Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Dustin Culton and his '90 Honda Civic

And suddenly catastrophe happened. This wasn't the first, nor the last time that one of our team cars had been stolen. Doing incredible car audio made is immediately recognizable and gave us great notoriety. I once took my Sentra to the Nissan dealership for a checkup and the service guy asked me if I had a system in it. He then followed on to tell me that Alberto Lopez had already designed a system for his car and would soon start doing it. I then asked him if he knew who I was. He replied with a question and an embarrassed look: you are Alberto Lopez? Yes, a never met the guy before, but I had somehow designed a system for a car I had never seen. It was funny.

A beautifully clean engine compartment

But with the accolades came the constant threat that our vehicles could be vandalized or stolen. Many outside of car audio may not immediately understand that the worst people among the bad guys love great car audio. So it was always a matter of time before one of us in the team would let their guard down in a car would be stolen. But this couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. When Dustin told me that his competition Civic had been stolen (read here about Dustin's previous system), he was heartbroken. Thankfully he had great insurance and some savings. So, as soon as the claim was settled, Dustin started on his next project.  He knew exactly what he wanted; from the type of car, to the color, to the audio equipment brands, to the overall fit and finish. Dustin was a mad man with a mission.
His fantastic efforts were published by Mobile Sound Competition's special edition Annual '96 Winners magazine. Following is a transcription from that memorable edition. Enjoy!

Si-Si-Si

Dustin Culton got his slick Honda Civic
when his last set of wheels was stolen.

Mobile Sound Competition's Annual '96 Winners edition

By: Staff Writer

What do you do when your car and competition stereo get ripped off? First you cry, then you get over it. You get another car and make the next system even better.

Sounds like something that will typically happen in LA., but it actually happened to Dustin Culton in his home land of Omaha, Nebraska. It wasn't pretty, but it did get him his 1990 Honda Civic Si, and he is now well on his way to a successful year in IASCA and USAC.

The dash is stock, and hidden beneath
the passenger seat is a Phoenix Gold EQ.

Dustin's main concern when he put together his stereo (mostly by himself, we should add) was to make it as bulletproof as possible. That's because he drives the Civic every day, and Nebraskan winters can really wreck havoc on a car.

With only minimal body modifications, he is clearly succeeded. The dash is all still stock, with only a Sony CDX-900 added as a source. The kick panels have been massaged to house 5-inch Morel mids and Focal tweeters. Hidden under the passenger seat is a Phoenix Gold EQ, and under the driver's seat is a toolkit.

Because there wasn't much space behind the Civic's rear seat,
Dustin surrendered his spare tire to his Rockford subs.

Civic hatchback's don't have a whole lot of space behind the rear seat to fit subs, and as Craig (Dustin) couldn't part with any of them, he gave up the spare tire. He installed a pair of Rockford Fosgate 8-inch subs, and he and Alberto Lopez plugged up the bottom of the tire well with an Aperiodic mat to make the subs think they had just the right amount of air space. All told, he still has 90 percent of his hatch space for his stuff.

Starting over is something easier than lumbering on with the old. For Craig (Dustin), paradoxically, having his cars swiped turned out to be a great move —for his competitive edge that is.