# Modest 97 Civic coupe build...



## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

Hello everyone...i want to introduce myself..my names keith...i have been installing for the better part of 20 years (i am 35 now)...mostly deck two/four or basic amp and box setups, alarms for friends...i was, at one time, RTTI and Clifford alarm certified....i worked at a shop when i was 21 for a year and a half but never got into fabrication until recently on my own car...you guys have a great forum filled with great people and i am learning more from you guys every day...thanks for giving me some passion to get back into something i used to love to do...

here is my modest build in my 97 coupe...my aim was to keep my trunk functional...something basic that sounded good playing any kind of music...my musical tastes range from CCR to John Digweed to Kings of Leon to Too short...

i started with the tweeters...they eclipse tweeter from 8062 component set...and of course i fried one recently...grrr...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

wanted to do something different in the trunk...need to space to put my golf clubs...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

kept amp simple and out of the way...its a rockford fosgate 551x nice little four channel amp 4 x 70 watts....built a false floor and covered it with thin foam so things wont slide around in my trunk...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

relocated my kenwood kdc v7017 flip face deck to the lower spot and wanted a pocket where the deck was...perfect spot for my phone and CDs...first one was temporary until i came up with a game plan...









not perfect...better than what i had previously...i am going to track down a honda pocket and redo it...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

cheapie crossfire coaxes holding space until i get the juevos to do put my eclipse 6.5s in either the door or kicks...open for suggestions or pics of what other people have done...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

up next is to fix a couple of zits on the subwoofer box and get it covered with carpet of some sort...upgrade my deck...and find a home for my eclipse 6.5s...more pictures up later this week of my progress...


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

It looks good, especially the pillars!!


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## trevordj (Feb 22, 2009)

Agreed. Those pillars look awesome. Do you still have easy access to your spare? The floor looks sealed over the tire, but it might be the pic playing a trick on me. It looks like you are off to a great start. I'm digging the stealth.


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

lashlee said:


> It looks good, especially the pillars!!





trevordj said:


> Agreed. Those pillars look awesome. Do you still have easy access to your spare? The floor looks sealed over the tire, but it might be the pic playing a trick on me. It looks like you are off to a great start. I'm digging the stealth.



thanks...it was my second attempt at the pillars...the first ones came out ugly...i had to make my own cups for the tweeter...and find something thinner than a t-shirt to redo them...i think they came out good too...

and yes...i can get to the spare...the entire trunk floor comes out in two pieces very easily...


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## trevordj (Feb 22, 2009)

keithace said:


> and yes...i can get to the spare...the entire trunk floor comes out in two pieces very easily...


Great work... simplicity and functionality.


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

in all my years of doing this...putting on carpet or stretching vinyl has always been something i am not very good at...that box has ALOT of contours to it...i am not looking forward to it...i need to find a nice stretchy thickish fabric to cover it...i was thinking a dark grey microfiber...but i dont think its thick enough...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

so lets get started on the door panels while i wait for my order from us composites...

i covered the stock grills in masking tape, foil, then panty hose, then fiberglass...i got a perfect thin mold of the stock grill...i am going to reinforce from the rear when my order gets here...my goal was to make myself as little finishing work as possible...i hate sanding and filling...plus i wanted those stock lines and looks for my goal of keeping things low profile...

covered foiled and stretched...









wet...









dry and peeled...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

i am going to take this guys approach to mounting a bigger speaker in the door...

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/59546-00-civic-si-build.html

plus i am sure the speaker is better served mounted to the door, rather than the door panel...

deadening needs to happen also...but i have a headliner to fix before i can think of that...


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Nice work man. I like the sub box! Just be carefull when glassing the grills. Being so thin, they'll be prone to warping really easily.


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## benthe8track (Nov 23, 2008)

Subscribed! Looks good so far. I need to get mine finished quick as the temps are dropping.


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

benthe8track said:


> Subscribed! Looks good so far. I need to get mine finished quick as the temps are dropping.


same here...but i am sure it doesnt get as cold here as it does up north...

my order from us composites should be here tomorrow...i got my replacement tweeters from a fellow DIY member...so thats on the list now too...it will be nice to have matching tweeters...


