Work began at Audio Shoppe after Reed delivered his ’37 sans any interior. Hush Mat, from Olathe, Kansas, produces the foil-backed, sound-deadening material used in the car, which also serves as a vibration reducer and a thermal barrier. Once Hickman designed the special subwoofer enclosure and installed and wired the rest of the system using Arc Audio gear, the car went to Gabe’s Street Rod Custom Interior in San Bernardino, California, where owner Gabe Lopez crafted an old-time interior for Reed’s ride that hid every component of the audio system. Lopez’s interiors have been used by hundreds of street rod owners, including many Ridler- and AMBR-winning hot rods.
The system, as it turns out, works really well and, despite his best efforts, Reed can easily hear his music over the exhaust note produced by his engine, even while cruising down the highway or burning the hides in a friend’s driveway.
There’s no evidence of a big-sound speaker system once Gabe gets the rear section covered either. The slot is behind the material, just above the mini storage box mounted over the tunnel. An advantage was in the material choice: fabric instead of leather (which would have necessitated holes punched in it or vents attached).
There really is a science...
There really is a science in figuring out how sound moves through the air, and Hickman understands how it works. He designed this down-firing, slot-loaded, subwoofer enclosure to maximize the effect. It’s roughly 42 inches wide, 10 inches deep, and 9 inches tall and made out of 3/4-inch MDF.
Mounted behind the crossbrace,...
Mounted behind the crossbrace, the 10-inch-tall enclosure mounted to the floor is hardly visible even in the construction stage (the enclosure’s slot is just above the Hush Mat material).
The twin Arc Audio 8-inch...
The twin Arc Audio 8-inch subwoofers are less than 5 inches deep, and you can see them through the slot opening. The unit will be turned upside-down from this position (with the slot at the bottom, pointing into the cab) when it gets installed in the car.
The twin Arc Audio 8-inch...
The twin Arc Audio 8-inch subwoofers are less than 5 inches deep, and you can see them through the slot opening. The unit will be turned upside-down from this position (with the slot at the bottom, pointing into the cab) when it gets installed in the car.
After the enclosure was mounted...
After the enclosure was mounted in the trunk, the Arc Audio four-channel mini-amp was mounted to an upper accessory panel. From this point, the car moved to Gabe’s Street Rod Custom Interiors to get finished up.
After the enclosure was mounted...
After the enclosure was mounted in the trunk, the Arc Audio four-channel mini-amp was mounted to an upper accessory panel. From this point, the car moved to Gabe’s Street Rod Custom Interiors to get finished up.