# One badassed BMW 330



## thehatedguy

Looks European and will probably be competing in EMMA (if doing competitions).

This is one of the most insane installs that I've seen in a while-

www.audiogroupforum.com/csforum/showthread.php?t=66958


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## spag_bace

holy crap! 
tons of man hour!


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## Arc

thehatedguy said:


> Looks European and will probably be competing in EMMA (if doing competitions).
> 
> This is one of the most insane installs that I've seen in a while-
> 
> www.audiogroupforum.com/csforum/showthread.php?t=66958



A little late....http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29731

But still worth the mention again. Those copper bars are probably the most innovative and interesting things I have seen for a while. 
Lots of work and amazing fabrication skills indeed.


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## DonovanM

Yeah I read that earlier, it's a much more detailed build thread too. It does look good, but I can't agree with the speaker or HU placement


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## GeoffB

Thanks for posting it in the install section i would have missed it otherwise as its rare i go to the off topic section.


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## 60ndown

silly people, when a sealed 12" in a bare mdf box would sound better.

some people definately have more time and money than sense.


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## chad

That's too cool! 

I got DAMN good at bending tubing when working in Nat Gas Storage. All my grounding in the shop/Ham Shaq is done in copper tubing, just never thought about implementing it in automotive work. 

One question though, wire mashes and holds, copper bends and keeps bending..... could that cause connection integrity issues over time, but then again... WHO CARES! IT looks too cool not to go back and snug things up every now and then


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## niceguy

I ran the same copper tubing in my van install but used it for running the power/speaker wire inside it but w/similar angles....I didn't take time to polish it though, being in a work van....


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## quality_sound

chad said:


> That's too cool!
> 
> I got DAMN good at bending tubing when working in Nat Gas Storage. All my grounding in the shop/Ham Shaq is done in copper tubing, just never thought about implementing it in automotive work.
> 
> One question though, wire mashes and holds, copper bends and keeps bending..... could that cause connection integrity issues over time, but then again... WHO CARES! IT looks too cool not to go back and snug things up every now and then


What about drilling and tapping the tubes so that the hold down screw screws into the tube?? That might do it and thos etubes look friggin sick like that!


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## Dangerranger

All that beautiful work...for some compact anemic 5" Focal subs


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## bdubs767

Dangerranger said:


> All that beautiful work...for some compact anemic 5" Focal subs


I love it...but agree 5" subs


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## Dangerranger

bdubs767 said:


> I love it...but agree 5" subs


I've never been a huge fan of Focal's subs anyway...don't really agree with their design "philosophy" for car subs nor do I feel their motor designs are that impressive.


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## quality_sound

bdubs767 said:


> I love it...but agree 5" subs


Sounds like you've never listened to them.


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## bdubs767

quality_sound said:


> Sounds like you've never listened to them.


nope...but a 5" can only do so much from 60hz to 20hz....I know theres 4 so about 20" but still....woofers that size arent meant to play that low...atleast thats what Ive been taught


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## quality_sound

bdubs767 said:


> nope...but a 5" can only do so much from 60hz to 20hz....I know theres 4 so about 20" but still....woofers that size arent meant to play that low...atleast thats what Ive been taught


If they didn't want them played that low they wouldn't tell people to do it. Those are TRUE 5" subs and no, they're not going to shake panels like a 12" will, they are very, very capable drivers, especially in groups of four.


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## bdubs767

quality_sound said:


> If they didn't want them played that low they wouldn't tell people to do it. Those are TRUE 5" subs and no, they're not going to shake panels like a 12" will, they are very, very capable drivers, especially in groups of four.


But with how much linearity or HD vs a 12" woofer? jsut my opinion...


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## AzGrower

Nice install sans those ugly arse T Nuts. Just imagine how much cleaner the mounting baffles would have looked with some nice easy threaded inserts...


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## quality_sound

bdubs767 said:


> But with how much linearity or HD vs a 12" woofer? jsut my opinion...


Lots. Like I said, it's a sub, it plays like a sub, etc. Think of it like this, you know those little Boston computer subs that do well for a 5" sub? Now think of 4 of them together...with MUCH better SQ, volume, and clarity. 
I forget who it was, but someone has 4 of them in the dash of a Dodge sedan once and competed. He seemed to do OK with them.


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## syd-monster

As i wrote on anothe forum, fantastic install  !!! Shame though that the CF work is predominantly cosmetic. Still a great install non the less. I actually prefer the custom billet pieces over the CF. - Chris


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## cmusic

quality_sound said:


> Lots. Like I said, it's a sub, it plays like a sub, etc. Think of it like this, you know those little Boston computer subs that do well for a 5" sub? Now think of 4 of them together...with MUCH better SQ, volume, and clarity.


I've heard several of the Focal 5" subs. They are nice sounding subs that in certain installs can reach down to 20 Hz but not with much authority above 105-110 dB (at 20-25 Hz). I have seen four of them hit around 130 dB but at around 50-60 Hz. They were more popular in IASCA when their test CD did not have alot of sub 25 Hz bass. When the disk changed with music with more 20-25 Hz bass, competitors re-tuned their systems to make them play upper subbass (30-100 Hz) and had their larger subs play 25-30Hz and down. 



> I forget who it was, but someone has 4 of them in the dash of a Dodge sedan once and competed. He seemed to do OK with them.


That was Will Adcock with the Reaper I. It was a black on black Dodge Intrepid. He more than competed with it; he won four or five IASCA and USACi world championships in the Expert class with it. I think it won every world finals it competed in. I've listened to it a few times and it was one of the best systems I have ever heard.


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## GeoffB

As Chuck says theres been a few cars use them in the past in competition the 2001 IASCA pro street 601+ world champion Yann Canoine from France who brought his car over to the states did ok with 4 of the utopia 5WS in the trunk and 2 in the dash top.


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## quality_sound

cmusic said:


> I've heard several of the Focal 5" subs. They are nice sounding subs that in certain installs can reach down to 20 Hz but not with much authority above 105-110 dB (at 20-25 Hz). I have seen four of them hit around 130 dB but at around 50-60 Hz. They were more popular in IASCA when their test CD did not have alot of sub 25 Hz bass. When the disk changed with music with more 20-25 Hz bass, competitors re-tuned their systems to make them play upper subbass (30-100 Hz) and had their larger subs play 25-30Hz and down.


Yeah, I haven't heard any of the newer disks so I wasn't aware they'd made a change but I agree, with more bottom octave stuff I can see how the Focals would be out of their element.



> That was Will Adcock with the Reaper I. It was a black on black Dodge Intrepid. He more than competed with it; he won four or five IASCA and USACi world championships in the Expert class with it. I think it won every world finals it competed in. I've listened to it a few times and it was one of the best systems I have ever heard.


THAT was his name. I was drawing a total blank on him. I remembered the car but old age was catching up with me on that one.


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## ssmith100

Bing,

Wilson (Adcock) is still doing installs In Humble Texas. He and I went to High School together in the 80's. Most of what I know is from watching him work when we were 16 years old. He could do things at that age that most people on this board aren't capable of now nor am I. The "reaper" at the time was one of the most sophisticated installs I had ever seen or heard. Those chrome Rockford amps were something. Man that thing would play loud.

Shane


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## SQram

cmusic said:


> I've heard several of the Focal 5" subs. They are nice sounding subs that in certain installs can reach down to 20 Hz but not with much authority above 105-110 dB (at 20-25 Hz). I have seen four of them hit around 130 dB but at around 50-60 Hz. They were more popular in IASCA when their test CD did not have alot of sub 25 Hz bass. When the disk changed with music with more 20-25 Hz bass, competitors re-tuned their systems to make them play upper subbass (30-100 Hz) and had their larger subs play 25-30Hz and down.
> 
> 
> 
> That was Will Adcock with the Reaper I. It was a black on black Dodge Intrepid. He more than competed with it; he won four or five IASCA and USACi world championships in the Expert class with it. I think it won every world finals it competed in. I've listened to it a few times and it was one of the best systems I have ever heard.


Chuck, I remember the Reaper had large RF subs in the trunk as well. Were they only used for SPL, or were they used to supplement the very bottom end frequencies while playing music?


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## cmusic

SQram said:


> Chuck, I remember the Reaper had large RF subs in the trunk as well. Were they only used for SPL, or were they used to supplement the very bottom end frequencies while playing music?


Yes, he had 3 15"s across the back seat mounted infinite baffle. The last and longest time I got the listen to the car was at the 2003 Iasca finals in Charlotte, NC. Wilson let me listen in the car by myself with my CDs. (Wilson is a really good guy that answered all my questions before I got in.) I don't remember any subbass coming from the rear of the car when I listened to it for between 10 to 15 minutes that time. What I do remember is when I shut the door it felt I was closing a door to a tomb. Outside noises were almost eliminated with the system off. Everything in the car I touched was solid. Next was the tonality was so pure that it did not sound like I was listening to a stereo system. The bass was very accurate and not heavy or fat. Kick drums, bass guitars, organs, all bass sounds sounded real. The staging was high, wide, and deep. Imaging was very focused but slightly skewed to the nearest side. Overall it was one of the most tonally accurate systems I have ever heard. I can hear why it won so many championships.


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## Guest

thehatedguy said:


> Looks European and will probably be competing in EMMA (if doing competitions).
> 
> This is one of the most insane installs that I've seen in a while-
> 
> www.audiogroupforum.com/csforum/showthread.php?t=66958


 Señor you read, si? 323?


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## Toxis

I just came.


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## thehatedguy

Why I said 330 I do not know.



Jose Jimenez said:


> Señor you read, si? 323?


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## veloze

Man!! I'm speechless. I would love to witness your Bimmer. Congrats, job well done.


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## ///Audience

anyone who hasnt seen the new updates should deffinatly go look again..

page 10


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## SQS

BassBaller5 said:


> anyone who hasnt seen the new updates should deffinatly go look again..
> 
> page 10


Damn!  

Those look like he took some Anthony Gallo home speakers and put them on his pillar.


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## ///Audience

SQS said:


> Damn!
> 
> Those look like he took some Anthony Gallo home speakers and put them on his pillar.


Focal Be Utopias. Very stunning but very expensive car audio speakers.


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## SQS

BassBaller5 said:


> Focal Be Utopias. Very stunning but very expensive car audio speakers.


I've heard of the speakers, I was referring to the round cabinet design. 

Like these:


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## Toxis

I wasn't sure if I liked the idea at first and after seeing the test fit, I hate it. Horrible idea IMO. Might sound awesome but ugly as hell.


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## HondAudio

Is that subwoofer enclosure firing down into the spare tire well, and then the bass radiates up around the outside?


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## kimokalihi

Excellent install! I enjoyed clicking through the pages of that one. I especially liked the copper tubes, cool idea. But he went a bit overboard with the carbon fiber. I'm not a fan of carbon fiber though so maybe that's it. I think the gauges looked hideous along with the ebrake and stuff. It's just too ricey and all the cheap autozone crap has it these days. 

I liked the idea of the pods until I saw them in the car. Then they just looked really out of place.


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## WLDock

SQS said:


> Damn!  Those look like he took some Anthony Gallo home speakers and put them on his pillar.


Funny....I have been looking around the net for info on spherical enclosures and have been meaning to go listen to the Ti Gallo's.... although I hear the Orbs might sound better? I want to play around with the idea in the kick panels. I though about it on the dash but further back. The pods on the 330 seem to be really in your face....they would have to sound pretty good if I were to leave them there in my own car.....I think black might have worked better as a color to tone them down a bit.



kimokalihi said:


> Excellent install! I enjoyed clicking through the pages of that one. I especially liked the copper tubes, cool idea. But he went a bit overboard with the carbon fiber. I'm not a fan of carbon fiber though so maybe that's it. I think the gauges looked hideous along with the ebrake and stuff. It's just too ricey and all the cheap autozone crap has it these days. I liked the idea of the pods until I saw them in the car. Then they just looked really out of place.


I agree on the carbon fiber...Myself, I have ALWAYS liked the look of carbon fiber....not the cheap look-a-like stuff but real carbon fiber....like what a good high end road racing or mountain bike looks like when they spray it with a satin clear coat. It can look good in cars when it looks like or is the real thing. However, it seem to be everywhere now. But, I guess it comes down to personal taste because I think his car would look much richer if he went with just Alcantara and brushed Aluminum....but I guess that has been done before as well.....the custom car scene is just so big now that it is tough to come up with unique ideas. But, there are SO many more creative types in world than myself. Until I get a worthy install together I will shut up.


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## haibane

this looks awesome... err maybe not after seeing where it was installed.


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## ssmith100

Toxis,

I usually don't reply to a lot of threads ........but in your case I will. Anyone with ten replies in this forum in this thread after looking at this work...........well.....your a moron. If you have an install in your vehicle that comes close to what the gentlemen has done I would commend you.............but to make the statement you made is just plain ignorant. I don't know how this vehicle sounds ..................and I have a ton of equipment in my car...........................but the work this guy has achieved in this install is phenomenal. As most of the guys here that are regulars I would believe they would think the same.

Shane


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## haibane

ssmith100 said:


> Toxis,
> 
> I usually don't reply to a lot of threads,but in your case I will. Anyone with ten replies in this forum in this thread and after looking at this work...well you're a moron. If you have an install in your vehicle that comes close to what the gentlemen has done I would commend you, but to make the statement you made is just plain ignorant. I don't know how this vehicle sounds. I have a ton of equipment in my car, but the work this guy has achieved in this install is phenomenal. As most of the guys here that are regulars I would believe they would think the same.
> 
> Shane


dude seriously don't attack the man, After seeing it installed on the last page I tend to agree with him. IF anyone should be attacked you should get some English classes. What is the deal with the mass amounts of ellipses and the excessive amounts of periods cause an ellipses is only 3 periods. Dang that is hard to read. Everyone has a right to their opinion.


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## trunks9_us

nice


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## coogle

wow nice work very different


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## Good Times

I agree with the people that don't like the look of the pods on the A pilar, but I can say with out a doubt this is one of the best installs I have seen as of late from a person that does this as a pure hobby. The craftsmen ship that this guy has put in is masterful and has definately given me some great ideas for my project that I'm going to be working on.


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## syd-monster

Still think its a great install! Well done to him.


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## bretti_kivi

hmm. turns out the 100mm clear plastic dangly bits (that he used as a base for the pods) are also available here... and are the perfect shape for TG9s 

nice inspiration, I can relate big time on polishing aluminium, but Carbon? naaah, I'll be using Basalt  It's also personal taste, and if it works for you....

Bret


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## MazDAMN

Arc...you have that panasonic DD i ur avy? Is it any good as far as signal quality thru rcas?


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## Electrodynamic

Holy crap! That install is wicked wicked wicked. The amount of work and talent that went into that install is just mind-boggling!


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## rcurley55

I can't say I understand why he put the alpine unit in that location. Terrible ergonomics and it would have easily fit in the dash. Looks like the car came with factory nav and he wants to keep it - I dunno.

I can appreciate the craftsmanship, but I don't like the style


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## MajorChipHazard

I've been following the build of this vehicle on the respective forum and the attention to detail is mind blowing.I really the the cover over the subs in the wheel well


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## chuyler1

I always wonder with all the fab work that goes into a trunk like that...what happens when there is a rattle deep inside there? 

****, I get rattles with even the most basic of installations, I can't imagine trying to track it down through layers of fiberglass, aluminum, and carbon fiber.


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## syd-monster

Well, theres more updates from about pages 14 and on... it just get better. Credit to him and his installer.


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## Toxis

ssmith100 said:


> Toxis,
> 
> I usually don't reply to a lot of threads ........but in your case I will. Anyone with ten replies in this forum in this thread after looking at this work...........well.....your a moron. If you have an install in your vehicle that comes close to what the gentlemen has done I would commend you.............but to make the statement you made is just plain ignorant. I don't know how this vehicle sounds ..................and I have a ton of equipment in my car...........................but the work this guy has achieved in this install is phenomenal. As most of the guys here that are regulars I would believe they would think the same.
> 
> Shane


ssmith100, 

I usually don't make comments like that........................................................................................................................unless i think an idea looks dumb. It's called an opinion.....................................................................................................................So what of it?????????????????????????????? I personally have drooled over the install......................many times now but.............I hate the balls for the mid..........................tweeter combo...............................that's what I was commenting..................on. If you look.................................at the post above...............mine...........you'll understand what..............................................................I'm talking about.............but you wanted to make some comment about me.....................just because I have little to no posts????...!!!!&&&&&@@@@@???? I don't see where you have any leg to stand on.................................................................................... nice attempt.............at schooling a newbie to the....................forum...........but it just wasn't a good point to make.

How do you type like that? I am annoyed by having to wait for all the damn periods.


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## Candisa

It's a Belgian project and since I live in Belgium, and this project is on some forums over here, I follow it with lots of pleasure.

I'm not a fan of lots of carbon fibre and the ball shaped pods either, but that's taste. This man has a LOT of experience in the car audio scene and has built some stunning projects before. His Fiat 500 and BMW E30 won a lot of games in the past, and I'm pretty sure this install will sound great. This man is crazy enough to start all over when something isn't 200% as it should be.

He says he won't compete anymore, and that this is a project just for fun, but I'm pretty sure he will compete a couple of times when he finished this project, and when he does, it will leave the rest of his class far behind.

Ow, by the way, it isn't a 330, but only a 323. Stupid taxes over here (causing me to drive a Clio diesel)...

greetingz,
Isabelle


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## ArcL100

kimokalihi said:


> I'm not a fan of carbon fiber though so maybe that's it. I think the gauges looked hideous along with the ebrake and stuff. It's just too ricey and all the cheap autozone crap has it these days.


Right on brotha! I HATE cf. HATE it. It's black and gray plaid. It's Gaudi and unsightly. The only reason people started to use it is because it started showing up on show-cars that were posin' off race cars - where it actually has a FUNCTION. To me, it's like the "euro/altezza" lights - it's just an ugly ass trend that people blindly follow instead of actually realizing it looks ****ing stupid.

That being said, there is some simply amazing work in that car. The fan vents are awesome! When I saw him taking apart the controller I thought it was just going to be molded into the armrest like I've seen so many times, but the slide out track was great!

Criticisms, other then cf needlessly everywhere, those pods are pretty yikes - and also they are about 18" from someones face driving. Would hate to tune a center stage in that car. Also, I don't really get the rear. Is that just one huge shared enclosure? I dunno, the whole like half an oil drum cylinder is weird to me.

-aaron


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## robolop

thehatedguy said:


> Looks European and will probably be competing in EMMA (if doing competitions).
> 
> This is one of the most insane installs that I've seen in a while-
> 
> www.audiogroupforum.com/csforum/showthread.php?t=66958




First of all, I would like to thank SYD-MONSTER
for introducing my instal one this forum one the order site.
The beemer is a type e46 323ci ....

A little word of me...
I was always interesting in car audio.It Is my biggest hobby , every time i got i spend it on the car.12 year ago i had a fiat 500.I whurk 3 years one the car for restoration it and building a stereo in it..I did some competition wit it and from the 19 games i did I when 17 first ..My second contest was at the european final in PARIS en i was second afther THOMAS (swipe) WESTMAN from sweden.The next year I was in BIRMINGHAM ( IASCA FINAL).I was first in my class and the first place BEST OF INSTAL.Then i make a decision to stop white contest.I was one my highest level .

In the years i was competing i was always working on the car for making it better and better.Evry minit I got I spend on the car..
there was always the presure of performing beter . When i began on this project i make the decision ,to make something beautiful en having fun and now presure.I NOT going to compete whit this car..Not whit the speakers on the A pillar, and not with the plexy sub box.
Writing this is not so simple for me.I understand, and speak english but that's everything.i can't write englisch i am translating my words with the help off a translation program.It's not so simple for me to tell everthing in detail. But i hope you will understand.I realy hope to get some comments good or bad.everybody had his opinion about car stereo.

PICK's from the fiat 500.


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## robolop




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## saMxp

I've been following this install for a long time! Welcome to DIYMA, robolop!! Your door panels are an inspiration!


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## robolop

saMxp said:


> I've been following this install for a long time! Welcome to DIYMA, robolop!! Your door panels are an inspiration!



THX MATE.
I hope so that the rest is good enuf...


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## robolop

60ndown said:


> silly people, when a sealed 12" in a bare mdf box would sound better.
> 
> some people definately have more time and money than sense.



When everybody is thinking like you then everybody has the same. And this had nothing to do white mony our time..
I work hard for the euro's....

I think the way you think is not so good..
Have a nice day.


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## robolop

Dangerranger said:


> All that beautiful work...for some compact anemic 5" Focal subs



I think you dont know what thaus think can do..
I play white the focal's 5 inch im my doors an it sound like hel.


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## robolop

quality_sound said:


> Sounds like you've never listened to them.


THX DUDE FOR SUPORTING ME


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## robolop

veloze said:


> Man!! I'm speechless. I would love to witness your Bimmer. Congrats, job well done.


THX DUDE I DO MY BEST


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## robolop

HondAudio said:


> Is that subwoofer enclosure firing down into the spare tire well, and then the bass radiates up around the outside?


I'TS WORKING THIS WAY..


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## robolop

I've read all the comments posted on this forum regarding my beemer.

I'll try to explain what it is that i'm building.



For starters: i'm NOT going to compete in a competition what so ever.



I've mounted the speakers in the A-pillars like this with only one perpose: because i liked them to be in that position. I know that mounting them in floorpots would be the best way for soundquality, but i' ve chosen for the "the visual aspect".



The Alpine head unit is mounted in a strange place, because that was the ONLY place available. I didn't want to touch the dash nor the middleconsole.

I've mounted the remotecontrole so that every passenger in the car can use it. That's not what most of the installs with fixed controles have...



The PPI amp in the trunk will be replaced bij a brand new Focal amplifier.



I also know that it's better to play with an MDF subbox and a 10" woofer than with the 5" woofers i use. But, i have to say that i have a lot of experience with the smaller types, so i know what these babies are capable of. So i accepted the challenge.



Something about the choise of materials...

Carbonfibre, carbonkevlar and aluminium aren't everyones favorites, but i love hem, so i'll use them.



I hope you guys can see that this isn't a hobby, but an obsession...

Every free minute i have goes to my BMW. 

I don't even know when it will be finished. This year, next year, i don't care. As long as it is 100% perfect.



Conserning the design:

I wanted the keep the interiour intact except for the A-pillars.

The trunk will be my playground! 



Two things were very important for me:

1. No deadlines

2. It really had to look awesome (with the risk of lesser "soundquality")



So i hope i answered most of your questions and that everybody understands what i'm doing and where i'm going to with this install.


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## Dmack

robolop said:


> I've read all the comments posted on this forum regarding my beemer.
> 
> I'll try to explain what it is that i'm building.
> 
> 
> 
> For starters: i'm NOT going to compete in a competition what so ever.
> 
> 
> 
> I've mounted the speakers in the A-pillars like this with only one perpose: because i liked them to be in that position. I know that mounting them in floorpots would be the best way for soundquality, but i' ve chosen for the "the visual aspect".
> 
> 
> 
> The Alpine head unit is mounted in a strange place, because that was the ONLY place available. I didn't want to touch the dash nor the middleconsole.
> 
> I've mounted the remotecontrole so that every passenger in the car can use it. That's not what most of the installs with fixed controles have...
> 
> 
> 
> The PPI amp in the trunk will be replaced bij a brand new Focal amplifier.
> 
> 
> 
> I also know that it's better to play with an MDF subbox and a 10" woofer than with the 5" woofers i use. But, i have to say that i have a lot of experience with the smaller types, so i know what these babies are capable of. So i accepted the challenge.
> 
> 
> 
> Something about the choise of materials...
> 
> Carbonfibre, carbonkevlar and aluminium aren't everyones favorites, but i love hem, so i'll use them.
> 
> 
> 
> I hope you guys can see that this isn't a hobby, but an obsession...
> 
> Every free minute i have goes to my BMW.
> 
> I don't even know when it will be finished. This year, next year, i don't care. As long as it is 100% perfect.
> 
> 
> 
> Conserning the design:
> 
> I wanted the keep the interiour intact except for the A-pillars.
> 
> The trunk will be my playground!
> 
> 
> 
> Two things were very important for me:
> 
> 1. No deadlines
> 
> 2. It really had to look awesome (with the risk of lesser "soundquality")


Man look, if anybody gives you crap about your install, that is just because they can't compete with your quality and skill. There is no “best” when it comes to personal taste. What you have built is phenomenal.

The ONLY thing I could possibly mention is the fact that the mids and tweets would inhibit the function of the side airbag. I know this because I am building a-pillars on an e46 myself. 

This e46 is my M3. I am building it to hopefully be completed by August. I have to say, your install has fueled my imagination. Keep it up man!


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## chad

robolop said:


> I also know that it's better to play with an MDF subbox and a 10" woofer than with the 5" woofers i use. But, i have to say that i have a lot of experience with the smaller types, so i know what these babies are capable of. So i accepted the challenge.
> 
> 
> 
> Something about the choise of materials...
> 
> Carbonfibre, carbonkevlar and aluminium aren't everyones favorites, but i love hem, so i'll use them.



Stands and applauds 

Good for you man!


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## robolop

chad said:


> Stands and applauds
> 
> Good for you man!



THX MATE FOR YOU POSITIVE REACTION


----------



## fastfreddy7

I am also in love with the install, particularly the door panels, now I m dying to see some new progress shots!


----------



## Dmack

Also, I heard a car at final several years ago that had Focal 5" subs. I am thinking it was a blue VW or Audi from Europe. That car sounded unreal. Plenty of bass from those little guys.


----------



## Rbsarve

Hi Robolop, just have to say that we are relly impressed over here in Sweden aswell, I posted a link to your install on the local EMMA forum and the consensus was that this was just about the best install anyone has seen.

Some of the people commenting has very impressive installs, taking full points in install with bonus on the EMMA finals! 

Way cool, keep enjoying it! We did!


----------



## robolop

SOME PICS OF MY 19 inch WHEELS.


----------



## rbn14

Really impressive robolop. What kind of bits are you using in your router to cut aluminum?


----------



## Dmack

You can use normal bits on aluminum so long as you go slow and keep the parts oiled. However, I also have a couple of 1/4" aluminum end mills that I use in my router for cutting out parts.


----------



## ztc

thats awesome my friend has that exact beamer in gold he'll get a kick out of that


----------



## syd-monster

i LORV your wheels! Very nice choice! Nice dish depth and the black suits the cars scheme overall! You have one fantastic BMW.


----------



## Excellrec

The craftsmanship in this install is very inspiring. The first time I saw it I knew it was something exceptional that I would draw inspiration from for my work. I don't really care what it sounds like, it is purely an aesthetic inspiration to me. It has got class and that's what I hope to give my work. I love the radical choices of materials as well. Keep the pics and updates coming!


----------



## joeymac

that is one of if not THE best install i have ever seen...
the patience is admireable...i am very jealous and 
extremely inspired.


----------



## robolop

THX DUDE FOR THE NICE COMMENT


----------



## HAL 9000

Sweet Bimmer!


----------



## robolop

Right now i'm working on the brakes. These will stay original, but they will look a lot better once i'll be ready.

The caliper claws will get a silver paint finish.


































I also want to make the protection plates behind the discs a little larger (2cm smaller than the inside of the rims)



































The idea is to make these plates in carbon kevlar.

The major part of the work on these modifications will be the supports that have to attach the carbon kevlar plates.

One spypic...........:excited::excited:


----------



## Dougie085

I'm going to have to read up on doing your own carbon fiber work because this stuff looks awesome


----------



## robolop

Dougie085 said:


> I'm going to have to read up on doing your own carbon fiber work because this stuff looks awesome




THX DUDE


----------



## Dmack

What kind of epoxy resin are you using? It looks really thick.


----------



## robolop

The most difficult part of the work on the protection plates is done. Because the ones that were originally mounted weren't stong enough, i needed to make the supports myself. These are the ones for the front .
































Was a lot of work to give them a perfect finish. You should come and have a look under my car to see what a hard job it was 
Here you can see the shape of the protection plates i made.
This is not the final product, just the mould I made to have the job done.
Where the ring stops is where the original brake calipers should fit. 










Next I will made some kind of boomerang, that will be the coolest part of this modification.
This one comes 3cm more to the outside (compared to the protection plate)










Now I'm going to make the protection plate in carbon Kevlar,
and then 2 sets of boomerangs, one set in carbon and one set in bright red.
Then i can compare the results when they are mounted and decide which set I'll keep.

I'll also have the lettering "BERYLLIUM" in white paint on the boomerangs.


----------



## ssj2xxgotenxx

This guy for president... I'm going to look at this thread every time I go to work on my car.


----------



## robolop

Here you can see the support for the protection plate.
If you take a closer look you can also see the original plate, which now is onlly the size of de dics brake.The supports is bolt on the same bolts that hold the brake caliper claw.

































And this is disk I can slide over it, the one I will use as mold for th carbon kevlar parts.



















The whole thing is attached with 5 bolts (size M5).
Here you can see all parts, the boomerang included.





























You can also see that the boomerang comes 3cm more forward than the plate itself.
The disc is 1cm smaller than the perimeter of the wheel.


----------



## capnxtreme

You are a sick man.


----------



## DonutHands

you are going to have to redo these parts once you go with a BBK


----------



## robolop

internecine said:


> you are going to have to redo these parts once you go with a BBK



And what is a "BBK" ?


----------



## robolop

capnxtreme said:


> You are a sick man.



SORRY DUDE


----------



## capnxtreme

in a good way


----------



## AUr6

BBK = Big Brake Kit


----------



## MazDAMN

I dont see him having problems with redoing it. 

Honestly, you have more time and work into this than I've seen in custom builds. Just the time in making those parts for the brakes, and all the stuff in the trunk HAS to be time consuming.


----------



## burningmind

Gotta say carbon fiber isn't my personal favorite either, but extraordinary job!


----------



## HondAudio

robolop said:


> I'TS WORKING THIS WAY..


Thought so... I hope you put about 10 layers of deadening on that spare well


----------



## Dmack

robolop said:


> And what is a "BBK" ?


big brake kit


----------



## robolop

Meanwhile, the supports are all ready and painted.









Now I can start with the nice work. The carbon kevlar plates are flat, and therefore easy to make.
First I took a piece of glass and cleaned it thourougly.
Then I polished it with wax and rubbed it with a cloth till it was shiny like a mirror, a process which I repeated 4 times , till it has a very thin layer of wax all over it (needed to remove the kevlar smoothly).



















Next, I've spread a layer of epoxy over the glass and put the kevlar on it.










And then I've put 3 extra layers of fibreglass cloth over it to make it extra strong.



























Once it all dried up and hardened out, I pulled it off the glass, and this is the result :


----------



## vinnymack

Man looking good!! Keep us updated


----------



## robolop

I made a carbon version of the boomerangs as well

















Here a picture with the carbon kevlar plates, the brake caliper claws still need a paintjob.


----------



## robolop

On this picture you can see that the rear side of the disc is complete open, so it sits free in the wind.:read::read::read:


----------



## robolop

internecine said:


> you are going to have to redo these parts once you go with a BBK


It's not my intention to buy bigger brakes at all,
I'll keep those original......


----------



## AUr6

any chance for a shot of more of the car in the picture where you can see the work you've done around the brakes? I'm interested in seeing how it looks overall. great job on everything!

so you took the stock brake dust shield off entirely? Won't that allow brake dust to go all over the place? I guess it's no big deal... just more frequent cleaning...


----------



## Dougie085

I think he just wrapped the stock shield in CF.


----------



## Fran82

This disc is to replace the stock shield. It's complete carbon kevlar, not a wrap. 
Honestly don't think I like the look. Kind of looks like plaid, and makes the stock disc look tiny. As suggested, maybe a full side pic of the car might let us see how it really looks. 
BTW, I know that piece probably doesn't need a lot of strength, but I thought carbon kevlar really lacked strength in flat sections without some bracing, like a lip around the edge, similar to factory.


----------



## robolop

The brake caliper claws got their first layer of primer.

















And I also made new carbon centercaps for the wheels.


----------



## robolop

I've sanded the brakes a second time and now they're ready to be painted "Titan Silver". 
No need to tell you that is took hours of labour to get them nice and smooth. 
And believe me, this will be the last time i've done something like this.

picture front set: 























Picture rear: 































I'm also planning to have the outside of the brakediscs painted alswell.


----------



## robolop

Conserning the Carbonkevlar discs, i've sprayed another layer on them. 
























The boomerangs are equiped with a "Beryllium"- logo. 

























and a set of carbon





























These will be the disks mounted in the center of the wheel.


----------



## Fran82

robolop said:


> I'm also planning to have the outside of the brakediscs painted alswell.


What are you planning on painting? Looks like you primed the actual disk here. 
The area in the middle can all be painted, even the mating surface that you have taped off where the mounting holes are.


----------



## robolop

he caliper claws are finish. Paint TITAN SILVER.
Front.




































Rear.





































TITANSILVER boemerangs.



















Build them out of carbon fiber.











brake rotors (SILVER).


----------



## GlasSman

Wow! Thats alot of work you're putting into the cosmetic details

But....put a BAer big brake kit on that car!

After all that highly detailed work you did the little teenie weenie stock brakes just don't do it justice.


----------



## Nathan P

I agree on the brakes, the look would be great if the disks were bigger, as is, it's a bit cheesy. Otherwise your work is AMAZING.


----------



## werxnit

nice car


----------



## robolop

The brakes are back on the car, everything is mounted again without making any scratches.
Now, the idea us to look which boomerangs give the best match to the complete setup; here a few pics of the complete carbon kevlar setup.



















































Here you have the black carbon boomerang. Personally, till now, I like this one best. The BERYLLIUM logo has a much nicer contrast on the black background.












































































Considering the carbon kevlar plates, they certainly aren't overdone (I was a little afraid the opposite might've been the case).
Last week Saturday I already started to make a version of those plates in carbon. I finished 2 of them. I won't spend time on making 2 more, because I already know that I prefer the carbon kevlar look.


----------



## robolop

Here's the setup with the silver boomerang.
This is my favorite combination.















































































































Soon I'll post pics with the wheels mounted on the car.


----------



## robolop

I've got some pics with the wheels on the car.:excited::excited:

This is the side with the silver boomerangs, I like this look best.


----------



## robolop

At the other side i have one in carbon kevlar .














and one in carbon fibre..:yikes::yikes:


----------



## RedlineAudio

Dang.


----------



## syd-monster

still... too cool BM'ah. Still lovin your install robolop. Dare I ask about the boot install finished pics???


----------



## Fran82

The silver with the carbon kevlar makes it look like you might have big brakes, so I'd go with that one too. One suggestion though, you might want to paint the backing plate on the brake pads (maybe just black or red) or clean them up. The close pictures make those the only low(dirty) point of the brakes.


----------



## robolop

syd-monster said:


> still... too cool BM'ah. Still lovin your install robolop. Dare I ask about the boot install finished pics???




Next, I'll continue with the ICE install in the rear trunk


----------



## robolop

Fran82 said:


> The silver with the carbon kevlar makes it look like you might have big brakes, so I'd go with that one too. One suggestion though, you might want to paint the backing plate on the brake pads (maybe just black or red) or clean them up. The close pictures make those the only low(dirty) point of the brakes.




I know, I noticed it too late, but I'll do something about it


----------



## dvsadvocate

Damn! This car should be re-badged as Focal! Nice nice!


----------



## robolop

dvsadvocate said:


> Damn! This car should be re-badged as Focal! Nice nice!




Making that wouldn't even be a bad idea. Original, isn't it?


----------



## Powers

Can anyone answer this.. where does one get a polycarbonate tub like the one he used?


----------



## Powers

Looking at it again, it appears to be sheeting that was just bent into shape.


----------



## robolop

Powers said:


> Can anyone answer this.. where does one get a polycarbonate tub like the one he used?




I've had it custom made. 
it has the exact content my subs need.


----------



## robolop

When i bought the beemer sixteen month's ago, i decided to clean it verry intencively.
Remember this.:bawling::bawling:





































Everything i could take off did go off to clean it . A few weeks ago i decided to take the car for a second cleaning tour an give it an nice polisch because it is 9 years old.

In the past i did polisch my other cars but not every time with good results.
I decided to buy and use the riwax products after some conversations with some people.
These are the products i have bought.








At first i started to clean the engine,with good results as you can see.


----------



## robolop




----------



## chuyler1

What kind of cleaner is that, and where did you get that nifty brush???


----------



## Whiterabbit

brush looks like a shaving kit brush.


----------



## Fran82

Wow. I try to keep the engine bays on my cars clean, but that is amazing. I've never been able to get results like that. What product did you use underhood?


----------



## Powers

robolop said:


> I've had it custom made.
> it has the exact content my subs need.


That's too bad for me! I love it!


----------



## robolop

The sides of the MDF had to fit the rubber of the trunk nicely.









































After I made the MDF boards, i was afraid that it wouldn't look nice and that they would oversize.
Here is the result, and at least I am satisfied with it.......


----------



## robolop

Here some pictures of the car after the cleaningjob. 
I don't realy like the pictures i made. I think it's hard to take proper pictures of a grey car, because of the light. 
Same of my friends asked me if i had the car clearcoated again. I loved that compliment. 
Don't forget, the car is 9 years old... 



































on these images you can see that i had the windows tinted. side 30%, rear 50%






















The exteriour of the beemer will stay like this for about a year. 
Afterwards i will make it look more aggresive. This CSL frontbumper wil be mounted, with some carbon extra's ofcourse. 










I don't now yet what to to with the rear, but i'm plaaning om mounting an M3 type muffler. 
This will not be easy, because an original M3 doen not have a sparertire mounted underneath. 
The front grill and crome parts around the windows and the roof will be painted shiny black.


