinished
truck lid. Not so in this Corvette. Popping the rear hatch to stow the
convertible top reveals even more smooth silver fiberglass, flanked by a
pair of ARC coaxials. Centered between the coaxials is a 10.4-inch LCD
screen from Accele Electronics, smoothly morphed into the fiberglass
work.
The copper work is just as detailed. Monster
cable 4-gauge power and ground conductors run to a Monster
distribution/fuse block mounted under acrylic in the trunk area. Eight
gauge Monster continues from the distribution block to the amplifiers.
To supplement the already overtaxed factory battery, a pair of Xstatic
Batcap 400's was used with a 100-amp circuit breaker placed inline to
the power distribution block. The Batcaps are more than just a
capacitor, reputed to have the ability to pretty much replace a battery
in many applications.
One and a half months of work and $18,000 went
into the project performed by Chris, and his teammates Robert Maul, and
Dean Merrill. With that, no body mods were performed and the only
externally visible hint of change is the wheel package. Kevin thanks the
installers as well as Ali at Sinister Wheels.
Shop Box
Audio Illusionz
Redding, CA
530.223.3163
audioillusionz@sbcglobal.net
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