Well, it’s been several weeks since I actually GOT my HB 228 VX kit, and I FINALLY got the installation done this week. I probably REALLY overdid the complication…I couldn’t have just the stock horn and the Shockers…OH no…I had to have THREE noisemakers!! Good thing I don’t own a big truck…I’d probably have a K3, a couple Shockers, a K5LA…
Anyway, enough chatter…Here are some pictures, and a bit of a description…
Here’s the total set of air horns…Shockers on the left, and an old set of Hadleys that I’ve had for over 20 years…
http://www.trainhornforums.com/album.php?albumid=122&pictureid=803
Next up is a set of Wolo Bad Boys, already mounted in the car. For anyone that might be interested, I found that the stock bracket can be used like I did here to hang it exactly like it’s supposed to…I’ve heard from others that it does NOT like being laid sideways…they need to be straight up just like this. I do know this…I tried it turned on its side, and it has this puny little squeak before they start to blow, and they don’t blow with much authority either. They’re simple to mount like this, though…just extend the wires from the stock horn to the other side. The main thing that is noticeable in this photo is that the horn is on the passenger side, whereas the stock mounting is on the driver’s side (USA cars, that is!! lol)
http://www.trainhornforums.com/album.php?albumid=122&pictureid=804
Next up is a shot of the Hadleys tucked in underneath the headlight on the driver’s side. They’re pretty much totally buried, but one of the trumpets is actually right out where the stock horn was, and the other one is not significantly obstructed.
http://www.trainhornforums.com/album.php?albumid=122&pictureid=805
This is the full set…on the left the Wolo is in plain sight, the shockers are zip-tied into place (no holes drilled anywhere in the body…not for tubing, or wiring…NOTHING. I want it to be able to be put back to stock with no hint that there was anything other than a stock car here). If you look closely, you can see one of the Hadley trumpets peeking out from under the headlight…it’s in the same relative position as the Wolo is on the other side.
http://www.trainhornforums.com/album.php?albumid=122&pictureid=806
The one thing that someone familiar with smart cars will notice that the radiator shroud is missing…that was the only “casualty” to make this work. The shroud itself is made of Coroplast (basically plastic cardboard…sign material…cut to fit), so I plan at some time in the not-too-distant future to get a piece of it and use the stock one for a pattern to cut a new one with the cutouts for the trumpet bodies. Sure would be a lot easier if the bells were threaded into place like my Hadleys…(sigh).
And of course, we can’t leave out the air supply. The only thing I don’t have done here yet is to make a base or a box to fit the whole thing…I’m leaning towards some kind of stealth setup, perhaps a box painted black so it’s basically invisible from the outside.
http://www.trainhornforums.com/album.php?albumid=122&pictureid=808
I also made a switch box for everything. I wanted to be able to turn things on and off at will, so here’s a shot of that. All of the horns work through the stock horn button, and I can select any horn individually or all of them at one time, at any time it suits me. It’s not bolted down on purpose…I really don’t like drilling holes in a new car…it sits on the floor, and there’s enough wire so it will just slip under the driver’s seat, completely out of sight when I need it to be (such as if I happen to have an encounter with “the man” wanting to know if I had air horns on my car…). I came across these colored safety covers, so in order from left to right: Compressor (I thought blue would be a good choice for air), Shockers, Hadleys, and Wolo. As they appear in this photo the compressor, Shockers, and Hadleys are deactivated, but I deliberately installed the Wolo switch backwards so it would be ON when I click the safety cover. This is to simplify things, especially for my wife. All she has to know is to put all the covers DOWN, and she won’t have to worry about setting off the Shockers. She wears hearing aids, and to her the Shockers are the equivalent of an earthquake!! It’ll also expedite things if I have to answer to Johnny Law in the event of a stop…“Pardon me sir, do you have AIR HORNS installed in this car??” “Yes sir…would you like a demonstration?” TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET (Wolos only)…“Hmmmm…I see…well…I just heard something that sounded an AWFUL lot like a TRAIN…and the sound seemed to be coming from your car…”
http://www.trainhornforums.com/album.php?albumid=122&pictureid=809
And last but not least…all buttoned up, except for reinstalling the license plate…
http://www.trainhornforums.com/album.php?albumid=122&pictureid=810
Hope y’all enjoy the view…I haven’t laughed this hard in a good long while…the Shockers are BRUTALLY LOUD!!! (Especially in the tunnel I go through on my way home from work every night!! :D)
They’re so freakin’ loud they COMPLETELY cover up the Wolos, and the Hadleys are the same pitch but an octave higher than a couple of notes from the Shockers. Sounds WAY COOL!!
Doug
And speaking of the tunnel…here’s a short video of them in action…in that tunnel…