----------



## robolop

As said before, i made 3 carbon dustcovers to mount inbetween the brakedisk and the rim. I also finished the 4th. Otherwise it would have ended up in the trashcan. 
I've spaypainted the carbokevlarn boomerangs red. The red i've use is rather dark, because i didn't want it to be to bright. 
Here i picture of the rings i've let someone make me. as you can see, they fit much better than the previous ones. 










Here you can see the combination of the red boomerangs with the carbon, discs. It realy shows that there is not much contrast with the black wheels and the dark carbon. But i must say, in real life they look much better than on this picture. 

















































Here you can see that it's not too flashy on the beemer. 









Concerning the dustcovers: i now have the possibility to combine all the different sizes and colors i've already made.


----------



## robolop

have been thinking things over. I forgot that i still have a set of realy ugly Focal crossover.
















At first i wanted to integrate them in an MDF board, but that's not flashy enough. 
Now i'm going to integrate then completely so that i can let them come out automaticly. At least i'm going to try... 
These are the filters i was talking about. 
The white plastic strips will be replaced by black strips.



















I can say that this looks much better. 












The plexy boards were the filters used to be mounted on are now removed. 
I've replaced them with an MDF board wich got an "uppermill treatement' 




















This board will be mounted on top of the other one 









Here you can see them on top of eachother 











I made this because i didn't want the speakercables to be visible. 













So the cables are guided from one side to another inbetween the 2 boards.


----------



## robolop

Filters mounted... 








































Here you can see that i have enough space between the board for the wires. 






















Than the time came to make a hinge. after thinking it over i came up with this. 











I took a flat piece of iron, and welded a twist bit on the left and right side. 
As simple as that. 











Then i made 2 other pieces which fit in. 









By mounting this on the ends, i will keep the margin as small as possible


----------



## robolop

Here you can see how i'm going to mount the crossover tray underneath the back shelf. 
I started by mounting a MDF board, afterwards i've cut a hole so that the tray fits. 
On that board i'm going to mount the hiinges. 



























Here you can see a part of the tray where the crossovers will be mounted in. 










On this picture you can see the tray while it is closing. The hightec stick you can see will be made out of carbon. 



















This is what it lookes like when it is fully opened.


----------



## robolop

Here i show you how far i'm going to allow it to open.


----------



## robolop

I'm going to cover the crossovercase with a piece of plexy. I usually allway try to use real glass, but because i want this one to bend a bit, i'm forced to use plexy. 
I first intended to just order a "ready-made" piece, but instead i'm going to try to bend it myself. 
the plexy has a 5mm gauche. 
The first test came out pretty good. 
I've clamped and than heated it with a hot air paint remover. 
This is the result. 










I noticed that by heating it, it get's rough. 
so i had to sand the irregularity. First with a wet nr 800 sandpaper, then with a nr 1200, to end with a nr 2000. Afterwards i polished the entire piece. 









The ends of the plexy piece were pretty deformed, but i was able to fix this. 











Then it was time to start on the big piece op plexy wich had to cover the entire crossover case. 
This i had to clamp on as much points as possible, bucause i was affraid that it would easely deform because of the heat. 






























than i heated it nicely so that it would easely bent. 


















If you don't fixate it firmly, everything will deform for sure. Here you can see that my piece is pretty straight.


----------



## robolop

Then i started sanding. I started with a nr 1200 to end with a nr 2000. 



















Afterward i started polishing. 



















My plexy cover looks great, and has only cost me 7 euro.


----------



## Pistons23

Fran82 said:


> Wow. I try to keep the engine bays on my cars clean, but that is amazing. I've never been able to get results like that. *What product did you use underhood?*


were still waiting for an answer


----------



## robolop

Pistons23 said:


> were still waiting for an answer


RIWAX MOTO-QUICK

SORRY DUDE


----------



## robolop

I wasn't satisfied about the result i became by using the springs, so i've decided to use a motor instead. 

instead. 






































The frame to mount the cross over tray also needed some extra attention to make it stronger. 
Now, finally, everthing works as planned. 
So now it is time to complete the next step: make the covers for all this...


----------



## TXwrxWagon

Pistons23 said:


> were still waiting for an answer


here in the states: Simple Green Automotive to clean it on a warm engine... spray everything with straight Simple Green... let it work for 5-10 minutes... enjoy a soda or energy drink.... I leave the car running...

next use high pressure water, hose from the underside of the hood down... don't spray directly on to electronics... just release the handle of the sprayer...

after completely clear water runs down (all the Simple Green is gone)... drive the car a while to dry the engine area out... it should be clean & just "dull"

Carefully spray a non-silcone based protectant anywhere you cannot reach. Where you can reach, spray to a towel & wipe on... (I use 303 Aerospace protectant since it doesn't go white when dry under the hood & is not a Ghetto-High Gloss shine)... Buff off any excess or residue. you're done... looks factory fresh without all the Jiz-Gloss..

Rob


----------



## TXwrxWagon

robolop said:


> I wasn't satisfied about the result i became by using the springs, so i've decided to use a motor instead.
> 
> instead.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The frame to mount the cross over tray also needed some extra attention to make it stronger.
> Now, finally, everthing works as planned.
> So now it is time to complete the next step: make the covers for all this...


so your plan is a stainless cable that lowers the crossovers using their own weight & the motor to pull them back up? Nice...

Rob


----------



## syd-monster

The awesome work continues, thanks for sharing robolop! Your work has gained much interest.


----------



## robolop

As you can see, i've made a decent hinge. 
The alloy plates that were supposed to mount on the sides of the tray ended up with the trash. 
The ones you see on this pictures still need to be polished 









Than i used a big piece of glass to create a large piece of carbon. Clearly it still needs some layers of varnish. 










These have been cut into several pieces. 
These parts will be mounted on the inside of the tray (visible when opened) 



































































Afterward i made a cover for the bottom of the trunk. 
A hell of a job. 











The beautifull curves a not visible on the picture. 









This piece is mounted using 5 screws, still 3 visible (for now...) 





























This is the front view, for this i still have a cool trick up my sleeve, but more details lateron. 










Here it shows that my side pieces are too long, but i did that on purpose. 
It als shows that the bottom needs some filling so that everything become nice and smooth. 










On this pic i show you were i've stopped with the curver. the staight mdf piece will eventually become round. i really hate straight lines!


----------



## robolop




----------



## robolop

In the meanwhile i've reinforced the suspension of the cross over tray and spray painted it black 


















I've also modified the tray itself. As you can see, the alloy and plexi parts are no longer going all the way down. 




















I've also modified the curver here and there.
































I created some nice curves on the side pannels so that they nicely fit te curver. 





















































I've mounted a alloy bracket left and right xich will be used to hold the curver. 











This is the minimum margin. 




















When opened, you see the small carbon border. I thing this is the nicest look. 



















Overall picture 










The front piece of this set up will be mounted seperately. This will be a huge task!


----------



## robolop

syd-monster said:


> The awesome work continues, thanks for sharing robolop! Your work has gained much interest.




You're welcome, dude


----------



## robspeed325i

robolop said:


>


GET OFF THE FRICKIN CAR!!! =p


seriously, nice (okay WAYWAYWAYWAY BEYOND NICE!!) job... 

subjectively,, how much bass do you feel inside the car through the trunk wall? how did you vent to the cabin?


----------



## JediMentality

Jesus! You're craftsmanship is astounding. Keep up the good work, and when you're finished, ship the car over in my direction .


----------



## syd-monster

WOW, these last updates are so detailed for something that is really a trim piece! Thanks again mate!


----------



## lowpoke

Jesus, that's some serious attention to detail.


----------



## robolop

Because i had to mill some parts, i've integrated my uppermill in wy workbench. 
























Once this was done, i was ready to start. The alu part on this picture will be mounted on the frontside of the crossovertray. 
First is made a dummy out of cardboard. This was necesary to have a preview of the actual result. 











Afterwards i made a drawing on a 8mm MDF board 










Afterwards i used an electrical saw to cut everything out. 
Then i mounted a smal piece of wood on top of it, so that it was easy to work with my copymill 






































The 8 curves have been sanded by hand. 
This is the model that will get milled out of aluminium


----------



## robolop

Here you can see that i've glued a 5mm alloy piece to the MDF board. 



















Afterwards i've used the copymill again to mill everything nice and easy... 












Once everything was ready i found it rather *****. I didn't like the result because it was too thin. 
So i took another 8mm aluminium piece en started all over again. 
As you can see, i've used the original 4mm part as a mould for the new 8mm part. 



















To obtain the same design as the grill on the subbox, i had to work magic. 
Remember this??? The difference between the holes. 










First i made a board with a thickness of 8mm so that myuppermill couldn't flip over. 









Then i've milled out the 2 parts. Here i've milled 3 mm deep. 










Now this piece had the same look as the grill.


----------



## robolop

It took me about 8 hours to make this part. 
Now it needs some more hours to sand and pollish it. 
That's what they call: making an alloy piece..


----------



## robolop

I've created a crooked side on the back of the alu plate. This is because i'm going to work it into the polyester. This will make it easier to take out the piece. 





















Here i've made a carbon box for my Sony PSP. 
The horse on top of the box is an original Ferrari logo.


----------



## Kenny_Cox

wow, that is pretty sweet man. Great work.


----------



## craighardy

Nice!


----------



## robolop

JediMentality said:


> Jesus! You're craftsmanship is astounding. Keep up the good work, and when you're finished, ship the car over in my direction .



Forget it!


----------



## robolop

syd-monster said:


> WOW, these last updates are so detailed for something that is really a trim piece! Thanks again mate!


THX MATE



lowpoke said:


> Jesus, that's some serious attention to detail.


That's how it needs to be done... 



Kenny_Cox said:


> wow, that is pretty sweet man. Great work.


THX DUDE



craighardy said:


> Nice!


THX DUDE


----------



## low

overseas guys do such great work. i dig the doors the most. everything else i'll pass


----------



## robolop

Today i've polished the aluminium part. 
Firt i've monted it on al MDF board to protect my fingers from getting burned. 
this is the result after 2 hours of polishing.


----------



## robolop

Here you can see how it should like like when it is finished. 
as i've said before: on the frontside of the crossovertray. 



















Then i started taking some serious risks. 
The straight part needed to be "less straight" so i had to bend it. 
Therefor i created this.


----------



## robolop

So, now the part is ready to integrate in the rest of the booth. 
Now i need to make a piece to mount on the backside of the aluminium part. this will be made out of carbon. 
I've milled the model out of a 3 by 22 mm MDF board 
Afterward i had to mount them back to back.


----------



## robolop

This will be used as a mould. 
I've made the thing so that i can use my 2 hands while working. 








Here you can see that the part can spin.








I've used some paper tape. 
Afterwards i've covered it with a layer of carbon en 4 layors of polyester.


----------



## robolop

Now that evering thing is dry, the mdf parts are no longer needed. 
So i'll use a saw to get them out. 
I'm not sure if it will work... 
It's a risk i had to take. 










I continued taking the piece out of the mould. 
I had to clean it up a bit. 









With an electrical saw i was able to remove the biggest pieces. 









So now you see why i made the 2 holes in the board. Much easier to saw! 
The rest was taken out by hand.


----------



## robolop

This is what it lookes like on the inside. In the middle you can see whe the 2 pieces of tape came together. after a few more layers of epoxy, it will look spotless. 











Time to use my GIANT sandingtool.











On the other side i've sanded the curves of the allow part. 











He're i'm using my router to mill out a piece of plexyglass.


----------



## robolop

The plexy will get mounted on the backside of the allow part. 








This is how everything should look like in the end.


----------



## robolop

Don't go thinking that it's done! I planning on doing something special with the carbonpart, but i have to figure out if it is possible and if i have enough space to to it. 
Now i going to make the front to mount on the crossovertray. 

I still need to make a piece of plexy to mount on the rear of the carbon tray 



















Plexy mounted.


----------



## robolop

Here y ou can see how it will be mounted on the frontside


----------



## Powers

Interesting. What will be behind the plexi?


----------



## syd-monster

Powers said:


> Interesting. What will be behind the plexi?


I think he's going to have it so it shows through to the Focal cross-overs, as he has on the previous page. But honestly, even Im not sure. The detail on this build... its out there.


----------



## robolop

I've made a special present for my special lady. 
I made this for her so that she has a place to put her rings.


----------



## GlasSman

You're such a nice guy Rob......

Make me some CF parts.


----------



## robolop

GlasSman said:


> You're such a nice guy Rob......
> 
> Make me some CF parts.


no thx dude

:z:


----------



## syd-monster

dang,... and I was going to ask how the BM is going?>>  ?


----------



## robolop




----------



## Potent

Absolutely awesome...

You are truelly an inspiration to me...:thumbsup:


----------



## Syracuse Customs

I have been following the install for a while over on the car sound forums.... Your fabrication skills make me crazy. My favorite part so far is the block of marble with sand paper from a floor sander to get a perfect flat surface. Just makes me smile. Your attention to detail are the types of things I strive for and other people should to. Thank you for taking thing to another level of taste and refinement. Still can't believe you plunge routered all that aluminum. I wish I had that kind of time. 

I did have one question when you resign your carbon fiber do you press it and heat it when its drying to get a smooth finish or do you float it on and just wet sand it up and clear it ?

Can't wait to see more !


----------



## Syracuse Customs

Oh one more thing any critics of this install need to lock it up. I can remember anyone doing this level of work around here.


----------



## robolop

ruffryderso said:


> I have been following the install for a while over on the car sound forums.... Your fabrication skills make me crazy. My favorite part so far is the block of marble with sand paper from a floor sander to get a perfect flat surface. Just makes me smile. Your attention to detail are the types of things I strive for and other people should to. Thank you for taking thing to another level of taste and refinement. Still can't believe you plunge routered all that aluminum. I wish I had that kind of time.
> 
> I did have one question when you resign your carbon fiber do you press it and heat it when its drying to get a smooth finish or do you float it on and just wet sand it up and clear it ?
> 
> Can't wait to see more !



No pressing of heating needed. I just give it time to dry and than wet sand it like a maniac.

And by the way: It's not made out of marble, just MDF (wood)....


----------



## robolop

I needed to adjust the backside of the poly part. Now it fits nicely and is just the way i wanted it to be.










































Here you can see the crossovertray while opening.


----------



## robolop

Picture of the inside of the place where the crossovertray will be mounted in.
































Next thing to do is shape the front of the tray so that is will fit for 100%.


----------



## robolop

It was pretty cold, but i found a way to keep me warm.
This is what my workshop lookes like after sanding on the tones of metallica's death magnetic.









As you can see, i've used a can of spraypaint to sand the curves.


----------



## ludobrev

Congratulations, your work is truly remarkable and is well worth the focal material! 

For skeptics, four 13WS can give excellent results!

My old had four 5WS for my sub and yielded excellent results







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[/URL][/IMG]


----------



## jingle-jangle

WOW! keep it coming! :speechless::2thumbsup::biggrinflip:


----------



## robolop

Here's a picture of the finished part to fit on the front of the crossovertray. 












































On this picture you can see that it fits perfectly.


----------



## robolop

I've cut some glas to mount in the sidepanels. 
























Then i've sanded the carbon frames and prepared them to get painted. 









The inner rail is mounted a bit lower than the rest. I'm going to fix everything with TEC7.


----------



## robolop

The carbon on the frontside is sanded and ready to get clearcoated.


----------



## robolop

I've cut some glas to mount in the sidepanels. 
























Then i've sanded the carbon frames and prepared them to get painted. 









The inner rail is mounted a bit lower than the rest. I'm going to fix everything with TEC7.




























The carbon on the frontside is sanded and ready to get clearcoated.


----------



## robolop

The carbon part that will be mounted on the front of the tray is sanded and ready to be clearcoated. 































In the meanwhile everything is removed from the car, so that it can get a final touch . 
The carbon is already covered with epoxy. 


























I've been looking at the crossovertray, and it misses something... 
In the front you can see the lights that i will be mounting.


----------



## syd-monster

Still pushing those boundaries rob! EXCELENT!
Good to see you using a guide coat for the chop down of the panel (good panel beaters trick).
Looking forward to your next upgrade.

BTW, can I recommend you cover the glass panels in some clear film. As you would be suprised how easy that 3mm glass breaks, specially with BASS. Just some advice...


----------



## robolop

I've made some changes to the sidepanels. 
The straight part looked rathed ugly, so i've changed its shape. 
Here you can see that i've made the changes so that everything fits perfectly.

































Clearcoated.


----------



## robolop

This is what will be mounted inside of the crossovertray. 
It will be covered with carbon.


----------



## robolop




----------



## syd-monster

Were still watching with intense Robolop! Great!


----------



## robolop

Some carbon parts are already clearcoated en ready to be installed .




























































These 2 alulinium plates will be used to guide the connectors from the crossover..


----------



## robolop

The inside of the crossovertray is also covered in carbon .


----------



## tr0y_audi0

we need more!!

Great work man,


----------



## robolop

tr0y_audi0 said:


> we need more!!
> 
> Great work man,


THX MATE :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:


----------



## audisoner 596

Very nice...but those 5" subs should be in cabin


----------



## robolop

I've bent 16 massive kopper tubes to connect the focal crossovers. 















































Then i made the screws shorter so that it all looks better. 






















The holes in the aluminium are equiped with LED holders. Now i have a good isolation between the the kopper and the aluminium.


----------



## robolop

at the end of every kopper tube i'm going to fasten some speakercable.


----------



## tr0y_audi0

Nice, 
Hats off to all the hard work & great detail!


----------



## braves6117

I always look forward to your updates. Great and exciting work!


----------



## robolop

at the end of every kopper tube i'm going to fasten some speakercable.


----------



## Blown Mustang GT

Sick work!!!!

Keep it up! Looks great!


----------



## jeffhawn

I may be more excited about seeing the conclusion of your project than I am about ever actually finishing my OWN rig..

I wish I had your ability as a craftsman.


----------



## 3Sixty Industries

This truly is one sick build!! The attention to detail is amazing!


----------



## HondAudio

robolop said:


> The holes in the aluminium are equiped with LED holders. Now i have a good isolation between the the kopper and the aluminium.


I can see you're a perfectionist, and I don't want to be a dick, but the fourth hole from the left looks crooked.


----------



## Mooble

HondAudio said:


> I can see you're a perfectionist, and I don't want to be a dick, but the fourth hole from the left looks crooked.


You're a cruel man!  It is about .5mm too high. Maybe his guide had a bump in it. You just cost the poor man another 3 hours of labor.


----------



## JayinMI

It's probably just play in the LED holder. Once everything is mounted, it will be perfect. I wouldn't expect anything less on this build. He's taken everything else so far, I don't believe he would skimp here.

Jay


----------



## syd-monster

Robolop, thank you for the latest update! Fantastic.


----------



## robolop

The aluminium part which will become the frontcover of the crossovertay has been chromed .

























The aluminium parts which need to guide the kopper and the piece inbetween the carbon will also get chromed. 
This will make it easier for me to keep everything clean in the future.


----------



## Blown Mustang GT

Looks Killer!!! Keep up the great work!

You're right, having everything chromed will be much easier to maintain.


----------



## robolop

HondAudio said:


> I can see you're a perfectionist, and I don't want to be a dick, but the fourth hole from the left looks crooked.


Thanks for telling me that. 
I've looked at it for about 50 times, but i didn't notice it. 
I 'll try to solve it by enlarging the hole so that i can slide the ledholder a bit.


----------



## 4sixty2fairlane

Simply stunning.


----------



## robolop

These alumium plates are made to be mounted on the side of the crossovertray. 
The previous ones have been removed because they didn't completely fit the rest of the design. 











De aluminium parts on the side of the crossovertray have been replaced so the they have the same look. 
Attention to detail... 

I've used the old router. 



























Afterwards it all got polished.


----------



## Blown Mustang GT

As always, well done!


----------



## syd-monster

Just keeps getting better,

Robolop, can I ask. How long have you given yourself to complete this project? Ie 1 to 2 years?


----------



## robolop

This is the complete set up, you can see that everything worked out pretty good. 
It's not easy perfectly line up the 16 tubes, and the fact that the connectionpoints on the cross-over aren't even in a straight angle doens't make it easier. 
















The kopper connectors have been sanded and clearcoated


----------



## robolop

The aluminium parts which need to guide the kopper and the piece inbetween the carbon will also get chromed. 
This will make it easier for me to keep everything clean in the future.


----------



## braves6117

Well done sir! I love work that exudes passion!

You should throw up a shot of your workshop as well


----------



## braves6117

****. My post created a new page.

Here's a quote so your work can be viewed.




robolop said:


> This is the complete set up, you can see that everything worked out pretty good.
> It's not easy perfectly line up the 16 tubes, and the fact that the connectionpoints on the cross-over aren't even in a straight angle doens't make it easier.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The kopper connectors have been sanded and clearcoated


----------



## braves6117

And again, brilliant work!!!



robolop said:


>





robolop said:


> The aluminium parts which need to guide the kopper and the piece inbetween the carbon will also get chromed.
> This will make it easier for me to keep everything clean in the future


----------



## ludobrev

C'est vraiment Magnifique!!!


----------



## hybridspl

I was a pretty successful well know installer for nearly ten years, and every time I look at this guys car I feel like an amateur! If I wasn't so lazy, I would have to consider stepping up my game.


----------



## syd-monster

+1 on hybridspl's comment. I too did private jobs back in the day for about 7 years, but my fab skills wouldn't come close back then, let alone now!
Thank you for the updates Robolop!


----------



## 12v Electronics

syd-monster said:


> Just keeps getting better,
> 
> Robolop, can I ask. How long have you given yourself to complete this project? Ie 1 to 2 years?


The speakers will be dry-rotted by then 

The work is INCREDIBLE. I have been following a link to the build on one of the BMW forums for a while and it just keeps getting better and better. 

Robo, since most of the compliments like: Great job, keep up the good work, excellent craftsmanship, etc. has been used already, please let me compliment your desire to create things out of the ordinary. I'm not sure where you learned to do the best that you can, but this is a great testiment to your skill and desire to create something unique. 

I love it!!


----------



## IBcivic

badass is an understatement 

very impressive


----------



## robolop

he you can see everything mounted in the car
this is the frontpiece of the crossovertray.









picture of everything opened. but i won't let ik open this much.
First i'll mount everything so that i can see what i'm going to do with it










the carbonworks...






























This is the kevlar piece which will be mounted behind the aluminium on the side of the tray


----------



## robolop




----------



## designer485

UM...WOW! This build just keeps getting more crazy. Nice work!


----------



## tr0y_audi0

Sorry Rob, I just dont like it anymore.. its just tomuch...

J/K
Great use of space & materials
very sick man


----------



## meteoro84

this is [email protected] amazing !!! excelent work


----------



## IBcivic

i will be going to visit relatives in belgium soon.....i would just die seeing this in person....


----------



## Notloudenuf

hole lee ****!!!!!!!! i wish i knew half of what this guy has forgotten about fabrication


----------



## syd-monster

wow.... what can you say.


----------



## Fran82

Thanks for sharing this. Awesome craftsmanship and attention to detail!!


----------



## ECM

talk about "measure twice, cut once!"

Excellent build skills.


----------



## robolop

hybridspl said:


> I was a pretty successful well know installer for nearly ten years, and every time I look at this guys car I feel like an amateur! If I wasn't so lazy, I would have to consider stepping up my game.


don't worry, i'm also an amateur




syd-monster said:


> +1 on hybridspl's comment. I too did private jobs back in the day for about 7 years, but my fab skills wouldn't come close back then, let alone now!
> Thank you for the updates Robolop!


with pleasure, dude



12v Electronics said:


> The speakers will be dry-rotted by then
> 
> The work is INCREDIBLE. I have been following a link to the build on one of the BMW forums for a while and it just keeps getting better and better.
> 
> Robo, since most of the compliments like: Great job, keep up the good work, excellent craftsmanship, etc. has been used already, please let me compliment your desire to create things out of the ordinary. I'm not sure where you learned to do the best that you can, but this is a great testiment to your skill and desire to create something unique.
> 
> I love it!!



the only way to learn is to do it


----------



## robolop

Fran82 said:


> Thanks for sharing this. Awesome craftsmanship and attention to detail!!





ECM said:


> talk about "measure twice, cut once!"
> 
> Excellent build skills.






stinky06 said:


> badass is an understatement
> 
> very impressive





designer485 said:


> UM...WOW! This build just keeps getting more crazy. Nice work!


 sometimes you have to do crazy things, you only live once


----------



## robolop

tr0y_audi0 said:


> Sorry Rob, I just dont like it anymore.. its just tomuch...
> 
> J/K
> Great use of space & materials
> very sick man




no problem; dude, everyone has the right to have an oppinion


----------



## robolop

stinky06 




DIYMA freshman
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: montreal,canada
Posts: 132 




iTrader: (1)



Re: One badassed BMW 330 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i will be going to visit relatives in belgium soon.....i would just die seeing this in person.... 


no problem, come over to visit
We have some great fries, chocolate and offcourse ROBOLOP


----------



## robolop

Notloudenuf said:


> hole lee ****!!!!!!!! i wish i knew half of what this guy has forgotten about fabrication





syd-monster said:


> wow.... what can you say.





Fran82 said:


> Thanks for sharing this. Awesome craftsmanship and attention to detail!!





ECM said:


> talk about "measure twice, cut once!"
> 
> Excellent build skills.




you're welcome. that's why i've started this topic


----------



## NickoDaFsh

I have come up with some interesting concepts in my days but I have never seen anything as beautiful as this.... excellent work!!


----------



## robolop

I've modified the part used to hold the motor in to place.
I've made everything stronger
















here you can see how everything works


----------



## IBcivic

robolop said:


> stinky06
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DIYMA freshman
> Join Date: Jan 2009
> Location: montreal,canada
> Posts: 132
> 
> 
> 
> 
> iTrader: (1)
> 
> 
> 
> Re: One badassed BMW 330
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> i will be going to visit relatives in belgium soon.....i would just die seeing this in person....
> 
> 
> no problem, come over to visit
> We have some great fries, chocolate and offcourse ROBOLOP


merde alors!!!...... gauffres/chocolat et de la carbonne

belgian waffles /chocolat and carbon fiber....yippeee!


----------



## tommybuiltinc

Robolop's work is undenieably the best attention to every detail in the fabrication of what a true SQ audio build should be. That is just my opinion but, i have been a car audio Installer/Builder for 10 years and ever since i have seen the builds from the alpine show cars, i beleive this work is more practical and the design work is cleaner. Every step of the build is planned out and ready for the next work of art to be placed into the puzzle. I will strive to become better with my skills with the help of seeing work like this and i hope that is why we all look in awe at these type of builds. I hope it inspires everyone on this forum even if you think this work is over the top. It is just another way to show the mechanical side of art work. I LOVE IT


----------



## Porky

What a true inspiration!! I don't know how anyone could look through all these pages and not want to step their game up. Theres not many installs that just have me floored, but this is special.

I would also like to comment on the pics. The pics are amazing and say so much. This is by far the best car audio build thread ever posted on the internet.

Robolop, you are amazing and thank you so much for sharing your God given talent with us.


----------



## talibmohamid

man this is reeeedicculous man....you guys really put ur foot in this install and It is truely one of my favorites I have ran into,,,,man keep up the good work


----------



## Yoursogansta

Robolop, thanks for showing your work. These installs are fantasy...


----------



## robolop

After surfing all through the net, finally I found the frontbumper I liked, and decided to go for a CSL model.
There will be likers and hater, but I likes it, that's the main thing...
Like everyone already knows, the bumper is only for the E46 M3, since this is a coupé, it'll has to be a "CSL look-a-like model".

To be sure that the bumper, at delivery, will fitt 100%, I emailed all across the globe...
Finally I decided to order the bumper (company name not added here)

I order a plastic, pvc bumper and not a polyester one.. He will be made of the same material as the original bmw bumpers..
The fitment would be 100%... so why wait... ORDER !!!

After 2 weeks of waiting, the bumper was delivered at home.
After unwrapping, I inmediately saw that the bumper was polyester 

Cause the 2 carbon splitters at the bottom were only a surpluss of 100***8364;, so I had ordered those as well..
well, they were not in the package 


Phoned the company and they said they had a fire, and those splitters will be delivered later on...
When I said that the bumper was made out of fiberglass, and not of the plastic I asked...they asured me it was plastic.
left it there, and put the phone down.

Looked at that thing for a couple minutes, and it turned out to be a real nightmare.
You can see what material it's made of... djee, could that be fiberglass?.




















let's do the test


----------



## robolop

the holes.















































the bumps






























Little lip where the original m3, broken.


----------



## robolop

But we have to admit, the little lid where the tow-hook comes, fitted 100%
If it's good, we have to say it too .


----------



## robolop




----------



## robolop

fitted that piece of sh* on the car

How it fitted, well, you guess can guess. I was rollin' on my belly from laughing 
When I tightened it with the screws, it was only 2cm sticking forward.

Already pulled the inside fenders to make it longer, but that didn't work that well lol
Then you have 2 options:
1) trow that thing in the bin or go back to the manufacturer
2) leave it at that, and look again the next day

I chose the last option. 
Cause it was a fiberglass bumper, it could be my luck, cause that's something I familiar with 
So, the next day, took my favorite tool of all: "THE DISC" 

those screws I put 2cm more to the front, so the bumper nicely touched the fenders.










Don't be mistaken, this took a few hours to get it that good.





























Here you see the slots where the plated is hooked with 2 descent screws.











Once this was done, I tightened it all together with fiberglass.











As you can see, I also cleaned out the tow hook didn"t match at all...


----------



## robolop

This is how it sits on the car, and matches the fenders pretty nice.



































Next thing to do is to flatten the top of the bumper, cause now you can surf on the waves...
First making a little plate of 3mm thick against the hood and the 2 pieces the come under the lights.
So we will have 3mm of difference everywhere at the top
And when this is done, I get it back off and flatten it with the sanding block.


----------



## robolop

The next day... with some metallica on the background, but the sanding block with a grain 80 and rubbed some bumper.
First thing that came to light is that there's a big layer of gelcoat on there, witch is good in this case.
After a couple of hours with the block, most of the unevennesses are already gone, and it all looked so much better.

Then I started with connecting it all nicely on the car.
this was easy. Sawed 3 little MDF-plates of 4mm thick.
2 for L & R under the headlights, and one for under the hood.
Just taped it on with doublelayer tape



















Cause the hood has a bit of a rounding, I disced the plate a little, so it goes nice with the flow.











After that, mounted the bumper, and put some filler on there.






























Now, I have to maintain this height, and work towards the front of the bumper. EASY 
O yeah, I also reinforced some pieces at the back of that thing, much better if you have to rubb it all.

Also did a phonecall to the people who delivered me this piece of crap.
Friendly asked to put my money for those carbon splitters back on my account, I'll make those myself...Then we're sure it'll fit..

About all the rest, better to shut up before I get the rest of my euro's back on my account. Then it's time for some puppetshow


----------



## robolop

The connection on the top of the bumper is OK, this fits now how I wanted it.
Then I started to make a notch on top of the bumper, where the hood falls into.
That something you have to put some extra time in, to make this perfect.
So, mounted back the bumper, and where that notch has to come, we taped it all with tape.

Mesured it all correctly and penciled it on the car. After that, pulled the tape and cut it out.

Now this is my model.









made another plate MDF of 4mm thick










Taped this on the bumper with doublesided tape.





















Once this was done, I put some filler towards it.











Rubbed it all down till it fitted to the plate nicely.










Pulled the plate from it, and this was the result.





















then it was childsplay to connect the sideds perfectly.










Cause on the inside, I now had a right upside,I rounded this like it is done on the original bumper
For this, I used white filler instead of black one, so I could see much better if it was all straight in line with everything.


----------



## robolop

Then I also discovered.......the bottom of the bumper was also tilt and crom. aaaaaarg
Anyway, to make this perfect, you have to have a 100% straight table (wich hI had.
Put the bumper on there, and drew it over.
After that, taped the table.
Now you can see how miserable it looked.





























Also put a pile of filler on the side, and put the bumper nicely on the table.





























Here you can see the result of the trick of the table










A perfectly STRAIGHT bumper
life can be beautiful


----------



## robolop

Everything that should have fitted when it was delivered, ... finally fits now !



















here the connections with hood and headlights...







































Have to rubb it down twice or so, one with 240 wet, and then with a 360
ready for primer after that.


----------



## robolop

These are going to be the 2 CF splitters.
Thought about making them in 1 piece, but stepped away from that idea. 
The splitters I going to make, will look a bit different then the original. On the inside, there going to flow out a bit further. You'll see what we mean further on.

This is what he uses as base.
The aim is now that we put some layers of fiberglass polyester at the bottom.


















The reason why I made this twice, is because I were afraid that he couldn't get to the inside that good.











One of the main problems of this big bumper project was the license plate.
What I didn't want for sure is a big plate would come before the middle whole of the bumper.
The plate we're going to make for the license plate will be 28*8cm

This plate of fiberglass of 4mm thick, will be my plate. You can see that this plate has the same rounding then the bumper. So lets cut 28*8 out of it.

Once I has this, I puts the piece back on the bumper and pull with some filler the edges nice around the plate. So we will get an original and fine finish of the license plate
What the cops will say... I DON'T CARE !!


----------



## robolop

Used some more fiberglass clothing for the bottom of the carbon splitters.
Made them big enough, so I could get the disc into that and see what will be a nice splitter.



















You see here I got much more material on the inside, so I going to let the splitters flow much more further then they are originally.











This will be the license plate holder eventually.












Put some little screws on the back, so I can secure it from behind, and I doesn't have visible screws at the front.










Where the plate will be, I painted the bumper in black.









If I puts the grey plate on there, it's more obvious to see if the plate is hanging leveled.
I hate it if a license plate is hanging tilt.

Here you can see how I planted the plateholder onto the bumper.


----------



## robolop

Worked some more on the splitters.
The model will stay like this, but there's a little more difference, tomorrow we sort that out.




























































As you can see, I made them a bit longer, towards the middle.


----------



## robolop

This oilcooler is going into the center piece of the bumper.

When I bought the car 2 years ago, this was one thing (of the many) I had to have for sure.

That there will be lovers & haters, works just fine for me.






















Here you see that I spread the fabric nicely, to get a nice connection.










Added a layer of polyester/fiberglass













Once removed, I edited the upside immediately with the disc.

I grinded the top from in between.

Then I put in between, a piece of aluminium 2mm thick. Now it’s all strong enough.













 Here it’s all grinded properly.





















These 2 pieces of MDF I made First.
They will be the front of the hole.
In the lower hole, will be the oilcooler, and the slot if just an airslot.


----------



## robolop

Then I started to rubb the fiberglass piece so it fitted nicely into the bumper.
That’s not so hard. You just pull a line with a pen on tape, then you push the piece into it, and once it’s dry, you have the same line on your filler.
Then it all comes to rubbing it just towards the line. SIMPLE




















This is the result of the fiberglass piece, and it will be covered in carbon





















Then I bought a piece of aluminum of 15mm thick


----------



## IBcivic

robo.....u'r an artist and perfectionist . 
your vehicle makes the ''ATOMIUM'' look like it was built by 5 year olds....:laugh:


----------



## lpreston

Loved the attention to detail and creative ideas!


----------



## robolop

tommybuiltinc said:


> Robolop's work is undenieably the best attention to every detail in the fabrication of what a true SQ audio build should be. That is just my opinion but, i have been a car audio Installer/Builder for 10 years and ever since i have seen the builds from the alpine show cars, i beleive this work is more practical and the design work is cleaner. Every step of the build is planned out and ready for the next work of art to be placed into the puzzle. I will strive to become better with my skills with the help of seeing work like this and i hope that is why we all look in awe at these type of builds. I hope it inspires everyone on this forum even if you think this work is over the top. It is just another way to show the mechanical side of art work. I LOVE IT




Thanks dude, trying my best

:laugh:


----------



## robolop

Porky said:


> What a true inspiration!! I don't know how anyone could look through all these pages and not want to step their game up. Theres not many installs that just have me floored, but this is special.
> 
> I would also like to comment on the pics. The pics are amazing and say so much. This is by far the best car audio build thread ever posted on the internet.
> 
> Robolop, you are amazing and thank you so much for sharing your God given talent with us.



You’re welcome



talibmohamid said:


> man this is reeeedicculous man....you guys really put ur foot in this install and It is truely one of my favorites I have ran into,,,,man keep up the good work





Yoursogansta said:


> Robolop, thanks for showing your work. These installs are fantasy...


 THX DUDE's


----------



## strong*I*bumpin

man talk about improvising,great work & finish the dang thing already


----------



## syd-monster

You made a POS fibreglass bumper into something that looks "fitted". A little like a tailor made suit, it just looks smart!
Thank you.


----------



## zatchmo

Holy crap! I have had his other build thread bookmarked on my laptop since that thread was started. Great to have you here!!!


----------



## blacksvtf03

That is one of the most precise, labor intensive installs I've ever seen!


----------



## robolop

O yeah, almost forgot, had a large block of aluminum lying aroud the place, 15mm thick.
First I covered it with my mold I, that is made of MDF wood, and drew out what to remove.
I sawed it out with the line saw. I’ve done a lot in my live, but there are many cooler things to do then this, pfff












Once this was done, it was time for precision work.
Here you can see 2 fine rubber O-rings laying next to the copy-cutter.
First I put on the thick ring, so I couldn’t cut too much out.












Here you can see better what I mean with that O-ring.
You can see clearly there’s about 1.5mm of material away from the mold.
Also you see that the cutter had here best time, time for a new one…look at those slaches.
You also see that in the lines of the aluminum.











