# A system for a Jeep JK Unlimited....



## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

Moving over from another forum, so the first part will jump ahead pretty quickly....

Ok, after 6 years it's time to finally ditch the stock system in my '07 Jeep Wrangler. I had "found" some Old School stuff from 15 years ago in my attic from a build I was going to put in an old car which got totaled. The stuff audio stuff got boxed up, and a divorce, a couple of moves, another marriage and a couple of kids later I found the stuff. So I started planning to install this stuff in the Jeep, but quickly discovered that it was going to take up too much room. So the old school stuff will go in my wives Armada.

Now for the Jeep. It is my daily driver. During much of the year it stays topless and doorless. But during the winter the hard top goes on. So the system needs to be able to handle volume, but also image and sound good when the top is on. And, since I go topless all the time...water resistance is important.

So the current plan is a box under the rear seats to hold 2 10's. A three way component set up in front with custom A pillar mounting for the tweeters and mid's. Kick panels for the woofers (maybe....). I will utilize the sound bar for rear fill (and for when the kids are in the back) I am building a "trunk" to enclose the bed. It will need to be pretty waterproof to serve as a component rack, but it needs to be able to open easily since I routinely carry tools back there.

I imagine this build will take me most of the winter, since this is my busy work time. I am sure I will be asking a lot of questions as I go along, since I have been out of car audio for a while and a lot has changed.

Dave


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

Not to hog band width, but here are some gratuitous pictures of the victim...

Buttoned up...









Summer doors...









Bed lined interior..









Trunk..


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

So I got some advice from friends, folks on another audio forum, and Trumpet and decided on an MS-8 to handle the cross over and time alignment duties. Chose some CDT speakers. Traded some of the old Audio Control stuff for some Massive Audio amps. What I have so far...









You can't really tell, but there are 2 of the NX4's and an NX5. Also picked up the two Infinity subs open box from a local guy for $100. They had been opened, but never installed.


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

Some details of the subwoofer box construction...

Crappy cell phone pic of the baffle and basic structure.









Fiberglass mold of the floor pan..









fist mock up of the baffle..









Some gaps that will be resolved with the final version..









The actual box will be made from some marine grade plywood for the structure. The bottom will be epoxy/ fiberglass with Coremat for thickness. The entire interior will get a coat of epoxy and a layer of "s" grade quartz aggregate to insure it is acoustically "dead". The exterior will get 2 layers of epoxy and then be shot with Raptor liner like the rest of my interior.

Infinity recommends .75 feet of airspace for the subs. Accounting for structure and the speaker displacement I ended up with .77 feet.


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

Sub box finished up...




































- - - Updated - - -

Started playing with the amp rack set up...


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

And installed:


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

Ok, so a little more progress. Not the sexy stuff, but the rarely seen stuff. My new dual battery set up arrived, I picked up a second Die Hard Advanced Gold AGM group 34 battery. And lucked into a deal when I ran by West Marine for a bus bar. They had 2 miss cut 1/0 wire bundles. They were supposed to cut 2 lengths of 12 feet black and red, but cut them to 11 feet. So I picked up 2 11 foot runs of tinned ofc AWG Marine wire 1/0 gauge for $2.50 a foot instead of $6.99 a foot regular cost. Added some marine grade lugs and heat shrink, and my Big 3 upgrade is ready to go.


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

The slow process continues as I get a few hours here and there. Started work on the bed enclosure. The enclosure will be water proof (unless I sink the *****...then all bets are off!) The amp rack will be bolted in so it can be assembled then placed in the trunk for the connection of the 1/0 gauge, RCA's, and speaker wires.
Templates under construction:










Working up to the back seats and around the roll bar..









Creating a lip to keep water from running forward into the cab.









So a couple hours in and I will be starting on the opening/ hatch next. Once the cutting and fitting is done the wood will be epoxy primed, fiberglass coated, then urethanes with Raptor Liner.


