Ampeg BT-140 Cab Resurrection

Some of you may recall my postings from a few weeks ago trying to determine what Ampeg cab that I acquired. You may also recall that it was a 2x15 cab that had been cut in half and made into 2 1x15 cabs, complete with back and bottoms. I bought the 2 cabs to get the Altec 421A speakers that I could see in each one. After taking the cabs apart, I discovered some unusual interior "ducting" and posted on here. Best guess was a BT-140 based on date of the speakers, dimensions and the "ducting" as mentioned. I couldn't confirm whether or not the back had the power module to confirm the BT-140 because that original back was gone. Once I discovered that it was a 1971 vintage and unusual BT-140 cab, it didn't take me long to decide to make whole what was divided. So, I began the process of putting this cab back together. First decision was to rehab and not restore. Lots of tolex was gone and a large number of gouges were present. It was missing the middle handle of the 3 that are supposed to be on it. It had been painted black from top to bottom including grill cloth. It also had extra feet cups and some other oddities that I removed. Sorta like a "rat rod" cab. The Altecs came out and went to the Speaker Doctor. I then removed the frame that the speakers and grill cloth mount to and proceeded to remove the grill cloth. Put the 2 halves on top of each other to check for level. Not too bad. Put donuts in the halves, glued and screwed in a joining section of hardwood on the inside of each side section. Kept level throughout. Then covered the saw cut on the outside halves with wood putty and put screws along that joint. Then sized the speaker and grill cloth frame and joined them together with metal brackets. Again, kept level throughout. I then made a back for it and installed speaker jack and wiring and aligned holes for drilling new ones in the new back. Then, sanded the saw cut joints. Then came a good cleaning and gluing of loose tolex. Then black shoe polish to pull everything together and cover large scratches and glue. Put wheels on it. Then came the grill cloth replacement with original style cloth. A very tedious task, but it came out near perfect. At this point, it's shaping up and looking pretty good and pretty much complete except for installing the speakers and insulation. Did the insulation and had to wait a few more days for the speakers to get finished. Picked the Altecs up today and installed them and the wiring and put the back on. Time for a test run - sounds perfect!! A lot of work , but fun watching the progress and having the end result that I had. Here's a photo trail.

 

Thanks Jimmy, fb and Grissle. Gives that good warm feeling.

 

Thank you. 421A's - one of my favorites.

 

We can throw careful out the door, my friend. The addiction has already been acquired! Thanks for the compliment though.