This done, put on the smaller, finer O-ring, and did it all again.
Now it was till 0.5mm perfect. 
Mounted a new cutter, who attend to tidy it all, and by using lots of WD40 I got a nice finish and result.










At this picture, you really can see the difference.












Here, the piece still with the MDF mold taped on it.












Then, I rounded the outer sides.
Harnessed the cutter, and did all that had to be done



















Once this was done, the “dangereous” work turned out well, and I thank jesus fort hat


----------



## Tonyguy

damn I love your work man.


----------



## zatchmo

Holy crap! I can't believe that cutter lived after cutting all that metal!!!


----------



## Dougie085

Table saws and routers with carbide or diamond blade bits do just fine with machine grade aluminum


----------



## zatchmo

Dougie085 said:


> Table saws and routers with carbide or diamond blade bits do just fine with machine grade aluminum


They do, but you have to be careful. The carbide tips will come off the bits and embed themselves into the aluminum tho and tear all the others off. Kinda scary when it happens. I spent a lot of time on a worm drive saw cutting up slabs of 7136...


----------



## Dougie085

Yes anytime you're cutting metal certainly pays off to be extremely careful.


----------



## Yoursogansta

Maybe you should consider making cavities on the back side of that aluminum plate, it looks heavy


----------



## robolop

In the meanwhile, I rubbed the aluminum piece firmly with the block. Again, it took a lot of time, cause aluminum is a bit harder then MDF.

Then I was lucky it doesn’t need to get polished, I’m going to brush it.

Here the result

















One this was done, I threaded the backside. This I was sure I wanted, but I couldn’t chose with size of windows, so I took 2 sizes at home with me, to see what would be the best. This is the largest of the two…






































This thread is then again, a bit smaller










































Personally I fin dit better with the big holes, cause you see the oil-cooler more.

But I think it would be best to decide when it’s all painted…


----------



## 2167

Nothing better than a craftsman and his/her craft


----------



## Tonyguy

after seeing that, I just jizzed in my pants. Great work man.


----------



## ArcL100

Christ almighty. That work on that bumper is probably the most impressive skills I've seen on the internet. You make it look so easy.


----------



## maxxis

This thread is the most impressive thing on the internet.


----------



## zatchmo

Tonyguy said:


> after seeing that, I just jizzed in my pants. Great work man.


LOL, you need to youtube that. There is a funny video titled something like that.


----------



## reindeers

Hahahah! Here you go...






I also did(jizz in my pants), with your work by the way. :laugh:

Awesome!!!


----------



## robolop

blacksvtf03 said:


> That is one of the most precise, labor intensive installs I've ever seen!


Thx dude, no problem



Tonyguy said:


> damn I love your work man.


THX MATE



zatchmo said:


> Holy crap! I can't believe that cutter lived after cutting all that metal!!!


That’s why I bought a second one.

Going to leave this one for the final finishing, so it keeps that long J

THX DUDE







Dougie085 said:


> Table saws and routers with carbide or diamond blade bits do just fine with machine grade aluminum


 I don’t think that’s something so special that I have


----------



## 12v Electronics

INCREDIBLE. 

That is all I can say.


----------



## robolop

The two splitters who will be mounted on the underside of the bumper I covered with a layer of CF.

Then I rubbed it firmly

































To be sure, I went and tried them on again.Here you can see that the bumper is set with a layer of epoxy basecoat.This basecoat will stay on a week or so, before being abdraded.So I’m sure it’ll harden enough.Then I’ll a spray another layer on top.
































The Carbon piece that’ll go in the middle, I’m not making It now.With all the basecoat, and paint on top, I’m much to scared it won’t fit 100% anymore.So this piece I’m going to carbonize the lastest.


----------



## Tonyguy

damn thats a tight fit. good job.


----------



## bballer123

Your work is absolutely incredible! I look forward to seeing what else is to come.

-Matt


----------



## Mr Dave

Wow, those guys are artists. Amazing.


----------



## robolop

In the meanwhile, I finished the carbon splitters.
Need to rubb them al again with a 3000 and polish them up;
Maybe I should have made a little clip-on to the bumper, where I can attach a broom.So the road will be cleared of all stones and rubbish and won’t hurt my paint






















































Finalized the backside and painted it black


----------



## IBcivic

i'd be afraid to drive it over there period....... streets are narrow and it's every man for himself.... i freaked out the first time i drove over there .... i was in a left hand turn lane, at a red light .....and 2 more cars crammed in the same lane on either side of me. 3 cars wide in a single lane!!! 

personally i prefer the tighter meshed grill. but hey i'll just shut-up and let you decide..lol


----------



## Tonyguy

Mr Dave said:


> Wow, those guys are artists. Amazing.


Guys? This is a single guy, a one man band. I'm honestly thinking that Robolop is really Superman, or at least some kind of hero. Too much skill for a regular human.


----------



## Echo42987

I am mesmerized....


----------



## tr0y_audi0

Tonyguy said:


> Robolop is really Superman, or at least some kind of hero. Too much skill for a regular human.


 Thats The Truth


----------



## robolop

Tonyguy said:


> Guys? This is a single guy, a one man band. I'm honestly thinking that Robolop is really Superman, or at least some kind of hero. Too much skill for a regular human.


 Lol, I’m not superman, otherwise you’d see my flying around with my carbon boots J




Echo42987 said:


> I am mesmerized....





tr0y_audi0 said:


> Thats The Truth



THX DUDE's


----------



## Lanson

Must be the water in Belgium.


----------



## Tonyguy

I'd be willing to bet that Robolop is actually The Stig from Top Gear. Pure mystery and legend. But tons of skill.


----------



## abefroman

I wish I could do something like that to mine


----------



## Echo42987

U should probably start writing the Gospel of Car Audio. I think you would have a lot of followers


----------



## Therum

Nice!


----------



## pagustin

Echo42987 said:


> U should probably start writing the Gospel of Car Audio. I think you would have a lot of followers


I think we have the start of a new religion.


----------



## tr0y_audi0

fourthmeal said:


> Must be the water in Belgium.


I think you can market that..lol
Performance Faber water
Bottle can be used for xxx, xx, xxxxx after your done..


----------



## AdamTaylor

beautiful work my man.... beautiful


----------



## IBcivic

fourthmeal said:


> Must be the water in Belgium.


not sure about that but they sure have plenty of it....rain..


----------



## IBcivic

Tonyguy said:


> I'd be willing to bet that Robolop is actually The Stig from Top Gear. Pure mystery and legend. But tons of skill.


maybe you are on to something..
i bet he has a carbon cape in his closet..


----------



## Beerhero

Who is this mysterious installer?  I heard rumors that he is a surgeon in Belgium.


----------



## robolop

As you may know, I was working on the front bumper.
Meanwhile the bumper has been painted and I’m really satisfied with the paintjob. I also took the opportunity to paint the sub-box.
So I had something to do while the paint on the bumper was drying.
First of all, I made all the copper shine, and put a layer of varnish over it.
Soldered the cables and put some shrinking tubes over them.








The alu plate where the copper gets through got chromed. So keeping it clean, won’t be an issue any more 

















This is the result of lots of thinking.




























Here the carbonkevlar and the plexy cupola is on.


















Almost like fishes in a goblet


----------



## robolop

I’m really satisfied with this in particular. Trying to get the copper right where it had to be, was a really big challenge.
Still a lot better then some ordinary cables, don’t you think?


----------



## reindeers

F*ck yeah it is!!! Awesome awesome work... I especially love this solid copper as cables idea. Phenomenal!

Keep it coming!


----------



## IBcivic

robo,your work is on a totally different level....it's like porn for the diy'er.
:bowdown: we're not worthy,we're not worthy


----------



## robolop

I fastened he plexi copula in the meanwhile. In the plate where the screws rest, I milled a groove of 1 centimeter and filled it up with polyester. 
After that I wormed some screw-thread in, to turn the screws in.
I had some pictures of that, but can’t seem to find them anymore. You can also see I pasted a selfsticking strip on there, so the copula stretched itself up, and makes it airtight.



















On the bottomside, I mounted a led-strip.
It’s a strip where the leds are poured into some kind of silicone. I bought this specially because I didn’t want it to snap from the pressure of the speakers

















These are some pictures I took in daylight










Here you can see the blue light, shining through the speakers, find it kinda cool 















































Pictures in the dark.


----------



## robolop

Look what a reflection I get with all that varnish












These are some pictures where I put on some more light from above.
It will look like this when everything is mounted in the trunk.





































This is about it for the sub-box, yep, eventually, there has come and end to it 
For myself, I’m really satisfied with the result, it even looks better then I imagined.
All the hours of work it absorbed …well, I already forgot.


----------



## reindeers

Wow! 

Out of this world...


----------



## boundbyglory

top notch.....


----------



## Lanson

This is your masterpiece. I hope it goes in a museum after you get some good years out of it.


----------



## brianlin87

wow.


----------



## VietPho

Nice work!
Almost like str8 out of a video game =]


----------



## brianlin87

VietPho said:


> Nice work!
> Almost like str8 out of a video game =]


I was thinking the same thing, this abbreviated build log almost makes it seem so easy. Such a gorgeous build, I can't stop staring at it.


----------



## robolop

fourthmeal said:


> This is your masterpiece. I hope it goes in a museum after you get some good years out of it.





brianlin87 said:


> wow.





VietPho said:


> Nice work!
> Almost like str8 out of a video game =]





brianlin87 said:


> I was thinking the same thing, this abbreviated build log almost makes it seem so easy. Such a gorgeous build, I can't stop staring at it.



THX DUDE's


----------



## pjc

is there anything you cant do?


----------



## AdamTaylor

Fly¿?¿?


----------



## bmwproboi05

man thats one heck of a instal how long did it take you?


----------



## robolop

The carbon piece that comes in the middle of the bumper is ready
















The grille that’s in now, is one with big holes, and I sprayed it dark grey.


----------



## Tonyguy




----------



## rkb993

Another subscriber so I can say: WoW! Nice work!


----------



## HondAudio

...is this thing done yet???


----------



## SKG

HondAudio said:


> ...is this thing done yet???


Not before the entire car is made of carbon 

I love the attention that all the details get. Looking forward to more updates


----------



## swamp21

This thing is like modern art! That sub enclosure has got to be one of the most beautiful things I've seen in quite some time. If this system sounds half as good as it looks... whoa... I just got a little lightheaded...

Great work man! Looking forward to seeing the completed product.


----------



## prophet_ca

Wow................................that is all.


----------



## rioredgt

robolop said:


> As you may know, I was working on the front bumper.
> Meanwhile the bumper has been painted and I’m really satisfied with the paintjob. I also took the opportunity to paint the sub-box.
> So I had something to do while the paint on the bumper was drying.
> First of all, I made all the copper shine, and put a layer of varnish over it.
> Soldered the cables and put some shrinking tubes over them.












Just want to make sure I am understanding this correctly... The copper tubing is what you are using as your main "speaker lead" so that the speaker terminals are clamping down on the copper tubing?? You are then soldering wire to the tubing and connecting the wire to your amps?? Is this correct? 

By the way, your work is amazing! Do you have any pics of the entire trunk?


----------



## reindeers

SKG said:


> Not before the entire car is made of carbon
> 
> I love the attention that all the details get. Looking forward to more updates


I wonder how the traction would be like on carbon fibre tyres


----------



## robolop

rioredgt said:


> Just want to make sure I am understanding this correctly... The copper tubing is what you are using as your main "speaker lead" so that the speaker terminals are clamping down on the copper tubing?? You are then soldering wire to the tubing and connecting the wire to your amps?? Is this correct?
> 
> By the way, your work is amazing! Do you have any pics of the entire trunk?




Yup dude, I’ve done it, like you say it.
The cables who are attached to the copper tubes go directly to the amplifier


----------



## robolop

The f**ing front bumper is ready and mounted.
I took some good pics immediately.


----------



## robolop

How it looks from up above.










The license plate-holder






















The alu-frame of 5mm that comes under de carbon splitters. These go up till the end of the bumper.


----------



## robolop

I’m pretty proud about the middle piece in general, for once, I think I may say that







































Connection with the fender. It’s a “little bit” better then the first time I mounted that piece of sh*t












The chapter “front bumper” is finished!
Normally, when I finished something, questions like “is the finish good, is the model any good, … shouldn’t I make something else of this, ….”, pop up to my mind.
Nope, this time I’m satisfied with everything. And yet, I have a front bumper that no one else has.
The one thing I’m planning of doing is to take the window moldings (now in chrome), and let it painted black (like the song J), the kidneys in front are also going in black.
I think It’ll look more aggressive then.
First I’m going to enjoy looking at the front as it sits right now and give the car a nice clean-up. Then… it’s back to the ICE.
Some more work to do there…and I’m feeling good baby


----------



## tr0y_audi0

Nice Man,
Lookin real nice.
Keep it up..


----------



## nickpapa

nice!!


----------



## pagustin

WOW! That front bumper is just amazing and makes my little project getting my plate on the front look like lego work.

P


----------



## IBcivic

........bad-ass.... for sure!!!


----------



## reindeers

That is the SH*T!!!! 

Looks awesome dude. Great great job!


----------



## jmvar

Amazing, simply amazing.


----------



## syd-monster

I was looking at your photos of the front (with admiration) bar installed, when I thought, "do I tell him that I dont think it's not 100% yet?"
Then you write this...


robolop said:


> The one thing I’m planning of doing is to take the window moldings (now in chrome), and let it painted black (like the song J), the kidneys in front are also going in black.


It's like you read my mind.


We love your work and detail you have put into this car, however I feel best for you when I read this..


> …and I’m feeling good baby


Thats all that matters. 

Thanks for the updates robolop.


----------



## robolop

To let the carbon pieces harden better, I made myself a little oven.
Should have done this 10 years ago.
I made this thing 80x50x50 centimeter










Here you see the heating element.


















This is the feeler of the thermostat .












Thiss the thermostat itself.

I can go to 90 degrees, but I’m not going to use that much.












If I’m ever cold in the winter, I’m getting in here J


----------



## syd-monster

haha! Yeah DIY Oven!


----------



## tr0y_audi0

Oh Rob
Your the craftiest DIYer


----------



## robolop

I’m still experimenting with the oven. Trying out some temperatures, trying different sorts of epoxy’s, …
These are the first carbon cakes I baked.









The bottom box is a Ferrero Rocher box I covered in CF.
So my mom has a special box for here candy.


----------



## IBcivic

carbon flavored chocolate lol

also good for re-heating cold pizza when you are working late nights in the shop


----------



## robolop

syd-monster said:


> haha! Yeah DIY Oven!


Yep, why not?




tr0y_audi0 said:


> Oh Rob
> Your the craftiest DIYer


thx dude



stinky06 said:


> carbon flavored chocolate lol
> 
> also good for re-heating cold pizza when you are working late nights in the shop



Yeah, Pizza with epoxy taste, can’t be that bad, not?


----------



## robolop

pagustin said:


> WOW! That front bumper is just amazing and makes my little project getting my plate on the front look like lego work.
> 
> P





stinky06 said:


> ........bad-ass.... for sure!!!





reindeers said:


> That is the SH*T!!!!
> 
> Looks awesome dude. Great great job!





jmvar said:


> Amazing, simply amazing.



I’ll do my best, dude's

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

I took the aluminum windowsurrounding on the side, just like the kidneys. This all will get sprayed in gloss black.
Cause the lower windowmolding on the steeringside was removed once before, it was bent and curved… So I ordered a new one…
I took a good look at the molding, and after some trying… I think I found a way of overlaying this with carbon fibre.











I thought the upper windowmolding on the door would be the hardest to do… but now I removed it all from the car… the backwindow surroundings will be the toughest. 
The one that goes from the back till the front is no problem…
Tomorrow I’m going to try some things to cover the backsides… If no success is booked…they’re going into gloss black


----------



## ArcL100

Unreal!


----------



## robolop

The kidneys and the windowsmoldings are painted deep gloss black and mounted back on.
It won’t be everybody’s taste, but it works for me.










I don’t find the front that busy anymore 
















The windowmoldings on the side please me also more that I tought.





























Some buddy’s asked me if I had darkened my windows…lol
They just show more dark then before, cause of the dark moldings.













































The car will stay like this , this season, it lookes fine for me.
Next winter I’m getting another rear bumper, with quad exhausts (like the M)
But now, I’m focusing on the ICE again.
Got some idea’s in my head, that’ll involve lots of work.


----------



## Potent

Absolutely Stunning... 

You are my inspiration in every install that I do... Keep up the Amazing work and please keep us posted...

Take care...

Manny...


----------



## maxxis

Hey Manny is here . Welcome man 

robolop - The car is truly a work of art.


----------



## Billy Mays

beautiful car and robolop has awesome skill but i wonder how it sounds. i'm going to probably copy some ideas from his front stage though. thinking maybe doing 3ways with mid and tweet in the pillar vertically rather than horizontally. the christmas balls are a good idea though. i'd probably glass that shape into the pillar and leave the back open for a more flush look and more air space for the speakers.


----------



## jeffhawn

What are the chances of you posting a pictoral summary of the whole audio system Carbon-Jedi Master? :blush:


----------



## syd-monster

robolop said:


> The kidneys and the windowsmoldings are painted deep gloss black and mounted back on.
> It won’t be everybody’s taste, but it works for me.


WOW, you said it won't be everybodys taste, but beleive me when I say that it is fantastic!! Really transforms the car.
I was really looking forward to how that changes the look of it all. Im glad you did it.












> But now, I’m focusing on the ICE again. Got some idea’s in my head, that’ll involve lots of work.


 oooh! looking forward to that. Thanks for sharing with us again.


----------



## robolop

maxxis said:


> Hey Manny is here . Welcome man
> 
> robolop - The car is truly a work of art.


THX DUDE
:laugh::laugh:


----------



## syd-monster

Robolop, I have a suggestion.

The car looks so good now, that to my eyes, the mirrors stand out like "big ears"...
I think a nice set of carbon or black F1-style Mirrors will blend in and hide themselves. Unlike the current mirros, which are big and colour coded, draw the eye to that area. Black or carbon F1-style mirrors will hide and let the eye flow with the nice lines your coupe has.
Something to think about, just a suggestion.


----------



## tommybuiltinc

Robolop,

When you say "ICE" are you refering to Liquid form plexi ? I have had some experince with it.


----------



## prophet_ca

tommybuiltinc said:


> Robolop,
> 
> When you say "ICE" are you refering to Liquid form plexi ? I have had some experince with it.


I thought ICE, was "in car entertainment"


----------



## syd-monster

prophet_ca said:


> I thought ICE, was "in car entertainment"


+1, a term mainly used in europe. I.C.E. is the general accronim for car systems. 
It's not favoured by me; I prefer the old simple car stereo, as thats all im really interested in, SQ terms.


----------



## robolop

Billy Mays said:


> beautiful car and robolop has awesome skill but i wonder how it sounds. i'm going to probably copy some ideas from his front stage though. thinking maybe doing 3ways with mid and tweet in the pillar vertically rather than horizontally. the christmas balls are a good idea though. i'd probably glass that shape into the pillar and leave the back open for a more flush look and more air space for the speakers.





I don’t know what’s it going to sound like, that’s the latest of my worries..
We will see , umh, hear.
:laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

Potent said:


> Absolutely Stunning...
> 
> You are my inspiration in every install that I do... Keep up the Amazing work and please keep us posted...
> 
> Take care...
> 
> Manny...




Give me the link of what you’re making dude.
I’ll surely continue posting here.

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

jeffhawn said:


> What are the chances of you posting a pictoral summary of the whole audio system Carbon-Jedi Master? :blush:





I don’t know dude, this year, next year, the year after that… I don’t know, and I don’t care either.

As long as I’m satisfied with the things I make, it’s all ok for me. And as long as I’m having fun in what I do, and believe me I have, it’s happy..


----------



## robolop

syd-monster said:


> WOW, you said it won't be everybodys taste, but beleive me when I say that it is fantastic!! Really transforms the car.
> I was really looking forward to how that changes the look of it all. Im glad you did it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> oooh! looking forward to that. Thanks for sharing with us again.



No problem homie


----------



## robolop

syd-monster said:


> Robolop, I have a suggestion.
> 
> The car looks so good now, that to my eyes, the mirrors stand out like "big ears"...
> I think a nice set of carbon or black F1-style Mirrors will blend in and hide themselves. Unlike the current mirros, which are big and colour coded, draw the eye to that area. Black or carbon F1-style mirrors will hide and let the eye flow with the nice lines your coupe has.
> Something to think about, just a suggestion.


NO THX DUDE.


----------



## SELFMADE

Lol...;\


----------



## Lanson

You could just create carbon shells for the stockers, which would probably look very nice.


----------



## robolop

tommybuiltinc said:


> Robolop,
> 
> When you say "ICE" are you refering to Liquid form plexi ? I have had some experince with it.





Ice means here = In Car Entertainment

I read you’ve got experience with fluid plexy, I’d like to know and learn something more about that !
Have you got a link where you show your know-how and work? Several years ago I talked with Dave “Fishman” Rivera”. 


Swimming with the Fishman

He processed a lot of fuid plexy in the car, but didn’t talk about that.
I want to know more about that, so every tip is welcome !


----------



## Fran82

Ok, I'll be the jerk. The bumper color doesn't match. There, I said it. I know matching silver is very difficult, but from the picture, and maybe it's just the pics, but it looks too gray. From a taste perspective, I don't really like the middle lower grill either, but that's just me. 
I love all the craftsmanship and attention to detail on this car and you did amazing work on that bumper, but it was just buggin me. Sorry.


----------



## robolop

This is the plexi where it’s all about
I tightened this with 6 screws










Turned it all over and drew out the whole.
Through this whole you’ll see the amplifier on the inner side.










Drew out how I wanted the slots.














On this wooden plate I’m going to mill the plexi. First I made a slot here and there, so the mill won’t touch the wood. So I have a nice bottom to work on the plexi.























Before I begun, I messured out how many mm I had to span/yoke the slath, to glide next to with the mill.













Once this was done, the muppet-show could begin





















Nr1 is done, 3 more to go












When you look closely, you see I hit a little slath in the 2nd slot on the bottom.
I did this each time, so my plexi was always straight up when I was making the whole.


----------



## robolop

Done with milling, thank you lord I still have all my fingers.

































Now the time has come to rubb and polish all of this nice and equally.


----------



## JDM

amazing man


----------



## robolop

I’ve managed to continue on the plexi plate. Before I started rubbing, I tape it.
When you even LOOK wrong at plexiglass, you’ve got scratches, so being carefull is the question










So I started searching around for a fine rubbing material, and this was the best tool I got…and the easiest.
On the left just a ordinary aluminum plate to do the straight sides and lines, on the right a thick pen with around it my rubbing paper, for the curvy parts.











To do this, it took me 5 hours to polisch and rubb it all. 






























The bottom where the plexi is screwed on to. The black you see is self-adheside vilt. I used this so I couldn’t make any scratches.













Inside of the ….’tank’ ‘box’ ?


----------



## $rEe

It depresses me.


----------



## robolop

$rEe said:


> It depresses me.



SORRY DUDE


----------



## igor0203

Very nice looking car and incredible attention to details! Way to go, mate!


----------



## robolop

This thing will be my mold for bending the plexiglass. The cover, that comes onto the top of the amplifier, will be round, as you can see.
The MDF (wooden) chassis:



























I covered this with an aluminum plate of 0.5 mm thick, so I got a nice rounding.
Also, I made it more round as it finally has to come.
Once the plexi is cooled off, it always brends a bit more straight again.





































Hopefully this works, cause just on the mold, I had some reasonable work.


----------



## Blown Mustang GT

Should work, just have a lot of patience. I'm sure it'll turn out great.


----------



## vwbuskid

nice


----------



## AdamTaylor

i grow to hate you more by the day


awesome work


----------



## syd-monster

robolop said:


> NO THX DUDE.


No probs mate, it was purely suggestion.

Very nice work on the plexy panel.


----------



## captainobvious

Nice idea for your tool to bend the plexi. Im assuming you have to use a heat gun or something to bend it to shape and then leave it in the mold to cool and set?

BTW- I really like the black exterior trim you've done, and red was definitely the color to go with on those dust covers. Looks terrific.


----------



## robolop

This is the plexi I folded/bended with the paintstripper.































As you can see, I didn’t go as well as planned.
The problem with the paint stripper is that I doens’t heat everything at the same time.
This wasn’t the case with the plexi of the filtercase.
Just needed one fold there, so just had to heaten only one line.
With this big piece, the plexi glass cools don’t too fast, and the temperature isn’t the same everywhere.
So actually, a piece like that, has be heated in an oven between 120 – 150 degrees Celcius.
Since I didn’t find an oven in that couple of days, I bought me a plexi plate.
You can’t boggle for long now, do we…
I think this looks mucht better already.































These two pieces come on the sides. So you’ll get the idea it’s one big, entire piece.


----------



## syd-monster

Ah yes, those new pieces look much bette! The distortion on the first piece is interesting to say the least.
very nice work as usual robolop!


----------



## robolop

Blown Mustang GT said:


> Should work, just have a lot of patience. I'm sure it'll turn out great.




I didn’t work at all dude, so you see, not everything works what’s in my head…

:mean::mean::mean:


----------



## robolop

AdamTaylor said:


> i grow to hate you more by the day
> 
> 
> awesome work





syd-monster said:


> No probs mate, it was purely suggestion.
> 
> Very nice work on the plexy panel.





captainobvious said:


> Nice idea for your tool to bend the plexi. Im assuming you have to use a heat gun or something to bend it to shape and then leave it in the mold to cool and set?
> 
> BTW- I really like the black exterior trim you've done, and red was definitely the color to go with on those dust covers. Looks terrific.





syd-monster said:


> Ah yes, those new pieces look much bette! The distortion on the first piece is interesting to say the least.
> very nice work as usual robolop!



THX DUDE's


----------



## robolop

I worked some more on the two aluminum sides of the amplifier box, with the uppermill.
First tightened those thick plates.









Planted the mill.
The meaning here was to remove some millimeters, cause there has to come a carbonkevlar plate.



















These are the sides that come on the outerside, to service as coverplate.













You can see on the holes, that the design here will be the same as the sides of the filtercase.I also milled away a couple of mm’s here.
























Abraded it all firmly so I could polish the aluminum.














Here an example what it will look like











Have to give a rounding on these 2 plates, cause the plexi comes in between.


----------



## robolop

Of these pieces of aluminum I’m going to make a frame, where the plexi will rest in.









The big plate i 8mm thick

The 8 other ones are 6mm thick













This isn’t going to be all, I’m going to use some other aluminum profiles also, but haven’t got the mesurement of those ones.

Many and many hours of millwork will get into this, but when it all works out like I have it in my head, it’ll be pretty cool.

Oh yeah, I’ll use some carbon fibre here too, but thought you gus will guessed that already..


----------



## syd-monster

Im still amazed that you and your router mill all that thick alluminium! Not easy to say the least.


----------



## machinehead

This thread inspires me to not be so lazy 

Nice flux capacitor you got there, just don't hit 88mph!


----------



## Yoursogansta

I haven't checked this install for a while. You are a great man!


----------



## robolop

I made 4 aluminum supports of 8mm thick.
These have the same rounding as the plexi.
First, I made a mold out of mdf. After that, I drawed out the aluminum piece, and sawed it out.
after that, with double sided tape, I sticked it all together.
























Once this was done, I held it all to the copy-mill













Here a picture of how it will look.























The next step was to “modify” the supports, cause it looks a bit simple like this.
The lower plate is the model I made.
It’s only 4mm thick.












In the piece I needed, I got rid off the aluminum, and sticked it all together again, and then got the mill back in there.


----------



## robolop

Looks way cooler according to me.































The other 3 will suffer the same cause.
The pattern looks good, but the support still doens’t look the way I wanted too…So I guess I’m going to modify this some more.


----------



## Blown Mustang GT

Looks great!!


----------



## AdamTaylor

wish you were in the states, i would pay you to mill stuff for me


----------



## smooth72

robolop,
Great build, would you show more pics of your mill table? Were did you get the mill bit/cutter? It looks allot like a wood router table. Very interested in the details of your aluminum work. One of the guys I work with is from Belgium, he brings back some great chocolate. 
thanks


----------



## robolop

Too some issues I didn't get the chance to do much on the ICE.
But now , a 'little' update.The 4 toggles where the plexi will lay on to are finished



















The alu-plate of 8mm where the toggles will get onto.











Offcourse, some holes were needed here, otherwise you wouldn't be able to see the amplifier.This is the mold I made of 4mm thick MDF wood.












Layed this on the aluminum and drawed it out










Then, I drilled some holes, and sawed it all out with the electric jigsaw











Pasted the MDF mold on to it.























Then I mounted my upper-mill once again under the table to do some dangerous stuff


----------



## robolop

Here the result























Then I 'modified' the outer toggles.
Because a M6 bar with screw-thread will get into this one, I had to drill the hole much bigger, so the nut is sunk into it all.






















Made it big enough so it would be possible to get a 10 on there as well






















In all toggles I tapped a screw-thread of M5, to fasten them at the bottom












Once I had all of this, I could begin the mounting.


----------



## robolop

The front and back of the thick plate, I milled in a gap whereto I screwed a big L onto.SO I have a nice finishing touch, and the plexi is tense.


----------



## syd-monster

WOW... thanks for another awesome update robolop! Will you polish or chrome that piece?


----------



## robolop

Yoursogansta said:


> I haven't checked this install for a while. You are a great man!





Blown Mustang GT said:


> Looks great!!


THX MATE's.




AdamTaylor said:


> wish you were in the states, i would pay you to mill stuff for me


Almost every year, I visit the States for about 12 days



smooth72 said:


> robolop,
> Great build, would you show more pics of your mill table? Were did you get the mill bit/cutter? It looks allot like a wood router table. Very interested in the details of your aluminum work. One of the guys I work with is from Belgium, he brings back some great chocolate.
> thanks


 I think that, I you read and see the rest of the topic, you can see what I used to make this stuff.


----------



## Yoursogansta

robolop said:


> Layed this on the aluminum and drawed it out


I corrected your drawing


----------



## robolop

Here are some aluminum parts I'm going to work with in the cover.
The 9 tubes you see on the fore-ground are from anodised aluminum.
On the backside you see 3 threadstaff of m6





















Here you see why I had to sink in the m6 screws.














A picture here from the complete part, with the plexi on.I will have to screw this tight still, so I stays right where it needs to be.

























The whole part makes me feel that the amplifier is behind bars, in jail.


----------



## Melodic Acoustic

Bad F'ing A** Dude!!!! Simple as that for me.


----------



## syd-monster

I love it! Yes amp looks like in jail!! Fantastic Robolop.


----------



## imjustjason

I've been watching the thread for a while. The work is amazing and looks great yes... but the imagination to come up with these shapes and ideas is honestly beyond me. Unreal, is the only word that comes to mind.


----------



## robolop

Here-I-Come said:


> Bad F'ing A** Dude!!!! Simple as that for me.





syd-monster said:


> I love it! Yes amp looks like in jail!! Fantastic Robolop.





imjustjason said:


> I've been watching the thread for a while. The work is amazing and looks great yes... but the imagination to come up with these shapes and ideas is honestly beyond me. Unreal, is the only word that comes to mind.




Thanks dudes, doing all of this the best that I can.


----------



## CAMSHAFT

robolop said:


> Thanks dudes, doing all of this the best that I can.


Which happens to be in the 1% best installers in the world....IMO


----------



## robolop

As you may see, on the left, and on the right, I have a gap of about 4cm for the cables (for the amp)
As you may know by now, I'm not a fan of cables in an install, so...
I made 2 pieces of carbon fibre for the sides, so the connections will not be visible. 
First, I made a fiberglass mold of the amplifier.






















Once this was ready, I rubbed out the lines of the tape.











finished, so put on a layer of carbon in there.









































By doing this , I learned something really stupid.

Because I never took a mold of thins I make, I don't have the necessary products here to do that.
So I solved this on a idiotic way, really.
I just bought some plastic tape of 50cm? 50mmwss wide.
Taped it in the mold, and rubbed it in with polishing wax.
here you see the tape.















So you see, somethings will go with simple methods.
After this all, I put in the disc in the carbon fibre, and rubbed the piece nice and straight with my giant abrading block.


----------



## robolop

This is what I needed!





















To tighten these 2 pieces, I have to make some aluminum toggles on the amplifier, so they connect with the rest nicely.
The carbon plates still need some layers of epoxy.


----------



## robolop

If made 2 toggles to tighten the carbon pieces onto the amlpifier.




















Here , everything is on the amplifier.














You can see I only put in 1 screw.
The carbon fibre sits in between the aluminum and the amplifier, tight as a rock.













When the cover is on, you aren’t gonna see that miserable screw anymore.












I also worked on the 2 sides of the amplifier-box.
I milled out as many aluminum as possible, where the cables will have to come.It will be tight, but we like it that way


----------



## HondAudio

That is a sexy, sexy amplifier <3


----------



## Powers

Is there a website you read to learn how to lay carbon and make it look almost flawless?


----------



## syd-monster

...the detail on just this one rack is up there with whole installs. I'm just floored everytime I come back to this install.


----------



## robolop

On this aluminum slat, I'm going to mount 4 little vents who gives some extra cooling on the PPI.Cause the "feed" part of the amplifier is on the right side, I also did it on that side.The aluminum plate is 4cm high and the vents are 2.8cm big.
These 4 wholes, I drilled with a "step"drill





















Then I glued the slat on a piece of mdf, and made the wholes as big as the aluminum with the uppermill























Then I took the mill, to round up the frontside of the aluminum, and so it's all milled nicely.













Then I milled the backside of the slat diagonal
























after that I, carefely, drilled the wholes, who will serve to tighten the vents.
I used some normal wood-screws fot that.











This is how it looks on the frontside.



























The meaning now is to polish that slat of aluminum, and put a layer of carbon fibre over that.Once this is all finished, I'm going to put in the uppermill again, to round up the frontside.
The meaning is that you'll see the aluminum that's rounded.
If this is possible, I'm not sure. HAven't done it myself either...but , there's a first time for everything!


----------



## ECM

Just when I think I have seen it all, you keep pulling tricks out!

That fan job looks fantastic. I would have never thought to integrate cooling fans in the manner in which you are.


----------



## Powers

Are you going to make any small covers for the center of the fans? A small detail but would help. Some polished aluminum there would look great!


----------



## Lanson

Powers said:


> Are you going to make any small covers for the center of the fans? A small detail but would help. Some polished aluminum there would look great!


Betcha it will be Carbon Fiber.


----------



## chad

Those fans are notorious for bearing noise for some reason... granted the ones that do it, that I have seen, have been on 24/7, 8 days a week  But I'd do nothing to promote bearing failure JUST IN CASE it can cause an imbalance.....


----------



## robolop

The aluminum slat where the vents are going into is firmly rubbed down.
Then I polished the roundings of the holes. 


















This aluminum L-slat is to finish off the frontside of the amplifier..
Here you see I preserved it with a layer of carbon fibre.


----------



## robolop

I put the uppermil on to the carbon slat, where the vents are coming in to.
First I rubbed the epoxy nice and straight, and stopped with a grain 2000.
Then I taped the slat, so I couldn’t make any scratches with the mill.
To drain the wholes smoothly with the copy-mill, I put my MDF slat underneatch it, so I could mill the wholes nicely






















On the first view, this was done pretty well. I was a bit scared that the carbon fibre would be that straight, but that wasn’t the case.
After that I used another mill, to make the roundings I needed.
After measuring this about 10 times, I did the job.
I went pretty well actually, till I saw that the MDF slat wasn’t 100% centered.
Here you can see the obviously










You see some carbon fibre hanging on the underside.
A little mistake I made, is that I didn’t drawed out the aluminum slat on the mdf slat under it. A little dumb from me.
Here you see that what I milled out of the rounding isn’t 100% centered.





















Tomorrow I’m going to try to solve this all. If I don’t get a solution, it all goes in the bin, and I’ll make a new one.
The carbon side panelswhere the amplifier is going to be, are also finished already.Here’s enough epoxy on, so now I just have to rub it all tight and varnish it all.


----------



## syd-monster

perfectionist++!


----------



## robolop

Powers said:


> Is there a website you read to learn how to lay carbon and make it look almost flawless?





Yep dude! Here can find everything about carbon fibre, …
www.racingcomposites.net: Authentication Required


:laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

ECM said:


> Just when I think I have seen it all, you keep pulling tricks out!
> 
> That fan job looks fantastic. I would have never thought to integrate cooling fans in the manner in which you are.


We’re not on the end of the ride yet.

Many things about to happen.
What you see with the vents … that’s just EVO1
EVO2 is coming


----------



## robolop

Powers said:


> Are you going to make any small covers for the center of the fans? A small detail but would help. Some polished aluminum there would look great!


You will understand shortly what’s going to happen with it. As I said, EVO2 is coming…


----------



## robolop

syd-monster said:


> perfectionist++!


THX DUDE:laugh:


----------



## AdamTaylor

can i borrow you for like a month to come work on my car?


----------



## qikazel

This may be the best install I have ever seen!!


----------



## robolop

The slath were the vents are coming into, just landed NEXT to the bin.
I did a great job in milling down the carbon fibre, but the things I polished, were ruined.
Looked for rubbing it down, but that wasn’t possible without touching the carbon fibre.
I put it away for a couple of hours and did some thinking.
This is what it is now:
I took a piece of 8mm thick aluminum, and drilled 4 wholes into it.












After that I rounded the edges





















Here you can also see I went a couple of mm’s deeper.












After that I removed all that was inside.












Where have we seen this again?












