Now on to the audio system, which is being done in stages. The first stage was to install a Kenwood KDC-MP919 AM/FM/CD/MP3 receiver in a Metra underdash housing.

At the time I added the receiver I had given tought to mounting it in the dash where the factory radio currently resides, which would mean cutting the metal dashboard. Since I knew that I would be making a number of changes, like the addition of a factory A/C setup, and a custom center console after locating a set of factory bucket seats, I took the easy way out. At the same time I installed a Sirius satellite radio tuner, making this probably the only Rambler equipped with MP3 and satellite radio capabilities.

Since the vinyl door trim panels were in remarkably good shape for being more than 30 years old, I decided to take some of the excess aqua vinyl seat material and make new door trim panels to mount the Polk/MOMO 6-inch separates in basically the same position as I mounted the Peerless drives back in 1972. This was an easy process since all it required was going to my local Lowe's and having them cut the thinnest fiberboard they had available to the exact size of the original panels. I was able to get panels so thin that the original stainless steel molding fit over the panels even after the vinyl was applied to the new panels.

In the trunk, the area that gets the most attention at shows, is the installation of a Bazooka NOS8 bass tube. The NOS8 tube provides a surprising amount of bass when driven by the bridged channel of the 3-channel Clif Designs amplifier, also mounted temporarily in the trunk. Ultimately, when a full 5.1 system is installed, a second Clif Designs amplifier will be installed, both mounted on the inside of the rear of the trunk.

The system sounds quite good right now, in my opinion the sound reproduced by the Polk/MOMO MM6 separates clearly place them at or near the top in the six-inch separates category and it's fun to have hundreds of sixties and seventies songs converted to MP3 files, playable on the Kenwood receiver. The bass from the NOS8 is solid and powerful and the system is a crowd pleaser when I crank it at local cruise events.