Casual Cruiser

Tell us about your new PPV, show us some pictures, let us know how you did what you did!
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tvallaro
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2020 4:25 am

Casual Cruiser

Post by tvallaro »

I purchased my 2015 Caprice a year ago this month to be used as my daily and had mentioned on the forum that I would do I write up on my rear speaker install, both rear door and rear deck. I finished the install in January, 2021, but never posted. Before I get into the speaker install details, here is what I have done with the car over the past year.

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  • Changed interior lighting to super bright LEDs
  • Powder coated and installed 2015 18” Camaro wheels. I used Speed Powder Coating, West Chicago, Illinois
  • Installed fog lights
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  • Purchased repeaters/side markers. Still need to paint, wire, and install
  • Added 10k to the odometer
Tim Vallaro

2015 Caprice 9C1
1981 C10 (5.3)

Rear Speaker Solution for 2014+:
http://www.newcaprice.com/forum/viewtop ... 792#p34888
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tvallaro
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2020 4:25 am

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install

Post by tvallaro »

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install 1

I purchased a 4-channel Sony amp (XMS400D) and have successfully powered the rear door speakers as well as a set of Chevy SS 8” BOSE rear deck subwoofers. I used 2-channel high-level inputs from the rear door speakers and am outputting 4 channels (2 door stock speakers using high pass filter, 2 rear deck chevy ss subwoofers using low pass filter). The sound in the car is great and the bass from the dual 8” rear deck subs really adds a ton to any music. Without this upgrade, this car’s stereo was sub-par.

Interior Removal
The first step is to rip out the interior to gain access to the rear deck, the hidden rear door speakers, and the wire harnesses along the inside of the rocker panels on each side of the car. To install the factory Chevy SS subwoofers you will also need to pop out the metal blanks on the rear deck

Interior items removed:
Rear door panels, rear seat, trim around seat, trim below both rear doors, lower B-pillar trim (both side), and rear deck pad.
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Wiring Door and Deck Speakers
For rear door speaker wiring you will need locate and cut the rear door speaker wires on each side of the car at the base of the B pillars. One cut end will be wired to feed the high-level input on the amp (signal from head unit to amp). The other cut end will be wired to the amplifier output using a high pass filter (signal from amp to speaker).

Wiring:
Left Rear Speaker Negative……………GN/BK
Left Rear Speaker Positive……………GN
Right Rear Speaker Negative……………BU/BK
Right Rear Speaker Positive……………WH
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Attachments
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Last edited by tvallaro on Wed Dec 15, 2021 3:28 am, edited 3 times in total.
Tim Vallaro

2015 Caprice 9C1
1981 C10 (5.3)

Rear Speaker Solution for 2014+:
http://www.newcaprice.com/forum/viewtop ... 792#p34888
User avatar
tvallaro
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2020 4:25 am

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install

Post by tvallaro »

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install 2

Wiring Door and Deck Speakers Continued

Solder and shrink wrap wires (or your preferred method). Use existing cable trays and harnesses to route your new wires to your amp and speakers
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Since you will be adding the subwoofers, wire them to the amp using low pass output. I was not able to locate a mating connector for the subwoofers so I made my own. Pictured below are the stock chevy SS subwoofers. They come assembled into a plastic frame that drop into place and attach with sheet metal screws (holes in the plastic frame line up with holes in the deck).
2014-2017 Chevy SS Rear Deck Speakers: GM 92456820
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Last edited by tvallaro on Wed Dec 15, 2021 2:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
Tim Vallaro

2015 Caprice 9C1
1981 C10 (5.3)

Rear Speaker Solution for 2014+:
http://www.newcaprice.com/forum/viewtop ... 792#p34888
User avatar
tvallaro
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2020 4:25 am

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install

Post by tvallaro »

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install 3

Relocating Rear Door Speakers
The stock rear door speakers are hidden behind the door panel. The simple solution would be to cut a hole in the door panel, then add a grill over the top. The issue is that the speaker location interferes with the “armrest” and looks out of place in my opinion. I decided to relocate the speaker to a more aesthetically pleasing location and cover it with a custom-made grill.
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NOTE: I did not need to remove or tear the plastic barrier behind the speaker (shown above)



