The Monkeemobile!

Mike Gray of Advanced Restorations was doing a full-on restoration of the original Monkeemobile #2 car from the television series which featured the Monkees musical group/band.  We were thrilled when Arc Audio referred Mike to us for some custom stereo installation and fabrication work!  Check out Mike's shop at www.advancedrestorations.com He's a great guy, and take it from a couple of autobody guys at heart (Rod and Matt), Mike does really high quality work.  Perfection, I mean 10 on a scale of 1-10 on restoration, modification and paintwork of every vehicle he restores!

We at CAI have Matt Severaid to thank, (one of our star installers and custom fabricators) for working 7 days a week for a month feverishly at Mike's shop to get the custom audio and fabrication work done in time for the 2006 SEMA show in Las Vegas, where the car was a huge hit!  George Barris was seated nearby with a long line of people waiting for his autograph.

Matt created these speaker pods on the doors to house Arc Audio speakers, generously provided (along with amps and subwoofers) by Arc Audio.

Here's a view through the rear "window" opening, where you can see Mike's body and paintwork on the outside of the car, and the custom mount for monitors and subs by Matt/CAI in the interior.

Yet another picture showing the custom subwoofer enclosures, amplifier locations within each, and the rear amp rack with edgelit plexiglas cut by Tony Camara with the Monkees logo!

Here are the Kudos to all the suppliers who provided equipment, parts and labor to help make this happen.  The legendary George Barris personally thanked us for our contribution, and we're honored just to be associated with this car and George!

This car was a hit at the SEMA 2006 and CES 2007 shows in Las Vegas, and also at the local 2007 Autorama show in Sacramento, where George Barris was once again signing autographs for anxious fans.  At the Autorama show Mike Gray and company were also awarded "builder of the year", with a strong showing of a couple dozen beautiful and tasteful cars they completed on display.

Thank you Mike, George and Demitrius of Arc Audio for the opportunity to be part of this project.  We hope to see it in the Peterson Musuem someday!