Amplifier mounting in w123 cars
 

Hi,

How has anyone mounted amplifiers in their w123?

Unlike my BMW, where the battery is in the rear and so powering is easy, it doesnt seem sensible to mount an amplifier on the forward wall of the trunk. Its a lot of wires run through the back of the car in the w123.

So that gives me the concept of underseat mounting. Makes it easy to pull speaker-level inputs and run a dedicated power line.

Id be thinking about something like the Alpine class D amplifiers like the MRX-F35.

I would not want to penetrate the floorpan, so mounting would need to be done some other way.

So how have folks mounted these?

Also does anyone have an underseat subwoofer in a w123?

I understand that this is a diesel forum, and there is an audio forum, but there is negligible W123 action over there... So Im hoping to get more views and experience from in here.

Thanks!

I installed a small 50 watt-per-channel amp under the dash of my '60 Fintail many years ago. Purpose was to deter theives by keeping my mono Becker visible in the dash, while driving a pair of two-way box-speakers mounted out of sight, below-behind the front seats. To the amp's input sockets, I cabled the headphone output from a Walkman or portable CD player, resting in the center-tray.

As for the W123, I've had the seats out of a couple of my 240Ds to fix the floors, and I'm considering adding an amp to my 300TD

A large amp won't fit under the dash or rear seat on the W123, so your best bet is under the front passenger seat. There's the added height adjusment mechanisim under the driver's seat, so I don't think an amp or subwoofer will fit there.
Without seeing the actual components or having their measurements, I don't know if an amp and subwoofer would both fit together under the passenger seat. I don't know if it's even OK to have them operating next to each other. You may have to install one of those components in the trunk.
However, on the W123 sedans, the fuel-tank is between the rear seat and trunk, so that's an added obstacle to mounting something back there.

As for mounting something under the front passenger seat without drilling holes in the car, you could fasten a steel strap across from the seat's rear mounting-bolts, and attach the amp or subwoofer to that.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Keep in mind, the forward wall of the trunk is just a piece of sheet metal held in with 4 8mm screrws, and behind it is the fuel tank. this will save you from starting a thread "Mysterious fuel leak in the trunk". :)

Charlie

I mounted an amp on the top of my trunk in the w126, fit very easily, just a couple sheet metal screws. Cut off an inch of too clearance but was otherwise out of the way. Grounded right to that metal too.

On my w124 I put it in between the side carpet and external sheet metal, wouldn't even know its there.

My Kenwood radio has a built in amplifier. Makes decent sound with the built-in speakers and has decent AM reception.

not sure how much clearance is available, but i wouldn't be surprised if a "slimline" subwoofer would fit under the seat. i have one in my truck.

Oh I know. Ive been around w123 cars long enough to recognize that issue, and it is yet another reason why I dont care to mount it there.

No offense, but Ive always disliked aftermarket head units because they are just too gawdy for my taste. I send my head units to Becker for refurbishment and ipod/aux input retrofit, and they work great. An external amplifier is my approach.

I had mounted a CD changer there on my '83 300D, and it worked fine. This should be shorter and the point of grounding directly is a good one...

I dont play rap music or need overwhelming bass, so the sub is less important, unless there is a real slimline unit that could be easily installed.

The amp Id consider is the following size: 9-7/8'' x 2-1/4'' x 9''
I like the idea of mounting it to straps under the seat.

My wife's integra had an aftermarket system in it when she bought it, and they fit amplifiers under the seats... A w123 has a lot more underseat space IMO.

My '60 Fintil came without a radio and no factory speaker-holes whatsoever. So that's the other reason I went with a small amp under the dash and two speakers on the floor. Playing my walkman or cd through that actually sonded pretty good.

My first 240D came with a dying Eclipse CD radio and blown-out speakers. That car wasn't in good enough shape to lavish evan an old Becker Europa. So I installed an '80s Pioneeer cassette-radio & speakers I salvaged from a neighbor's trashcan.
The Pioneer actually looked pretty good - tastefully black with round knobs for volume & tuning, and a tidy block of large station presets next to a simple LCD number display - not like the aftermarket mini-jukebox-videogames we have today.

Biggest flaw with the W123 sedans is the factory speaker locations. The front 3-inchers are OK for what they are, but they can only do so much. The biggest problem is that the rear shelf design frustrates attempts to install better speakers there. Even the 4-inch factory speakers would sound much better if the extra steel panel below the speaker-holes didn't block the trunkspace from being used as a sound-chamber.
I believe the double-wall rear shelf is a saftey feature so cutting sound holes isn't an option.

Like I did with the Fintail, on my current 240D I may try a set of two-way box speakers on the rear floor and see how much improvement there is over the stock setup.

Happy Motoring, Mark