Old aoogah horn install

I want to install a Hutchins horn (old aoogah style horn) but don't know where there will be room for it. The approximate dimensions are 10" long x 5" wide x 5" high. My idea is to install it in addition to the OEM horns and install a switch in the front dash to operate it. I'm hoping the switch could go near the dimmer switch for the interior lights.

Has anybody done anything like this, and where is there room to install a horn that is this large? Can it be done?

Thanks, Chuck

 

I just spoke with a place that installs car alarms. I gave him the dimensions of the horn, and he pretty much guaranteed they would be able to find a place to put the horn, whether it is underneath in the bumper area or between the bumper and grill. He said he didn't know for sure, though, where exactly it would go until he tried to do it.

Originally I was thinking I might try to do this myself if I had definite info where it could go, (hence this thread) but now I'm thinking it might be better just to pay him the money. They know what they are doing and I don't. I could figure it out, but it would probably take way too much time and be frustrating since there isn't much room to play with.

Nonetheless, I'm still interested if anybody has done a similar install, as I could let the tech know and save him some time poking around.

Any thoughts?

 

The stereo install place seemed very confident that they could find a place to mount the horn in the front. Should I trust them? I don't want to buy the horn and then not be able to mount it!

I assume they know enough what they are doing that I should trust them, and I think in this case I will have been glad that I didn't try to tackle it myself.

Chuck

 

Yeah, but I was really wondering about how to install a Hutchins ahooga horn...

It looks like I'll be receiving the Hutchins horn in about a week. I would love to find out if anybody else has tried to install a similar sized horn, (10" long and about 5" wide and tall) and where they were able to put it. If I had that info I might try to save some money and install it myself. Otherwise, I don't have any experience with wiring a new horn and installing the switch in the dash, so I probably will bite the bullet so that it is done right!

It looks like nobody can help me with this, but I will post again after everything is installed and will let you all know how it turned out.

Chuck

 

Well, I am pleased to report that I was able to get the horn installed yesterday! It was not easy for them, but they were able to get the horn in there without removing my bumper. The plastic at the top of the bumper was flexible enough that they were able to pull it back and squeeze the horn through. They have it pointing downward, and they used a vertical bracket in addition to the existing one that was made for the horn. It is attached with screws on the top side of the metal cross bar of the bumper. The back part of the horn is slightly touching the radiator, which isn't optimal, but probably isn't a problem. If they had bent the new bracket slightly differently they could have avoided that, but I will live with it as it was difficult to get the thing in there in the first place. There is only about an inch between the end of the horn (bell) and the plastic splash guard on the bottom of the engine compartment. They installed the inline 30 amp fuse that I had purchased, and wired the horn button so that it is located to the lower left of the steering column. It is within easy reach, but not easy to see, which is good for whenever I end up selling the car. (The resulting hole from removing the button won't be really that noticable this way.) They charged me a total of about $120 (2 hours of work)for the install. I'm really glad I didn't try to do this all myself!

The horn sound in the cabin with the windows closed is a little disappointing for me. It does sound great, however, outside of the car. I'm assuming that there is nothing that can be done about this. I think the lower harmonics are being dampened and absorbed by the material in the engine compartment/dash. So, only the higher harmonics of the motor are coming through. With the windows closed it sounds more like a high powered drill than an ahooga horn; but as I said before, the sound outside the car is great! I've already been having some fun with it. Yesterday a truck cut me off a little and I let him have it. It was fun to watch him whip his head around to try to figure out what he was hearing! I also scared some geese that were in my way (I was alone at the time...my wife would have been upset if she had been with me!)

I made a couple of low resolution videos with my camera. I will try to post them in my next post.

Chuck

 

Ok, I'm trying to post a link to the videos now...and it is not working. I'll try again...these are the links Flickr created:

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/17853800@N00/5867106958/"]ahooga horn wiring install | Flickr - Photo Sharing!@@AMEPARAM@@http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3085/5867106958_1b8512ae55_m.jpg@@AMEPARAM@@5867106958@@AMEPARAM@@1b8512ae55[/ame]
[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/17853800@N00/5867098946/"]ahooga horn button | Flickr - Photo Sharing!@@AMEPARAM@@http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5073/5867098946_5d89299fcb_m.jpg@@AMEPARAM@@5867098946@@AMEPARAM@@5d89299fcb[/ame]

Hope it works this time!

 

All right, it worked! I wanted to mention that the sound in the video is with the front door open. With the door closed and the windows shut, the sound isn't nearly as good. Also, the first video is actually the video I refer to as the next video (I got them mixed up).

Anyway, I'm overall really happy with how everything turned out! The man that made the horn for me, Mark Richardson, was great to deal with and did exceptionally fine work...I'd highly recommend you contact him if any of you are interested in doing something similar with a horn! He sells them from time to time on eBay, and his eBay id is "a-horn4669". The horn was installed by ABC Automotive & Electronics in Elk Grove Village, IL if you are in the Chicago area.

 

I take it you noticed the airplane sound in my video! Actually, no, I'm about 40 minutes away from O'Hare!