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## maxxis (Jun 10, 2008)

I did this for my 98 Hatch










Complete thread - http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/49810-1998-civic-sq-project-2.html


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

maxxis said:


> I did this for my 98 Hatch


i saw your thread...good install...i like how you tried a couple of different things...

i am trying to keep it a low profile install...keep everything out of sight and out of the way...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

as you can tell i work slow...between drinking beer, work, dodger baseball and drinking beer and being lazy i dont have much time  But i do think working at this pace and not being rushed helps me make better decisions when it comes to this...i work in a hospital so i think on my feet all day long...

i made a template of the outside of the speaker so i would know exactly how much to hack up the door and to also position the speaker in the best spot for said hack...









i ended up only losing one of the three screws that hold the panel to the door and was able to keep the stock speaker cover...my low profileness continues...









i'd say thats an upgrade...chuck d's voice will finally have some authority...


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## benthe8track (Nov 23, 2008)

Good call taking a logical approach. I kind of just eyeballed it and went at it with the dremel. So there was lots of dicking around that could have been avoided. I should have some new pics of mine by next week hopefully.


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

benthe8track said:


> I should have some new pics of mine by next week hopefully.


get on with yo bad self...

i had my roommate/best friend/ball buster extreme watching me work in the background and he's already given me **** for taking 4 month to do my first set of a-pillar tweeters...which i promptly hated and tore out...did the next set currently in my car in five days working only a few hours here and there...i dont mind taking it slow...its my car after all...it aint like im gettin paid! :laugh:

my brains likes the complex answers to complex problems...somethings just take longer to work out...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

what should i put between the mdf and the door? i dont have access to sound dampening at the moment...


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## benthe8track (Nov 23, 2008)

Modeling clay is cheap and plentiful.


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

michael's i am sure...any brand or kind or mix or...just build it up and lay down the wood and screw in?....i would think some kind of adhesion would help with the energy transfer and dampening...i know clay has the dampening part down....but what about the adhesion?

gorilla glue? it expands... :undecided:


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## benthe8track (Nov 23, 2008)

I didn't use clay on the current build but on my old civic I just packed it behind the baffle as good as possible. Then bolted the baffle to the door with the heads recessed into the baffle. This just squished the clay between the baffle and the door. I cleaned out the excess then just screwed the drivers into the baffle. 

I've read about it drying out overtime but I didn't have it in there long enough to have any issues. Seemed to hold ok on it's own.


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

still monkeying around with this...


















not bad rings for jigsaw cuts...the reason it has taken this much longer is a friend said he could make me some rings on with his router...but it didnt happen..

i need to shave off the top of the bottom mouting piece....coutinue hacking the door panel...and cut the door itself...i really didnt see this much work happening or taking this long...


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## jadon087 (May 26, 2007)

Looks good so far, love it when guys fix up there DD's with good craftmanship.


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

jadon087 said:


> Looks good so far, love it when guys fix up there DD's with good craftmanship.


i'm trying boss...i'm trying...

thanks!!!



i know my work is weak compared to some of the old schoolers on here...even though i am an old schooler myself...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

painted with a few coats for a little weatherization...









installed...i was able to keep the stock grills...i am still not happy with it...the door panel is spaced off the door about a half inch...with the grill on you dont see it...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

bass knob i got from a fellow member









also decided to redo the arm rest on the door panel...sorely needed...i used a fabric called "sweat shirt" that was on sale at Michaels fabric store...i think i got two yards for 12 bucks...i also used it to cover the woofer box...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

i am in the process of getting a JL to replace that pioneer...i am in the process of tuning it by ear...i just put the focal CD #6 on the ipod...i think i need to deaden the woofer box more...and i definitely need to deaden the doors...but those 6.5s make all the difference in the world...


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## DaPhenom07 (Dec 12, 2009)

i have a 1999 civic coupe. nothin special but its a work in progress. i like what you did with the grills and am interested in how you did it. lookin for some feedback. i wanna do somthin a lil like that with mine. my layout is very similar with some minor differences.


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

i tried adding you are a friend...

what equipment do you have?

PM me...


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## drewpage55 (Aug 3, 2008)

I also have an 00 Civic SI, and I'm thinking about bigger drivers for the doors...but not fiber glass experience so I'm apprehensive about it...


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## Thiagocaverna (Apr 1, 2009)

nice job ...


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## keithace (Jan 7, 2008)

drewpage55 said:


> I also have an 00 Civic SI, and I'm thinking about bigger drivers for the doors...but not fiber glass experience so I'm apprehensive about it...


i made mine out of wood...pain in the a$$...but well worth it..those eclipse 6.5s sound awesome in my doors...totally moves the soundstage and strengthens it..


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