Bentley From the original 3 Litre to the current Continental GT and Mulsanne

My Ben Hur Install

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  #31  
Old 06-18-2020 | 04:30 PM
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Perhaps you can design some sort of wire pulley like an emergency fuel cap release that tethers through the ski hatch prior to Sub box install.
 
  #32  
Old 06-18-2020 | 06:19 PM
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Originally Posted by British
Very nice. I didn't pay attention to my installer, who put an 8" in instead of your 12".

After heavy use, it now crackles at high volume. When I spec'ed it out, I said, "I'm not a Baller, I don't need to set off car alarms."

Little did I know, I did in fact need to set off car alarms. I'm still 17 years old I guess.

I went back and said, "Ok, design me a thumping' bass upgrade", he came back with a $2,000 quote and I lost interest. I'm already into this thing for $7k and as I've mentioned, I don't get $7k worth of sound out of it.

I'll probably just upgrade to a 12" and leave it at that. Haven't driven the car in three months, so nothing urgent.
Yea British, they are not the only game in town to go too. Do you have any pictures of your box in your trunk? Any good shop can build you a nice solid box to your new sub specs. All you need is a bigger amp to drive it. All the wires are already in place. I’m ball parking just the box made and install shouldn’t be over $500. All the hard work is done already. After they quoted me my price I had to dust off the old installation tool from when I use to work at Circuit City 🤣 and start on my own stuff. I get they do a lot of high end cars and celebrity’s stuff but sometimes you just know when ppl are going off of name reputation. They are good but damn!!
 
  #33  
Old 06-18-2020 | 11:19 PM
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Originally Posted by AJ1
Perhaps you can design some sort of wire pulley like an emergency fuel cap release that tethers through the ski hatch prior to Sub box install.
Looking at Johnny's photo, seems like there is a lever behind the RHS rear seat. Looking inside my boot lid - there is no emergency release handle on the boot lid like it says in the handbook. If you get stuck in the boot, not much chance of getting out it seems.



I opened the boot today after washing off some of the concrete dust and it was rather wet. Pulled the panel off and checked the pipes, both were still attached ( just handing on) , but had folded flat as they go around the bend as they enter the boot frame. Going to get a couple of 90 Deg elbows to fix that and put a clamp around the connection at the bottom of the bootlid. Three of the plastic clips came off the soaked cardboard cover, so I will have to get some epoxy glue out ones it dries out and re stick them on.

I also managed to short out the boot light, which not only blew the fuse in the boot fuse box, but also the fuse for the Roof Control module.



At least now I can get on with building the subwoofer box.

 

Last edited by Iain 1250; 06-19-2020 at 04:56 AM.
  #34  
Old 06-19-2020 | 05:32 AM
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Been scouring the web for subwoofer installs in the GT, came across this one.


 
  #35  
Old 06-19-2020 | 06:39 AM
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Originally Posted by Iain 1250
Been scouring the web for subwoofer installs in the GT, came across this one.

https://youtu.be/WZ80dFlL6kw
I actually talked to him. Super nice guy, but if I remember correctly he wanted something like $30 grand for that install. It’s a LOT of detailed work but I don’t show off my cars like that. I just want it to be installed correctly, sound terrific and look right.
 
  #36  
Old 06-19-2020 | 03:58 PM
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Originally Posted by TeamJones1962
I actually talked to him. Super nice guy, but if I remember correctly he wanted something like $30 grand for that install. It’s a LOT of detailed work but I don’t show off my cars like that. I just want it to be installed correctly, sound terrific and look right.
Wow, that is close to what I paid for the whole car

It sure looks great though. Don't think mine will be anywhere that standard.
 
  #37  
Old 06-20-2020 | 05:11 AM
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The sub box is made, needs some sanding before I cover it with a decent carpet. This is just a test fit up, it will look better I promise How have you guys with sub boxes mounted it in the car. Don't want to drill any holes in something sensitive. The rear panel in the boot is just cardboard, I think I need to mount it to something more substantial. I will add some feet to the bottom, to make fit so that it covers the whole of the ski hatch.

 
  #38  
Old 06-20-2020 | 07:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Iain 1250
The sub box is made, needs some sanding before I cover it with a decent carpet. This is just a test fit up, it will look better I promise How have you guys with sub boxes mounted it in the car. Don't want to drill any holes in something sensitive. The rear panel in the boot is just cardboard, I think I need to mount it to something more substantial. I will add some feet to the bottom, to make fit so that it covers the whole of the ski hatch.

Looks nice! It’s a thread on here where Johnny shows Rico.Adams where he can screw into the car, check it out. I think it’s under Rico’s thread on installation.

I would get some angle “L” pieces and once in the correct place, carefully screw it in.
For mines, which may be overkill, when I start I’m going to remove the seats, line the box where I want it and drill through the sheetmetal to the box on both sides. Take the box out and install a long enough screw from the inside of the box to stick out the sheet metal some. With a washer and bolt, secure it to the car. Using rubber feet so the box is off the sheet metal about a quarter inch so there’s vibration going on. In my mind this will work 😂. And sound deaden the sheetmetal for good measure.
 

Last edited by TeamJones1962; 06-20-2020 at 07:48 AM.
  #39  
Old 06-20-2020 | 07:25 PM
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Originally Posted by TeamJones1962
Looks nice! It’s a thread on here where Johnny shows Rico.Adams where he can screw into the car, check it out. I think it’s under Rico’s thread on installation.