The custom made slat on the outside










http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/robola/BMW%20instal%202
/DSC09801_resize.jpg


Then I worked on the backside, and touched it with the mill…


----------



## robolop

Then I made a whole in the carbon slat.
This was the hardest thing to do today.














It’ll all look like this.














































On the aluminum piece will come a great deal of polishing, but ….we’re used to that.
Once it’s done, I’m long forgotten about those hours of polishing.
Oh yeah, thank you Jeses for letting me have all my fingers today, dangerous day today


----------



## prophet_ca

Wow. So much work in the details


----------



## maxxis

Way too much awesome in this build.

I can't wait for the next update. 

robolop you don't have skills, or talent or anything like that. Its a gift.


----------



## Lanson

I'm actually wondering why you don't take your talent stateside, and start your own fabrication shop. There are people here that will pay GOOD money for builds that you do.

When this thing is done, I hope you donate it to a worthy museum, as it will be a masterpiece. I'm not even kidding.


----------



## jbarnes3

lookin real good, i have some of the same idea's for my e39


----------



## Blown Mustang GT

Nice save!


----------



## robolop

One of my friend did a fotoshoot of my car.... here a sneakpreviuw, the rest will follow soon.


----------



## robolop

Occupied myself for about 8 hours with rubbing the aluminum parts who need to be polished.
It's a work that needs lots of, lots of time. And when you don't put an effort in this, you just won't get a good result.
First I rubbed it dry with a 120 and 240, after that I took a 600 wet, 800, 1200 and stopped with a 2000.











The trolley that lays on the foreground already got a kiss from the brush to see if the result was fine.











Of this piece, the topside will be covered in carbon fibre.






















The CF parts that come next to the amp are also finished to get a final layer of varnish.


----------



## robolop

I’ve been able to polish all the aluminum parts today, what wasn’t that easy to do.
Don not underestimate this job, it’s not as easy as it looks. It’s also dangerous, and very time-consuming.
And, when you finished it all, you’re as black as working in the cole-mines for 14 days… but a shower afterwards can help a lot.
So, this was the most dangerous job to do.
Here I just needed to do the side.










When I made up my mind about how to make this, I was planning to polish the upperside as well… But afterwards I decided to cover it with carbon fibre.










The 4 toggles where the plexi will lay into.




















What do you mean, it doesn’t shine? You can see what’s hanging on my wall 




















The slots what come on the front and backside.


----------



## robolop

Mounted it all 







































think, that when the upper side will be in carbon fibre, it’ll look DOPE


----------



## robolop

The plate where the vents will get into, I brushed this also, with this as result !


----------



## robolop

All the carbon parts that will get around the amplifier, are varnished.

Here the result.

















About the parts from the sides, I was a bit afraid that I won’t match the amplifier. This is the result, and I’m very pleased wit hit.



















Here you see the lath that comes on the front. I don’t think you’ll be able to see anything ot it, but the finishing touch is there!





















The polished aluminum plate blends in 10 times better on the black carbon.


----------



## robolop

This is the upper part of the cover. I painted it black, so probably you can guess what I’m planning of doing…






















So the inside of the amplifierbox is completely finished.

In spite of all the work I’ve done, I’m superhappy with the result


----------



## robolop

This will be the front of the amplifierbox. First I made a model in 5mm thick MDF.
















Drawed it out on the aluminum of 10mm, and saw into it.











Taped the MDF plat onto it, and tomorrow, it’s mill-time 










In the meanwhile I’m baking some carbon cookies in the oven.



The alu piece that will come onto the front of the box, is finished!
Cut out the wholes with the uppermill.































This time I tried GT7 as lubricant, and I must say I’m very satisfied about this product!











Here I grabbed out some more mm’s between the wholes


----------



## robolop

This is the back side. You can see I grabbed out some more mm’s over the entire surface.











Here in will come a carbon piece, with my logo on it.
Once finished, I spent a big amount of time rubbing it all down.












Afterwards, held the piece under the polish-brush so it shines a bit












































The small piece of carbon fibre, that’ll come on the back, is baking as we speak.


----------



## doitor

robolop said:


>


That pic gets me nervous.
Women, high heels and car audio just dont mix.
LOL.
Amazing job, buddy.

J.


----------



## AVIDEDTR

doitor said:


> That pic gets me nervous.
> Women, high heels and car audio just dont mix.
> LOL.
> Amazing job, buddy.
> 
> J.


Come on Jorge, admit it, like your looking at her heals


----------



## Ianaconi

You are my inspiration man!

Your work is amazing!


----------



## Kenny_Cox

first time i've checked this thread in a while. god damn you're work is impressive.


----------



## Arthurk

bdubs767 said:


> I love it...but agree 5" subs


Sometimes it just takes a few more 5" speakers to get loud. LOL

IRAGGI ALTERNATORS 1978 Caddy SPL BEAST!! - The Forum


----------



## doitor

AVIDEDTR said:


> Come on Jorge, admit it, like your looking at her heals


I'm looking at those beatifull Focal Be drivers.

J.


----------



## quality_sound

Don't make me pull your man card Jorge...


----------



## Potent

Absolutely beautiful... I have learnt so much just from this thread and it has made me a better installer... Take your time, and you can do amazing things...

Keep up the good work Robby...


----------



## robolop

prophet_ca said:


> Wow. So much work in the details



Thanks, that’s the way it’s got to be!





maxxis said:


> Way too much awesome in this build.
> 
> I can't wait for the next update.
> robolop you don't have skills, or talent or anything like that. Its a gift.




Thanks dude for that reply!






fourthmeal said:


> I'm actually wondering why you don't take your talent stateside, and start your own fabrication shop. There are people here that will pay GOOD money for builds that you do.
> 
> When this thing is done, I hope you donate it to a worthy museum, as it will be a masterpiece. I'm not even kidding.




The hours I work on this, aren’t affordable. I can just do this for myself. Once this is finished, I’m going to enjoy …and think what could have been better / more beautifull








jbarnes3 said:


> lookin real good, i have some of the same idea's for my e39



GO 4 IT


----------



## robolop

doitor said:


> That pic gets me nervous.
> Women, high heels and car audio just dont mix.
> LOL.
> Amazing job, buddy.
> 
> J.



Let's stay calm dude. According to me you can mix high heels with anything.

Here specially for u.:rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon:


----------



## robolop

Arthurk said:


> Sometimes it just takes a few more 5" speakers to get loud. LOL
> 
> IRAGGI ALTERNATORS 1978 Caddy SPL BEAST!! - The Forum


For me, these *****-woofers play well enough.:laugh::laugh:




doitor said:


> I'm looking at those beatifull Focal Be drivers.
> 
> J.


Indeed, they are a set of speakers.




Potent said:


> Absolutely beautiful... I have learnt so much just from this thread and it has made me a better installer... Take your time, and you can do amazing things...
> 
> Keep up the good work Robby...


Nice you learned and saw some things you can use later, looks like you're following this thread seriously.


----------



## robolop

Ianaconi said:


> You are my inspiration man!
> 
> Your work is amazing!





Kenny_Cox said:


> first time i've checked this thread in a while. god damn you're work is impressive.





quality_sound said:


> Don't make me pull your man card Jorge...


THX DUDE's.

:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:


----------



## robolop

The cover of the amplifier got a total of 6 layers of varnish. I also used new epoxy, wich I find not so good.
There came a lot of little holes in the carbon fiber.
Cause there is so much varnish, I had to rubb it all flat and equal with the
block. 
Here you can see how much is really on there.




























After some firmly rubbing with a 2000, I started on the aluminum.
Cause of the rubbing, it got mat here and there.
Had to do this by hand, and used some UNIPOL for this.










Offcourse, the result here is not what it was before.
Using a machine would made this 10 times better.


After this I polished the carbon fibre.






























Finally, the final result of this piece.











The hard part of this piece is that the transition needed to be descent, and it came out well.


----------



## robolop

Mounted the rings again.






































































For those who think this is done… you can forget it.
Before I began covering the alu plate with carbon fibre, I mesured it.
The alu plate was 8.2mm thick. Now with the carbon layer on it’s 9.7mm thick.
That means that everything came up 1.5mm…So the plexi won’t fit that nice anymore.So I have to shorten the rings/toggles about 1.5mm


----------



## robolop

I got the chance to finish the aluminum sides of the amplifier-box.
You’ll see that I made the same wholes into the upperside, like there are in the toggles where the plexi is on.






















It’ll look like this on the outerside.














Here it’s mounted on to the box. You can see I put some fine gauze on the top. Later I’ll explane why I did this.
Behind the 5 wholes in the bottom there’s a piece of carbonkevlar.


----------



## sydmonster

...still fascinated by this build.
How is it coming robolop?


----------



## the other hated guy

man you inspire me to work with aluminum and CF and incorporate them into my future pieces!!!


----------



## robolop

Here some pics of the aluminum toggles I made.

These come on the Left en Right of the amplifier, and serve to tighten the plexi pieces on the sides.

Remember this?












These two won’t be visible.



















Of these, you’ll only see the upperside. You can also see I screwed a little piece of MDF on the inside.

That’s were the plexi will lay on to.






























This will get into the back. Again, you will only see the upperside.

Also you can see I knocked in an aluminum nail.

This will come between the plexi, a little hard to explain really.

But you’ll see what I’m trying to say.































In total, I had a lot of work making this, specially trying to fit and finish it in a descent way.

Getting into the trunk 20x a day, for messuring and trying. I’m going to be so happy when the amplifierbox is finished.


----------



## robolop

the other hated guy said:


> man you inspire me to work with aluminum and CF and incorporate them into my future pieces!!!



GO 4 IT DUDE


----------



## sydmonster

woah... more.



robolop said:


> I’m going to be so happy when the amplifierbox is finished.


you have the whole car audio world waiting with baited breath!! 
:lipsrsealed:

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## robolop

This part will get underneath the amplifier.

On the bottom there’s a mirror of 4mm thick. The meaning is that you can look into the amplifier through the mirror, when the amplifier gets up. 

Don’t forget I’m going to open the amplifier so you can see all of it’s components. Here a picture of how I pictured it before….


















This is the plate, finished.








The sides will get on the same level/height as those from the amplifier.



















The upperside I polished, and the sides are brushed aluminum.








Here you can see I planned a little grill in there. This is the inside, where you won’t see anything.


----------



## mspiegle

I just went through the 60+ page thread on the other forum, and I think my jaw was dropped for a majority of the time.

I don't think words can express how amazing your work is!

THANK YOU for posting all of the pictures. It gives the rest of us something to dream about


----------



## Lanson

<<<--- waving to you from knowing you on Escape-City, welcome to DIYMA!

Now you see where the audio bug/disease comes from for me.




mspiegle said:


> I just went through the 60+ page thread on the other forum, and I think my jaw was dropped for a majority of the time.
> 
> I don't think words can express how amazing your work is!
> 
> THANK YOU for posting all of the pictures. It gives the rest of us something to dream about


----------



## mspiegle

fourthmeal said:


> <<<--- waving to you from knowing you on Escape-City, welcome to DIYMA!
> 
> Now you see where the audio bug/disease comes from for me.


Hey! This forum is pretty awesome. I keep finding my questions answered by posts on this forum (from google searches), so I decided to join up.

See ya around.


----------



## ECM

robolop said:


> This part will get underneath the amplifier.
> 
> On the bottom there’s a mirror of 4mm thick. The meaning is that you can look into the amplifier through the mirror, when the amplifier gets up.
> 
> Don’t forget I’m going to open the amplifier so you can see all of it’s components. Here a picture of how I pictured it before….


How do you plan on pressing all the transistors to the heat sink without the bottom plate? If I'm not mistaken, the bottom plate of those PPI amps have tabs that put pressure on the transistors, holding them tight against the heat sink.


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> ...still fascinated by this build.
> How is it coming robolop?


I don’t know dude. Is this my fault?



sydmonster said:


> woah... more.
> 
> 
> you have the whole car audio world waiting with baited breath!!
> :lipsrsealed:
> 
> :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:



You think?

They’ll have to wait a bit more I’m afraid.


----------



## robolop

ECM said:


> How do you plan on pressing all the transistors to the heat sink without the bottom plate? If I'm not mistaken, the bottom plate of those PPI amps have tabs that put pressure on the transistors, holding them tight against the heat sink.




Nice looking dude. The cover of the PPI is exactly made this way that it pushes to the power amps.

I’m going to build a custom piece for this, and name it the “ECM bar”


----------



## GEE

did you ever listened your ppi amp with the focal N°7 ?


----------



## robolop

mspiegle said:


> I just went through the 60+ page thread on the other forum, and I think my jaw was dropped for a majority of the time.
> 
> I don't think words can express how amazing your work is!
> 
> THANK YOU for posting all of the pictures. It gives the rest of us something to dream about





No problem mate, at night I dream of other things.


----------



## ECM

robolop said:


> Nice looking dude. The cover of the PPI is exactly made this way that it pushes to the power amps.
> 
> I’m going to build a custom piece for this, and name it the “ECM bar”


I'm honored that you'd name it the ECM bar! :blush:

Don't want you blowing up that nice amp after all that work dude.


----------



## sydmonster

robolop said:


> I don’t know dude. Is this my fault?
> You think?
> They’ll have to wait a bit more I’m afraid.


maybe something is lost in translation, but fascinated means I think this build is excellent and I have to keep coming back again and again to look at it!!


----------



## robolop

GEE said:


> did you ever listened your ppi amp with the focal N°7 ?


I never heard of a combination like that. I have the PPI for a couple of years now, and I know really good what that thing is capable of.

Heard those Focals play in plural cars and they sounded pretty amazing...
:surprised::surprised::surprised:


----------



## SQ Monte

Absolutely the sickest build I've ever seen, bar none!


----------



## Chast

Really good job


----------



## robolop

On some forums, they ask me how I make such nice pictures. They mean off course, how I get such a nice background.

I solved this in a simple way: I just bought myself a little solar controled curtain, and hung it up.











This is how it looks when I’m taking pictures; I roll the curtain down, and put the parts on it.










This is what you guys see.










These plexi pieces will get next to the amplifierbox. They are taped on top, and will be sprayed silver at the bottom.


This is the grooved plexi wich will come on the underside of the amplifier.
Also this needs to be coloured in silver.

Also this needs to be coloured in silver.










What’s inside the bleu line, doesn’t get sprayed.

Through this you’ll see the amplifier on the inside.


----------



## Peerless Guy

You, sir, are truly an artist! Would anyone tell Van Gogh he shouldn't have painted A Starry Night?


----------



## 2_Lude

Wow nice work, I am truly amazed by your progress so far. Thanks for putting up such a detailed log on your work. Can't wait to see the rest of the project.


----------



## robolop

Tomoror more pictures...............


----------



## robolop

Ok guys, the amplifierbox is finished. Did some modifications here and there.

Here and older picture of the side.










It’s especially about the front of the the little L-slat.
On this picture, it’s stops on the side. Didn’t look that good to me, and I had a join on the front.
Here you see it like I made it now. I made 2 new slats on the front and back, each 3mm langer .











I have some more join on the side, but it’s better then before. It’s much tighter on the front now.

Pictures of the side.










The grille on top, is the same I used in the front bumper.











Now it’s looks like I wanted it to look.

You won’t see much of the sides directly, but you know there will come a lot of glass on the side….













Here the sides of the box will reflect into, and I think that will give a nice effect.


----------



## robolop

This is the final result of many many many hours work.
































On the front I managed to work in some carbon fibre. The middle part won’t stay this way though. I want a logo in there, but since I’m not sure how I’m going to make this…it’ll have to wait some more. It has to something “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW” , made in plexi and carbon fibre.


----------



## AVIDEDTR

robolop said:


> This is the final result of many many many hours work.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On the front I managed to work in some carbon fibre. The middle part won’t stay this way though. I want a logo in there, but since I’m not sure how I’m going to make this…it’ll have to wait some more. It has to something “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW” , made in plexi and carbon fibre.


UNFCUKING BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## robolop

Here you see how I mounted the plexi. I did this in a really simple way.
In the back slat I hammered in 2 inox nails, knocked it down till the plexi came in between.So the backside couldn’t budge any more.



















On the front I screwed the plexi tight with 2 little screws M3.

This plexi must be able to be removed for cleaning or to adjust the amplifier.

I also foresaw the illumination of this thing. I only could do this on the front. So i used a LEDSTRIP.

This doesn’t needs much space, so I managed to build it in quite nicely under the cover.


----------



## robolop

Here some pictures of the venitlators. I’m most pleased about the way I placed them. Not in the middle, is much cooler for me. 
































The pictures of the the lighting will be for another time


----------



## sydmonster

...again. WOW.

it just gets better. All those hours works are worth it!


----------



## quality_sound

That is THE BEST amp rack I've EVER seen...


----------



## JayinMI

That is the best (fill in a part of this install) I've ever seen, too. 

Jay


----------



## robolop

Here some shots with the blue lighting.

These are made during the daylight. I think most people will see the install in daylight conditions.















































This pictures is made at night.


----------



## robolop




----------



## robolop

Pictures made through the side


----------



## sydmonster

robolop, is that a reflection of the mesh on the center of the last two photos?!


----------



## suka4thong

WOW! it's beautiful


----------



## Sully

Subscribed


----------



## rsf98

WOW!.... just wow


----------



## erica34

absolutely amazing!! the creativity and attention to detail reminds me of the ridler car by chip foose. this bmw is one lucky car!


----------



## Kenny_Cox

holy, i've missed a lot. This is undoubtedly the best install that I have ever seen.


----------



## Topdown

Stunning...


----------



## robolop

Because I want the people to see the inside of the PPI, I had to screw off the top.There was a little problem though. The cover held the power amps in the cool paste. I managed to make 2 new copper bars that do the same thing.


















Milled a little diagonal side on the front.










Here they are mounted. Each bar is tightened with 4 M4 screws.




















If you look closely you'll see why I made the side diagonal.
It was a little too short on the pins where the power amps are tightened with.











I glued a piece of self-adhesive vilt on the bottom. I did this to prevent scratches on the plexi and on the paint.
Once this was done, I screwed the plexi on.


----------



## robolop

The plexi glass is painted in the same colour as the car. TITANSILVER





















The slots I milled into the plexi, don't catch the eye like I planned it. But when the lights are on...that'll change.


----------



## ECM

Hey Robolop, I'm digging the copper bars you milled for the amp. 

Are the copper bars bowing inbetween the screw downs? In Orion amps, they install about twice as many screws and use double side foam tape between the bar and the transistors. Bare copper may crack a transistor as it thermal cycles. The double sided tape serves to cushion the bare metal to transistor contact. Usually, when replacing double sided tape I only remove one side and stick it to the bar, leaving the transistor side with wax paper so the transistors don't stick.


----------



## sydmonster

That is really coming together in a fantastic way! I'm still amazed robolop.


----------



## robolop

2_Lude said:


> Wow nice work, I am truly amazed by your progress so far. Thanks for putting up such a detailed log on your work. Can't wait to see the rest of the project.





AVIDEDTR said:


> UNFCUKING BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!





sydmonster said:


> ...again. WOW.
> 
> it just gets better. All those hours works are worth it!





quality_sound said:


> That is THE BEST amp rack I've EVER seen...




THX DUDE's.

:rockon::rockon::drummer::drummer::bowdown:


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> robolop, is that a reflection of the mesh on the center of the last two photos?!


Yep dude.


----------



## robolop

erica34 said:


> absolutely amazing!! the creativity and attention to detail reminds me of the ridler car by chip foose. this bmw is one lucky car!





No man, I’m happy with the BMW


----------



## robolop

rsf98 said:


> WOW!.... just wow


They’re only 3 lettres but sometimes that means a lot.



Kenny_Cox said:


> holy, i've missed a lot. This is undoubtedly the best install that I have ever seen.





Topdown said:


> Stunning...





Sully said:


> Subscribed


THX DUDE's.


----------



## SQS

Been a bit since I've checked out these pics, looks good!


----------



## robolop

I forgot to post these pictures. They’re about the plexi sides who will get next to the amplifier.

These are also sprayed in the silver of the car.



























For the amplifier-part, everything is mounted into the car. I’m going to wait some more before posting pictures.
Sorry dude’s.
In the meanwhile, I didn’t sat still. For about 10 years, I have something in my head, that I HAVE TO try sometime.
Well, now that stage1 is complete (and it all works perfectly), it’s time to do so. Here and there there are some things I need to improve, but part from that, stage 1 is finished.
So now the search is on for some nice and functional ways to work out the next stage… and surely, were going to add a little motor somewhere again J
I show my plans to some dudes, but they didn’t understand that good lol
I think that’s cool.......


----------



## sydmonster

robolop said:


> For the amplifier-part, everything is mounted into the car. I’m going to wait some more before posting pictures.
> Sorry dude’s.


 oh man! not even one pic?? please 




> In the meanwhile, I didn’t sat still. For about 10 years, I have something in my head, that I HAVE TO try sometime.
> Well, now that stage1 is complete (and it all works perfectly), it’s time to do so. Here and there there are some things I need to improve, but part from that, stage 1 is finished.
> So now the search is on for some nice and functional ways to work out the next stage… and surely, were going to add a little motor somewhere again J
> I show my plans to some dudes, but they didn’t understand that good lol
> I think that’s cool.......


I can't wait! a 10 year plan, the build up alone is special!

We wait for you Robolop.


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> oh man! not even one pic?? please
> 
> 
> 
> I can't wait! a 10 year plan, the build up alone is special!
> 
> We wait for you Robolop.


O.K. one for you...........


----------



## robolop

Here some pictures of the thing I made.

First of all I made 6 of the same plexiglass boomerangs.

I did this in plexi so you can see if something goes wrong.

Made the model in MDF offcourse, then I pasted the 6 pieces on , and held it to the copy-mill



















Only this is how you get everything 100% the same.









After that I milled the MDF rings.









De linkse ring is van volkern.











Some more rings, and the plexi

























This needs to be put together now, and then it’s finished.

Simple !

This “thing” I made, has a name… and I’m curious for the guy/girl who can guess what it’s called.

The first person may come over here to clean and dust my garage.


----------



## Tonyguy

a boomerang?


----------



## Hippo

some kind of a diaphraghm?


----------



## sydmonster

THANK YOU ROBOLOP.....
I had to beg...



robolop said:


> This needs to be put together now, and then it’s finished.
> Simple !
> This “thing” I made, has a name… and I’m curious for the guy/girl who can guess what it’s called.
> The first person may come over here to clean and dust my garage.


I can see the tie in with the brakes covers, but I would call these "things"; custom speaker grills .

Or diffuser, because it reminds me of diffusion plates in gas burners or adjustable pitch proppellor


----------



## simplicityinsound

when this is done, someone HAVE to pay to bring it to CES...i love every top end euro intsalls i have seen there... this is just amazing...

robolop have you seen Jaka's or Per's beetles or the russain 007 DLS S max van out there?


----------



## Meanmachine

Robo, 
Why did you cover the bearing with tape ??


----------



## robolop

Meanmachine said:


> Robo,
> Why did you cover the bearing with tape ??




http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/30321-one-badassed-bmw-330-a-12.html


----------



## robolop

Hippo said:


> some kind of a diaphraghm?



Especially for you, Hippo



A couple of words about the DIAFRAGMA. First I would like to say that I didn’t know how this was called too…

As I told before, I had it in my mind to make such a thing for years now. I never bothered to think how this was going to work exactly…this was al about mathematiques, and even in school I hated that crap.

But if you look at it know, it’s quite simple.

To explain it a bit easier, I let the top part off.

You can see 6 plexi boomerangs laying on top of each other. You can also see that on the tips there are some inbus-scews of M4, these are the hinge-points.




















Here you can see him closed.




















Here complete, with the cover on top.
This is the slide, where you open and close this thing with.













In the 6 slots there are imbus-screws. You can also see these are on the outside of the slot.










Now you see it close, and you see the screws go to the middle.











Now it’s closed.


----------



## robolop

You can see there is a hole in the middle, but that’s normal with this drawing. It never closes completely.



















Some pictures from on the other side.































The meaning of this thing is, that I want it to stand behind the back of the rear seat. You may know that, in the beginning, I traded the normal rear seat for a rear seat with ski-hatch, to get the bass better into the interior.

Because I found this hole kind of BORING, I’m trying to put in a diafragma. Read again: TRYING !!

You also know the amplifier comes before that when it’s open, so I need to check and measure if I still have enough place to put it all.

I’m going to make everything out of other materials, about 18mm thick…

It also needs to open and close automatically, but that’s easy to sort out. The biggest problem is to ensure it doesn’t rattle while driving, but I may have a solution for that problem too…

Now about the hole (when everything is close up)… I think I’ve found a cool solution for that too.

I’m only hoping for one thing now… that I have enough place for this all…


----------



## robolop

Tonyguy said:


> a boomerang?
















:laugh::laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

simplicityinsound said:


> when this is done, someone HAVE to pay to bring it to CES...i love every top end euro intsalls i have seen there... this is just amazing...
> 
> robolop have you seen Jaka's or Per's beetles or the russain 007 DLS S max van out there?



Jaka Seles his bug I saw once… The install is amazing, and well figured out.
How the car sounds I don’t know… Forgot my cd’s and didn’t listen .



Për Söder, I didn’t see. Two years ago I listened to his install in Sinsheim (Germany), and that was one of the best sounding cars I’ve heard in my life.
Had a nice conversation with him, and he told me he sold his bug. Didn’t want to tell what his next project would be.




Dmitri Matveev with his Ford S-Max.
What should I tell about him, about his car you can talk for HOURS.
Met him the first time with his Peugeot in Sinsheim, a couple of years ago. The theme of his car then was “THE LION”.
Everywhere you looked, you could see aluminum CNC Lionteeth J
A couple of years I saw him in Vegas (CES), he was there with the MINI.
Learned to know him a bit better, and listened to his car, wich was TOP NOTCH !
I must say I especially went to Rotterdam to see his S-Max.
The theme this time was James Bond 007.
When he did his presentation for the jury, he put on a DVD of Casino Royale.
It was a fully editted version, and there was told that ICE Install of the Aston Martin was no good, so James Bond wanted a car with a descent sound-system.
And so they came to the S-Max.
As for the rest I looked in his presentationbook for over an hour, and on the first page there were pictures of the 10 people who made the car.
Didn’t had the chance too listen or look, but again this one was worked out in to detail.Shouldn’t be otherwise when there were 10 people working on it.


----------



## robolop

Hippo said:


> some kind of a diaphraghm?
> 
> Ok Hippo, you were the first to guess this, so you won the grand prize:
> 
> Especially for you I won’t tidy up anymore after drilling, milling, …, so you can enjoy cleaning up my garage even more.
> 
> You can do this entirely for free, and *sydmonster* may come too…cause the ceiling could use a wash too.
> 
> So, book the first ticket to Belgium you can find, and get over here! It’s nice over here, chocolats, beer and Kim Clijsters…and there’s Robolop too


----------



## sydmonster

hahaha! to brussels, bruje or Spa?


Im very excited to see this "Camera Lens" bass port!!!


----------



## slomofo

phenomenal installation. i have never seen any install by one person where this level of work was performed with just a router and more common tools. you are a true craftsman. i'm blown away


----------



## bruther

ANy finished pics of the bass port?


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> hahaha! to brussels, bruje or Spa?
> 
> 
> Im very excited to see this "Camera Lens" bass port!!!




So it could be I did an invention ??




:idea::idea::idea::idea::idea:


----------



## robolop

slomofo said:


> phenomenal installation. i have never seen any install by one person where this level of work was performed with just a router and more common tools. you are a true craftsman. i'm blown away



For me, it’s also the challenge to make something hight-tec, with simple materials.

I also think it’s cool.


:laugh::laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

bruther said:


> ANy finished pics of the bass port?




No dude, for the moment I’m not working on the ICE.

It’s my goldchilds brother’s birthday soon, and I’m planning of surprising him…

I’m making a FERRARI cabinet to put his games into. Once it’s finished, I’ll post up some pics.

It’s going to be, DUH, ferrari red, with carbon fibre, and a little motor….you’ll see.


----------



## sydmonster

robolop said:


> So it could be I did an invention ??
> 
> 
> 
> 
> :idea::idea::idea::idea::idea:


Maybe!?? an on the go adjustable port? hmm... I certainly have yet to see one.


----------



## robolop

These will be the final boomerangs for the diaphragm. I used anodized aluminum of 1.5mm thick.

This material is also used on the backside of the Focal Woofers.

I taped 6 plates on each other, and held it to the copy-mill. The uppermill is now the best tool to fnish these things off… hope the disc doens’t go in to tears now .



























Here you can see the upperside of the boomerangs.



















And this is how the backside looks. You’ll see right-away that I taped some self-adhesive black vilt on it.











I had to do this, so I couldn’t get any scratches on the aluminum when everything opens and closes.

Secondly this will prevent vibrating when I’m banging the install.

Cause the aluminum is only 1.5mm thick, I screwed in some screws with a bit of loctite on it. That way I’m sure it won’t fall apart.










The plexi boomerangs I made at first, landed in the rubbish bin…but they always seem to come back. How is that possible ?


----------



## tr0y_audi0

wow man,
this is the longest install that has had one focus thru the whole install..
keep it up.. and lets see the Birthday gift..


----------



## AdamTaylor

i think i missed what this was for


----------



## JayinMI

In a nutshell, it's going in the "ski hole" because the hole was too boring by itself. 
At least that was what I got out of it 
Awesome work!

Jay


----------



## AdamTaylor

so its purpose is to do what?


----------



## ThipN

Wow!


----------



## ymbre

what function this bling have?


----------



## JayinMI

I got the impression it was just supposed to look cool.



Jay


----------



## gitmobass

I cannot tell you how much I wish I had those skills.


----------



## rollininstyle2004

I had seen some of this install a while back, I just looked over the entire thing again, and every aspect of it amazes me. The best fabrication work and attention to detail I have ever seen.


----------



## robolop

In the meanwhile I finished the diaphragm. This is the aluminum plate of 4mm thick where it'll get on to.
With the 6 little pads that stick out on the side, I can tighten it completely.








The black ring you can see here, is MDF I painted. The ring I used from the first diaphragm I made.










This plate is also 4mm thick, and I put some more work into adjusting the slots where the screws will rest into.










The piece on the right side, will serve for the transmittion. Later I can u on this, what I like, and what's good.
You can also see I glued on a piece of vilt against the vibration.








Here you see the boomerangs sliding over eacht-other when it closes.



















This is a cardboard ring of 2mm thick I cut out. Did this to catch the vibrations, and to adjust it all even better.










Here the upper ring of 4mm is mounted on. On the bottom of this ring, I also glued some vilt.












Here in close position.











The anodised aluminum in the middle will look great in my opinion. Very satisfied I've chosen this material.


----------



## robolop

This is the backside.





















I must say this was easy for me to make.
The biggest problem was to make it tremble and vibration-free, and I did it.
When I open and close it all, you can feel the tention that's on it. I can adjust this delicately with the cardboard I used.
I screwed it all tight on a plate here on my table, and now I'm busy to adjust it subtle before adding the motor.


----------



## robolop

Here the little test I did. When you check it out, it's quite simple really.

The spring you see, pulls the diaphragm to close. On the lever, I put a bigger plate, so I can see how long I need to make my transmittion.

The more I pull the cable out, the more slowly it close and opens, and the less force the motor needs.

I really like the speed that it opens and close now.

I just need to make a descent piece of aluminum that will stand onto the motor.

Here a picture, I'm going to make a little movie, and post it offcourse.










Here a little movie of what I made of a "diaphragm"


----------



## Lanson

You should submit your info to the company that makes your router, and have them sponsor you in exchange for your expertise and experience with using it. I swear I have never seen such work done with nothing more than basic tools. Its like you have a 5-axis CNC machine in your garage, and a waterjet. Its dumbfounding really.


----------



## prophet_ca

fourthmeal said:


> You should submit your info to the company that makes your router, and have them sponsor you in exchange for your expertise and experience with using it. I swear I have never seen such work done with nothing more than basic tools. Its like you have a 5-axis CNC machine in your garage, and a waterjet. Its dumbfounding really.


I agree its amazingly polish for such basic tools


----------



## robolop

These things will end up in the hole of the diaphragm. First 3 aluminum bars of 10 mm thick.









Here I had to have a clean flat side of 4 centimeters aprox.
I put them next to each other, screwed them tight(for safety), and stretched them out. 
Then I planted in the uppermill, and milled a flat side.





















On the top of the bars you could see I screwed them, so afterwards...I disced this off..












I divided this equaly, and tightened this on the back.












Now you can see why I needed a flat side












Once I had this, I screwed on a piece of aluminum tube of 10cm diameters.
This tube will get much shorter, but now, I don't know how much exactly...












Here the frontview, looks a bit like a little nuclear reactor or so.













This was the easy part...and now I have to make something to get in that tube.

And I think it's gonna be... COOL. (i hope)


----------



## JayinMI

Starting to remind me of a Flux Capacitor. 
Is that a wiper motor you're using to open/close the assembly?
What are you controlling it with? Just a switch or is is automatic?

Jay


----------



## robolop

gitmobass said:


> I cannot tell you how much I wish I had those skills.


That’ll comes through the years dude.



rollininstyle2004 said:


> I had seen some of this install a while back, I just looked over the entire thing again, and every aspect of it amazes me. The best fabrication work and attention to detail I have ever seen.


Thanks dude, trying my best, and making it as special as possible.:surprised:



fourthmeal said:


> You should submit your info to the company that makes your router, and have them sponsor you in exchange for your expertise and experience with using it. I swear I have never seen such work done with nothing more than basic tools. Its like you have a 5-axis CNC machine in your garage, and a waterjet. Its dumbfounding really.


 I find it cool to make something high-tech with little and affordable materials.
That’s the challenge.







JayinMI said:


> Starting to remind me of a Flux Capacitor.
> Is that a wiper motor you're using to open/close the assembly?
> What are you controlling it with? Just a switch or is is automatic?
> 
> Jay


There will come “end loop contacts” on, to let it open and close.

:surprised::surprised:


----------



## rollininstyle2004

Insane!


----------



## robolop

I’ve been busy milling some rings in aluminum for the diaphragm, and believe me, many hours have passed.
This is a ring of 8mm thick that will get into the middle, around the big tube.
How I make a ring, you all should know by know, but here you can see how I made a flange on it.












It’s super easy to do so. You take a right mill, and take a little plank of mdf wood.












This plank you put on top of the mill.













By pulling the plank away, the mill gets free on the front…and here you keep on the aluminum piece.
It’s kind of a glider you have.
Here you can see the result, and you can see the MDF ring is still mounted on. This one stays on, so I can get a better grip on the part.













One ring finished












This little ring will get on the inside, and I made this of anodized material. Did this to have some contrast.















The upper ring needs to be abdraded firmly now, cause I’m going to polish it.













Here you can see how it’ll look. In the centre in the middle, a logo or so will be added, but still don’t know what …















Then I started again but making the middle ring.
Measured correctly, and made it with MDF at first. Drawed it out on 8mm aluminum, and sawed it out. Taped them on each other, and held it to the mill.


----------



## robolop

This was the result.













Here you can see I made a double flange.













Then I made another ring of anodised aluminum of 2mm thick.














Here you can see this piece fits into the outer flange.













Here you can see that this will all get mounted on the diaphragm 

























Then I needed to make the outer and final ring.
This will be tightened, against all of my principles, with 6 screws. Had the opportunity to glue it, but doubted if that would look good














Here you can see I made 2 more flanges.














See this all mounted.on.
























With a little cube of 5mm thick, I want to show you how I will tighten this Around the diaphragm will get a lot of carbon fibre, I can stop nicely on the aluminum, and I can roll the ring against it, for a perfect finish.


----------



## robolop

I’m pretty satisfied about the mill-work. There has been a lot of work on this, but in the meanwhile that’s long forgotton..
What’s next now you ask… Well the dull, boring jobs as usual. Rubbing, abrading, ….and holding everything to the polish-brush.
In the meanwhile a friend of mine, who has a big lathe (turning bench?) made me some axis, who will get placed onto the window-wiper-motor.
These are only 8mm diameter on the top, and so it will all open and close more slowly…and this was how I wanted it.













My last last problem with the opening and closing, I managed to solve.
The steel cable turned on nicely onto the axis, but when it need to go the other direction, it got loose cause the cable was to stiff, and the spring didn’t have enoughtcounter balance.
A simple trick… I used nylon. The kind they use to catch silurus-fish, it’s has traction limit of 120kg, and is nicely supple / elastic.
Now it’ll rolls in sweet and all the problems are gone.


----------



## Lanson

Do you recycle your aluminum shavings?


----------



## robolop

I was getting sick of ****ing in the trunk with a normal during lamp. I had about 3 of those, and throwed them all in the bin today. No more ******* lamp in my trunk.
I got to the store, and got me some normal 20 watts lights, and a couple of meters of cable. Hanged it in the trunk in a descent way, so it didn't bother me.
It's a little update, but it's so luxurious now, really, and it gives me some warmth also.




















So the diaphragm will stay, like it sits now. As you can see, I raised it for a couple of centimeters.
I managed to do so by setting the backrest of the rearseat 3 cm more straight. The 2 toggles where the seat klicks into, I replaced.



















As long as I have the car, no one has ever sat in the back, so not going to let that bother me.
Now I have only one more problem, and that's the spring I need to place.
It'll get tight for that I think, but that problem I'm used to by now


----------



## robolop

I kept myself busy with improving the diaphragm. The biggest problems are gone, and I'm satisfied how it all works now.
The first thing I need to have, was a good slider/conductor where the nylon wire slides over when the diaphram opens and closes.
Cause a roller would be perfect for the job, I editted one with the disc.
The meaning of this was that I needed a sloth where the cable nicely stays in turn.I immediately put a screw in the roller with the propper roundels so it all was TIGHTEN.










