Uninstalling a $12,000 stereo from my 300zx [a few pics]

Hey,

Here's my post on the removal of a stereo from my newly acquired Zed.

I wasn't looking forward to this task. There were:

- 3 subs in a custom sub box built for a 2+2 Zed
- 3 amps
- 1 crossover
- 2 6 stack CD players
- 1 capacitor
- thermal sensor unit
- 1 20PSI water pump
- coolant reservoir bottle
- Its own radiator
- Myriad of speaker wire, cables, water piping etc.

This was a $12,000 show stereo completed by On Trak in Melbourne in the late 90s. All of the gear was top of line Alpine. It is all in good condition but I'm not a doof doof man and I'd prefer the boot space with a less complicated setup.

I'll post up a 4 Sale item later when I catalogue what I've taken out. Given that the sub box and panels are all custom for a Zed, I think it's best to go on this forum first.

First pic is the original stealth installation. Note the sub box against the back seat, CD stackers on the right and custom floor panels all finished in the same grey as the boot trim.



Here's the sub box up close



The sub box is on hinges. Lifting it reveals something interesting. Note the thermal control unit to control water flow to the amps when needed



This next picture is under the left (passenger) side of the boot with the one of the custom panels lifted. There are 3 amps, crossover, coolant reservoir etc. Against the rear left guard (can't see it because of the amps) was the 20psi water pump



This is the point in time when I said "Shite. I thought I'd finish this before dinner time". Note the quality Bosch electric screw driver. A real man's electric screw driver



Here's the boot cleared of almost everything, ready for the OEM trim to be fitted.



I'll remove the head unit and the remaining wiring when I get closer to putting in the new stereo. I'll be putting in a new usb head unit, 6" splits and one sub woofer to replace it all.

Hope you found it interesting.

 

Mate,

You couldn't fit the targas in the back. I weighed my car before I removed the stereo. I'll weigh it again next week and let you know. I'm guessing around 30kg with the reservoir, pump and piping filled with coolant.

 

curious.. why buy a car with that sound system in it just to remove it :S ..

but otherwise that looked like a day and a half worth of work, someone went to some trouble playing around with that set up and as for the thermal control gear.... well, i hope the car came with sound-off trophy's

 

that person was comitted to their music that system is just crazy i would keep the water cooling amp system as that is a very unique setup i have only ever heard of this but never seen it good luck with the removal

 

if ur selling this then sell it all together so sum1 can just replicate the setup in their Z, be a shame to see it all parted out.

 

Good question. You can see from when bRACKET was buying his Zed that I am a tight f#$ker when it comes to buying cars. Bling on cars doesn't mean shite when you negotiate price. I told the seller straight away that a $12,000 stereo hasn't added any value to the car and I'll be tearing it out. I told him I'd have to take an amount off his asking price because of the trouble of removing the stereo.

To be honest, I think the seller didn't really know what was under those panels too.

No trophies either. I think On Trak went broke later on (probably from installing this stereo).

 

Sad thign is some of the Z's for sale the owners dont have half a clue about there car, they take it somewhere, say i want this, hand over $10000... get the car back... its why if i ever get another Z id much rather spend the $$$ and buy off a well known forum member.

 

Yeah mate. That's what I'll do. I'll list the items with one price next week (after Uni exam). See if anyone is interested.

I do prefer the space though. I can get my work tools, targa tops, etc. in the boot now. My wife took the beast for a cruise this morning to go to her mother's group and she could fit the pram in the back!

I'll be looking at a slimline 10" sub to sit against the back right guard in the future too. Doesn't take up too much room there.

 

At first reading the title i was going to comment saying BS!

But pictures do tell a thousand words.

That setup, albeit very 90s styled, is insane.

As mentioned above, keep it as a kit and sell it to someone complete. But not for 6 grant. That would just be nasty.

 

The sub box is a pretty cool idea though. The materials don't look great, but I like the effect..

 

Why did you wanna pull it out? Bet it sounded awesome. If you wanted to turn the audio stuff into cash then i spose that would be a reason.

Otherwize I think i would have just left it there

 

i would have left it in there, looks like a very nice subtle install

 

hey tektrader. Read my first posts. Need the space rather than the sound. It did sound good but i honestly don't need a stereo system with so much power that it needed to be watercooled. It was like having chernobyl in your boot

 

I reckon

you should through the back seat out, and use that as boot space for the slabs. It has its own radiator... LOL, that is spinning me out.

"chernobyl in your boot" :rofl:

 

i dont know why all that stuff was hidden if it was a show setup.

the cooling is for wank factor esp in a sq comp setup i bet the gear never reached overheating temps even without the cooling so kinda confusing why it wasnt shown off in a nice display

any amp these days can eat the quality/power of those anyway...

no way in hell anything there is worth 12k today.

 

lol 12k hahah oh dear.. looks more like 2k worth of stuff if that

 

I'll answer this in a few parts.

Would I install a stereo that needed water cooling? No. I couldn't justify the expense. I really don't need that kind of performance for my bad taste in music.

Did that specific setup in my boot need watercooling? If you look closely the amps are stacked. The top amp is a PrecisionPower A204.2 (haven't unstacked the other 2 to find what PrecisionPower model they are yet). If you know your car audio, you know this was the sh!t back in the day. 3 stacked amps drawing power for 3 subs and 2 splits will generate heat. The original owner (I am the third owner but I tracked down the original owner to find out the history of the car) admitted he was taken for a ride on this setup - Young and cashed up in pharmaceuticals money. They sold him the best gear 'cause he was willing to pay anything.

Why wasn't it shown off? It's a 90s setup - Fibreglass, perspex and MDF weren't as widely used. The owner also wanted stealth instead of show too. Less to attract car thieves.

Do I think the system was bought and fitted for $12,000? Yes. The original owner admitted he was taken for a ride; He had no incentive to lie. He didn't sell me the car. Gold was used for many connectors and the wiring is all good quality. The labour alone would've been days to plan, to shape the boxes, panels, wire up, etc. etc.

Do I think its worth $12,000 today? Certainly not. I bought the car for Jap spec NA auto money. The seller needed a very quick sale as they'd over stretched on another car purchase. I don't buy any car for its modifications (unless its quality and there are PLENTY of receipts).

 

parts plus labour will equal 12k..

to put that in would of taken about a week to do..

labor alone would of been somewhere in the 3-4k range.

nice SQ amps.
if you do want to seperate let me know im instrested in amps,tuners and cooling system..

 

You could cook an egg on my system. At peak load on big bass the subs alone draw over 180amps! 3500watts RMS will do that!