I would get some angle “L” pieces and once in the correct place, carefully screw it in.
For mines, which may be overkill, when I start I’m going to remove the seats, line the box where I want it and drill through the sheetmetal to the box on both sides. Take the box out and install a long enough screw from the inside of the box to stick out the sheet metal some. With a washer and bolt, secure it to the car. Using rubber feet so the box is off the sheet metal about a quarter inch so there’s vibration going on. In my mind this will work 😂. And sound deaden the sheetmetal for good measure.
I think that is a good plan, I'll pull the seats out and see what is behind it, then drill into the box from the inside of the car. I'll mount something on the front of the box to create 1" standoff, not sure how far the speaker will move out when the volume is up. I'm bit scared of drilling a hole in the fuel tank or something sensitive to try drilling downwards.

 
  #40  
Old 06-20-2020 | 07:40 PM
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Hello @Iain 1250 ,
Just be careful of the fuel tank.

Johnny

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  #41  
Old 06-20-2020 | 07:46 PM
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Thanks Johnny, definitely not drilling down now.
 
  #42  
Old 06-20-2020 | 07:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Iain 1250
Thanks Johnny, does that fit in the 2005 models? Did you manage to get it into yours?
@Iain 1250 ,
I am sorry, I missed this somehow, but, yes it does fit the 2005 body, although I see now that you went another route.
so answered for future reference .

Johnny
 
  #43  
Old 06-20-2020 | 07:54 PM
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One more item at the moment @Iain 1250 ,
Can you post a picture of the carpet liner for the bootlid, it should have a plastic lever for emergency escape from the boot, albeit an electrical switch lever that would do no good with dead batteries..
Then also the emergency release behind the rear seat is available.
 
  #44  
Old 06-21-2020 | 02:15 AM
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Spent half the day getting the subwoofer fitted, and wow, I am really impressed by this sub and they tiny amp, definitely worth the effort, has transformed the sound in the car, providing what was missing. I adjusted the crossover for the RCA output to the OEM speaker down to a high pass of 200hz. I let the amp look after the low pass filtering, set at 200hz. It sounded great, and of course I had to give it a test run, hope the neighbours liked AC/DC . Then I took it all apart again, now I need to get some matching carpet and cover it all properly.

This is what I ended up with. The big wooden blocks provide an offset for the the speaker cone, just in case it moves a lot. They are also where the bolts/screw comes into from behind the seat. I have brace the front panel, not sure is that is necessary but can't do much harm.

Once I've got the sub all sorted, I'll make something for the ski hatch, will try to match what Andy showed from his GTC.

This is all the bits and pieces, still looks a bit rough, but with some carpet it should come out looking a lot better, it sure works great.



The large Tek screws got through the steel panel, and the lining of the boot.



This is the matching Kenwood amp for the speaker, it is just a little monoblock amp . I mounted it to the side panel near the LH battery. Wire up directly to the battery terminal, with a big fuse inline.



With all the panels back it doesn't look out of place, and the controls are easy to get to.



This is my emergency release handle, will confirm that it works properly before I put the seats back in.



As requested Johnny, this is rear boot lid panel. No handle or wires to anything for an emergency release.



And the other side, you can see the water damage. I'll be epoxying the clips back on before I replace it, just have to wait for it to dry out properly.

 

Last edited by Iain 1250; 06-21-2020 at 04:01 AM.
  #45  
Old 06-22-2020 | 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by TeamJones1962
Yea British, they are not the only game in town to go too. Do you have any pictures of your box in your trunk? Any good shop can build you a nice solid box to your new sub specs. All you need is a bigger amp to drive it. All the wires are already in place. I’m ball parking just the box made and install shouldn’t be over $500. All the hard work is done already. After they quoted me my price I had to dust off the old installation tool from when I use to work at Circuit City 🤣 and start on my own stuff. I get they do a lot of high end cars and celebrity’s stuff but sometimes you just know when ppl are going off of name reputation. They are good but damn!!
Absolutely true. To be honest, I put in very high-end stuff and in the end, the sound isn't where I want it, mostly because of the speaker placement. The Ben Hur upgrade is a total P.I.T.A., it's too bad Bentley went with proprietary electronics that they didn't upgrade over time, costing us $2,500 just to put a different radio with bluetooth in.

One of the issues I had was that although they were expensive, they actually did the work. I called around/emailed around and the other competitive sound shops were simply full of yahoos. I got a quote from ABT for about the same system I ended up with, they quoted, and I'm not kidding, $17,000. What a joke. For those who don't know, around Chicago, ABT is the biggest electronics retailer in the city and often often has really good price.

The installer I used sold me on the fact that I could come in that day and see the current Bentley GT install they were doing. I did just that, they had the dash off, the technicians knew what they were doing and that sold me. The guy who tells YOU the challenges and solutions on working on a Bentley? That's worth its weight in gold, which is about what I paid. My shop had already done a handful of Ben Hur conversions, knew how to run the wires for the sub and backup camera.

I guess you get what you pay for, unless you're getting ripped off. This demarcation is hard to find at the prices we get charged. I've never gone into the dealer a single time, after all of the quotes guys have posted on here that are literally insane…$25k for an engine-out?

But my radio is good, it thumps nicely except when I have it up all the way and the bass cracks.

I suspect that I can even use my current box, I'll just have them put in a bigger speaker. I probably need a bigger amp, but a couple-hundred dollar top-end sub might be all I need. I can go to a yahoo shop for that, I just tell them the speaker I want in.

I have no pictures with me…but it's not exciting. It's just a black, carpeted box that doesn't take up much space.

I have no way to work on my car myself, so I'm beholden to these independents, I park mine in a valet-underground lot.
 


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