The I put it in my drilling machine, and put in the center of my mill.










As you can see, fireworks were early this year  but it went perfect.
After that I just let it turn, and held a piece of sandpaper against it, to smoothen' it some more.
On the left you can see the roller, tuned by Robolop.











Here you can see the total picture of the MDF board as it'll come into the trunk.
My biggest concern is the spring. I really want to get this out of sight. Since I had some place between the seat I put it there.
I had to make a seperate piece of aluminum to mount it all on. To do this, I first had to tighten the MDF on the back of the rearseat, and after that I could screw on the aluminum. 
I had to make this in 2 pieces, cause it all was to big to get in between.











Underneath the spring, I taped a piece of vilt, so it can't make any noise. I'm planning of adding something around the spring to reduce vibration and noise towards zero.









Here you can see the tuned roller, within the cable, that's in connection with the lever.










Here you can see it working when closed.










You can also see I added some rubbers, where the lever stops.












Here the inox-cable will lay into, witch stands in connection with the windowwipermotor.













The motor is already firmly tightened in the trunk, besides the end loop contacts, it's all ready to mount in the bimmer.
As for now, I'm really satisfied with how it all works and looks.


This I cannot say about Marilyn Manson his performance yesterday in the Lotto Arena here in Belgium.
The ******* didn't feel like performing according to me, he stopped after an hour.


the loser.


----------



## rockinridgeline

Incredible imagination and execution. Some of the things you come up with I would have to think about for weeks.

Marilyn Manson - I would not expect any less from such a wack job.


----------



## Seth1784

flat out stunning man, very nicely done!


----------



## kp89gt

That is just sick!


----------



## robolop

I did some improvements on the diaphragm. A lot of rings I made ended up in the bin. Sometimes these things happen.

This time it was the outer ring. This one is tightened with 6 screws.








The inner ring stayed the same.









This is what's left of the tube. You can see I made a aluminium little cover for it. Now it's nicely finished when the armrest is down.





























The 3 toggles where the little cup is tightened with, are now polished too.










Here you can see the backside.











This will be the frontside.











The meaning of all this is that I'm planning of working it all into one part towards the outer polished ring. Of the rest you won't see anything.

I would like to do this in carbon fibre, so I'll get a nice contrast between the 2 materials.


----------



## robolop

This is how it sits in the car, and I've got plenty of space up and down there.





























Here's the transmission with the steel cable.










the "end-loop-contacts"






















Here's the motor who brings movement in all of this.











What I feared the most, is how the cable was going to roll itself on. I managed to solve this simply by putting the supply out of the centre, of the axis' motor.

this works perfectly. and believe me, I tried this many times, never malfunctioned.


----------



## Seth1784

very nice, i take it that it'll act as a port tube into the cabin for you?


----------



## Notloudenuf

robolop said:


>


And here we ALMOST get a picture of the infamous robolop. :laugh:

This is like watching Lost (an American serial drama) you want to know what happens but you don't want it to have to end to find out HOW it happens.

Who ARE you man? What do you do in real life?


----------



## robolop

First of all I would like to wish everyone a good and healthy 2010. May your dreams come true, and have a lot of fun. In life only a few things count, and enjoying is one of them.
About me… I’m satisfied with what I’ve done and made, but on top of my list there are the 2 heavenly hours I heard Metallica playing in Werchter, although Fergie did a good job too.
About the Ice, the diaphragm I made was a bull’s eye. I never thought I’d make something like this. And what’s more important, is that I managed to add something more into the trunk that’s electric.
The counter is now on 3, and sure hope it will rise even more.
I took some pictures of the lighting and the amplifierbox.















































What I’m going to do next is to remove the amplifierbox.

When I made the aluminum box 2 years ago, I considered the fact that some changes may have come… Well, change is here…

The Precision Power amp is going out, and will have to make way for the new 2 amplifiers.

The big amount of work to get the PPI nicely covered is for the bin, but I know in the back of my head this could happen.

What’s going to happen with the other amplifiers, will be (according to me) even nice looking and even have more power.

Will sort it out.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

I've read this thread a couple of times and I guess I
overlooked what kind and type bits are you using in
the router? Are they tungsten carbide, diamond? 
I know if you try and take too large of a bite from
the aluminum you risk having the part shot at or
away from you? What would you say is a safe amount
to try and remove in the first pass to avoid this issue?
I'm guessing that you trim the part your duplicating
to close to its actual size?

Thanks


----------



## stickler

Those copper connections are genius!


----------



## rollininstyle2004

So the whole PPI amp, box, setup is getting trashed? That thing is like artwork (I would just hang it on my wall), im sure you could sell it all and recoup some costs, if not more than you have invested given all the time in that thing. It is beautiful.


----------



## quality_sound

When did you start lurking here Jordan?

It didn't sound like he was scrapping the sub as well, just the amp rack. Unfortunate since it's damned good looking. I'm more curious about what amps he's going to run.


----------



## Seth1784

shoot man i'd look into getting the ppi just repaired, after that much man hours that's a lot to throw away just because an amp is dying out.


----------



## Lanson

I'd recommend selling the box and amp Robolop. There are a lot guys here that would happily own that as artwork.

No reason for the artist to throw away any of their own art. Profit from your change of plans.


----------



## robolop

Notloudenuf said:


> And here we ALMOST get a picture of the infamous robolop. :laugh:
> 
> This is like watching Lost (an American serial drama) you want to know what happens but you don't want it to have to end to find out HOW it happens.
> 
> Who ARE you man? What do you do in real life?



If you look closely, you’ll see the ghost who’s always present here.
:wings::wings::wings::wings:


I have a chickenfactory in the sahara-desert. And cause it’s always so warm here, the breeding process goes really quick. 
Because of that I’ve got a lot of spare time.

:sunny::sunny::sunny::sunny:


----------



## will_6o4

stickler said:


> Those copper connections are genius!


QFT. Sub setup is crazy. I wish I had a garage to work out of


----------



## rollininstyle2004

quality_sound said:


> When did you start lurking here Jordan?
> 
> It didn't sound like he was scrapping the sub as well, just the amp rack. Unfortunate since it's damned good looking. I'm more curious about what amps he's going to run.


Been lurking for a while, finally joined up. 

Also, I was just talking about the amp box, not the sub box, the whole amp casing thing has a TON of time into it, I would hate to see it get trashed.


----------



## robolop

FLYONWALL9 said:


> I've read this thread a couple of times and I guess I
> overlooked what kind and type bits are you using in
> the router? Are they tungsten carbide, diamond?
> I know if you try and take too large of a bite from
> the aluminum you risk having the part shot at or
> away from you? What would you say is a safe amount
> to try and remove in the first pass to avoid this issue?
> I'm guessing that you trim the part your duplicating
> to close to its actual size?
> 
> Thanks



The mills I’ve used for the aluminum are nothing special really. Believe me, I don’t even know what type it is.
The orange mills, they cost a bit more.
The red ones don’t cost a penny. That’s just a box with dits and dats I’ve bought sometime.
But they mill very well. You just need to use enough of liquid to cool it down.
Watch out, it’s still a dangereous job to do, especially when you want to try to do this for the first time.
When you take little parts from the alu, it’s not so bad.


----------



## robolop

quality_sound said:


> When did you start lurking here Jordan?
> 
> It didn't sound like he was scrapping the sub as well, just the amp rack. Unfortunate since it's damned good looking. I'm more curious about what amps he's going to run.


Only the innercase, wich was round the PPI, will be removed. The 2 carbon sides, the front, the back, and the vents.
The rest will stay like it was.





Seth1784 said:


> shoot man i'd look into getting the ppi just repaired, after that much man hours that's a lot to throw away just because an amp is dying out.


The building proces around the other amplifier, should be cool





fourthmeal said:


> I'd recommend selling the box and amp Robolop. There are a lot guys here that would happily own that as artwork.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No reason for the artist to throw away any of their own art. Profit from your change of plans.


I’m not selling anything dude.



williamk10 said:


> QFT. Sub setup is crazy. I wish I had a garage to work out of


I’m guessing you won’t have enough with a garage alone…


----------



## Seth1784

oh trust me i don't doubt that one bit with what you worked for what you have there already lol! i would just think a repair would cost less and get you up and running quicker.


----------



## robolop

Here you can see how the diaphragm looks, seen from the interior of the car. 










You can see that the diaphragm doesn’t sit in the center of the armrest.

What you see, won’t stay this way. It all needs to get finished, like when the armrest is down, it will look nice and complety ready


----------



## robolop

These will be the 2 new amplifiers that will recplace the PPI.
As you can see, they are from JL Audio. The reason why? Simple, all the topdesigners from PPI work now at JL Audio.
2 years ago I’ve spoken with Jeff Scoon, the topdesigner of PPI. And I must say, from then on, it was in my mind of using JL amps someday.
The other option was the Focal Duo Monitor, but he has been for sale a couple of years now. 
Cause this was only a 2-way amp, I had to buy one more to feed the subs.
A good friend of mine, Iwan Vinck (ARC deurne) has tested the JL edition, and was seriously impressed of what these things can do, and how they sound. 
If someone like that is impressed, there’s no need to doubt, and you just have to GO FOR IT.
The HD600/4 gives 4x150, but in my case, I’m going to bridge it to 2x300 on the front speakers.
The HD750/1 gives 1x750 watt, and this will be used for the subs.












In the meanwhile, I’ve lifted the PPI from it’s case, and put it in nicely into my cupboard. Don’t think I’ll sell this, you won’t get anything for that now a days.

Then I rather mount it in my golf I drive daily.


----------



## JoeDirte

Insane install.


----------



## MTopper

your bmw looks amazing, i wish i had the fabrication skills you have. great trunk layout and front end. Just wow!


----------



## robolop

Here you see the JL Audio's lying in the aluminum box. As you can see, these are pretty small amps.



















The job now is to flow them nice into the box.


















I find this logo of JL super beautiful, not sure if I'm going to use this anywhere...










The design departement is doing over time at the moment, but still not finished their job.

It has to be more cooler, more nice and more WOW then it was with the PPI.

That's a job that will not be easy, it'll be hard, but I'm taking the challenge. I've got time to work something out.


----------



## imjustjason

The aluminum on those amps is screaming for you to polish it.


----------



## robolop

The works on the new amplifierbox are on hold for the moment. Wich doesn’t mean I didn’t do anything this week, but now I have to wait for some stuff from over the water. Too bad this can take a couple of weeks, but that’s the way it is now.
And because I can’t sit still, I searched for something to keep me occupied. In fact, this has nothing to do with the ICE, but think some of you will find this cool.
I’ve decided to make me my own set of aluminum pedals, cause I’ve looked everywhere for some descent ones, but didn’t find it.
First of all, I made some models in MDF wood.










Once I had this, I copied this in 8mm thick aluminum.
Then I milled in some sloths of 20mm and 6mm deep.
This is the foot-rest on the left side.


















Since there’s a rounding in the plastic where this comes against to, I had to make this on the backside of the aluminum too.

So it connects lovely on the side.


















This will be the brake-pedal


















Gas


----------



## robolop

Brake



















Foot-rest




















What you see here, are many hours of work. And it’ still not finished. I still have to do my magic trick still


----------



## JayinMI

Where's the clutch? 

Jay


----------



## Kenny_Cox

you are so talented. I wish those JL HD amps would be on the market more often. Too new to pick them up used. lol


----------



## robolop

JoeDirte said:


> Insane install.





MTopper said:


> your bmw looks amazing, i wish i had the fabrication skills you have. great trunk layout and front end. Just wow!



THX DUDE's

:blush::blush::blush::blush:


----------



## robolop

I bended my brake pedal a little bit rounder. I think that must have been the biggest problem I could have, concerning the pedals that is.

I've managed to do this simple. On the front end I taped, on the top and the bottom, a little block of wood, with a little little plank on.

On the backside I taped a little block in the middle, and after that, put it all between the benchscrew.

Then I put a piece of barrel over the lever, so the lever gets bigger. Once I had this, it was simple to turn, and so bend the aluminum piece of 8mm.





























The rounding now is the same as the original pedal by bmw











It took some time to grind it all firmly, and I stopped with a 1200 wet.










Now it was the time to make some inlay-pieces. First I taped the sloths with tape.










The I taped 2 roundels on each other, and placed in on the whole where screws come out.










I the meanwhile I made some iron little plates of 3mm thick. I had to do this, so I could taped some screws in there, to tighten it all.











Then I filled it all up with epoxy.










When it's all dry, I'll take out the plates, and they will have the same model als the sloths. buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, they will be 2mm deeper then the alu.

The 2mm I need for the carbon and epoxy who will get on there.


----------



## robolop

imjustjason said:


> The aluminum on those amps is screaming for you to polish it.


The aluminum of the JL is also polished, so that will reamin as it is.




JayinMI said:


> Where's the clutch?
> 
> Jay


Oops, I've forgot about those. 



Kenny_Cox said:


> you are so talented. I wish those JL HD amps would be on the market more often. Too new to pick them up used. lol


that'll come ...some patience my dear.


----------



## sydmonster

what can I say... I've run out of compliments.
Clearly on another level...

THANK YOU Robolop for sharing with us all...


----------



## darinof

The force is strong on this one

Att
Obi-Wan Kenobi


----------



## darinof

thanks for sharing!
Your built is out of this world... I wish i knew how to work with aluminum like you do.


----------



## DJSPANKY

You are an inspiration to us all!!! Keep sharing the pics...


----------



## AdamTaylor

robolop, i still cant wrap my head around how this diaphragm closes and opens


please explain a little


----------



## audio MD

I want a time log of this build... lol


----------



## robolop

I’ve baked some carbon cakes in my oven.










Offcourse, these need another set of epoxi-layers. The alu pedals go somewhere to get anodized, so they look exactly the same as the indoor moldings. Once I get them back, it’ll take some time to nicely cut out the little carbon pieces, and abrade them so they fit 100%.



I also did some tests with carbon fibre.
Here you see one.
I had an original BMW logo laying here somewhere, so I covered it with carbon… Real stuff dude, no sticky sticker ****.









To do this right I had to use a Copperfield trick…and it worked out nicely. On the plate you see, there’s only 1 layer of epoxy. And I rubb this over, one more layer will be added and it’s finished.
So not as many work then when you need to put 4-5 layers.
You can also see I got the side really smooth and fine.










And who was it that said is was very hard to use carbon fibre on corners?


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> what can I say... I've run out of compliments.
> Clearly on another level...
> 
> THANK YOU Robolop for sharing with us all...




No problem dude, you’re welcome.


----------



## robolop

darinof said:


> thanks for sharing!
> Your built is out of this world... I wish i knew how to work with aluminum like you do.




If you do things like I explain it here, there shouldn’t be a problem.

You’d just better not start with the small parts, that’s a bit dangerous.


----------



## robolop

AdamTaylor said:


> robolop, i still cant wrap my head around how this diaphragm closes and opens
> 
> 
> please explain a little





I’ve posted more then 80 pictures, and little movie and tons of information/text.

I can’t do much more dude, I’m sorry.


----------



## robolop

audio MD said:


> I want a time log of this build... lol


When I started on this install 2 years ago, I’ve removed the battery from my clock here in the garage.

Time is the LAST thing I think about.

Making something while having fun is top on my list.


----------



## robolop

The things I ordered to finish off the amp-box, are currently hanging somewhere over the ocean.
I'd better ordered them a size bigger, cause it's about 30 degrees(Celcius) difference from there to here, and those things could shrimp from the cold.
But still, it's positive news they're on the way.
Dropped of the aluminium pedals too, and will get them back in two weeks normally. On the carbon lay-ins of the pedals I did some layers epoxy already, and there will be a lot of rabrading to get this tight, but we can do it.
I also kept myself warm by milling some things for around the carbon BMW emblems.
I first thought of making these completely out of carbon fibre, but that looked like sh* ...
So I started by making 2 aluminium rings who will come around the emblems.
First I made 2 MDF blocks's, and glued a piece of 4mm aluminium against it.
Then held it to the copy-mill, with this as result. 










Then I put in another mill, and made a nice rounding on the upper side.




















Then it was time for the professional work, and went about 4mm deeper with the right mill.










The grey disc with all the holes, I bought when I was in L.A.

Here your mill onto, and knock on the attached pin, in the center of your piece. So you can chose with diamter you delete. It's something really really simlple, but just so practical, and I wasn't able to find it here in Belgium.


















Here you see the little ring I need on the left side.










You can say....it looks much better then without the ring. 










I did the same for the logo on the backside, just that's a bit smaller.










Here they are, Dumb & Dumber


----------



## robolop

On the backside, I milled it all a bit diagonal, cause I'm going to glue the carbon into the aluminum with 2 components glue


----------



## FLYONWALL9

NICE WORK......

Its killing me to try my hand at making parts like these. I've
got a nice router on the way along with a couple boxes of 
bits. I'm looking forward to it, thanks for all the how-to's..
or your process rather


----------



## sydmonster

class & custom touch. Unique too.


----------



## lucipha

your skills amaze me everytime I check this one for updates.


----------



## cgw

Will 2 or 3 or 4 5" 13WS Focal subs do well like in front of the front passengers feet, almost in the dash?(Hatchback Audi A3, older 2003 model)

What size enclosure would they need and how much power?

THX


----------



## quality_sound

cgw said:


> Will 2 or 3 or 4 5" 13WS Focal subs do well like in front of the front passengers feet, almost in the dash?(Hatchback Audi A3, older 2003 model)
> 
> What size enclosure would they need and how much power?
> 
> THX


Yes, they would work very well if you can fit the 1cf box a pair of them would need. I remember someone (I want to say Will Adcock) had for of them in the dash of something like an Intrepid. It was a large body Chrysler vehicle.


----------



## ellocojorge

i cant believe i didnt open this thread sooner. the work you have done is just incredible. i also saw you Ferrari 500 build. i never thought id have my mouth water over a fiat


----------



## mosconiac

Any links to the Ferrari build?


----------



## ellocojorge

mosconiac said:


> Any links to the Ferrari build?


its actually a fiat 500. but he named the build ferrari 500


----------



## robolop

The carbon lay-ins are ready to get some layers of varnish. To become this result, I’ve been abrading for several hours, and I’m really pleased that’s behind me now.
However, it’s nog finished yet. I’m going to do somethings special with 1 plate, but I’m not 100% sure what it’s going to be 


















Once the varnish is on here, only then the carbon fibre will appear. 









About the emblems, I’m working on my own logo to add to that.


----------



## robolop

FLYONWALL9 said:


> NICE WORK......
> 
> Its killing me to try my hand at making parts like these. I've
> got a nice router on the way along with a couple boxes of
> bits. I'm looking forward to it, thanks for all the how-to's..
> or your process rather





You must use the uppermill dude. You’ve seen by now what nice things this machine can do for you.


----------



## robolop

ellocojorge said:


> i cant believe i didnt open this thread sooner. the work you have done is just incredible. i also saw you Ferrari 500 build. i never thought id have my mouth water over a fiat




So you’re about to get a regulare reader here, cool.

The magazines eulogized the fiat to the ferrari 500.


----------



## robolop

mosconiac said:


> Any links to the Ferrari build?





No dude, unfortunately I just have a few pictures of that. As of the rest, I haven’t.


----------



## robolop

ellocojorge said:


> its actually a fiat 500. but he named the build ferrari 500


Indeed, that was a fiat 500, but I added some Ferrari accents to it. Like the yellow colour, the alu plate around the shifter, the f500 logo I made in aluminum.

Performances of that car: about 17 horses and a donkey LOL


----------



## Potent

Absolutely Brilliant Robby...

You really are my inspiration and have taught me to always try different things and not to be shy to think out of the box...

Big Ups to you my brother and keep up the brilliant work...

Manny...


----------



## cgw

UNBELIEVABLE, awesome build & patience.


----------



## robolop

As you can see, the pedals are ready to get mounted in the car.
I was pretty scared about the anodization, since that’s something I didn’t do myself. But they have done it just the way I wanted.
The silver colour is the same as the other interiorpieces of the car.
Here the foot-support.



















The little sticker-letters that I let someone make for me.

These are silver, and are underneath the varnish, so nothing can harm them there










The brake.









As you look closely on the bottomside of the carbon fibre, you’ll see there’s a lot of varnisch on there.

This varnisch is scratch-free, and is as solid as a rock. Time will tell…












The gas pedal.




























And finally, the complete set.











These set of pedals, I think, will need a yearly maintenance…
I mean that in time, I’ll have to take em off, screw the carbon plates loose, abrade them again, add another layer of varnish, and put it all together.
No pain no gain, they say;;;
now, when it’s finished, I realize I again finished something small that took a lot of work

My carbon fibre stock is empty for the moment, but next week 10m² will be delivered… so up to the next!


----------



## quality_sound

I'm kinda surprised you didn't have the weave all face the same direction. But they look sweet either way!


----------



## JayinMI

You know he's gonna redo them now that you said something, right? :laugh:

Jay


----------



## imjustjason

I think he can just flip them around. The slots are symmetrical.

Looks great either way.


----------



## robolop

quality_sound said:


> I'm kinda surprised you didn't have the weave all face the same direction. But they look sweet either way!


I got this remark on several forums already. I didn’t see it really myself, but I’m going to overturn the one that sits wrong, so it’ll be perfect.
That”q the advantage when you use screws. If I had glued the carbon pieces, I was screwed right about now.


----------



## robolop

JayinMI said:


> You know he's gonna redo them now that you said something, right? :laugh:
> 
> Jay




Most certainly dude.

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

imjustjason said:


> I think he can just flip them around. The slots are symmetrical.
> 
> Looks great either way.


You paid some nice attention dude!


----------



## robolop

Potent said:


> Absolutely Brilliant Robby...
> 
> You really are my inspiration and have taught me to always try different things and not to be shy to think out of the box...
> 
> Big Ups to you my brother and keep up the brilliant work...
> 
> Manny...



When you make something that can everybody is able to make or pruchase, you can never have something origina IMO.
For me, it’s the biggest challenge to create something myself…


----------



## robolop

cgw said:


> UNBELIEVABLE, awesome build & patience.


THX MATE


----------



## Syracuse Customs

"ROBOLOP DESIGN" Sounds like a Trademark to me. I still want all the build photos in a coffee table book. Your work is truely ART !


----------



## robolop

Meanwhile, I totally finished the CF logo’s. Here the show pictures.
What’s in the CF box?








Robolop’s Logo ….O yeah….
































The aluminum ring, I abraded in the same way I did like the alu in the front bumper.
I had the intention of painting them black, like the window moldings…But then again, there would be no more contrast with the carbon fibre.
Silver, like the car, wasn’t an option either.

















For me, they worked out a 100%, and again, I’ve got something original.


----------



## ymbre

This CF box is much more interesting piece, talk it about please, is this your own made or is it some modified supermarket box??, I`m interested because I work with Alcantara a lot and like such handmade things.


----------



## quality_sound

robolop said:


> I got this remark on several forums already. I didn’t see it really myself, but I’m going to overturn the one that sits wrong, so it’ll be perfect.
> That”q the advantage when you use screws. If I had glued the carbon pieces, I was screwed right about now.


Sweeeet. With all the work you've done so far I'd hate to think the pedals got less attention.


----------



## douggiestyle

you, sir, are obsessed! in a good way of course


----------



## nearwater

Wow, just wow.
The amount of work and detail is just stunning.

Dan


----------



## sydmonster

The photos of these beautiful one-off pieces on the car will be great! Look forward to seeing those!


----------



## robolop

I think you already know, I ordered some things for the amplifierbox. Cause these things still aren't delivered, I worked on some other things in the meanwhile.
Sitting still isn't my style 
The next update has nothing to do with car-hifi.
When I bought the car 2 years ago, I already knew I was going to make this some day....Now I purchased a M-tech2 rear bumper with pdc.
This is an original bumper from BMW itself, because I didn't want to get the same sh*t, that I had with the front bumper.
Once I received the bumper, I mounted it on, and it fitted perfectly!
So I could paint it, and mount it on...but you know that's not my style 
I want the back of the car, look more like an M3. What the comments will be about this, I don't know, but I think it's the most beautiful rear of an E46.

This also means I'm going for quad exhausts in the rear. This won't be easy...but yet, another challenge.
The original M3 doens't have a spare wheel in the back, but instead is the exhaust system.
What maybe an even bigger challenge is that I'll try to make this work on the original exhaust.
Because in Belgium, we have to go to a technical control every year with the car, I drove to the control-station and asked if this would be a problem.
they told me that whatever goes behind the original exhaust is no problem, as long as they can messure the CO-output.
After a long search on ebay, I purchased these pipes.








The end pipes didn't look like that when I ordered them on the internet.
The thing I'm pointing at, should have been straight.









You can see on the picture, it looks a bit curved.
I could do 2 things: Send them back, or tune it myself.... I did the last one 
I put in the disc an hour later after delivery .

































This looked much better according to me. Now it's the art of making these things fit descently onto the exhaust system.
Because I knew that things of the exhaust will get very close to the rear bumper, I need to do something to keep the heat out of there. This is special material to go around the pipes, and can resist a temperature of 1200 degrees. Heath wrapping.

















Then I also have a heat-shield to put on the back of the bumper.


----------



## robolop

ruffryderso said:


> "ROBOLOP DESIGN" Sounds like a Trademark to me. I still want all the build photos in a coffee table book. Your work is truely ART !


Everything has to be 100% perfect, OR it won’t get into the car.


----------



## Syracuse Customs

I guess I could make my own all the pictures would take a while to save maybe I'll send you a book ! 



robolop said:


> Everything has to be 100% perfect, OR it won’t get into the car.


----------



## super_kev

Excellent work; you have some impressive shop skills.


----------



## sydmonster

robolop said:


> Once I received the bumper, I mounted it on, and it fitted perfectly!
> So I could paint it, and mount it on...but you know that's not my style...


Oh yep, stock or "as it is" certainly isn't your style mate! We like it just like that too!


----------



## robolop

The hardest part of the exhausts is behind me now, and it worked out fine.
I put a lot of measure-work into it, but I'm proud to say that it's perfect onto the milimeter.
On this picture, the end-pipes aren't mounted yet. Going to measure this again when it's all finished. Cause I hate it when mufflers come out to far.
The original plastic piece on the bottom of the bumper....it already made a one way trip to the bin.
It didn't fit one bit anymore, and off-course I want to change the model to something more beautiful.
Here you can see the building of it.
First I glued OAZE on the piece with hot glue. This material rubs like butter, and so I got a model faster.
















Once I had this, I taped it all with paper-tape.









Here you can see the original exhaust where the quad's are mounted on to.









I put on 4 layers of fiberglass polyester so it's all a bit more robust.


----------



## debal

simply amazing..


----------



## sydmonster

cool! You're moving onto mechanical now too!


----------



## robolop

Put some model into the polyester piece. Needs to be some more refining for the finishing off…
Cause I’m convinced that everything fits 100%, I discovered something.
If you look at this picture, it seems something is not 100% right somewhere.








You see that the inner muffles are a bit higher then the outer ones. I already noticed this on several other cars too.
This is one of my favourites, and I immediately noticed that the exhausts weren’t on 1 line.
I never saw the car IRL, but I’m 200% sure that these are correctly placed too.








It just gives you a distorted image cause of the rounding of the bumper.
I for one, will think 2 times before I say that mufflers are placed awry. 









I also tried to make some pictures, exactly in the middle of the rear, but that’s not so easy.
























To make the polyester piece the same LEFT as RIGHT, I made a mold. 




























Sometimes it’s quite simple….when you know it


----------



## timelord9

BEHOLD!......the hand of robolop.......


----------



## BMWturbo

Great workmanship as always.

I'm a bit concerned that you will have actually cost your engine power be doing this 'modification'.

This may or may not be of concern to you, but you've most likely added restrictino to your exhaust system with snaking that bend like that.

If I may make a suggestion re having the tips exit flush or passed your body work so as to not affect the sound also. You may find that the exhaust gas blowing past the modified diffuser will create a funny resonance at a certain RPM and you may also find that you get a film build up on the body work (But I doubt you'll let the car even become close to dirty for this to happen


----------



## robolop

This piece will connect nicely onto the exhausts. First, I taped the bumper.

















Put on 4 layers of fiberglass cloth.









This will be the foundation for the piece.
I glued some MDF against this, and put some model into it.









Then I mounted it on the car, and you can see I'm working with great accuracy.
The space between the tubes and the piece is not more then 2 or 3 mm.








I want as little space as possible between there, but this is a bit TOO small. A child knows this will rattle after 5 kilometers.
So I took a little slath of 6 mm, and drew it out nicely onto the piece.












Then I defined the length of the tubes.
You can see the line, that they'll come out about 10mm. The outer mufflers will come out a bit more.
I determined this by the rounding of the bumper, when you look from above.









Then I looked with a sway-hook to get them diagonal aligned.












Here you can see how many space I have now. I sprayed the piece black to have a better view on it.






















Once this piece is ready, I'm putting it back in the mold.


----------



## robolop

Now I'm about to saw the tubes on the good lenght, and spot-weld them on 4 places, then again, making sure they are still on the same line.
I made a mold of the black piece you see here. For the moment it is drying.


----------



## sydmonster

WOW... details, details, details...

For those watching at home, is this the most detailed car & audio build you have ever seen?


----------



## robolop

This is the polyester piece that came out of the mold. You can see I painted it black...and you know what happens next... 








I can tighten this piece with screws on the backside. IF the epoxy or the varnish would fall in after a while, maybe from the heat, I can reel it off, and varnish it again.









The tips are customized, and I point-welded them on.
On this picture you can see I sawed them af slantlng. I did this because it looks a bit more refined that way, but that's each for his own.
You can also see that I only let them come out about 10mm












During a test-drive I noticed that the mufflers came against the sides a few times. I fixed this by adding a bit more space in between, it's now 8mm






















This is a picture that makes you say: "it's ok, or no, put it in the bin"
You be the judge, but I like it.









Once I had all of this, I dismantled it all, and welded the tips completely.
Afterwards, I mounted it all again, said some prayers that it didn't become awry from the welding.
For the moment it's all at the painters shop.

Because I don't have a line in the front bumper, I'm going to delete this with the rear bumper as well.
I also bought some M-Tech II sideskirts, so they are getting painted as well.
The end is coming near...and that's a good thing. I'm getting a bit sick working on that rear bumper, but already looking forward of messing with the ICE again.
When you do something different now and then...you stay sharp


----------



## sydmonster

So, cabon treatment for the rear garnish? 









I think that is hot! its very precise and neat.


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> So, cabon treatment for the rear garnish?
> 
> OOOO YYYYYYYEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHH BABY


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> cool! You're moving onto mechanical now too!


Yep dude, I try to do this as much as possible

:laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

timelord9 said:


> BEHOLD!......the hand of robolop.......


I onlt have 2 of those


----------



## robolop

BMWturbo said:


> Great workmanship as always.
> 
> I'm a bit concerned that you will have actually cost your engine power be doing this 'modification'.
> 
> This may or may not be of concern to you, but you've most likely added restrictino to your exhaust system with snaking that bend like that.
> 
> If I may make a suggestion re having the tips exit flush or passed your body work so as to not affect the sound also. You may find that the exhaust gas blowing past the modified diffuser will create a funny resonance at a certain RPM and you may also find that you get a film build up on the body work (But I doubt you'll let the car even become close to dirty for this to happen


The tips I putt on, are not much bigger as the one that were on originally.
And o yeah, I watched carefully what you are doing,

RESPECT for that mate


----------



## Ankit69

pure sex of a car.


----------



## e36bumpin

What an amazing amount of work you have done!! Such attention to detail, if only i had the time and knowledge to do this!


----------



## mosca

****ing impressive workmanship, *robolop*. I also love the detailed logging you're doing. keep it up!


----------



## robolop

This is the polyester piece I covered in carbon fibre. This was a f*king nasty piece to cover, but it worked out pretty well.
Here you see the front is abraded pretty smoothly.

















On the bottom I still need to begin the rubbing-process, and you can see how many epoxy is on there.



















I timed how long I did for making this nice and tight, and before I knew it, it was 2.5 hours later.
Now it can be covered with varnish.
I'll get the bumper and the rest back tomorrow. This will rest for a couple of days, till I have the time to mount it calmly.
The exhausts I provided with a heat wrap, but I didn't get all the way with the 10m I had.
I ordered another 10m in England, and this will arrive tuesday or wednesday...


----------



## bmwproboi05

love your m3ness


----------



## robolop

the backside of the polyester piece, I provided with a heat refractored material.








The carbon frame above the mufflers, I tuned some more. Here and there a little paint runner that needed to be fixed/
Started with a 1200, then 2000 and stop with a 3000.








started with the polyshing...first with a hard pad.








here the result.









after this we used the fine pad, to get back the shine.












end-result


----------



## robolop

The I screwed the carbon piece tight onto the polyester piece.






















Most people would have glued this on, but I don't like that sort of work. So I think my way is a big asset to this.
If I needs to come of for some reason, I can just screw this loose.
Here is the front, like it'll come on to the car.























Everything is for 80% finished, and is installed on the car.
The design department did a fine job to draw out something to come in between the mufflers. Then there was some guy of the team here who started talkin' crap to make something that emerged electricly. I sacked his ass right away


----------



## robolop

the backside of the polyester piece, I provided with a heat refractored material.








The carbon frame above the mufflers, I tuned some more. Here and there a little paint runner that needed to be fixed/
Started with a 1200, then 2000 and stop with a 3000.








started with the polyshing...first with a hard pad.








here the result.









after this we used the fine pad, to get back the shine.












end-result






















The I screwed the carbon piece tight onto the polyester piece.


----------



## robolop

Most people would have glued this on, but I don't like that sort of work. So I think my way is a big asset to this.
If I needs to come of for some reason, I can just screw this loose.
Here is the front, like it'll come on to the car.























Everything is for 80% finished, and is installed on the car.
The design department did a fine job to draw out something to come in between the mufflers. Then there was some guy of the team here who started talkin' crap to make something that emerged electricly. I sacked his ass right away


----------



## sydmonster

nice and detailed as the rest of the car!



robolop said:


> Then there was some guy of the team here who started talkin' crap to make something that emerged electricly. I sacked his ass right away


:laugh::laugh::laugh:


----------



## Lanson

I've decided your thread is my go-to link-up when someone asks what functional O.C.D. looks like in the real world.


----------



## robolop

This will be the piece that comes between the exhaust pipes.
First I made a model out of wood.








After that I covered it with a couple (4) of layers polystercloth. Once this was dry, I had a weird design.








I managed to delude some friends by telling I was making a glove-compartment to hang under the rear bumper.
You must admit, it really looks like one



















These are 2 hockeysticks I made out of MDF. If you can see what’s underneath them, it’s not hard to figure out what’s next…


----------



## internationlriders

Wow! Beautiful designs and workmanship! I guess that attracts the haters, I wish I had a few more tools so I could try some of the machining you've done... give me a few years to catch up! As for the haters I just tell em like Cartman, "Whateva I do what I want!".


----------



## robolop

These are the 2 hockey-sticks I sawed out of 12mm thick aluminium.


















Afterwards I taped them on to the MDF model, and milled them out with the copy-mill.








You can see the lines in the aluminium, which indicates that the mill has had it's best time.











Mounted-in another mill, to round up the piece.












Once this was done, I polished it all with some sanding paper.


----------



## robolop

Then I started milling the other piece.
Stretched it all nicely, and let the mill do her job





























Here you see I left some of the aluminum there.











I did this on purpose, so that when the piece cools down, it won't bend. Once this was cooled of, I milled the rest away, and tucked the rest away with the wood graver.





















Then I sawed out an aluminium slat from 4mm, and gave it the same rounding of the bumper.










This slat will get underneath the frame.


----------



## JayinMI

Having a hard time visualizing the finished product, but I'm sure it will be awesome. 

Jay


----------



## robolop

I took the bimmer to the technical control today. I was really curious about their reaction on the exhausts, you never know.
The CO-test, which I feared the most, was OK. After checking the lights, they checked the bottom of the car.
They were checking out the exhausts, with 3 people. 2 were looking at it from underneath the car, and one was looking at it from the back.
I kept myself quiet and cool, and moved myself to the background.
When I had to take the car outside again, I asked my questions. They told me that I got around the law perfectly since I mounted everything onto the original exhaust. So everything was OK, and my car got a green card! So I did a victory dance…
Now what’s left to do is to put back the dust covers on the wheels, and glue my front windows, and we are good for another year.
The piece that comes between the mufflers is aldready covered in carbon fibre, with the needed amount of epoxylayers.





















Now this should be abraded firmly, and then it’s ready to get some layers of clear coat;
The hockey-sticks, and the fine strip, are gone to get chromed. These parts will come back Friday !

The end is near…


----------



## AdamTaylor

robolop said:


> The end is near…


somehow i doubt this


----------



## sydmonster

must be really hard to pass technical inspection in Belgium!


----------



## Lanson

Dudes at the inspection place were probably not aware they were looking at a piece of art. IMO, as long as that that art isn't razor-blade dangerous to someone, it should get a "pass"


----------



## robolop

Here a peek behind the scenes about how the quad’s are mounted on the car. You see I took my time to isolate it all against the high temperatures of the exhausts.


















You see the tubes are mounted on the original exhaust. On the upperside, and underneath I fastened a little M6 screw.
That’s it, and it’s locked tight.






















You can see that I sprayed the blue heat-wrap black on the exhausts.
So the left-side looks a bit more clean when you’re looking from underneath it.
















The tube on the foreground is the one that goes to the right.


----------



## robolop

On the rightside, you can see I fixed a rubber where the exhaust hangs.
I made a sloth in there, so I can arrange the height when necessary.
























