Yes! Ken Henderson FINALLY Sees the (ICE) Light!
For years, “Boss Man” Shen, SPE Chief Engineer, Henry Shiao, and SPE all-around tech guru, Jason Reinholdt, have attempted to convince Ken Henderson to upgrade his strictly OEM audio system. For fourteen long years, they had failed…miserably. For all of those 14-years, Henderson’s response had been the same, “If it doesn’t help me go faster, accelerate quicker, brake better or corner harder, it does not go on the car.” We’re not sure what got Henderson to change his mind. We’re just happy that he did.
Now, SPE is not a specialized audio installer but, from the looks of Kristian Wong’s clean install, we might just be headed in that direction…nah, I think we’ll stick to engine builds…even though, in addition to Kristian, Shiao and Reinholdt also have exemplary in-car entertainment installation skills. Because SPE is the only shop to have ever touched Ken’s car, it is one of the very few cars, other than his own, that “Boss Man” Shen will allow shop personnel to work on in this regard.
Ken brought us a Clarion VX709 Double Din DVD unit, with a backup camera and navigation system to satisfy his audio and visual demands. Even with these significant upgrades, true to his performance-first personality, Ken left the OEM speakers/subwoofer in place but, believe me, it was a relief to finally see the 15-year old factory unit retire and its space become home to a new and more sophisticated unit.
First things first, rip out the old stereo and start cleaning up the wires. This was probably the most tedious task for Kristian. Basically, he had to remove the steering wheel, center console, shifter console and arm rest, rear seats and most of the plastic panels in the trunk. Additionally, the rear bumper was removed to install the wide-angle, rear view camera. Kristian started very carefully with fashioning a tiny hole in the bumper for the rear camera (approximately 3/8-inch in diameter), and made his way up to the front where the headunit was finally situated with all plastic pieces put back in place for a seamless install.
I’m sure Ken is on his way home enjoying that sexy female voice that’s giving him the turn-by-turn directions, and the fact that vehicles of all types and stripes can no longer lurk unobserved in the MKIV Supra’s blind spots. See you next time…
Tags: Install, ken henderson, Supra
