VINTAGE COOLER STEREO

The Geeks among us will understand the need to mash together a vintage cooler and a tower stereo. The cooler no longer cooled and the stereo was looking kind of rough but still worked well. Seemed like a perfect combo to me. It looks great, is a good conversation piece and sounds terrific too.

Supplies

Obviously, a cooler is required. The older the better, and a stereo that can be taken apart. Mine had AM/FM, Bluetooth, USB and SD card, Aux, and Remote Control.

Step 1: Prepare the Stereo

Begin by tearing the stereo apart. I was able to remove the back, to which the power supply and radio/ amplifier module were attached. The control panel was glued to the top and just pried off. I numbered the speakers and their wires, then cut the wires. Everything came apart easily and no other wires had to be cut, except the power cord. The speaker surrounds just popped out, and each speaker was held in place by 4 screws. I kept a piece of the front panel to use as a template for the speaker mounting holes and surround holes then discarded the rest of the cabinet.

Step 2: Prepare the Cooler

My cooler was in rough shape with many dents and the bottom was quite corroded. I wanted to keep the vintage patina while refurbishing the cooler. First, I removed the drain from the bottom left side. I used an 11/16th inch socket wrench to unscrew it while holding the nut on the inside with a pair of Vise Grips. The metal interior then lifted right out. I also removed the fiberglass insulation and discarded it. The inside bottom was sprayed with a rust converter to stabilize it and prevent further corrosion. At this point all the dents just pushed out with gentle hand pressure. To give it rigidity, and prevent further denting I lined the interior with corrugated cardboard, using construction adhesive to hold it in place. This was also to improve the tonal quality.

The speakers required a 3 inch hole and after determining their location, I used an electric drill and hole saw to cut them out. Using the template, I mentioned earlier, I marked locations for the speaker mounting screws and surrounds.

I measured the location for the control panel on the lid and cut the hole 1/2" smaller then the unit using an angle grinder with a thin metal cutting disk.

Step 3: Assemble and Complete Wiring

The control panel was held in place with epoxy glue. The speakers were re- installed with the original screws and the surrounds just popped into place in the holes drilled as per the template. Note: Although all speakers were the same diameter, two are tweeters (high sounds) and two are woofers (low sounds)These are longer in shape. Make sure you connect them as they were. I placed the woofers on the bottom and the tweeters on top. A board was glued to the bottom and the power unit and radio amplifier modules were screwed to it. Connections to the speaker could then be re- soldered. I routed the power cord through the drain hole but inserted a plastic grommet to keep it from chafing against the metal, then re-connected it. Also, the radio unit had an antenna wire. Since the box is metal, and may impede the reception of signals I attached the antenna wire to the metal cabinet with a spade lug making the entire cabinet an antenna. (Or, you could extend it outside the box)

Considering that everything I used was re- used or re-cycled, the modification didn't cost me a cent and was an enjoyable build, giving new life to both items. It also re- cemented my position as neighbourhood geek and weirdo, which I cherish.