The is the inside of the bumper. I cleaned and degreased this properly.












Then I glued in some heat-resisting cloth.




















I tested this cloth First. I heated it till a temperature of 660 degrees (celcius) during 10 minutes, and you almost didn’t see it.


----------



## HondAudio

What does that cross-pipe do? Balance the backpressure between the two mufflers?


----------



## quality_sound

It's a single muffler exhaust.


----------



## sydmonster

Excelent work robolop, as the heat changes things, you can adjust it all to suit!!


----------



## robolop

Everything about the rear bumper and the exhausts is finished.
Here a little previeuw about how it looks now.
These are the aluminum parts which are chromed
















This is the little frame which comes between the chrome. I abraded it down and polished it afterwards, so you get a nice contrast of the aluminum parts and I looks the same way as the front bumper.
The gauze is some left over I found from the frontbumper.


















This is something weird I made. This object will come into the diffuser.












Here you can see the puzzle getting together.






















Bottomside.


----------



## robolop

Here it’s all mounted on the car.
The meaning of this is that cool air gets in, and slips away again in the back.
So I try to create an air-cooling stream for the tube that runs behind the 
bumper.


----------



## sydmonster

The attention on that trim is more than some of the entire installs we see!

LUSH!


----------



## robolop

internationlriders said:


> Wow! Beautiful designs and workmanship! I guess that attracts the haters, I wish I had a few more tools so I could try some of the machining you've done... give me a few years to catch up! As for the haters I just tell em like Cartman, "Whateva I do what I want!".


GO 4 IT DUDE



JayinMI said:


> Having a hard time visualizing the finished product, but I'm sure it will be awesome.
> 
> Jay





AdamTaylor said:


> somehow i doubt this





sydmonster said:


> The attention on that trim is more than some of the entire installs we see!
> 
> LUSH!


THX DUDE's


----------



## robolop

I found some time to clean the car firmly. The last time I cleaned the car, was before the winter, so I had to put some more time into it now.
From now on, I will clean the car every Saturday. That’s a promise.
And I snapped some new pictures of the new bumper and quad exhausts.

Here the Robolop design.








You can also see here that the line in the bumper, is disappeared. Also the Lines around the sensors are gone.



































The piece between the exhausts had to become t be an eye-catcher. And with that I mean. This had to be a part wich people would say: “what is that, who makes that, where can I buy that, ...” Sorry dudes, but this is a one off…


----------



## robolop

You can also see the inside of the mufflers that I brushed/polished.






















Here you can see the M-Tech 2 skirts…. I’m not to sure about those…I think the original ones looked as good as these...mmm














Here ends another chapter of the works needed to be done on the bimmer.
Personnaly I’m very pleased about it, and then I mean, it all worked out nice and looks tight.
No exhaust pipes who hang too low, and stick out more then 5cm. Just smooth.
But hell, did I put in some hours of hard labour to make this on a descent way, and to do this on the original exhaust, wasn’t a piece of cake.
Maybe that was the biggest challenge ….
The many hours that went into this, again, all already forgotton.

About the exterior, I’m pleased, so she will remain like this for now. 
I still have some ideas, but need to think some more on those, maybe for next winter..but if I do so, it will be very challenging again.
But then again, if it’s simple……everyone has it!


----------



## sydmonster

!


----------



## Potent

Absolutely Amazing Robby...

You really and truely are a perfectionist and a very Talented Individual... Like I said before, you really are my inspiration. You make me wanna try some real "Monkey Tricks"... lol...

Take it easy my brother and keep the pics comming...

Manny...


----------



## MTopper

holy crap, you have so much skill and so many ideas, do you design for a day job?


----------



## robolop

Potent said:


> Absolutely Amazing Robby...
> 
> You really and truely are a perfectionist and a very Talented Individual... Like I said before, you really are my inspiration. You make me wanna try some real "Monkey Tricks"... lol...
> 
> Take it easy my brother and keep the pics comming...
> 
> Manny...


Can you please explain what a “monkey tricks” is
I’d like to learn something every day…






MTopper said:


> holy crap, you have so much skill and so many ideas, do you design for a day job?



No dude, I’m not a designer of profession. I have a chicken-factory in the sahara.


----------



## robolop

A few pages before, you could see I was working on the backside of the front seat. I pimped that thing with some polyester and filler.
Now the time has come to finish this off…
I covered that seatcover with a layer of carbon fibre. And ‘cause I really don’t like big things in carbon fibre, I styled the little net on the backside …
I adjusted the frame onto the form of the carbon plate, and made it a bit wider.








You can also see that I painted it silver, like the rest of the moldings inside the car. So it all takes part in one total package, and I get a nice contrast between the silver and the black carbon fibre.









To screw this thing tight, I use a bit thicker hold-screws.












Another piece I made, and this will get on the top of the back-rest.










On the rear, I made a sloth, where a neon will be added. This is also the reason I painted it white.











Here a picture of how it’ll look when mounted in the car.






















These polyester covers I made to cover up the pedals, so I can’t damage them.
These are in primer, and must get to the painter soon, also they need to be provided with some rubber.


----------



## robolop

I mounted the pedals, who were finished some time ago, in the car.
The covers, I sprayed in silver, cause everything else in the car is in silver.








I taped a little rubber on there too.








Here the rest of the pedals.










































Again, this is something that took a lot of work to make. But when I take a good look at these things, I don't care about the time and work.
About the letters... next winter I will take out that carbon plate, and put an ever smaller sticker on there.
Since this is underneath the layers of clear-coat, I'll have to rubb till those are gone...


----------



## sydmonster

as per MEA! moving along nicely. Even the covers are cool quality work!


----------



## robolop

I had some rubbish laying around to make something out of. The carbon dustcovers who are behind the wheels, were never completely finished in my opinion. I mean, it was just “plain” and nothing special. Now I was able to put some more time and effort into it, and started milling some aluminum from 3mm thick. First I made a round disc of MDF, pasted the aluminum on it, and milled out the 4 plates.











Offcourse this was childsplay, but then we stepped up a level. The meaning is to make a little frame around the carbon, on the outerside from the disc. 
This may not be too wide, so it wouldn’t look to plumb.
Once this was all drawn out on the aluminum, we could get started.











The outer border is 7mm thick. The dangereous part is, that it could bend from the heat, or that the mill would cut in. But I thought about this long, and used a lot of WD40, and also I milled away a half mm per time.

























Here they are, and it all worked out very well, although some polishing will be necessary.













This one is already abraded and polished.












This time I didn’t do the polishing by machine, just because I didn’t think it would come to a good end. Much do dangereous so hold this to a brush.
So I did it by hand, but offcourse, you don’t get the same result as by machine polishing.
But they shine a bit


----------



## robolop

I managed to find a way to polish those tiny alu rings with the machine.
This is the little plank of MDF I used to mill them.
On the outside I screwed a little slat that sticks out a few mm's










Made some more little plates.










Here you can see how tight it is, and it can't slide or shift somewhere.
The 5 plates are holding the piece down.












Offcourse I taped some "mush?" on the plates, so I didn't scratch the aluminum.










Instead of keeping it against the polishingmachine, I chose to do it with the drillingmachine, and this worked a little bit better as usual.













Once this was done, I had to screw the piece loose, and slide the piece a bit.
So I could reach the 5 places where the plates were, too.











This was the result, and you can never accomplish this by doing it by hand.



















Here a familiy picture.











The aluminium bar that lays on the sanding block, I used to abrade the roundings on the inside. Just turned some sanding paper around it.










I get a lot of questions about how many time I put in to these things. Well, this is the first time I kept track of time.
I worked on these rings 26 hours.
and then I mean:
Drawing out
Mill the MDF
Saw out the aluminum, milling, and ...a lot of milling
a little bit of "filing"
abrading and a lot of abrading.
cleaning and polishing
quickly making a set of 4 rings, LOL


----------



## Hippo

Why didn't you polish them BEFORE milling? All you'd have to do in that case is rubbing and polishing edges


----------



## sydmonster

26hrs?? woah


----------



## robolop

You may have noticed it, but the last few weeks I didn’t spent too much time on the ICE.
I did this on purpose, to work on other things, like the quad’s, and the rear bumper. These are all, on some details left, finished.
Next week I’m going to complete the other works, so I can get in action on the ICE install again.
The amplifierbox, and the JL amplifiers are ready to be tucked in there.
I also needed to wait some time on some other components, but everything I needed, is right here in my garage now.
I also thought some things over, before beginning. And yes, I think I can say it will al be very original 
My hands are itching to get back on the ICE !


----------



## JayinMI

That's probably just the fiberglass or aluminum chips imbedded in your skin. 

Jay


----------



## robolop

As you may have read, I replaced the PPI amplifier by 2 JL Audio’s. Here’s a picture of how I worked-in the PPI in the aluminum box.









The alu cover and the plexi will stay like they were. The carbon fibre, and the aluminum with the vents will be replaced.
These are the JL’s who traded places with the PPI.









You may also remember that I wanted to work-in a logo between the amp.
Well, now that the box is back on my working table, that’s the next thing I will be working on this couple of weeks. 
So you could say: we’re going back to the ICE age, o yeah!
I realised quickly that if I remade this box, it had to look more beautifull and way more cooler then how it was with the PPI.
I did some thinking , and thought on something I once made…
A couple years back, I made “CONES” to put speakers in. Back then I found that so cool, that I said: “these things I’ll make again sometime”;
So… PARTYTME !
The meaning of this is that I’m going to work-in the JL logo between the amplifiers.
This is the first thing I made, so we call it EVO1.
First I made a little MDF ring where the logo should be, and I milled all the rest afterwards.










Once I had this, I glued it all on each other, and put a spar with an M4 through it, and screwed it all tight.











Put this in the drilling machine.














Let the drilling machine spin, and held a sanding Block against it.












So I could abrade it all smoothly, and this was the result.









A cone, nothing more, nothing less.
The model looked like sh*t, and when I held the sanding Block against it, I pushed it all a bit out of center.
So the cone did end up in de bin.
EVO2 is coming up, with more shapes.


----------



## Lanson

That shape looks a whole lot like an R/C propeller cap. Maybe that's the way to get a cone?


----------



## robolop

Time for EVO 2


First of all, I put everything on paper First. Drawed it all out how I wanted it, with some more pretty roundings in it.








After that I milled some discs, and glued them on each other, and put in an M5 shaft.
















Placed it all in the drilling machine, and put a little plank underneath. If you look closely you see a hole of 5mm in the plank











Placed the drill below, and the little shaft is now in the hole. I did this so the MDF Block won’t be able to swing out of it’s axis. 
Once this was placed properly, I screwed the drill tight, so it couldn’t get any higher or lower anymore.











Started with the abrading proces again, and this time I didn’t use a sanding Block.












This model looks a lot better 











Then I knocked in the front little disc with 3 little nails. This little disc also has a small side where the logo falls in.


----------



## robolop

Abraded it all





















Then I took away the last ring, and used the “klockdrill” to empty the inside;





















Once I saw I was almost at the limit, I glued the final ring back on there.










Every time I replaced the drill by a smaller one, and extracted layer by layer.
If you see how I’ve done this, you must be sure you don’t drill too far, or you’ll have a hole in your hand.



















The whole family


----------



## pankrok

have to admit
your are a source for inspiration!


----------



## robolop

Now the cone worked perfectly for me, I just need to make some aluminium toggles to Mount it.
I drawed some models first, and then made one out of 10mm thick MDF.
I drawed it out on an aluminum plate of 6mm thick.










I sawed out the toggles, and pasted them on the MDF, and held them against the copy mill with this result.









You can also see that I modified the model a bit, on the front. I made it rounder, so it looks a bit like a sled now.



What you can also see on the alu, is that I used a new mill. The sides are more smooth then usual, but some polishing will still be necessary.




























This aluminium plate I made for the PPI, I modified a bit, so I can still use it in the new set-up.


----------



## MTopper

You never cease to amaze me with your builds or your creativity. Great looking parts and equipment


----------



## sydmonster

sawit on MEA!


----------



## .BNO.

sydmonster said:


> sawit on MEA!


same load was blown lulz


----------



## robolop

Here you can see what will happen to the cone and the aluminium toggles.








As you can see this stands in the centre of the amplifierbox. I also made a little carbon plate where it all is mounted on.








Through these holes, the amplifier-cabling will go.








For the moment, in the centre of the cone, there's a big blue led.








If this will remain, I'm not sure. I also have a white little neon that fits into there.









To divide the light a bit better, I milled a finer piece of plexi glass, and . This will come behind the JL Logo.










Here you can see the result with the blue led.
































I think you can see that the cone is 10x more beautifully shaped. I call this is a female cone, a "conin"


----------



## robolop

You can also see I re-used the aluminum plate from the PPI. This was a bit to nice to throw into the bin, so it's being re-used.












The first cone I made, the one that landed directly into the garbage, I recovered. 
I used this one to cover with carbon fire. I didn't had any problems with this.





















About Evo2, I'm still not sure how to do this. It'll stay a mistery, and I'll have to do some magic. I hope there's something in my black hat...


----------



## sydmonster

.... i look forward to every update mang!


----------



## AVIDEDTR

damn that's nice Rob....


----------



## simplicityinsound

i love the ingenious make shift lathe! 

wow...your imagination is awesome, many people try to be creative but turns out too funky or wierd looking, you on the other hand, dream up shapes that is just fantastic!

cant wait for more!

b


----------



## quality_sound

I LOVE the JL logo with the backlit neon. WAY classy.


----------



## robolop

Most of you may remember I bough 2 JL audio amplifiers.
Because they are too heavy (power), I did a little trick.
I first screwed them on a shelf.


Do not try this at home :

























Then I put in the disc...








http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/robola/BMW%20instal%202/
[IMG]http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/robola/BMW%20instal%202/DSC03309_resize.jpg


What I was thinkin' while cutting...." will the waranty expire now ?"
You never know these things go bad after some time... 
LOL


----------



## quality_sound

Umm...yeah, I got nothing. What'cha got planned there, Rob?


----------



## keepitreal07

I had a small hear attack

and i am sure you have removed the internals there rob


----------



## imjustjason

Talk about a teaser.

I'm pretty sure that's going to hurt the resale value. :laugh:


----------



## sydmonster

i saw this on my local forum and freaked out! but I do know what robolop means when he says their heavy.

Im so curious now.


----------



## nirschl




----------



## MTopper

that actually freaked me out the first time i saw it. then realized, no one is stupid enough to buy such great (and expensive) amps only to cut them up


----------



## AVIDEDTR

NOW THAT IS AWESOME!


----------



## Notloudenuf

nirschl said:


>


x eleventy-billion!!!!  :wideeyed::behead:


----------



## audio+civic

You never really know what he will do next.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

YOU DO SOME KILLER work. Best of all as I can tell by the tools you use that your skills for the most part are self taught, which to me is very respectful! You have given us all (that have followed) idea's of not only install techniques but an understanding of certain materials along with creative ways to use standard tools.. You can see the quality of the work being done by other board members on this forum has increased, just by reading your thread. Its opened our collective eye; this record breaking build thread (in length) that we have all benefited from. I always look forward to your updates.

THANKS!


----------



## perfecxionx

so is this a 2+ year build?


----------



## quality_sound

yep.


----------



## robolop

The next update will be a first in the land of ICE


----------



## sydmonster

rob wt hell are you up to???

im picturing this


----------



## mears

very nice!


----------



## kelrog

just spent 2 days at work reading this thread. amazing work robolop. Thank you so much for sharing your love and devotion to this build. 

Keep them updates coming


----------



## robolop

After some serious thinking, I made an attempt to cover the little cone with carbon fibre.
The first attempt went wrong from the start, but sometimes you need these setbacks to get back on track, and to think about what you’ve done wrong.
The second attempt went better, but I must say that my hat of tricks…is empty again.
Today was the day to see if it was really good. After some abrading, I saw that I went perfectly.
The one thing that needed to be done is to bring on a set of epoxi-layers.

Since the cone is round, the epoxy would drip off the carbon fibre, so there would be more epoxi on the floor, then on the carbon fibre.
In my hat, I had another trick left.
So I put a stang through the cone, and made 2 aluminium bracelets. Then I mounted this with the stand on to a little motor.
I also added some adjustable feeding, to I could begin with my first layer of epoxy.
Here you can see how I did it.
“let’s roast the cone”



















Cause the cone is turning now, the epoxi can’t drip off.





















Here you can see there’s a lot of epoxi on there, and it’s still nice and smooth after the first layer.






















I let this turn for about 2 hours, untill the epoxi didn’t stick anymore. After that I put it into the oven.
The next few days I can abrade it firmly, and give it another layer of epoxi.
At the end of the cone, I’m going to make a little aluminium piece to finish it off.
I’m really happy I managed to do this, because it was that could go terribly wrong, but it worked out fine.
Up to the next!


----------



## sydmonster

Carbon on the SPit!

Genious!


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> Carbon on the SPit!
> 
> Genious!


OOO YEAH BABY:laugh::laugh:


----------



## Seth1784

very nice idea, looks reaaaaaaaaaally smooth.


----------



## robolop

Here a FULL CARBON update...OOO YEAHH

This is how the cover of the front seat looks now…











Because I don’t like big surfaces of carbon fibre, I replaced the little net. That took a lot of work, cause I had to adjust it completely.











As you can see, I sprayed the sides of the net in silver, like the original moldings of the bimmer.










When you look at this picture, it looks almost like a carbon roof with a spoiler.










Under the little sloth you see, I’m going to mount some leds who will function like the interiorlight.










Here it’s all mounted in the car.


----------



## quality_sound

Those are bad ass!


----------



## bigabe

Dude... you could make a grip selling those things on the Bimmer forums.

I want a pair!


----------



## pankrok

ok i give you 2 options

a) you come to greece for vacations (minimum 3 weeks) , you stay in my country house free of charge, I ll buy you lunch dinner beers whatever, and you only have to make some few alu+carbon jobs on my cx7. I have almost all tools required - be welcome to bring whatever you like

b) you can deny (not recommended)


----------



## robolop

quality_sound said:


> I LOVE the JL logo with the backlit neon. WAY classy.





AVIDEDTR said:


> NOW THAT IS AWESOME!





Seth1784 said:


> very nice idea, looks reaaaaaaaaaally smooth.





quality_sound said:


> Those are bad ass!



THX DUDE's


----------



## robolop

pankrok said:


> have to admit
> your are a source for inspiration!





sydmonster said:


> .... i look forward to every update mang!





AVIDEDTR said:


> damn that's nice Rob....





simplicityinsound said:


> i love the ingenious make shift lathe!
> 
> wow...your imagination is awesome, many people try to be creative but turns out too funky or wierd looking, you on the other hand, dream up shapes that is just fantastic!
> 
> cant wait for more!
> 
> b


THX DUDE's


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> i saw this on my local forum and freaked out! but I do know what robolop means when he says their heavy.
> 
> Im so curious now.





MTopper said:


> that actually freaked me out the first time i saw it. then realized, no one is stupid enough to buy such great (and expensive) amps only to cut them up





AVIDEDTR said:


> NOW THAT IS AWESOME!





Notloudenuf said:


> x eleventy-billion!!!!  :wideeyed::behead:


I thought I had to much power and was afraid I’d blow up my expensive Focal speakers.
I sawed off about 150 watts
Simple


----------



## robolop

audio+civic said:


> You never really know what he will do next.


Sometimes not…




FLYONWALL9 said:


> YOU DO SOME KILLER work. Best of all as I can tell by the tools you use that your skills for the most part are self taught, which to me is very respectful! You have given us all (that have followed) idea's of not only install techniques but an understanding of certain materials along with creative ways to use standard tools.. You can see the quality of the work being done by other board members on this forum has increased, just by reading your thread. Its opened our collective eye; this record breaking build thread (in length) that we have all benefited from. I always look forward to your updates.
> 
> THANKS!


It’s a challenge for me to make nice things with simple tools.
I think that every handy-man has these tools at home, but you need to use it too.
Sometimes I still have the idea I use them too little. 
On a Belgium forum someone said to use a wood-lathe to make the cone.
I asked what I could have done better if I’d use the tool..
I still haven’t got an answer, and I think the person who asked the question will think 2times before saying that……


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> rob wt hell are you up to???
> 
> im picturing this


This picture isn’t editted at all.





kelrog said:


> just spent 2 days at work reading this thread. amazing work robolop. Thank you so much for sharing your love and devotion to this build.
> 
> Keep them updates coming


So… you’re getting paid to read my topic.
A job like would suit me just fine.










quality_sound said:


> Those are bad ass!


Yep, when I started, it crossed my mind that it could be a little too much.
But then I thought that if that was the case, I could still cover it with leather….
But it’ll stay this way.







bigabe said:


> Dude... you could make a grip selling those things on the Bimmer forums.
> 
> I want a pair!


Forget it dude, I ain’t sellin’ anything.


----------



## robolop

perfecxionx said:


> so is this a 2+ year build?




I’m working on this how long already? The last thing I think about is the time that goes into this project, so maybe you could keep track for me?


----------



## robolop

pankrok said:


> ok i give you 2 options
> 
> a) you come to greece for vacations (minimum 3 weeks) , you stay in my country house free of charge, I ll buy you lunch dinner beers whatever, and you only have to make some few alu+carbon jobs on my cx7. I have almost all tools required - be welcome to bring whatever you like
> 
> b) you can deny (not recommended)




I checked the things you made in the car and I wouldn’t have a clue what you need more.
Your trunk is superclean! Handy detail is how you covered your panels.
I presume you covered 2 panels, and glued them on eachother?
Only that’s how you can get them so tight on both sides.
But if you really want me to come, these are my demands:
You move to L.A. and buy a house on Venice beach.
The work-studio must have seaview.
Drinks and food are for free, and we don’t have time for sleeping…are you a Lucky bastard.
On fridaynight we go to Hollywoodboulevard, grab a nice steak across the chinese theater…offcourse you can come.
Saturdaynight we’re going to the sunset strip, always something to do over there.
That’s all I need, get these things arranged, and I’ll be on my way.





PS:
Your A-pilars are just BADASS.
They’ve become P*RN-pilars man


----------



## robolop

These are my new carbon dust-caps....


Here you can see the alu rings I milled. I polished these and glued them with TEC7.
Next winter, when the car is doing her winter-sleep, I'm going to take them off again, and let them get chromed.

This is the front..











The rear..









The red square with "robolop design" , has the same color as the boomerangs.










Here the complete picture on the car.


















About the text, for me this is big enough. It stays quite discrete like this I think.


----------



## AVIDEDTR

robolop said:


> These are my new carbon dust-caps....
> 
> 
> Here you can see the alu rings I milled. I polished these and glued them with TEC7.
> Next winter, when the car is doing her winter-sleep, I'm going to take them off again, and let them get chromed.


 That is just unreal.


----------



## pankrok

LA instead of a greek island?
whatever , there should be a solution on this...

thanx for your comments mate actually it is an installer (and he is damn good) job (or at least 90% of it) this time, as my spare time has become quite limited the past 5 years. 
however I could find still some 20-30 small jobs that need improvement  
(same way you find in your car)

anyway proceed with the amps dont keep us waiting :whip::whip::whip:


----------



## robolop

I think this will be one of the last updates on the exterior.
Because I thought it was time to put the bimmer a bit more wider, I bought me a set of spacers.
I started with a set of 16mm.













I tried this set in the front, and in the back. In the front it was perfect, the car stood as I wanted to be.
In the back, the tire touched the fender.
So I bought me another set of 12mm and placed these in the back.
The rear rubbs a bit when I drive on an unqueal surface, but I’m going to resolve this by doing some eights in the parking lot for a couple of hours…















This is how she sits now, and she will stay this way.














When you were standing behind the car, you could see the aluminium little lip onderneath. Thought that was cool, but it didn’t caught they eye enough in my opinion.
I resolved this by making another aluminium lip, and place it a couple of mm lower.
























This look will remain I think.
The next updates will be about the ICE install, and you’ll finally will get a glimp of what I’m planning on doing with the two halfs of the JL Amp


----------



## sydmonster

Saw it on MEA and wanted to see it again here! 

*PHAT!*


----------



## robolop

Ok dude’s, here the update of the sawn amplifiers.




A World scoop of the First Siamese Twin JL Audio Amplifier… OO Y EAH



















And now the truth of the 2 amplifiers…
They were empty inside. And I managed to order them like this.
I’m able to do some crazy things, but saw through a perfect amplifier with pcb would be a bridge too far.
These are the 2 parts I’ll be using.












The meaning of these 2 pieces is that I’ll be putting these against the other amplifiers.
As you know, I hate seeing cables in an install. These pieces will serve to cover up my cables.
As I put them together, they don’t fit 100%...so…











The black sides are a bit bulb and that’s how the aluminum on top won’t fit.











I sorted this out quite simple by milling some off.










You can also see I put the disc into the front.
This is how it looks now, and you can that they fit perfect !



















This is how they’ll lay…



















For me the finishing off will be much nicer when there are no cables to be seen.


----------



## pankrok

you are sick man!
for the moment I was of the impression that you were going to built an 8channel amp in one chassis.


----------



## MTopper

an 8 channel would have been cool but good to know you didn't have a brain aneurysm and destroy $1200 worth of amps. great idea though.


----------



## sydmonster

i just stopped holding my breath!


----------



## Notloudenuf

All these pictures of the pieces you made and put on your car are PHOTOSHOPPED.


----------



## Seth1784

pretty slick idea to cover your wire trail, i like it. i am however really surprised jl sold an empty case though. props to them for going ahead and doing it.


----------



## robolop

Seth1784 said:


> pretty slick idea to cover your wire trail, i like it. i am however really surprised jl sold an empty case though. props to them for going ahead and doing it.


Our belgian distributor managed to get 2 empty shells.
So you should also be able to get them via official distributors or resellers


----------



## sydmonster

so...








How did this look in the end?
Are we allowed a pic of the cable covers, amps, fans and carbon JL insignia holder all mocked up together?


----------



## robolop

As you may know, the car is exactly how I wanted her to be. Because I wanted to keep her so clean, I needed to make something to cover up the rear bumper. Now the time has come that I need to get in and out of the car 500 times for the ICE install, so I made a cover out of fiberglass that goes over the bumper.
Here you can see I did some taping first.











Once I had this, I strechted some speakercloth over it, and taped it off again.
Then I added 3 layers of fiberglass cloth.













With 3 layers of polyester, I don’t need to fear any scratches…


----------



## FLYONWALL9

NOT that I understand what your now doing. But that is going
to be a real fun piece to pop off. Did you use any release agent?
Gel, mold release, hairspray? and exactly what is it going to do, I
get that you are making a mold of the back of the car.......


----------



## sydmonster

its so he work in the back and not worry about scratching then bumper... so foam on the side that touches the bumper.


----------



## robolop

Here you can see the model of the cover. You can also see I painted it black.









I had a couple of meters of Carbonkevlar laying around here, and since I don't work much with that material, I used it to make the cover.
Carbonkevlar is an even bigger assholematerial to work with then normal carbon fibre.
I cut out a piece from 700x135 cm.
My biggest problem was the piece was muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch to big to do by myself. But I still wanted to give it a try.




















Here a picture of how it'll look. This layer of epoxi needs to be abraded firmly until it's smooth.


----------



## Seth1784

ah how i love kevlar... 

too props to your dealer/distributor for coming though, you've got a hell of a company you're working with obviously.


----------



## MTopper

Every time i look at this build i realize how limited my capabilities are and how much more i want to spend time outside practicing/failing miserably trying to get better.

Props to you Robolop


----------



## robolop

The cover is ready for the needed layersof clear coat.
This is a special sort of clear coat, based on ceramics.
This coat gets so hard, it’s almost impossible to abrade a little dust, or runner with a 2000.
You can also notice that carbonkevlar isn’t quite the same as normal carbon fibre.
The yellow fabric you see is Kevlar. When you look more closely, you can see that the kevlar isn’t drained with epoxi.
That’s the meaning of the material kevlar.
If I would take a big hammer, and smash a couple of times on the cover, it would almost be impossible to get a hole in there.
Only to cut carbonkevlar onto the right size is asking for trouble.
I bought me some special scissors once for 125 euro, cut a couple of times, and it was GAME OVER.
Since then I use a stainley cutter.
When I cut once, I break a piece, and cut some more.
I repeat this about 3 times, till I have a nice cut.



You can see on the side, that I finished it a bit more.










I also made some aluminium parts to put onto the cover.
These 4 perforated aluminium plates come on the place of the exhaust pipes.




















This will be added too.






























O yeah!











Here another giant boomerang.


----------



## sydmonster

like someone said on my local forum, more detial in this bumper piece than some entire systems!


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> so...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> How did this look in the end?
> Are we allowed a pic of the cable covers, amps, fans and carbon JL insignia holder all mocked up together?




The cone is finished, but I’m going to wait before I update this, untill the cover is finished.
Otherwise, people may get too confused with 2 different sort of updates.
:beerchug::beerchug::beerchug:


----------



## robolop

FLYONWALL9 said:


> NOT that I understand what your now doing. But that is going
> to be a real fun piece to pop off. Did you use any release agent?
> Gel, mold release, hairspray? and exactly what is it going to do, I
> get that you are making a mold of the back of the car.......




I just taped off the bumper with tape. After that I , layed over a layer of vilt and taped it off once again.
The I just added my normal 3 layers of fiberglass.
Once this was dry, I dismounted it all.
Then it was a ****ty job to get the tape loose from of the polyester.
As for the rest I filled the outside with filler.
The cloth that was between the tape, I’m going to use to cover up the inside of the cover.


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> like someone said on my local forum, more detial in this bumper piece than some entire systems!



O YEAH BABY


----------



## robolop

Seth1784 said:


> ah how i love kevlar...
> 
> too props to your dealer/distributor for coming though, you've got a hell of a company you're working with obviously.





MTopper said:


> Every time i look at this build i realize how limited my capabilities are and how much more i want to spend time outside practicing/failing miserably trying to get better.
> 
> Props to you Robolop


THX DUDE's


----------



## BowDown

robolop said:


> O YEAH BABY


Nice!


----------



## robolop

The cover is ready to use.
Here you can see the inside. I added a layer of vilt, so nothin' can touch the paint of the rear bumper.









Going to work some more on the sides, it needs some more finish. I need to go over this with a black marker.









This is how the front looks.











These are the aluminium parts I made, and they are really important.
If I ever need to start the car, when the kevlar cover is still mounted, that's isn't going to be a problem for the exhausts.
The little sloth underneath the cover will give a little bit more protection also.





























In the middle is a little saving. This fits perfectly into the trunk -lock, and it prevents it all from shifting, simple.




















I will make some pictures off how it looks on the back of the bimmer. I think it's pretty neet.
Think about that this is just part 1 of the story.
Part 2 is coming, brace yourselves


----------



## BigAl205

All that...and it's bullet-proof :thumbsup:


----------



## robolop

Here you can see what I’m planning on doing with the cover.
The 2 aluminium supports I made:







































I screwed this onto my wall of my workingplace


----------



## robolop

I think everybody can guess what I’m planning on doing.




























































In my workingplace the walls and sealing are white.
There’s nothing in there that I don’t need.
The reason of this is that it doesn’t take me ong to tidy it all. You can see that I found a nice solution for the cover, when I’m not using it.
It serves as decoration. That’s the reason I made it look pretty.
When I need the cover, I take it from the wall. I wasn’t keen on seeing that thing laying around on here all the time, so now it’s out of my way, and nice to look at too.
About the cover…it’s ready to use
End of chapter COVER;

O yeah, there’s a catch….but I’m not telling…you’ll see later.


----------



## robolop

Here you can see the cover on the rear.








You may notice that it covers morde then I needed.










Here you see it hangs over the rubber, so that one is safe too










Here and there people had a few laughs about the cover, but now that I used it, it gives me a safe feeling. Lol, when you read the last sentence, I’m getting a bit girly: “a safe feeling…always”…get it? lol



The carbon plate, with the carbon cone on it, is also finished.
Here the aluminium point that needs to be added.
A friend of mine made this, cause I don’t have a turning bench myself.










This is a picture of the total package.




















The little horizontal tube you see in the front, is made in the same material as the cover.






























A picture with the little white neon , that sits behind the logo.


----------



## robolop

It’ll look like this with the blue neon in the car…


----------



## MTopper

looks great! i'm always amazed by your designs and creativity


----------



## nperkins

you are insane man... i've been reading this entire thread, and I cant believe how much you do with simple tools..


----------



## sydmonster

.... I like this build so much I've fallen in a bad habit of cheking it out on two forums.


----------



## robolop

When I made the decision to replace the PPI with 2 JL audio’s, I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy job.
There will be people who like the choice of materials, and people who won’t like them…but I don’t mind.
But as for the design, I had to compete against mysellf and a couple of thousands of fans…and didn’t want to disappoint them offcoure.
Here a serie of pictures of how it turned out in the end.
First some pics of how it looked with the PPI, so you can see the differences.

























That’s how it is now, and how it will remain.





























Here you can see I excluded the little aluminium bars in the middle part of the cover. The middle one I couldn’t use, since the cone is standing there now, and the other 2 made it a bit to crowdy for me.


----------



## robolop

The carbon plate where the cone is placed on, is screwed tight with 6 screws with are added to mount the amplifiers.

































The aluminium point on the end is screwed into the cone with a m5 bolt













Here some blue light


----------



## robolop

And on the sides you see the white light of the neon behind the logo.




































OOOOOO YEAHHHHH


















This is nearly the end of one of the many parts in the install.
According to the real finish: the aluminum will get repolished, and chromed afterwards.
About the cover: it’s possible I remove the bars left and right, to see if that looks even more tight.
Now I’m going to mount this all into the trunk, and adjust the springs who help the box to go up and down, cause the weight is slightly different now.


----------



## odj23

Brilliant build!!


----------



## quality_sound

I don't think the front plate flows with the design now. The tear drops on the sides looked great with the PPI but the JLs are almost square.

Besides that it looks great.


----------



## robolop

MTopper said:


> looks great! i'm always amazed by your designs and creativity


THX MATE 




nperkins said:


> you are insane man... i've been reading this entire thread, and I cant believe how much you do with simple tools..


Thanks for the nice compliment 





sydmonster said:


> .... I like this build so much I've fallen in a bad habit of cheking it out on two forums.


So you are my biggest fan ducboy 





odj23 said:


> Brilliant build!!


THX DUDE


----------



## robolop

BigAl205 said:


> All that...and it's bullet-proof :thumbsup:




O yeah baby, never thought about that before


----------



## bkjay

May I ask how did you get so good with your fab work? Did you learn on your on, is this close to what you do for a living? Your skills and vision is OFF THE CHARTS!


----------



## AdamTaylor

love it


----------



## moog

Amazing work, i'm impressed!


----------



## Hipnotic4

Your an inspiration man. Love how you do this for the love of the hobby, i think your work is so good because you focus less on the time/cost and more on the install it self.

Thanks for the thread


----------



## ganesht

my favorite part of the setup is the copper pipe to connect the subs.


----------



## lucipha

This has to be one of the best builds ever! I think most will agree.


----------



## robolop

AdamTaylor said:


> love it





moog said:


> Amazing work, i'm impressed!


THX DUDE's


----------



## robolop

lucipha said:


> This has to be one of the best builds ever! I think most will agree.



THX MATE, i do my best


----------



## robolop

bkjay said:


> May I ask how did you get so good with your fab work? Did you learn on your on, is this close to what you do for a living? Your skills and vision is OFF THE CHARTS!




When I think of something to make, I think a lot of the things that could happen, or could form a problem.
It's important to see all obstacles in your way, and work in the right order. Sometimes luck is also necessary for certain things.
And when it goes wrong.....you just start over again, and learn of your mistakes.
I always say: "if you do nothing, you can't do anything wrong too".
When it goes wrong, that not a shame, that's part of the deal.


----------



## robolop

Hipnotic4 said:


> Your an inspiration man. Love how you do this for the love of the hobby, i think your work is so good because you focus less on the time/cost and more on the install it self.
> 
> Thanks for the thread





Indeed, I'm not on a time limit here. Time is the one thing I don't care about. When it needs to be done quickly, I'm not starting at all.
Money is always an issue, that why I never go over a certain fixed budget I put up at first.


----------



## robolop

ganesht said:


> my favorite part of the setup is the copper pipe to connect the subs.




Thx dude, it's indeed nice to look at. I've put a lot of work in it, but that's not important, it's the result that matters...


----------



## ocblaze

Would you mind telling us what resin you use for the carbon fiber? Also wat carbon fiber weave you use to overlay parts?


----------



## MistaYoung

great install- must of been some big $$$


----------



## dvc

MistaYoung said:


> great install- must of been some big $$$


big $$$ really dosnt mean anything

the work is just priceless


----------



## NoelSibs

It's 2:30 here in the Philippines... I just realized I've read, and re-read, analyzed the pictures, and re-analyzed the pictures of this install 3 times! That's 5 hours of looking through your work!!!! 

I'm HYPNOTIZED!!!! It's awesome... great craftsmanship and I don't know if anyone has mentioned but... AWESOME IDEAS!!!! Props for pulling them off too! Your work is perfect. I hope one day I build my own DREAM!

Good luck with the rest of it. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the conclusion of the build...

This is more entertaining than a movie!!! 

Again... GREAT job...


----------



## robolop

Started to work on the ICE again, and the pain in my elbow is gone (for the moment)…so I’m very cheerful.
I’ve put the amplifierbox back in the trunk, and cause the box is a bit more heavy now with the 2 JL amps, I had to adjust the springs, to get that thing up in a descent way.
Pictures will follow this week.


----------



## sinister-kustoms

Danm, I saw a new post and was thinking we had an update!
I'll let you off though, just 'cause you posted her. I could watch that all day


----------



## cgw

I just had to pick my jaw off the floor, lol, FANTASTIC build.