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

Ok I got a few hours in the shop this weekend and made some progress on the trunk.




































The darker wood for the coaming and band around the lid is well dried cherry. Very hard and heavy. Under the lid there are 3 parallel ribs, 2 inch by 2 inch, to help keep it strong and straight.


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

The enclosure construction phase is almost done. I just need to finish up the deck lid slide and pivot point....

The hinges, shocks, and lock are done. 


















Here is basically how it will look buttoned up.










The hinges are flexible because the top is a positive lock when closed as the coaming and lid top are keyed together. To open, you push the lid forward against the shocks to disengage the 
lid from the coaming, then let the shocks lift it up. To close you lower it against the shocks tension, and give it a slight shove forward to clear the "lips" (20-25 lbs) and it locks up again. The pressure of the shocks holds it 
tight, the slide lock is just extra security.


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

I took a break from the wood working this afternoon to mill out a fuse holder bracket from half inch aluminum plate.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

That's a sexy jeep, props on the build. In for updates.


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## REGULARCAB (Sep 26, 2013)

Ha! half inch steel plate, take that sucka's. I love how beefy everything is on this install.

EDIT: and that trunk looks nice.


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## metz (Feb 1, 2007)

Love it. Interested in seeing how you do the front stage. I've got a 14' I just got a couple months ago.


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## Sulley (Dec 8, 2008)

Sub'd for this one. Looks good. I fold my rear seats flat way to often to do a nice enclosure like yours.

Is that RK shocks and speed bumps?


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

stockley.rod said:


> Sub'd for this one. Looks good. I fold my rear seats flat way to often to do a nice enclosure like yours.
> 
> Is that RK shocks and speed bumps?


Yeas, its the Rock Krawler RRD shocks with remotes. I run the Terraflex Speed Bumps.


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Amazing work all the way around, nice choice of equipment and I see that you are trying your best to waterproof everything. This is the best Jeep JK audio I've seen yet!


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## Kornnut (Mar 19, 2007)

Very excited to see the rest of this build. Keep the pics and progress coming.


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

Thanks guys! Yeah, a Jeep is definitely not any environment for light weight, delicate installation techniques. I'm working on a plan to help isolate the amps and MS8 from shocks and vibration. I tend to do a lot of high speed trail runs, hence the remote reservoir shocks and Speed Bumps.

I had to do quite a bit of work on my front axle to keep it from twisting up.









Trussed, sleeved, gussets, HD ball Joints, and 4130 chromoly axles.


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Try this for mounting your equipment, silicone is a great damper.

Video: Silicone Gel Mounts Dampen Low Vibration Demo


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

knever3 said:


> Try this for mounting your equipment, silicone is a great damper.
> 
> Video: Silicone Gel Mounts Dampen Low Vibration Demo


Thanks!! That will save me a lot of time!


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

Well, I got a little time off and started on the amp box.

Holes cut for air flow to the fans and wire conduit...









Amp rack will be a pretty water tight box. A bunch of screws and biscuits....


















The boys came by to help..


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

And starting to take shape.
The interior, where the 3 amps and the MS 8 will reside.









The angle is where it will mount up to the seat back.









The removable back, where I will rout all the wires...









Interior again..


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## seafish (Aug 1, 2012)

NICE build...sent you a pm.


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## jsketoe (Aug 8, 2008)

I like this...almost bought a JKU in December. Mcmastercarr has those suspension mounts too. Good price in bulk.


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## damonryoung (Mar 23, 2012)

Jkdriver said:


> The boys came by to help..


What are you showing them? The one on the left looks petrified. 

Love the sturdiness of your build!


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

DRTHJTA said:


> What are you showing them? The one on the left looks petrified.
> 
> Love the sturdiness of your build!


Lol! I told him to sit...on a 30 degree concrete floor! The look you see is "Dad, my balls are freezing!"


