When James Tully was 24 and living in Metro Vancouver 30 years ago, he really liked car stereos.

Like, a lot. As in, he built himself a custom car stereo that took up more than half of his 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco so that he could cruise around town blasting MC Hammer.

"My friends really thought it was crazy," Tully said over the phone from Penticton, B.C., where he now lives.

"They'd get in and their eyes would shake."

James Tully checks his car stereo in 1989. Tully said the stereo was for his own personal enjoyment and he didn't think that should be limited. (CBC)

Tully, now 54, says back in 1989 his friends would often drive up and down Robson and Davie streets blasting the top hits of the day.

"That's pretty much where everybody would kind of end up at some point during the night. For some reason it seemed the place to be," he said.

But for downtown residents at the time, the loud tunes that pulsed from the "boom cars" and bounced between buildings into their homes created what they called "intolerable" living conditions.

Thirty years ago this week, the city passed an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Noise Abatement Bylaw to specifically prohibit amplified sound "that emanates from a motor vehicle and can easily be heard by someone outside."

Fines ranged from $50 to $2,000.

Here's a short story that CBC's Ian Hanomansing, at the time a reporter for The National, filed on the issue:

In 1989, Vancouverites complained to the city about loud music from jacked-up stereos and got results. 1:57

Along with MC Hammer, the popularity of custom car stereos has waned in recent years.

Tully's passion for audio turned into a career building custom stereos for cars and boats that lasted until just a couple of years ago.

He says people today aren't as interested in custom stereos, in part because vehicles have become more complicated and its audio systems have become more integrated.

In 2006 the Motor Vehicle Noise Abatement Bylaw was replaced by the Motor Vehicle Noise and Emission Abatement Bylaw, which more broadly prohibits noise "objectionable or liable to disturb the quiet, peace, rest, enjoyment, comfort or convenience of individuals or the public."

This includes squealing tires, explosive motor sounds, amplified sound and security system alarms. Fines range from $250 to $10,000. Some car noise is also covered under the B.C Motor Vehicle Act Regulations.

Sgt. Jason Robillard with the Vancouver Police Department says the city has issued 17 fines under the city bylaw in the past three years.

But he says most noise complaints today stem from mufflers (or a lack thereof), which is the target of the VPD's annual summer noisy muffler campaign.