Classic Toyota Land Cruiser Audio System Upgrade For Lehighton Client

A local client brought his 1974 Toyota Land Cruiser to Mobile Edge for an audio system upgrade. The client had been looking for a parts donor truck for another project, but when he saw this one, he had to buy it. After driving it, he quickly realized that the audio system wasn’t going to cut it, so he came to us.

This client had some defined guidelines for the installation – he wanted to try to keep the dash looking relatively stock, and he didn’t want to give up a lot of cargo room in the rear. We had a look at the truck and then showed the client a few amplifier, speaker and subwoofer options. With a plan in place, we scheduled an appointment to start the transformation.

Keep It Looking Clean

The under-seat mount for the radio keeps the dash looking stock.

An ABS mounting plate was fabricated to hold the factory-spec radio.

We started the project by removing a not-so-vintage tape deck from the dash. We had to create a new mounting plate out of ABS plastic to cover the somewhat-ugly opening. We installed a factory-style twin-shaft radio in the new plate to keep the interior looking original.

The client chose a JVC KD-R97MBS Marine CD receiver to control the new system. We installed the new radio in a plastic radio enclosure that mounts to a welded bracket under the passenger seat. We made the bracket from 1-inch steel strips that attach to the factory seat brackets. We painted the mounting bracket black to protect it from salt and grime while helping to conceal it.

The Fun Stuff – Amps, Speakers and Subs

The metal bracket was fabricated to hold the radio and the amplifier.

The amplifier tucks away under the seat, mounted to the back of the radio mounting frame.

The front doors were upgraded with Memphis 3-way speakers.

PowerBass provided the bass for this Land Cruiser audio system.

We installed a Hertz HCP 5D five-channel amplifier on the rear half of the custom mounting bracket. The amplifier provides up to 65 watts per channel into the four main speakers and 330 watts for the subwoofer. We installed a set of Memphis Car Audio Power Reference series PRX65 three-way coaxial speakers in the front doors. We also installed a second set of PRX65 speakers in the rear panels of the cargo area.

Since the client didn’t want to use up much space in the cargo area, we suggested the PowerBass P-WB101T truck enclosure. This enclosure has a single 10-inch subwoofer in a compact sealed design. We placed the enclosure against the side of the truck on the right.

We wrapped up the installation by going through the settings on the amplifier, using our test equipment to make sure it played loud without distorting or risking damage to the speakers.

Client Loved The Land Cruiser Audio Upgrades!

Once we were done, the client returned to have a listen. He loved the way it sounded.

If you have a unique audio system project, bring it to Mobile Edge in Lehighton, Pennsylvania. We’d love to help! Contact us here if you have any questions.