Mini Team Zapco Member Wins MECA Kids Shootout at SBN!

Team Zapco member Steve McIntyre has turned his passion for car audio into a family affair. Steve started out as an installer back in 1991, competed for the first time in 1994, and took second at the IASCA World Finals in 1995. I was invited to dinner with Team Zapco the final evening of SBN this year, and had the pleasure of meeting Steve and his family.

Steve and his 11-year old daughter Andrea (who is also a Team Zapco member) built this Jeep Powerwheels to compete in the MECA Kids  series. The project took one weekend to complete, and has about as much gear as a regular full car audio system (complete system list after the jump)! Andrea helped her father build the car, shooting most of the brads for the subwoofer box, running wires, and painting the car.

All the work paid off too, as Andrea took home two first place trophies at the end of the weekend! We've got some pics and video of Andrea and Jeep Powerwheels after the jump.

NEW Zapco I-Force Hit Stores

Zapco's new iForce line is hitting stores now:
    "The New I-force line has hit the stores with a Bang. Going to a more "family" look is one of just many improvements in the line up. I-force customers will also be able to get the ability to run Symbilink technology in there cars to decrease noise levels and improve signal strength from lower quality head units. Also the new chassis design allows for a more efficient chassis which in turn enables the I-force to have increased power on each unit.
Also to the line up was the addition of some power house I-Force amps. New to the line up are the I-600.1, I-1200.1, I-4100.4 and the I-5100.7.  Shipping now are the I-250.2,I-2100.2, I-450.4, I-4100.4 and the I-600.1. By the end of the summer the I-1200.1 and I-5100.7 will be available. Contact your local authorized Zapco dealer for further information."

My old Zapco AG650 was one of my favorite amps. Not many manufacturers use balanced line technology (like Zapco's Symbilink) anymore. But the high-voltage balanced line signal can really step up your audio system by eliminating radiated noise into the audio signal, not to mention provide up to 9-volts of signal to your amplifier! And lucky for you, Zapco's new iForce can take advantage of the Symbilink technology!  The new amps follow Zapco's tradition of "simple and sweet", which is cool because (no offense to Zapco) the other I-Force amps were pretty darn gawdy! Check it all out at Zapco's website!

in the forums!

Source: Zapco

Project Car: 1969 Camaro Overhaul

One of the current projects in the HzEmall shop is a classic 1969 Camaro RS. We're re-doing almost every aspect of the car from the wiring to the upholstery, adding air ride, and dropping in an LS2/6 speed motor/tranny conversion. It's going to be quite an overhaul, but when it's finally complete, it will be well worth it. Here's our victim:

We'll have some better pics for you when the job is done!

Center Console
When we got the car it had a GTO console in it, but I can’t even really begin to describe how poorly it was installed...it wasn't pretty. Anyways, it had to be fixed, so we added it to the list.

Here's the before (and yes, that is carpet wrapped around the front, and yes it looked like he trimmed it with a sawzall).

Make sure to check out the rest of the build after the jump. You won't be disappointed!

in the forums!

Pretty Perfect IS300 with Plenty of Punch Inside & Out

Josh and the guys at JML Audio just wrapped up a pretty damn impressive install in a 2002 Lexus IS300. First off, this is no show queen. In the end, the owner wanted a car that was "trackable, showable, and daily drivable". The car is loaded with a complete Clarion multimedia/navigation system with all the trimmings, Dynaudio speakers with custom grilles, Zapco amps mounted on a custom steel rack, Treo subs in custom-fit fiberglass enclosures, and Stinger wiring to tie it all together. But don't go thinking this is an all-show-no-go enthusiast car.... This Lex sports a turbocharged 2JZ motor, standalone Motec M4 engine management system, a HUGE front-mount intercooler, and pumps out about 540hp at the wheels!

A lot of the underhood work was already completed when it arrived, but JML cleaned up some of the previous work and, along with the full ICE install, put in over 300 hours of custom work. So not only did they create an amazing install (pics after the jump), but they also changed out dash lighting, worked on the turbo's wiring, fabricated a custom gauge pod and a battery housing, and added a set of beautiful Recaro racing seats. In the end, the customer was elated with the amazing work JML performed, and for good reason. Check it out for yourself - pics after the jump!

This Boat Goes up to 11... Maybe Even 12!

For a typical boat owner, four coaxial speakers and a CD player is considered enough. People who want more might add an amplifier and a set of tower speakers, then call it good. But the guys at JML Audio in St. Louis, MO got a customer who wanted to be able to turn his 26' Sea Ray boat all the way up to 11, so Joshua Landau and his team designed and integrated a system which includes a laundry list of awesome gear. The boat is packing five Zapco amplifiers, two Clarion CD players, dual Clarion audiophile CD changers, two iPods, a pair of Clarion satellite radio tuners, a Microsoft Xbox, 16 Dynaudio and Treo speakers and a 19" LCD monitor. A little over the top? Sure. But what else would you expect from one of the top 100 installers and top 50 audio retailers in the US?

Click the images to jump to JML's site for more info and pics