Just 1 question that i have always wondered, how do 4 small subs like the 13WS´s sound in comparison to the "normal" 8", 10" & 12" subs?

I might be picking up a BMW 130i & really like the idea of using small subs.


----------



## robolop

I left some things laying around here lately, and this is one of them.
I finished the outer carbon kevlar ring, and sprayed the plate wich is tightened to, black.






















To make the ring even more strong on top, I made a diagonal side with polyester. Now I have a descent side where I can paste some foam on to, so I don’t get any more vibrations of those 2 parts.










The little ditches you see on the picture were necessary, so I could mount and tighten my screws.


----------



## robolop

To have something to show at the TWA meeting, I mounted some things back in the trunk. I had to solve a little problem though..
On the plate where the diaphragm is mounted on, there's a little alu plate where the cable comes out to open and close it.
Here you can see what I'm talking about.










Now when I opened the amplifierbox, the aluminium cover touched the little elbow where the cables runs through.
So I made a new little plate, and mounted it all a bit lower.










The advantage of this is, that I can open the amplifiers a bit further.



I also finished the mirror that lays underneath the amplifiers.
First I taped some strips of vilt onto the wood.


















I made 4 little blocks where the mirror lays into, so he can shift to the back or the front.










Here I will add another 4 blocks who push the mirror against the vilt, so he can't go anywere.




























I also placed these aluminium tubes , so I could screw the 2 pieces together, so it gets all even more tighter.


----------



## robolop

These are the things I will exclusive show for the first time.


----------



## robolop

To do my personal translator a favour, I went to the TWA Ground zero meeting here in Belgium. 
Especially for that I mounted some pieces of the install in the trunk, so I could put the trunk a little bit open there.
Despite of the bad weather they forecasted, the turn out there was big (about 350 cars)
On the meeting, I place myself next to my car, so I could hear the comments about the install.
What suprised me, and made my laugh a bit, was that many people had followed my project on the internet, and they started to explain to their buddies how I made this, and how I did that…
As for the rest, I also noticed that more elderly people came to my check out my car/install.
Although I had a very nice day, with some nice chats. Lets hope I can show all the ICE next year
Who knows…

Some pic's.















































THE VIDEO from TW.

YouTube - TWA Ground Zero 2010


----------



## sydmonster

cool video... and great to see you sharing your car with people!!


----------



## robolop

Cause I still got some pain in the elbow, I’m trying to spare it a bit by doing some other minor things to the car.
That’s the biggest problem that I have, I can’t keep sitting still. So I changed some other things that were on my list.
I bought me a set of white angel eyes.








I mounted them, and made it so that they are always on, but I build in a switch so I can put them off when necessary.










I did some work on the headlights, cause they had some damage from stone-chippings ….after 11 years that’s pretty normal.
So I abraded them firmly and polished them. They look like new again, and otherwise they cost 185€ a piece here.
You can also see I put another side marker in there.
These are now transparent, and have the same black background as the original headlights.
BMW makes it easy to change the side markers, it takes about 5 minutes. But with these side makers, it was something else.
Tried for hours to make them fit properly. I used the paint stripper, heated it all up, and bent it all till it fit.




















Years ago, when I visited AC Shnitzer in Aken, I saw a strut brace. And I knew back then, that when I bought me an E46, I had to have it.
Here you see the result of a package I received the other day.

















































It’s not an original Schnitzer, but it’s exactly the same model, and was much cheaper.
If I will leave it this way, I’m not sure. It could be I’ll polish it in the near future.


----------



## Chaos

Words really can't do justice to the phenomenal amount of work that has been invested into that car. The creativity is amazing, and the quality appears to be exceptional.


----------



## sydmonster

Chaos said:


> Words really can't do justice to the phenomenal amount of work that has been invested into that car. The creativity is amazing, and the quality appears to be exceptional.


+1...


----------



## audio+civic

strut brace is very you. If you told me that you made it I wouldn't doubt you.


----------



## robolop

cgw said:


> I just had to pick my jaw off the floor, lol, FANTASTIC build.
> 
> Just 1 question that i have always wondered, how do 4 small subs like the 13WS´s sound in comparison to the "normal" 8", 10" & 12" subs?
> 
> I might be picking up a BMW 130i & really like the idea of using small subs.



Focal indicates that 4 x 13cm are equal to a 1x27cm. I had them mounted in the doors of my previous car, and I played it till the doors fell off….
Don’t underestimate these babies


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> cool video... and great to see you sharing your car with people!!



Yes dude, it was nice to have something to show, and to hear the comments.


----------



## robolop

audio+civic said:


> strut brace is very you. If you told me that you made it I wouldn't doubt you.





No dude, I’ll never say that I bought somethings, which I made myself, and vice versa. It would be honest against the fans of the project.


----------



## robolop

Chaos said:


> Words really can't do justice to the phenomenal amount of work that has been invested into that car. The creativity is amazing, and the quality appears to be exceptional.





sydmonster said:


> +1...




THX DUDE's


----------



## English audiophile

This car is getting famous world wide and it's very well deserved seeing how much hard work went into this labour of love.


----------



## robolop

Thanks dudes for the positive comments. In the meanwhile, the car is at the body-shop. Then front bumper had so much Stone-rash, I couldn’t look at it anymore.
So it’s getting resprayed. The same problem with the splitters, I dismounted them, and gave them a new layer of carbon fibre.


















These are the aluminium laths who were under the splitters. You can see that they kissed mother earth a couple of times…
They’re going in the bin now, so I can make some new ones, with a slithly different model.






























The rear bumper is getting a total respray as well. The little sloth was filled up with a special product, but after a month I saw a little endorsement in the paint….
As for the rest, I’m adding a surprise on the exterior of the car. This was also the reason why I bought the car in silver. You’ll see when the car gets back from the shop, I’ll post some pics.
As for the rest I just wanted to tell you that I’m very proud about having over 1.500.000 visitors on my topic on a US-forum!!!!:

Installation Photos - CARSOUND.COM Forum


----------



## robolop

NoelSibs said:


> It's 2:30 here in the Philippines... I just realized I've read, and re-read, analyzed the pictures, and re-analyzed the pictures of this install 3 times! That's 5 hours of looking through your work!!!!
> 
> I'm HYPNOTIZED!!!! It's awesome... great craftsmanship and I don't know if anyone has mentioned but... AWESOME IDEAS!!!! Props for pulling them off too! Your work is perfect. I hope one day I build my own DREAM!
> 
> Good luck with the rest of it. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the conclusion of the build...
> 
> This is more entertaining than a movie!!!
> 
> Again... GREAT job...



If I was able to distract you for over 5 hours, it must have been worth it.
I also have the same problem sometimes, when you are reading something that really interests you, and you want to know all about it…you just keep on reading…
Then end isn’t near, AT ALL… so you can hang around here for some time… 

THX DUDE


----------



## robolop

English audiophile said:


> This car is getting famous world wide and it's very well deserved seeing how much hard work went into this labour of love.





redsun said:


> gangsta



THX DUDE's


----------



## robolop

The car is already back from the bodyshop, and I’m really pleased with the result.
The carbon splitters in the front still need a layer of clear coat, still need to make the new alu plates for underneath, and then it’s finished again.
I’ll post some pictures of the updates that’ve been done.


----------



## robolop

Saturday, I will be present on the EMMA European Finals 2010 - Rotterdam.... I’ll take some pics of the nice things there, and post them up in a seperate topic.


----------



## English audiophile

Saturday, I will be present on the EMMA European Finals 2010 - Rotterdam.... I’ll take some pics of the nice things there, and post them up in a seperate topic.
Good luck, may you reap the rewards of your labour!


----------



## robolop

spy- picture


----------



## MTopper

that spy picture looks very interesting... care to "spy" somemore?


----------



## robolop

Pictures of the European Emma Final in Rotterdam.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...mma-final-rotterdam-pictures.html#post1144126


----------



## sydmonster

oohh... nice carbon front wing peice.
Emma finals looked quality! So many custom dashes.


----------



## Duncan345

I'm glad you are posting this here. I have been watching your post on audiogroupforum.com for months, but I don't have an account there and your thread was the only thing I looked at.


----------



## bimmerman11

siiiick !


----------



## audio+civic

I love the fact that all pics are of A pillars mostly. good stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## robolop

I’ve been thinking and thinking but I’m still no sure how I am going to plant in the diaphragm into the trunk. 
I’ve got a few idea’s in my mind, but I’m still not convinced that one of those idea’s will be WOOOOW.
Cause of that, I’m still waiting to begin, untill the good idea pops up.

Offcourse, I can’t sit still, so I had to do something else.
I also did the necessary thinking on this one, and today I visualised how it had to be.
If everything goes well ofcouse. I hope to post some pictures at the end of next week, 

I’m thinking….it’ll be COOL


----------



## sydmonster

ufff... he's making us wait again?!


robolop, how is your elbow?


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> ufff... he's making us wait again?!
> 
> 
> robolop, how is your elbow?


This week, I already used up 7 liters of fibre glass, a few pots of bondo, i did a lot of sanding, thus yes it's going in the right direction with my elbow....

I'm working on something very special


----------



## robolop

Maybe you guys can remember, that when I cleaned up my engine bay, I was planning on doing something with it.
I look at it 5-6 times, but I still couldn’t make up my mind of what to do with it.
But now, I know what I want, but making this, will be another pair of …
The big problem is that here and there, there’s almost no room between the engine and the hood.
It’s also the meaning of concealing all what’s around it, all the stuff that no one cares about.
Another problem is that it’s difficult to make a 100% right molding, cause all of the things that are in your way. 
Now I started, I know it’s going to be a hell of a job, and the idea of making it in a few days….ain’t gonna happen.
But hey, difficult is my middlename, and every disadvantage has an advantage.
Here are the first pictures of the job.
I made all the parts in fiberglass, and the meaning is to give them some more model with filler afterwards




















To see where the hood touches when closed, I taped a little piece of foam/mush of 6mm thick. Then I taped the hood with tape, and put some black paint on the foam/mush, and closed the hood.












Now I could see where the hood touched., and I know where to abrade some.
























Here you can see the watertank for the window-wipers. The tank in generel, was a strange model, but I gave it a treatment with the paint-stripper, and it looks a lot better already.
It’s the meaning of placing an aluminium cap on top, but first I checked how high I could come, and I did this in another way.
I just taped a piece of gum on it, and check the tip above. I closed the hood, and opened it again, now I could see how many place that’s between.






















That this wasn’t straight, also didn’t please me much. Here you can see how many mm I’ve got left, so I shouldn’t be a problem of making this straight.






















You can also see that I’m going down with the cover, I also made this from fiberglass.


----------



## robolop

The nice straight fiberglass plate is easy to make. You need a piece of glass for this.
Just add a couple of layers of way on it, and then put the layers of fiberglass fabric on.











Once this is all dry, I cut between with a cutter, and you can see how easy it comes loose. 










The result is a nice straight plate of polyester.


----------



## robolop

This will be the cover of the drivers-side. It thought this would be easy, but that sure wasn’t it.





























The other side is also looking pretty good. It give me a good feeling that it’s working out well, give me the strength to go one and make something special.


----------



## sinister-kustoms

Congrats on the CA&E article Rob! It was good to see the build all condensed like that, there was a lot of details I had forgotten about. Keep up the good work!


----------



## robolop

sinister-kustoms said:


> Congrats on the CA&E article Rob! It was good to see the build all condensed like that, there was a lot of details I had forgotten about. Keep up the good work!


Thanks again for suggesting that. I just don’t understand too well , how it works over there.


----------



## cgw

Awesome build.

What are the stock speaker sizes for the E46 Coupe?

5" in doors & 6"subs under seats?

I´m almost purchasing an E46 325 and I intend to do a HAT install, but what sizes should I use to maintain a stock look?
L8s under seats, Clarus 5" mids in the doors and L1pro se in the pillars?


----------



## rcurley55

cgw said:


> Awesome build.
> 
> What are the stock speaker sizes for the E46 Coupe?
> 
> 5" in doors & 6"subs under seats?
> 
> I´m almost purchasing an E46 325 and I intend to do a HAT install, but what sizes should I use to maintain a stock look?
> L8s under seats, Clarus 5" mids in the doors and L1pro se in the pillars?


An E46 Coupe has 6.5" in the doors and has a 1" tweeter and 2" or so midrange up high in the door (assuming H/K system). In general you can fit a 6.5" driver, not a 6.75 or a 7; however, I have heard of Clarus 6 drivers fitting.

There is no factory speaker location under the seats. The E9X series has those.


----------



## cgw

Cool, thanks rcurley55.


----------



## robolop

I think that most of you noticed that it has been rather silent in this topic lately ?
Dimi, the friend who translates most from Dutch to English for me, had a serious accident with his wife’s car.
Somebody who was driving under influence rammed his car. He has some minor injuries on his hand.
His wife has a back injury and his son, who was sitting in the baby seat in the back of the car remained unhurt.
I don’t know how long this it will take, but what’s more important now is that everyone of that family recovers completely.

I hope justice will be done, and that the one who was D.U.I. will get the conviction he deserves.
Taking away his driver’s license for a long long time certainly wouldn’t harm !

Here are some pics of the car my friends were in (or at least, what remains of it)


----------



## English audiophile

I'm glad that everyone ok Rob, I'm sure I can speak on behalf of the DIYMA community here and say God bless get well soon to all three of them.


----------



## SteveH!

robo, i am glad they are alright in general. i hope your freind's wife will make a full recovery. the back is a bit complicated because it does so much for us. we really do not unjderstand this until it gets hurt. it is good to see you having the health of your freind and his loved ones as the priority your friend has a brother in you.this is a good thing. god bless and kep bro,


----------



## MTopper

wow. they got lucky they got out without much injury. i agree that the idiot drunk driver should lose the license and go to jail for a long time. good luck to them


----------



## audio+civic

Happy everyone is ok and will hopefully have a full recovery. Exactly why I never drink and drive.


----------



## mr.metoo

Amazing build, and I am glad your friend and his family are ok.


----------



## sydmonster

...as I said on MEA, hope it all turns out for the best.


----------



## Brian_smith06

SteveH! said:


> robo, i am glad they are alright in general. i hope your freind's wife will make a full recovery. *the back is a bit complicated because it does so much for us. we really do not unjderstand this until it gets hurt.* it is good to see you having the health of your freind and his loved ones as the priority your friend has a brother in you.this is a good thing. god bless and kep bro,


this is no joke. I was at the gym and I was working my back and jacked it up and had issues moving for the next 2 weeks. Ever since then I have been very careful and doing everything I can to make sure it's strong as possible. 

and glad to know that the familyl is ok. Im sure the wife will recover and be as good as she was


----------



## crucial24

Man u got some maddd skillz bro!! 

Sorry to hear about your friends hope they will be ok.


----------



## robolop

here some pictures from the covers i've been working on.
I can say that I did some wicked jobs before, but this was one of the most annoying jobs I ever did. When I started, I thought "let's do this in a quicky" yeah right!!
I lost count of the times I opened and closed the hood. I think the lock is almost worn out, but I've got result, and that counts.
Here you see the right cover.






















The sharp lines need to be rouned out more, but that will only happen at the end. I can take much better measurements with the sharp lines.















Working in the original air filter



















Left cover.

























I still need to work out the 2 airco-lines, I just don't like them now...


----------



## robolop

Here is the reservoir for the wiper-fluid. I'm going the make an aluminium tip for that.






















After a lot of abrading, this is how it looks...










The biggest amount of work on the 2 panels is now finished.
Now I need to finish it all off nice, which will take some more hours of work.
Personnaly I'm already pleased of the result so far, but it needs some more work though...


----------



## pankrok

almost stock :snacks::sick2::bowdown::shocked:
I hate you !!!


----------



## SVOEO

Dang, I feel pathetic after seeing that. Astounding. True art.


----------



## sydmonster

YEAH!! great work! their factory extended panels. 
On the Passanger side could you extend it out so it comes closer & over towards the engine head cover?


----------



## robolop

First I was planning on spraying the original airfilter-housing, but what's special about that ? So I made a fiberglass cover for it.
Where the filter is taking it's air, I want to cover it in fiberglass too, so I got to the idea of making it all to 1 part.
Here you can see the first model.

































I hope I manage to deduct the polyesterpiece without doing too much damage.


I'm closing the 2 holes against the windshield too, here you can see the right one.




















Yes, yes, the liters of polyester are flying out the door lately


----------



## pankrok

how come you did not built a kevlar cover to protect the fenders while glassing the hood?


----------



## WLDock

So is there an end in sight? Great work so far....And I have to say this.....I don't care what the BREMBO big brake kit lovers think...your dust covers look sweet to my eyes.  Buying a kit and bolting it on would have been too easy for a craftsman like yourself.

SWEETNESS!









Take the $1300-$4600 saved on not buying a Big Brake Kit and buy more aluminum and carbon fiber and get creative on other parts of the car....the few areas that are left that is....the canvas is almost full!

K.I.U.! (Keep It Up)


----------



## FLYONWALL9

I'm very glad you showed the process of this. It is exactly how I envisioned
how to do the front boot of my 911, that is how to cover all the shock tower, 
fuse block, and fan motors. VERY GOOD JOB!

Thanks for this part of your build!


----------



## robolop

This is the first part of the engine bay that is looking quite finished. And with that I mean, ready for the last fase.
When you see it, it's not so big, and it looks quite simple...but that wasn't the case...


















This is the left-side I started. 4 layers of polyester.



















What I'm planning of doing with this, I'm about 80 percent sure. What I am 100% sure about, it that it'll take again many many hours of hard work...pfff


I also made some quick abrading-blocks. You can't have enough of those, and they are quite easy to make:
saw some wood into blocks.
Take some sanding paper, and pull a fine layer of filler over it, and then push the block back in.






























Once this is dry, you cut it out with a stanley knife.










I find this very handy to abrade with. These are just some normal aluminium laths, where I also taped some sanding-paper on.


















When I've got a block where the sanding paper is worn-out, I throw this in a seperate box.
Once this is full, I do the same process on the other side, so you can use them 2 or 4 times.
Why not glue the sanding paper..? simple, when you are working with filler, you almost always make too much...so use it for that.


----------



## tinctorus

This may have already been asked and answered but what is it that you do for a living???

I only ask because I really think that you could make some good money by doing this for a living for people...


----------



## robolop

The left and right covers who lean against the windshield, are ready for base-coat.
Now they well be sprayed, and ready to take a mold

Right;



















Left;


----------



## robolop

pankrok said:


> almost stock :snacks::sick2::bowdown::shocked:
> I hate you !!!




Sorry that I did it this way dude... Once it'll be ready, you might kill yourself, lol


----------



## robolop

SVOEO said:


> Dang, I feel pathetic after seeing that. Astounding. True art.




Maybe you and PANKROK must start self-help group for people who are depressed after seeing this topic, lol


----------



## robolop

pankrok said:


> how come you did not built a kevlar cover to protect the fenders while glassing the hood?


When I have to do that, maybe you're going to do things that aren't good for you, and I don't want to be responsable for that...
Besides, don't you like my sheets?




WLDock said:


> So is there an end in sight? Great work so far....And I have to say this.....I don't care what the BREMBO big brake kit lovers think...your dust covers look sweet to my eyes.  Buying a kit and bolting it on would have been too easy for a craftsman like yourself.
> 
> SWEETNESS!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Take the $1300-$4600 saved on not buying a Big Brake Kit and buy more aluminum and carbon fiber and get creative on other parts of the car....the few areas that are left that is....the canvas is almost full!
> 
> K.I.U.! (Keep It Up)


I don't give a f*k about the negative comments some people gave me about the brake covers...
If I had a spare 5000€ laying around here somewhere I'd buy myself some BBK's...but that ain't the fact...





FLYONWALL9 said:


> I'm very glad you showed the process of this. It is exactly how I envisioned
> how to do the front boot of my 911, that is how to cover all the shock tower,
> fuse block, and fan motors. VERY GOOD JOB!
> 
> Thanks for this part of your build!


15 years ago, I made a cover for a friend of line his 911. I'll send him a mail to see he has some pictures of it..



tinctorus said:


> This may have already been asked and answered but what is it that you do for a living???
> 
> I only ask because I really think that you could make some good money by doing this for a living for people...



What kind of work I do isn't important. I'm satisfied with what I got so far. Money doesn't make me happy.
To do what I feel like doing, THAT makes me happy !


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> YEAH!! great work! their factory extended panels.
> On the Passanger side could you extend it out so it comes closer & over towards the engine head cover?


No, I don't want it closer to the engine, it must be able to have some air circulation there too...


----------



## pankrok

robolop said:


> Maybe you and PANKROK must start self-help group for people who are depressed after seeing this topic, lol


this is not funny.
we are enough to make official club of "People against robolop - no more carbon"
:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

(ok it is funny - were are my pils...)


----------



## FLYONWALL9

15 years ago, I made a cover for a friend of line his 911. I'll send him a mail to see he has some pictures of it..


THAT would be KILLER! I hope he is able to send you some. I
could really use some help in this area...




pankrok said:


> this is not funny.
> we are enough to make official club of "People against robolop - no more carbon"
> :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
> 
> (ok it is funny - were are my pils...)


PILLS you say? I've got ALL you could ever need! Tell you what I'll
trade you pills for pics of the 911 boot....


----------



## robolop

I'm getting a lot of questions about the cooling of the engine. When I had the idea, I did some good thinking first. I worked out my plans, and asked the advice of some people.
A friend of mine, who worked at a BMW Dealership for over 14 years, told me (without hesitating) I shouldn't be worried about that.
Another friend who audits and revises engines for over 35 years also said it won't causes any problems.
As long as I don't cover up the radiator, and I mount the plastic cap for the airsupply towards the airfilter, there won't be any problem. These are the things that still original, only that I covered the airbox and supply.

About the left and right cover, they will get a better flow now it's all closed. There won't be any turbulence between parts who are underneath. Also these aren't any parts who get warm or so.
What I will do is mount a flexibel pipe onto the whole that's in my front bumper. I'll mount this so, that the air will blow towards the manifold.
If this will help a lot, I'm not sure, but all the bits help...And so there's a use for the whole in the bumper too 
I also removed the big rubbers on top of my headlights. These were there to create a nice closing between the lights and the hood once it was closed.
I now took a much smaller rubber so there's room for air to pass there too, something that was not possible before.
Do not underestimate this, at BMW Performance you can buy an extra airfilterhousing witch end up there. So I'm guessing that BMW did some thinking and testing before producing that.
Here's a picture, the extra piece is marking with red.










And if it's does get to hot under the hood, the I'll take my disc, and put a hole in the hood...I'll invent something in carbon fibre to finish it off.
I wasn't serious at the last sentence ... or was I ?


----------



## robolop

I made another grill for the BMW, with a lore modern touch.










Here a little spypicture of the things to follow...










What I meant of working on a couple of weeks, turned out in a few months 
I'm in a fase now that every idea I get, gets better every day. The bar is raised every day, and with few inches at a time, and it gets cooler and especially more difficult every time...But for me that's a good thing, that's how I know I'm getting towards my limits. I LOVE IT.
In the meanwhile I went driving with the car (with a capital D  ), and made some pitstops to see if there are some problems...
There is one place where it gets pretty hot, and that the place where the front manifold is placed.
Underneath the polyester it gets pretty hot.
In the meanwhile I found a solution for that problem, and it'll look cool too 
I'll give an update on that shortly.


----------



## beyondredline9k

That BMW is SOOOOO sick.


----------



## robolop

After the many mill-work lately, it felt good to get started with the upper-mill again. Did some drawing first, and made me a mold in MDF. This should be the molding.






































I taped on a piece of aluminium from 6mm thick, and held it against the copy-mill...with this as result.






































The reason why I took 6mm thick alu, is that now, my screws are sunken in.












The screws are from FOCAL, and you can see that clearly.
You can even see their name is carved in











OOOOO yeah !


----------



## robolop

I had to do something about the little lever to open the bonnet. This thing cost me about 4 hours till I liked it.



















This was a little stupid thing that disturbed the global sight, damn it
but i'm statisfied I could fix it like this now


----------



## FLYONWALL9

We've talked before about your mill work, bits, and so forth. 

I'm curious, something this thick do you cut out the bulk of
the material close to the mold part first? Then go back with
the flush but to get it exact so that your not having to take
such a large 'bite' out of the aluminum all at once?

I've gotten so many idea's of how to properly work with one 
of my routers using these materials. I've been accumulated 
a good bit of aluminum for several parts I'll be building like
these. You said your flush bits you use for something like
this are elcheapo? Not carbide or titanium or anything?

Did you happen to have any reply from your buddy that
you were going to ask pictures of his 911 boot?

CHEERS,
SCOTT


----------



## robolop

after a useless day in Essen Motorshow (germany) (serliously, there was nothing to see there, pfff, waste of money), I pulled out the piece that I made a mold off.
On the foreground you can see what I broke, but that's not a big deal.








This is the mold I need to make my fiberglass grill


----------



## robolop

Robolop on TV in Southern California.
Open the movie, and click to 27.30 minutes.
OOOOOOOOOOO Yeah Baby


YouTube - soundmancaraudio's Channel


----------



## sydmonster

Props on youtube!!


----------



## robolop

FLYONWALL9 said:


> We've talked before about your mill work, bits, and so forth.
> 
> I'm curious, something this thick do you cut out the bulk of
> the material close to the mold part first? Then go back with
> the flush but to get it exact so that your not having to take
> such a large 'bite' out of the aluminum all at once?
> 
> I've gotten so many idea's of how to properly work with one
> of my routers using these materials. I've been accumulated
> a good bit of aluminum for several parts I'll be building like
> these. You said your flush bits you use for something like
> this are elcheapo? Not carbide or titanium or anything?
> 
> Did you happen to have any reply from your buddy that
> you were going to ask pictures of his 911 boot?
> 
> CHEERS,
> SCOTT


When I'm making a piece of aluminium, I delete as much material as I can with the jigsaw. But as you now, as thicker it is, the harder it gets.
The biggest problem is that the blade gets hot, and the remains of the aluminium get in. To prevent that, I use white spirit. This cools off the blade, so the aluminium doesn't get a change to melt in.
The mills I use are simple wood mills. Once you've worked some time with them, you can throw them away.
If you want to begin with sawing aluminium I suggest to start with a thin piece. This goes smoothly.
Once you'll get the hang of it, you can proceed to thicker materials. But still keep it in mind, that these things are still dangerous tools, especially the uppermill.

I did send him a mail, and he told me that he would get me a picture.


----------



## robolop

You'll surely noticed it's been very quiet in this topic.
Well, my mother passed away.
She reached the age of 81. In 6 years time I lost both of my parents, and my brother.
It took me about 5 years untill I could give those deaths a place...
It's all different now.... 
Her bed stays empty. The chair she always smoked her cigaret in, stays empty.
Her place at the table, where she sat on for 50 years, stays empty.
My wife and I took care of her in the last hours of her life, but that's all we could do.
The works on the bimmer will surely go on, but for the moment I don't feel like it. I'll have a lot on my mind the next few weeks.
see you all soon


----------



## SteveH!

sometimes taking the time to acknowledge the loss and let that get out the right way is better than pushing past it. at 81 you know you have some momma stories that you will always hold dear. the battle will come in not just abscence but emotional impact as you are already seeing with the reality of losing the brother and father already. if anything this wil tell you it is vital that you live out yopur days at peace and resolved to live to the fullest. take your time and grieve and commit to making the little momaents count. godbless bro


----------



## Potent

My Condolences Robbie, you really need to grieve to help you heal. I know exactly how you feel as I have lost 4 family members over a period of 3 months.

Take care.


----------



## pankrok

my condolences too mate (if of any help) 
take care


----------



## English audiophile

My condolences go out to you Rob, this is no doubt a very difficult moment in your life. Take time to grieve with your wife.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

My condolences as well. I hope your able to find solace knowing
that she is in a MUCH better place, no more pain, and infinite
happiness. 

We will all be here when your ready to rejoin us.....


----------



## Seth1784

oh shoot rob i'm sorry to read what happened... i'm way late but my condolences go out to you as well. i'm sure you made your mom more then happy when you helped her along with everything and i'm sure she appreciated it all. head held high she's in a better place now bud.


----------



## sydmonster

best thoughts to you, family & friends. respect and condolences. As its been said, take your time and do what you need to do.


----------



## Mixerdriver

best thoughts to you
subscribed


----------



## robolop

OK dude's, it's time for me to update my topic here...unfortunately, not in a good way.
First and for all I would like tot thank everybody for the nice words and support I read here. The missing-feeling of my mom, will last some time, but now the time has come for me to take some big and drastic decisions. 
The house we're living in at the moment is to big for my wife and me. So I've been looking for something a bit smaller, but I don't need to say that costs a lot of money. And still, the things we see that are for sale, aren't complete what we're looking for...

As for now, we're planning of selling the house, and building something new, but smaller.
Ok, this will take more time and money, but then we've got what we want... 
You will also understand that in that case, there will be no more time to work on my bimmer anymore. What I'm planning now, is to mount everything that I've made so far, lay and connect all wires and cables, so I can finally enjoy some of my music. I want to do this to be sure that there will be no damages to everything I've made. It's not ideal to move these things 85x times, damage is easy to come, especially when we'll be building or moving.

I'm doing a big cleaning in my workplace at the moment. And if I'd find the time maybe I'll finish the covers around the engine. They're just laying here so why not finish it. 
As for the rest we'll just have to wait what the future brings.
For me, one thing is clear: the day when I'm settled in my new place, I'll focus on my project again, and this time till the bitter end.
But when this will be? I really don't know
About the forum's, I'll surely post up more info when I've got some myself. And I'll surely try to follow the projects here that I'm interested in.

I still own you some pictures of the things I did to the outside, and yes, there's cool


----------



## Reyne

Hey mate.I have enjoyed reading your project thread ... quite a few times .
Good luck with your house build, and look foward to seeing your car build again one day.


----------



## Seth1784

like it was said, best of luck with the home


----------



## AdamTaylor

i just saw what happened...... My condolences go out to you, I have been studying your work for so long i feel like i almost know you.... I'm so sorry for your loss but im sure she is smiling down on you from a better place. I only hope to be able to take care of my parents in much of the same way when the time comes. Your a good man and your mother knows it. Chin up bro, it can only get better!


----------



## robolop

This week they delivered my wiring for the ICE.
The RCA’s are from JL Audio

XA-BLUAIC2-18

























Bass Control Features.
I’ll have to give these a place in the interior somewhere.





















This is speaker cable from Focal, and is sold under the name, FOCAL UTOPIA cable.
These are especially developed for the MID and HIGH tones.











You can see they have different thicknesses in there.
The 2 thin ones are for the HIGHS, and the 2 other ones are for the MIDS.










What struck me immediately, not talking ‘bout the price, are the copper wires who are superthin.










This silver cable (2.5) from DIETZ, I’m going to use for the 16cm in the doors.


----------



## English audiophile

Welcome back Rob


----------



## robolop

Today is the first day since my mothers’ death that I’ve done something. There wasn’t much to do so I cleaned up my working area first, and I immediately had a bad feeling about it when I started.
My always clean and neat workingspace, will go to the ground in the not do distant future.
Unlike the most here, who always build up, I’ll have to build down cause I’m moving.
But I can also report some good news. I already know where I’ll be living in the future, and I’m working on my plans, and drawing my new future working space, about 40m² big.
These are the things I need to focus on right now, to keep my mind off things.
I’m also starting this week with placing the cables in my bimmer.
If there’s one job I HATE doing, then it’s placing cables. Damn, do I hate that, I can’t stand taking out the whole interior for this…but it needs to be done properly, so that’s why I have to do.
Don’t expect too much of this, ain’t gonna win the beauty prize with this.
Cause there never sat anyone in the back of the bimmer, I also decided to lay the 4 channel JL Audio with filters behind my seat, on the floor.
I’ll make a nice plate over this, as a protection.
I decided to do this, so I can put this in the trunk, if it’s ever needed. I also add some extra cables for extra lighting I’ll place in the interior.


----------



## AdamTaylor

what did you use to polish the copper up like this?


----------



## robolop

AdamTaylor said:


> what did you use to polish the copper up like this?




The little copper tubes I first abraded them firmly, and after that I polished them with the machine.


----------



## AdamTaylor

robolop said:


> The little copper tubes I first abraded them firmly, and after that I polished them with the machine.


in stupid peoples terms? not god of fabrication lingo, lol :laugh:


----------



## imjustjason

He said:

I sanded each one of them several times with many different varieties of sandpaper and grit concentrations. I started with a rougher grit paper and finished with a very fine grit paper being sure to sand as smooth as possible each time, making sure to not sand too deeply and leave sanding marks. Then I began polishing them by starting with an aggressive buffing compound, like tripoli compound, on a fairly stiff buffing wheel, like a spiral sewn sisal wheel. After the copper is as smooth as it can be I then polish them to a high gloss shine with a final polishing compound, like white or jewelers rouge, on a very soft cotton flannel wheel.


----------



## robolop

All the cables for the ICE install are in the car. It’s been a f*cking job, but the worst is over.
Once I hooked up all of the cables onto the JL Audoi, I let the focal nr7 did what they’re made for.
I’ve been thinking a lot on that moment, what would be the first song played…
I chose this one, gave me goosebumps.

YouTube - Metallica Blackened + Ecstasy Of Gold France, Nimes PROSHOT Francais Pour Une Nuit

Most of you will think: “that ain’t music”, but this was the moment for me to play this.
Now I have to lay a couple of more cables, this for the lighting I will be installing in the interior later on.
As for the rest, I just have to make a little shelf, where the amplifier and the filters will come, and install it after the seat.
In a couple of days you’ll see some more pictures.


----------



## English audiophile

Great choice of tune, I love the Metallica S&M album with theSan Francisco Symphony Orchestra, it's a great recording with a grand sound stage & scale


----------



## req

well rob, i look forward to seeing the pics! your install is totally over the top.


----------



## robolop

I’ve started placing some extra lighting in the interior. This is something I’ve done in all previous cars too.
First I’ve started to place a white LED into the mirrors.
The will light up whenever I open the car with the remote control.






























These are 2 LED’s behind the handle. 1 orange when the light is on, and 1 white which works onto the inside lighting of the car



















And there’s a lot more to come next few days...


----------



## pankrok

yes he is back!


----------



## AccordUno

> These are 2 LED’s behind the handle. 1 orange when the light is on, and 1 white which works onto the inside lighting of the car


Confused a little: Orange when which light is on?

Do you mind if I use this idea? Especially the mirror led?


----------



## pankrok

orange permanently lit as per latest bmw and mercedes standards!


----------



## AccordUno

Okay, so it's like Audi which uses red.


----------



## robolop

Here some pictures of how I placed the JL Audio amplifier behind the driverseat.









The Focal 3 way filters are underneath the amplifier, but you can’t see them.









The cables run underneath the seat.









About the cables,...they are long enough to go till the trunk. Once the trunk is ready, I just need to demount my rear seat, and pull my cables to the trunk, which is an easy process.
So I don’t have to worry anymore about dismantling all of the interior in the future. One time was enough for me.
What I also did, is lay some extra cables, some spare ones of 1.5mm en 2.5mm thick. I also placed some extra ones in the doors, you never know what I might be using it for…


I’m planning of making a nice cover for the amplifier. The cables will get covering from a tube I’ll be sawing in half, so they’ll get some extra protection.


About the lighting, I’m pretty pleased with the result already, but here and there I’m planning of adding something. I didn’t take some pictures yet, cause I’m still waiting for some extra lights I ordered for the original interiorlighting. Original they shine quite yellow, and I ordered some white SMD LED’s. So the lighting all will be the same color.



I’m also very pleased on the orange lighting I added, and it’s the exact same color as the original evening-lighting. 
The lights I colored with a marker.











As you can see, I took the marker apart. What I needed was the little tube on the upper-left, where the ink is.











I just squeezed the tube with my fingers, and let the ink run over the little lightbulb, so it’ll all equally colored.


----------



## req

lol, nice thinkin man hahah.

i just hope that bulb does not get hot enough to burn the ink! those bulbs get seriously hot.


----------



## English audiophile

Nice idea Rob, like Req just said. Hope the heat don't cause you any problems.


----------



## robolop

This will be the cover who will go over the amplifier










On the top, I milled-in the JL Audio logo










On the front you see a little mice-hole, cables will go through that.










And then I made another JL Logo.
First I milled everything with mdf, and after that I made it double with a 5mm plexi



















These are the 2 MDF supports where the cover will rest on.



















This is the plastic tube I did in half, which will rest over the cables.


----------



## robolop

Here you see how I orientated the JL Logo on the upperside of the cover.
As you can read, I made the logo's in double pairs, now you can see why.
One pair I used to the make the edge.
Because I was going to cover up the cover with alcantara, I first taped the plexi with a layer of this material. If you don't, you can't fit the letters back in, cause you have the thickness of your material.












You can also see I tightened everything with 2 screws.










Then I made an oblique edge with filler. This is in total 5mm high, the same height as the plexi.





















To remove it all, and to ensure nothing breaks off, I tapped a little screwhole into the plexiglass.
So I could screw the plexi in and out, with a secure feeling.














Here you can see it worked!











Here you can see how much space I've got on the side from the plexi, and the alcantara.











Don’t underestimate the time and work time goes into this, it’s pretty darn job.

Here I covered everything with black alcantara. First I wanted this in black leather, but I didn’t find I quite matching the floor.

Here you can see the tube where the cables run through. I sprayed it silver, to match the rest of the moldings in the car.










I sprayed the plexi logo silver, on the bottomside that is.


