After all the aftermarket parts were bolted on Ricky
was satisfied, but only for a short time. He soon decided his truck needed something more.
That is when the stereo installation began. The Ranger spent every bit of three months at
Installations Unlimited, a local audio store, also in Ponca City. The first process of the
installation was to totally gut the interior and do extensive sound deadening. Double
layers of Roack Kill sound damping material were used on all interior surfaces. A Stinger
150 amp, high-output alternator was installed with an upgraded charging cable for better
current transfer, and an 0t guage cable running from the battery under the hood to the one
in the bed. In
the cab there are a set of Kicker RS5.2 speakers in the Q-form kick panels and in the
factory locations in the doors, and a set of Kicker F6.5C-4 speakers in the factory
locations in the extended cab. A set of Kicker ND25a tweeters were isntalled in the air
vents and angled for optimum imaging. The grills covering the tweeters were made from
expanded metal, the covered with speaker cloth. There are four Kicker Solobaric 15-inch
subwoofers in the bed of the truck. The factory double-din radio compartment was modified
to a single-din and a Clarion DRX-9375 CD player was installed. There was no passenger
airbag installed by Ford, so Ricky decided to make it into a crossover access
panel/display. A plasma cutter was used to cut a hole in the back of the cab and front of
the bed. In the bed, again, extensive sound deadening measures were taken. First a layer
of Road Kill was applied then spray-on sound deadening was added. All of the cabinents in
the bed were fabricated out of 3/4-inch MDF. The bed lining had to be reinforced with 5
gallons of fiberglass resin, then it was upholstered and a mirror was installed on the
under-side.
The amplifier rack in
the bed holds four different amplifiers with heat sink links between to give a unified
look. Kicker XS100, ZR460, ZR600, and ZR120 were the amplifiers of choice. The ourboard
processor in mounted under the amplifier rack in the bed. |