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## seafish (Aug 1, 2012)

Jkdriver said:


> Lol! I told him to sit...on a 30 degree concrete floor! The look you see is "Dad, my balls are freezing!"


TOO funny...rotflmao!!!


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## chesapeakesoja (Apr 9, 2009)

Looking good. Wish I could just build a box under my rear seat, but I fold them forward way too much.

Sub'd.


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Nice build! Never seen a jeep build before so this is pretty cool. Like the trunk fab.


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

chesapeakesoja said:


> Looking good. Wish I could just build a box under my rear seat, but I fold them forward way too much.
> 
> Sub'd.



Yeah, I hear that a lot! It's funny, I folded my seats down so infrequently that they had rusted in place. The last time I had tried to fold them down, the steel actuating cables broke loose from the mechanism. I was just trying to fold them down while I was installing the Katzkin leather seat upholstery....

I didn't even cut back the leather to expose the seat folding handle/ pulls...just upholstered right over them!


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## chesapeakesoja (Apr 9, 2009)

Jkdriver said:


> I didn't even cut back the leather to expose the seat folding handle/ pulls...just upholstered right over them!


Awesome! Doesn't sound like they're doing you any good at this point anyhow.

How are you planning to run the front stage?

Will you be using the roll bar speakers for rear fill with the MS-8's Logic7?

Just curious, as these are things I'm mulling over with my own JKU.


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

chesapeakesoja said:


> Awesome! Doesn't sound like they're doing you any good at this point anyhow.
> 
> How are you planning to run the front stage?
> 
> ...


The front stage is going to be a passive/ active configuration. The tweeter and the 2 inch mid are going to use the CDT passive crossover and be installed in the A pillar. The 6.5 woofer is a work in progress. After hearing from a few that they were able to make the factory in dash pod work, I'm going to try that first. Deaden it and add an Aperiodic vent. If that doesn't cut it I will fabricate a kick pod. I would like to make the factory location work, because it will see less water.

Yes, I'm using the sound bar for the rear fill and so my kids can hear tunes when they are back there.


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## darkknight1999 (Jul 13, 2008)

Subscribed  

I'm starting my audio build in my Jeep in the spring... but it won't be quite that crazy as my Jeep is being built for expedition purposes. So I'll just have to live vicariously through you


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## Jkdriver (Jul 30, 2013)

darkknight1999 said:


> Subscribed
> 
> I'm starting my audio build in my Jeep in the spring... but it won't be quite that crazy as my Jeep is being built for expedition purposes. So I'll just have to live vicariously through you


I haven't had time to do anything but work for the last month. I have about another month of 7 days a week, 16+ hour days as we try to make all our deadlines so the hotels can open for spring break...Looking forward to my summer off! So while I am waiting I decided to order an entire new suspension! Going long arm, coil overs and bypass shocks....

Any way, what year Jeep? You don't have to go big or crazy to make a huge improvement in Jeep systems....


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## darkknight1999 (Jul 13, 2008)

Jkdriver said:


> I haven't had time to do anything but work for the last month. I have about another month of 7 days a week, 16+ hour days as we try to make all our deadlines so the hotels can open for spring break...Looking forward to my summer off! So while I am waiting I decided to order an entire new suspension! Going long arm, coil overs and bypass shocks....
> 
> Any way, what year Jeep? You don't have to go big or crazy to make a huge improvement in Jeep systems....


'07' JKU Rubicon. I plan on spending the next 2 years building it out or sooner if I can find the time and I can squeeze the money out of my budget.  I have a build thread here: http://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-show-tell-33/darkknight1999-build-thread-294425/
I haven't managed to get much of it installed. I have bought a bunch of it, but I just haven't had a chance to install it. lol I own my own company and I've been just slammed since last Oct. Which is a blessing and a curse. Not to mention we've been trying to find a new house so I've been holding back buying stuff in hopes the new house has a garage  I really need a work shop again.


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