The stock speaker wire harness from the car is not long enough so I added a mating harness to the speaker using a harness I found online that looked right…. And it worked.
Metra 72-5600: Ford Speaker Harness 1998-UP
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I used the front door speaker grill design as reference to copy the design styling for the rear speaker grills. I created the design in CAD, then 3D printed the grills. The speaker grill mounts through the door panel onto to the existing plastic speaker frame. The door panel is sandwiched between the speaker and the grill so now when I remove the door panel, the speaker comes along for the ride. In the bottom picture below the speaker is attached to the backside of the door panel.
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Tim Vallaro

2015 Caprice 9C1
1981 C10 (5.3)

Rear Speaker Solution for 2014+:
http://www.newcaprice.com/forum/viewtop ... 792#p34888
User avatar
tvallaro
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2020 4:25 am

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install

Post by tvallaro »

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install 4

Rear Deck Speaker Grills
The 2014-2017 Chevy SS speaker covers for the rear deck fit on the caprice rear deck pad. The pad has raised areas that line up with the shape of the grill. I cut holes in the rear deck pad, then attached the grills.
2014-2017 Chevrolet SS Speaker Grille. GM 92267677
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Tim Vallaro

2015 Caprice 9C1
1981 C10 (5.3)

Rear Speaker Solution for 2014+:
http://www.newcaprice.com/forum/viewtop ... 792#p34888
User avatar
tvallaro
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2020 4:25 am

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install

Post by tvallaro »

2015 Caprice Rear Speaker Upgrade/Install 5

Interior Install
Reinstall your interior. The rear deck with the new speaker grill fits over the newly installed rear desk speakers without interference.
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Wiring the Amp
I will follow up on this post in a few days because I do not have all the details or pictures. I do know that the amp is hidden behind the trunk liner near the primary battery and fuse panel. I used an existing ground and was able to locate a 12V+ key-on for the amps power signal (fused). The main 12V+ power for the amp is connect directly to the battery (fused).
Tim Vallaro

2015 Caprice 9C1
1981 C10 (5.3)

Rear Speaker Solution for 2014+:
http://www.newcaprice.com/forum/viewtop ... 792#p34888
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elc32955
System Manager
Posts: 2718
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:32 am
Location: East Central Florida
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Re: Casual Cruiser

Post by elc32955 »

Tim,

Have you thought about mass-producing a test quantity of those grills for resale? Looks a hell of a lot better then the 4-inch grills from EBAY that most of us have used to date.

Thanks for the detailed tutorial, awaiting the rest with eager anticipation!

Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
JUNKYARD_JACK
Posts: 134
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 10:13 am

Re: Casual Cruiser

Post by JUNKYARD_JACK »

I'll be following this closely because I definitely need more sound in my caprice.
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Mooseman
Posts: 1075
Joined: Mon Jun 12, 2017 11:35 pm
Location: Ottawa, ON Canada
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Re: Casual Cruiser

Post by Mooseman »

Nice work and your Cap looks good too.
2011 Caprice PPV, former RCMP test vehicle, never put into service
Build Thread: http://www.newcaprice.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2419
Turbopowered68
Posts: 141
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2020 7:09 pm

Re: Casual Cruiser

Post by Turbopowered68 »

Thanks
Badass
2014 Caprice V8
Elgin E-1840 P, LS9 Head gasket, LS7 Lifters, PAC-1218 springs, Trunion upgrade, Single roller timing set, Melling oil pump, ZL1 torque converter, Camaro Trans pan and filter.
1986 GN
212/212 Roller cam, 1.65 HR Rockers, 60-1 turbo, XFI 2.05, E85, Ebay Front mount IC, Husek Built TH200-4R trans, 3.42 gears 3800# .
1968 Chevelle
LQ4, 4L80, 12 bolt w/3.42 gears
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