1999 Ford F-150

Whether trying to perfect your system's imaging by having fiberglass kick panels made or building your own enclosure, getting custom with your install can get expensive fast. But it doesn't have to. By using simple-to-install prefabricated components, you can get yourself a unique system that looks and sounds great for a reasonable price. Add in a little creativity and you can build on to these pieces to enhance the custom aspect.

This brings us to this '99 Ford F150 extended cab. By utilizing several manufactured components, such as kick panels, sub enclosure and dash kit, we were able to produce a system that not only sounds good, but didn't break the bank. We also applied some creative touches to really make our system stand out or blend in as the case may be. Using these prefab components cut our cost considerably and the results speak for themselves.

DashRemoval of the factory deck meant leaving a DIN-and-half-size hole in the dash. To fit the Kenwood KDC-X879 head unit and fill the space, a Scosche FD1423B dash kit was modified. The mounting tabs were removed and a metal screen was glued over the pocket opening. This was then glued to the factory radio bezel. Then the metal screen and surrounding gaps were blended in using some reinforced body filler and bondo. The finished piece was textured and painted to match for a seamless, factory look. A Kenwood KTC-HR100 HD Radio receiver sits out of sight just below the radio.

Sub enclosure and AmprackBuilding a box under the rear seat would be difficult and time consuming, so a Q-Logic QL-C1FFX108 enclosure was used to reinforce the output of the single 8" Rockford Fosgate P2D28 subwoofer. However, to give the system a custom, uniform look, the plastic fascia of the Q-Logic enclosure was removed so that an interior-matching vinyl-covered trim panel could be built the width of the rear bench. The space not occupied by the enclosure was used to house the two Rockford Fosgate Power amplifiers: a bridged T400-2 supplies up to 400 watts to the subwoofer, while a T600-2 runs the P152S component speakers and rear P1572C coaxials (through an 8-ohm resistor to attenuate their output appropriately).

To keep with the uniform look, the faceplate of the amprack sits flush with the trim panel, hiding the amps. A pair of heavy-duty locking drawer slides allows the amprack and faceplate to be pulled out and reveal the two flushed-in Power amps. Once the drawer is opened, the flush mounting plate surrounding the amplifiers can be removed if gain or preamp adjustments are necessary.

Kick panels and A-pillarsTo save time and money, a pair of Q-Logic QL-K2010 kick panels designed specifically for F150s was used. Although they match well, the plastic they're derived from is a little on the thin side, so the backside was treated with Liquid Nails to add stiffness (see sidebar) and Accumat to reduce resonance.