----------



## robolop

Here you can see how it all looks mounted in the car.










I added a white neon under the middle logo. This only lights up when I open the doors.


















A nice carbon fibre plate who reflects everything, standing onto the front seat.



















Again it’s done like I wanted it to be done. I’m just a bit disappointed in myself I didn’t do it much sooner.
Finally I can start enjoying my material !
How it sounds…that’s for later.


----------



## English audiophile

Yet again, a superb level of craftsmanship


----------



## newsqguy

man you really do have a gift of craftsmanship. you are an inspiration to many with this build and the stand up guy that you seem to be. Good luck with everything forward.


----------



## Mikcuz

wowza.


----------



## sakazekillaz

Very nice! Very meticulous install. I wish I had the skills and patience to do that.


----------



## azluda87

hope your at bimmerfest


----------



## SNEAKY

i suck at life


----------



## RoscoeM

Im speechless.. I mean dam your awesome..


----------



## brett

i just went through every single page of that install and i'm speechless. personally not a huge fan of cf but to each his own. i was hoping he'd fabricate new amplifier cases or something. anyway, inspirational nonetheless, but this has severely cut into my porn addiction! actually, does this count as a type of addiction?


----------



## Jon225

Pretty awesome.


----------



## robolop

I still owe you guys some pictures of the outside.
As you can see, I give the roof a black spray.



















I give it a lot of thought, but finally did it anyways. When it was silver, you didn’t see any dust , but know…you see every little dust-particle on the black.
But for me, it looks 100 times better, so it’s worth me efforts in cleaning the roof 10 times a week .





















I’ll takes some pictures soon of the inside lighting.
According to the project in general…my hands are getting pretty itchy to get back into it, o yeah!


----------



## English audiophile

According to the project in general…my hands are getting pretty itchy to get back into it, o yeah![/QUOTE]

I like the sound of that


----------



## robolop

sweetcaddy said:


> i just went through every single page of that install and i'm speechless. personally not a huge fan of cf but to each his own. i was hoping he'd fabricate new amplifier cases or something. anyway, inspirational nonetheless, but this has severely cut into my porn addiction! actually, does this count as a type of addiction?





I can surely understand that not every person likes carbon fibre, and that’s a good thing, cause what would happen to the world if everybody had the same taste.
If it’s an addiction, I don’t know.
Maybe you need to talk to your doctor, maybe you have the Robolop Syndrom?
Let me know what he said, maybe there’s medication for it. Then you can send me some, maybe I’ll sleep some more at night, instead of thinking about my project…


----------



## robolop

SNEAKY said:


> i suck at life





RoscoeM said:


> Im speechless.. I mean dam your awesome..





Jon225 said:


> Pretty awesome.





English audiophile said:


> According to the project in general…my hands are getting pretty itchy to get back into it, o yeah!


Thanks dude's, I’m still doing the best I can.


----------



## robolop

English audiophile said:


> According to the project in general…my hands are getting pretty itchy to get back into it, o yeah!


I like the sound of that[/QUOTE]



Thanks mate, I’m busy continuing the works on the bimmer.


----------



## sydmonster

Thanks for Sharing Robolop... I prefer the black roof too. Very CSL like!
Looking forward to updates!


----------



## JayinMI

I love the black roof...long been a plan for my Genesis, though I'm just going to do a vinyl wrap on it. 

Good to hear you're itching to get back to it.

Do you every actually get to drive this car? Somehow I feel like it has like 5000 miles (about 8500 km) on it or something 

Jay


----------



## robolop

This week I mananged to work some more on the bimmer. First of all I gave the interior a good cleaning.
I cleaned the leather with products of POORBOYS, and I must say, I’m really pleased of the result. All together I’ve been working on the interior for over 2 days now, and I must say, I did a fine job.
Cause I don’t have the material to take excellent pictures from the interior, I asked a friend who came by with professional material.
I’ll post the result of my cleaning when I get the pictures from him.


And then I took off where I stopped 4 months ago.
This was one of the last things I did back then.

















The middle piece you see here, should be covered in carbon fibre... At least, that’s what we’re going to try......:woot::woot::woot::woot:












The left and right side are going to be sprayed in the color of the car, titansilver.


----------



## robolop

These are some preparations I’ve done for the photoshoot my buddy is going to do from the interior.
On this shelf that’s mounted in that back, I already fixed the toggle which the Nikon is placed on. 








I already placed it 100% in de middle.

Then I occupied myself by blinding the front and side-windows.


----------



## robolop

Here are the pictures of the interior with the interior-lighting I added and some I partly changed.

First the white lighting.
This goes on once the door is opened.
The lighting behind the doortoggles are LED. You could think they shine blue, but that’s isn’t the case. I think the pictures give a distorted image of this…they are surely white.




























When I changed the back piece of the front seat last year, some may have noticed I made an extra little sloth on the top. This was meant to house the lighting .
Many asked me why I mounted that idiotic net on the carbon covers again…well, now you can see which effect this all gives when the lighting is one…


----------



## robolop

This lighting comes from above the pedals, but also from underneath the seat.









This is another carbon piece I made for around the gears***8230;










Now the orange lighting. This will light up once you turn on the lights. The orange is the original BMW orange.
For some it may look 'over the top' right now, but don't forget that the windows are totally blacked out for the fotoshoot.
When it's just dark outside, and you're driving, it's very pleasant and enjoyable.
The reflections you see now, you won't see normally, but for this photoshoot, it came out great.


----------



## robolop

Here the total picture..........










On this pic you can obviously see what I added.


The lighting above the pedals, and underneath the glove box.
Underneath the seats.
Behind the doorboxes.
LED's under the seats shine on the doorspeakers.
Underneath the armrest.
LED which are mounted above the inside mirror, who shine on the dashboard speakers.
It's almost like I purchased another set of Focals when you look at this, but I think one set of Utopia's nr7 is enough.


At this point, the interior lighting is fully finished.
I put a lot of hours into it, but when you see the result (like in the last picture), again, it's been worth the effort.
As for the rest, I want to thank gNo for the work he put into his superb fotoshoot, I'm very pleased with the pictures! And without his help I wasn't able to show my Christmas lights to all of you


----------



## MajorChipHazard

Thats just awesome.Fantastic work


----------



## subwoofery

robolop said:


>


Does bother you when you drive? Everytime someone turns on the dome light, it then becomes more difficult for me to see ahead... 

Kelvin


----------



## English audiophile

It just goes to show how some great photography can really show off and highlight the attention to detail in a great installation.

You've excelled yourself yet again Rob


----------



## robolop

subwoofery said:


> Does bother you when you drive? Everytime someone turns on the dome light, it then becomes more difficult for me to see ahead...
> 
> Kelvin


When it's just dark outside, and you're driving, it's very pleasant and enjoyable.
The reflections you see now, you won't see normally, but for this photoshoot, it came out great.


----------



## Therum

robolop said:


> When it's just dark outside, and you're driving, it's very pleasant and enjoyable.
> The reflections you see now, you won't see normally, but for this photoshoot, it came out great.


LOL Saw that one coming. Nice design and execution. Well done!


----------



## sydmonster

... props! haha! following the same install on two forums!


----------



## subwoofery

robolop said:


> When it's just dark outside, and you're driving, it's very pleasant and enjoyable.
> The reflections you see now, you won't see normally, but for this photoshoot, it came out great.


Yeah, I've read that already... Wanted to ask coz I have a friend that needed to disconnect his *red* lightning above the pedals and underneath the glove box in his Civic Type R because it was not allowing him to drive properly at night. 

Good job on everything... Been following this install since I first saw it 3 years ago...

Kelvin


----------



## cgw

Wesome everything, lol, Robolop, do you think that 2 or 3 Focal 13WS subs in sealed enclosures would work better than a Focal 27KX or even a Focal 21WX?

I like tight and fast bass(very "kickdrummy")
How much power should send to them in each case, and what size enclosure for each sub?( would an Audison 6.9 or 5.1k work for these setups?)

Thanks,
Chris

I´ll be using a Focal KRX2 for stereo.(2 Ohms)


----------



## robolop

MajorChipHazard said:


> Thats just awesome.Fantastic work



THX MATE  






English audiophile said:


> It just goes to show how some great photography can really show off and highlight the attention to detail in a great installation.
> 
> You've excelled yourself yet again Rob



I already noticed that fotography is a nice hobby.
I’ll have to save some money to buy myself a descent camera one day, but I’m not going to make it my hobby, the bimmer takes all of my available hobby-time






sydmonster said:


> ... props! haha! following the same install on two forums!



Congratulations, you’ve won the first prize in ‘my biggest fan’-contest.
You can pick up your prize here in Belgium, that’s not so far from you.







subwoofery said:


> Yeah, I've read that already... Wanted to ask coz I have a friend that needed to disconnect his *red* lightning above the pedals and underneath the glove box in his Civic Type R because it was not allowing him to drive properly at night.
> 
> Good job on everything... Been following this install since I first saw it 3 years ago...
> 
> Kelvin



On the pictures it looks all a bit too excessive, but in real life this isn’t the case.
I did some tests like driving around at night, and I also experimented with different lightbulbs …
From all of the tests, the lights came out the best. Especially the lighting of the speakers on the dashboard was pretty tough to do.


----------



## mrfreeze

WoW!! Thats a insane set-up..Mad props to you.


----------



## sydmonster

robolop said:


> Congratulations, you’ve won the first prize in ‘my biggest fan’-contest.
> You can pick up your prize here in Belgium, that’s not so far from you.


whoooo! cool.  , first prize!? is it lifetime supply of chimay!


----------



## SACRAMANIAC916

mad install skills!!!


----------



## robolop

I’ve been driving around with the engine covers for some weeks now.
The first days when I drove, I opened the bonnet every little trip, and check out the heat. Offcourse it gets hot under there, but especially the left side, where the intake manifold is. To catch the biggest heat, I came up with this:

8mm thick aluminum slats, and bought some 2mm facet aluminum.



















I planted the uppermill onto the aluminum slats and rounded the edges. You can do this tight and easy by taping a round piece of aluminum on there, and then hold it to the copy-mill

BEFORE;










AFTER;










Then I milled a slanting side on it.










Tapped some screw-thread to fasten the alu slats, and this is the result










A robolop cooling-element...LOL










This aluminum will catch a lot of heat from the manifold










Here you can see how the cooling-ribs are placed next to the engine


----------



## robolop

The entire element is about 6cm away from the motor.




















You can also see why there are some slanting sides at the bottom.
The airco- tubes run there.











It’s also a good solution for not seeing those ugly tubes anymore










Here you notice that I rounded the fiberglass cover here and there.









The primer which I sprayed on now is from a simple spray-can.
I did this on purpose to see if there aren’t any little splits or cracks evolving from the heat.
I also didn’t think the spray-can paint will hold , cause of the heat of the engine, but it still looks as tight now, as when I sprayed it on.
Once the testing-fase is over, I’m rubbing the paint off, and I’m spraying some epoxy primer on there, like it did to my brakes.


----------



## AVIDEDTR

Rob - what finishing process do you do to make your aluminum look so flawless?


----------



## robolop

Since I mounted the aluminum cooling element, the heat that goes towards the fiberglass covers is much better.
The aluminum is doing what it’s supposed to do, absorbing the heat.
But I wanted to do something extra. My first idea was to make a ventilation system, but that was one bridge too far away.
Then I started thinking of something I’ve got my mind hooked on for some years now, and I always said: “when I’ll have the dollars, I’ll buy my one of those”.
But still ain’t got the money, cause I think it’s way too expensive.
I’m talking about this…










Ventilation slots









Not everyone will like it, but I just love it.
I decided to just go for it, and make those vents myself, in carbon fiber offcourse.
After many hours of thinking and drawing, I did a little test.
It worked out pretty fine, and here you can see the outer ring of the vent.


















My making these, I also saw what I’ve done wrong, so I made EVO2.
I made this model a bit more short.
Here you can see how I made it, but it’s not so simple to explain.


First I made the outside out of MDF 



















This is the inside



















Then I screwed it all on a plate.


----------



## robolop

The total thickness will be around 36mm










The ditch you see, will become a little frame, and is 6mm thick.



Then I took the inner shelf, and mounted this on a MDF foot with a M8


















Now I can turn this perfectly when I’m covering it with carbon fibre.










Here you can see the result.











Here there are 8 layers on.





















One this is dry, I’ll grind and polish it, and then it’s time for the next step.


----------



## robolop

AVIDEDTR said:


> Rob - what finishing process do you do to make your aluminum look so flawless?



The horizontal bars will get polished


----------



## robolop

mrfreeze said:


> WoW!! Thats a insane set-up..Mad props to you.





SACRAMANIAC916 said:


> mad install skills!!!


THX DUDE's


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> whoooo! cool.  , first prize!? is it lifetime supply of chimay!




I only drink beer when watching soccer, but our beers are known all across the globe…


----------



## quality_sound

^^^Yes they are!!


----------



## nednerbf

This car is beautiful. So well done.


----------



## robolop

Here you can see the further process of EVO2.
First I grinded it, and rubbed it down…









You can also see the thickness of the many layers Carbon Fibre.








The I knocked the MDF out, with this as result:
Damn, not enough epoxi...But there’s a solution for that...so no problem.










But then I saw another thing that I didn’t like.
When you take a close look, you see the carbon isn’t equally flat.












How that came, I know now.
EVO3 is drying at the moment, and I’m pretty curious how that’ll turn out.
I’m working with carbon fibre many years know, and made a hundreds of things in carbon fibre…but I’ll have to say that every job you do with carbon fibre, you have to check everything 10 times when you go to work. There’s constantly something waiting to go wrong.
But quitting ain’t my game, it’s a bit too early for that now.


Here’s EVO1 and EVO2, you can also see EVO2 got a bit smaller.











These 2 will come above my bed


----------



## robolop

nednerbf said:


> This car is beautiful. So well done.


THX MATE


----------



## bertholomey

I've looked at this log intermittently, but never posted to subscribe  I'm going to be starting back at page 1.......it will be an enjoyable weekend  Fantastic work!


----------



## sydmonster

Only robolop would do 3 evolutions of a Carbon vent!! amazing,... as usual.

Ahh... yes Belgian beer, definately my favourite country for beer!
Duvel, Chimay, Leffe, Hoegaarden!!!


----------



## robolop

As you can see, I’m working on EVO4 now, and now it’s looking like I wanted it to look.









You can also see I made a wider one. Now I only have one job to do, and I can just cut it in half.










As you see this one I nicely straight.










I just needed to find a way to make these stronger. I cut out some carbon flaps of 9 centimeters.











I added them, and once it was dry, abraded it all nicely equal.
Then I’m planning of doing the trick with the pigeons again 










Ps: went to Werchter yesterday to watch Linkin’ Park.
It was an outstanding concert!
Next month I’m going to the FOO FIGHTERS..O YEAH !


----------



## req

Tanks for keeping us posted with your progress rob, it is always a pleasure reading your build log!


----------



## robolop

The frame that’s covered with about 15 layers of carbon fibre, will get his last adjustement.
First I dug into my garage to look for my giant abrading-block to rub it all equal.









Then I drawed 2 lines in the centre.










Took my favorite tool, and disced it in 2.



















Abraded the cut piece flat.


Cause the outside of the frame needed a nice and straight side, I came up with this.
Put the inner block mdf back into it, and taped it all.











The I taped the outer mdf.










Here you see how it all is screwed.










When you look at this picture closely, you can see a little ditch between the carbon fibre and the outer side.
The black line is the carbon fibre, and the red one, is the ditch that needed to be filled.











To get the outside also so nicely tight, I did the trick with the pigeon again.
Magician tricks are stupid, but o so functional.
I orderd myself 200gr of carbondust.
I’m not aware of the price you pay for 200gr of coke, but this wasn’t cheap also…And I’m guessing that when you’ll sniff a line of this stuff, you’ll be in 7th heaven too.












Then I took some epoxy, warmed this to a certain point, and added the powder till I got a liquid porridge.
CARBONSTUW, lol
Be heating up the expoy, it gets more liquid, and I was able to fill up the ditch with my carbon mush.


----------



## robolop

Once the ditch was flooded, I hammered with my hammer, so I was sure that it got to everywhere downthere. Here and there I had to fill some more, but I’m guessing it’s completely filled now.











I’m letting this harden for 2 days now, and once I’m screwing this loos, I’ll be able to see if my frame worked 100% !


----------



## sydmonster

mastering carbon!! I like it!  

200gr of coke or carbon? hmm...


----------



## robolop

The frame worked out perfectly for me. I’m pleased with how it looks now.


















I provided the second one of it’s carbonmush also...so it’ll also be ready soon.



Then I layed this thing on my hood, at the point where it needs to come.










I immediately got a kick, just be seeing this:


When you may know, the hood of a E46 isn’t particully straight.
So now it’s my job to provide these frames with the same roundings as the hood.


----------



## robolop

Ok dudes, playtime is over.
Time for the real stuff.
Before I made the 2 holes in the hood, I thought it over, again.
Buying a new hood, letting it get sprayed, …. It’s an easy 800-900€.


So first I took the vent-holes and provided them with self-adhesive tape.
I took this because of the thickness. The color is red, because there wasn’t any other color available.











Then I taped these under the hood, and drawed them out with a ballpoint
Then I kept myself occupied of placing kit to the hood, to measure how much space there is between the hood and the fiberglass covers I made.











Here you can see that on 1 place, I only have 25millimeters. There the cap of the window-wipers
Never mind, time will tell what I’m going to do with that, maybe leave the aluminium cap or so…












On the driver-side, there’s more room.
What I am going to do, is make them the same height.












I prepared my drill. You can see I placed the head of the drill on a flat rubber.





















When I’m drilling through the hood, and I should lose control of the drill, the rubber takes the smash.

Enough talking, let’s go drillin’

I drilled a couple of 2.5mm holes from the inside towards the outside.
You see I’m a bit more on the inside than the line.


----------



## robolop

This is how it looks on the oudside, and now I know exactly where to place the sticker to draw out the outside.











Before I drilled the first hole, I drilled some holes in the middle of the material that needs to be deleted, makes it easier.
And believe me, you need to give it some big strength before you go through that the first time.


I’d also span a bar, measured and drawed to place the bars inside the air-vents



















Took off the hood, and layed it on the table.
When I planted the disc in the hood…











A friend who was with me at that moment, asked me: “are you SURE ???”
But even before he started the word SURE, I already went for it.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

LARGE BALLS!!! lol


----------



## eighty5iv

Insane! the attention to detail is phenomenal. I feel like I am always at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next. You give me such inspiration.


----------



## robolop

FLYONWALL9 said:


> LARGE BALLS!!! lol


LOL :rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon: 



eighty5iv said:


> Insane! the attention to detail is phenomenal. I feel like I am always at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next. You give me such inspiration.


GO 4 IT 

:inout::inout::inout:


----------



## English audiophile

Just when you think you've seen it all, Rob pulls out another trick from up his sleeve!


----------



## FLYONWALL9

English audiophile said:


> Just when you think you've seen it all, Rob pulls out another trick from up his sleeve!


NO ****!
I feel like putting my 911 on a boat, sending it to the UK with a few hundred
bucks and tell him to have fun with it:laugh:


----------



## quality_sound




----------



## screamatamonkey

FLYONWALL9 said:


> LARGE BALLS!!! lol


LOL!!!!


----------



## rhannahs

sweet car man!


----------



## sydmonster

Saw this on the other forum, but had to come back for a second look on DIYMA... guts to cut into that bonnet! there's no turning back! AWESOME!


----------



## req

Jesus rob. more courage than me!


----------



## robolop

The first cut-out was a success
It wasn’t very hard to make the hole, but during the cutting, milling and filing I had to be very careful to not make any dents.
On the place where the holes are, there are no reinforcements.
So if you make a hole there, the metal is very weak, so dents are easy made.



















This is with the carbon frame in it.



















You can also see that the hood makes a curve on both sides.










I’ll have to draw this out, and give the carbon fiber the same roundings.



The second hole is ready, and it looks as good as the first one.
Here you can see I glued the frames in with hot glue.



















Once I did this, I turned it all over.


----------



## robolop

The meaning is to make a sort of flange, so that the frame lays at the exact same depth, all the time.



I taped the hood with tape


















Then I made a carbon fiber mush out of epoxy with carbon chips.
Greased it round the frame.










When this was dry, I turned the hood over again, and eliminated the glue on the upperside.
Now I had to give the frame the same rounding as the hood.
I managed to do this quite easily…
I taped a piece of aluminum from 1mm thick onto the outer MDF mold I used to make this all
I held this to the copy mill, and cut this plate in 2.
Then I taped this onto the hood.


----------



## HondAudio

sydmonster said:


> 200gr of coke or carbon? hmm...


Cocaine's a hell of a drug...


----------



## robolop

When this was dry, I turned the hood over again, and eliminated the glue on the upperside.
Now I had to give the frame the same rounding as the hood.
I managed to do this quite easily…
I taped a piece of aluminum from 1mm thick onto the outer MDF mold I used to make this all
I held this to the copy mill, and cut this plate in 2.
Then I taped this onto the hood.









The I cut away some carbon fiber that stoke a bit out and then I rubbed it all down equally with the block.










Here you can see the tight result I had.










After that I did the inside. 
I was only able to glue a little piece of aluminum here, cause this was pretty close to the characterline of the hood.
The 1mm of the frame that comes out, I’m going to work it out at the bottom.
On the flange I’m going to cut out a rubber of 1mm thick, so that everything comes equally with the outside.










Once I had this all, there was only one thing that could go wrong with the hood.
I had to get the 2 frames out of the hood without making any scratches or dents.
When I taped it all, I wax the hood a couple of times to be sure that it still could be extracted.
I had to give it quite a pull, but I managed to extract it without any damages.
Here the frame with the flange:










Everything that contained a risk is over now. When something still goes wrong now, it’ll be very stupid of me.


----------



## robolop

The flange on the bottomside worked out pretty well. Grinded it, and worked it out some more with filler. You can see I also worked in an aluminium plate to tighten it all.










Then I taped a red sticker on the top. The lines which are on there, I also drawn on the carbon frame.
By that, I could check the angle of the slats, and I was sure that L and R will be exactly the same.










Then I drew some lines who are contrary to a big piece of mdf. On that piece I put the frame, and put some little blocks round it, so it kept his place.










The carbon fiber I used to make the slats, was finished in the meantime.
A flat piece of CF you can make very simple.
You take a piece of glass, and rub it in with wax, a layer of 4 should be enough.
Once you've done this, you take a clean piece of cloth, and clean it up.
There will always be a little layer of wax still on the glass.
Then you put on your epoxy, and lay a piece of carbon fiber on it.
Again some epoxy and, carbon fibre cloth. In my case here I used 6 layers...
Then you leave it for a day or two...and then I rubbed the topside with the machine (with a 400 dry)











Once I had this, I could remove the glass easily.
This goes very simple. You go with a cutter at the corner, and you see the plate comes loose from the glass immediately.
You can see this obviously at the air bubble here.









Once I have this, I take my air-gun, and shoot it loose. simple


This is what you'll get 










Don't say it doesn't shine











The thing I also alwats do, is to NOT clean my glass afterwards.
I only do this when I have to make another piece.
Cause of the epoxy that stays on afterwards, I always know which side is the side with the wax.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

I really like this mesh. Care to share your source, it would make some
pretty killer speaker grills as well.

I'm guessing you don't take this prize out in the rain, I hope not anyway.
However, having a car that has a vent above the engine I can tell you
its nothing sort of a real PAIN IN THE ASS! When you do come across
rain. It plays hell on dist., and most things electrical. 

Then again, as much as you plan things out I'm sure you either have a
contingency plan with some filler plates or like I said you simply don't 
take it out in the weather. Again, great progress.

I hope that BMW PORN link I sent you didn't send you drooling too much


----------



## robolop

I did some measurements, and cut out some cardboard, to see what I liked.
The carbon plate got cut out in pieces of 7cm.











Then a very time-consuming job started.
The slats had to bind perfectly on the sides.
First I made a cardboard mold, and yeah, there were more then one...
Then I layed this on the carbon fibre, and cut it out, and rubbed it by hand till I liked it.










After many hours of trying, this was my result.











You can see how I glued it all together.












Offcourse I had to tighten these slats to the frame, but I wanted it to be invisible from the outside.
I also wanted it to be firmly tightened, so I didn't have to be afraid when I cleaned the car and I could go between the slats with a sponge.
On the bottomside you see I abraded a little slanting side.






















Then I did my magician trick again.
I made some epoxy and added some carbon fiber powder to it, and stirred it up till I had a nice fat mush.





I put this into a little bottle, with a fine end, which I cut a bit diagonal.













I filled it up with the CF mush, and used it on the bottomside. It went easy and looked pretty good.























The tape was critical so it connected the corners 100%, so the epoxy wasn't able to run to the other side.
That this was going to be very strong, I knew in advance...I tested it first on a frame I threw in the bin a couple of days ago.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

ROB,

Is your 'mush' joint (really called a fillet) recipe really strong? I've used simular
mixtures with wood flour, graphite, milled fiberglass so forth that are SUPER
strong.


----------



## Audio-Concepts

Absolutely stunning!! You sir are a master!


----------



## sinister-kustoms

WOW. Just friggen wow. Those vents are looking unreal.


----------



## derickveliz

*Makes my install look silly!*

Beautiful workmanship here!

.


----------



## robolop

Thx dudes, for the nice comments.
The hood is in primer for the moment. Next week I'm taking it to the painters.
I like the primer to harden for a week before painting.
The carbon vents are getting a nice rubbing with a 1200 wet, and they'll get the needed layers of varnish.
Then you'll see how good they will look,...well...I hope they'll be.
I also modified the heat-clothing that was on the bottomside of the hood. I cut out the spaces for the vents.

As for the moment, I'm trying to relax a bit, and do this by preparing some other things.
What those other things will be, you'll see when the hood is back on the car.
I'm not going to post other things till these things are finished, but I promise you, it'll be special...and pretty neet


----------



## robolop

Teaser........


----------



## AVIDEDTR

Wow oh wow


----------



## eighty5iv

so much for foreplay and teasers. I just jizzed my pants.


----------



## robolop

eighty5iv said:


> so much for foreplay and teasers. I just jizzed my pants.


SORRY DUDE


----------



## quality_sound

Damn...just, damn... Friggin AMAZING work.


----------



## req

please rob, keep the posts coming!


----------



## mattyjman

HOLY ****


----------



## sinister-kustoms




----------



## sydmonster

c'mon gotta see that again!!


----------



## robolop

sinister-kustoms said:


>


The things that little guy saw, must have given him a good feeling


----------



## robolop

req said:


> please rob, keep the posts coming!




Here dude, one more, especially for you


----------



## robolop

Hey dudes, I’ve managed to get over 2 million visitors on my project on a American forum.
Who would ever thought that ! :thanks::thanks::thanks:


Installation Photos - CARSOUND.COM Forum


----------



## MrUntouchab1e

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1


----------



## MHLY01

Should bring it over here to see


----------



## smooth72

robolop said:


> Hey dudes, I’ve managed to get over 2 million visitors on my project on a American forum.
> Who would ever thought that ! :thanks::thanks::thanks:
> 
> 
> Installation Photos - CARSOUND.COM Forum


That is because your work is so great. Thank you for posting the details, we will keep on watching


----------



## robolop

I let someone make me a couple of aluminium caps.
It’s the intention to cover the original bmw caps under the hood with this ones.







































Concerning the big caps I left a little slanting side on the top.
Ones the engines is finished, I’ll tell you why I did this. But maybe someone can guess already why?
You can also see there’s a 2mm saving on the top too.










In this lower part there will come a carbon plate, with the name of the fluid inside.






















Here you can see what I mean






















The carbon plates still need a couple of layers of varnish.
I’m not sure what to do with the caps.
Mayb I’ll cut them a bit, so you see scratches in one direction, or maybe I’ll polish them…I’m not so sure.


----------



## 11blueGTI

I love all of the custom machined and carbon fiber stuff.


----------



## jaikai

This is Van Gogh_esque_. Best I've seen yet.


----------



## danneleuven

Marvelous work Rob, I live in Belgium myself and hope to see your car at a car show in the future. 

Cheers
Daniel


----------



## robolop

OK dude, here are some pictures of the bimmer, like she sits for the moment.




























I also found a spot where I could take some pictures from above.


----------



## robolop

A few pictures of the carbon vents.






































Taken, from the other direction










When you look at this foto, you may notice that it's like the slats aren't equally far from each other, but it's cause the hood has quite a rounding.
So the image is wrong.
In the corner of the first slats I drilled a little hole from 2mm, so there won't rest any water in there.
otherwise goldfish will live in there after two days of the gorgeous belgium weather.












The hood isn't quite finished yet.
Next week i'm going to sand it down with the block, and polish it completely.
Then she will be finished!


----------



## mattyjman

wow... ****ing awesome ride....


----------



## BrotherZ

What customization! This BMW was nervous. I never imagined a view like this.

Congratulations.


----------



## Potent

You never seem to amaze me Robbie.

You really are a genius and even if I had a 1/4 of your imagination, creativity and talent I would be the happiest installer in the world.

Thanks for teaching me something new EVERY single time. You really are an inspiration.

Manny.


----------



## sinister-kustoms

That is one seriously sexual piece of machinery!
A true show car IMO, tons of mods, yet still understated. Every modification compliments the next, not just a mish mash of bolt-on parts catalogue accessories.
Well done. I tip my hat to you good sir!


----------



## sydmonster

I was freaked out on my local forum... now I get to greak out all over again on MEA.
This is the BEST private build in the world.


----------



## robolop

I’m very pleased with the result of the hood. The vents came out really well. The model of the vents look pretty good to me, although I would have liked to make them a bit longer.
But then I have to cut out a reinforcement-channel in the hood, and I didn’t think that was a good idea.
Personally I learned a lot by doing this hood-project, and believe me, I had to take some risks this time.
Before I started it, I knew, that if something went wrong, it would cost me about a 1000€.

For me, the time has come to enjoy the bimmer for some time now, cause that’s something I haven’t done lately.
In the meanwhile I just keep working on the rest.
There’s a lot more to do under the bonnet, and first I’m finishing all that.
As for the ice, I finally received a package of something I’d like to add to the interior.
Some people will think I’m crazy, but for me it’ll be a challenge to pull it off.
But that’s for later.


----------



## robolop

I took some pictures of the lighting I added in the mirrors.
Some simple SMD Led’s but they give much light.
























Here you can also see some of the lighting when the door is open.


----------



## robolop

What supposed to be a super festival of Pukkelpop, turned out in a disaster.
When I heard (a couple of months ago) that the Foo Fighters were coming, I was the first to buy me a ticket.
These are one of the bands I wanted to see live.

Around 6pm a giant storm formed over the festival, and jup, I was in it.
A huge storm I've never seen before, I only lasted for about 10 minutes. balance: 5 people died, and many people were injured.
I had a big branch of a tree on my shoulder, but I'm ok.
When the storm was over, I went to take a look, and there was wreckage everywhere. There could been even hundreds of wounded/deaths. Undescribably.
When I went to my car, along the way I saw many cars which were covered with fences and other wreckage. When I arrived at my car, I had no damage what so ever unbelievable. The trailer right in front of my was total loss, a tree fell on it.
When I see the pictures on tv now, I can understand why they cancelled the festival.
Offcourse I was disappointed that I didn't get to see the FF, but worse things happened there, so I'm glad I made it out of there alive..




Pukkelpop 2011 storm disaster ! - YouTube


----------



## English audiophile

That's terrible news Rob, I'm glad your ok. I did see some news about this tradgedy recently and was shocked by how such a thing could happen. RIP to all who lost their lives.


----------



## subwoofery

Glad to know you're ok... I saw that disaster on TV. 

Kelvin


----------



## JayinMI

Glad to hear you're OK.

There was a stage collapse at a show recently, and I thought maybe it was the same one...but when I looked it up it was in Indianapolis, Indiana. Seems strange that there were two kinda similar disasters in such a short time so far away from each other.

Will the FF be coming back to your neck of the woods as a make-up or anything?

Jay


----------



## eviling

robolop said:


> What supposed to be a super festival of Pukkelpop, turned out in a disaster.
> When I heard (a couple of months ago) that the Foo Fighters were coming, I was the first to buy me a ticket.
> These are one of the bands I wanted to see live.
> 
> Around 6pm a giant storm formed over the festival, and jup, I was in it.
> A huge storm I've never seen before, I only lasted for about 10 minutes. balance: 5 people died, and many people were injured.
> I had a big branch of a tree on my shoulder, but I'm ok.
> When the storm was over, I went to take a look, and there was wreckage everywhere. There could been even hundreds of wounded/deaths. Undescribably.
> When I went to my car, along the way I saw many cars which were covered with fences and other wreckage. When I arrived at my car, I had no damage what so ever unbelievable. The trailer right in front of my was total loss, a tree fell on it.
> When I see the pictures on tv now, I can understand why they cancelled the festival.
> Offcourse I was disappointed that I didn't get to see the FF, but worse things happened there, so I'm glad I made it out of there alive..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pukkelpop 2011 storm disaster ! - YouTube


I heard about this storm, it's like the 4th one to hit a large festival this month :surprised: sorry to hear about the shoulder, glad to hear the cars fine though :O what a stroke of luck.


----------



## robolop

In the meanwhile the bonnet is abraded and polished.
Here are the steps:
first I washed the hood firmly, and after that abraded it dry with a 1000 from Abralon



















Here you can see clearly that the clear coat wasn't so smooth.
You can see that by the shiny spots who are a bit lower.












This is abraded with a 3000 (wet)













And after that I abraded it with a 4000, when you look , you can see the shine coming back.













Then it was time to polish. I let a friend do this job, cause he has 100 times more experience in these things.
Thanks Willy! 

Woolpad & Menzerna, don't ask me which code, I didn't interfere, cause he knows what to do and use.










After that a soft orange pad, and also with Menzerna.


















Then he polished it some more with a microfiber cloth, and he put something on it from POORBOYS Natty's Paste Wax Blue.
He applied it with a sponge, and after that he waited for a half an hour, and polished again with the microfiber cloth.
Now this is the result I wanted, and I'm 100% pleased!!


----------



## temposs

Truly amazing vehicle and attention to detail. Be proud - great work.


----------



## lashlee

Gotta love mazerna! I use it with some 105/205 and finish with some wolfgang's.

Car looks great!


----------



## robolop

ROBOLOP GOES CHINA :hmm::hmm::hmm:

【重磅剧集】变形金刚前传 宝马323i史上最强改装全纪录 - 改装鉴赏 - 360汽车网论坛


----------



## FLYONWALL9

ANYTIME you post her I cant make it past to look at anything else.
I get fixed on her BOOBS!

Do you guys have "STARBRITE" where you live? Its a wax (for cars
NOT women).


----------



## robolop

I took a shot covering my BMW grills. That it wasn’t to be an easy task, I knew before I started.
What you’re seeing here is my third attempt, and I said that if it didn’t work out the way I planned, it was going in the bin…simple




















Off course there’s clear coat needed, but after that, it’ll be finished.
Here you can see that the drawing of the carbon fiber doesn’t run equally to the rest, that’s the hardest part .
















But you won’t see this once mounted on the car


----------



## TRD07

very nice work


----------



## chelecuche

I will be so happy if i knew how to do half of what you have done in this tread! Amazing job!


----------



## bginvestor

Is this your daily driver? Really?


----------



## sq_guru

The bent copper tubing speaker leads are sick! Very cool and unique!


----------



## Bayonet

holy cf! excellent build


----------



## robolop

In the meanwhile, the carbon grill is ready, and mounted.
























It's difficult to present this on a picture, but when you're standing in front of the car, it catches the eye and looks nice. It really closes the deal with the rest of the carbon fiber on the front.
So dude's, the tip I got from some people here to do this was a bullseye !
Here some more pictures of the total front as it is now.






























On the rear window I pasted a little discrete sticker of my biggest fan!


----------



## redbaronace

That BMW is incredible. Love the detail.


----------



## redbaronace

A bit too much carbon fiber for my liking given that is mostly decorative. Still a very clean job and high quality throughout.


----------



## redbaronace

Nice uhhh speakers.



robolop said:


> ROBOLOP GOES CHINA :hmm::hmm::hmm:
> 
> ã€�é‡�ç£…å‰§é›†ã€‘å�˜å½¢é‡‘åˆšå‰�ä¼* å®�é©¬323iå�²ä¸Šæœ€å¼ºæ”¹è£…å…¨çºªå½• - æ”¹è£…é‰´èµ� - 360æ±½è½¦ç½‘è®ºå�›


----------



## robolop

Thanks for the comment on the bimmer’s new grill dudes.
I think most of you guys noticed that the works on the car don’t run as fast anymore.
That has something to do with my new hobby, which takes most of my time lately.
It’ll take another couple of weeks before I can fully concentrate on the bimmer again, but it’ll be worth waiting for…for me that is 
I ordered some things, and there’s jumping around here from impatience. One of these days I’m going to a friend of mine, and he’s going to work on some aluminum on his turning machine.
This aluminum will contain pieces for the engine, but also for some parts of the interior.
What I’m going to change (or add) on the interior? You’ll have to wait some more on that.
Again, it’s going to be something which I don’t know now if I’ll have the place for it, but I think that’s the beauty of it.
As for the rest, there’ll be some more polyester, alu and lots of carbon fiber involved.
We’ll see how that ends 


----------



## lashlee

The chihuahua!! The doc is amazing. Sad to see what happened to super sic this past weekend, RIP brother...


----------



## bertholomey

lashlee said:


> The chihuahua!! The doc is amazing. Sad to see what happened to super sic this past weekend, RIP brother...


Agree completely - pretty rough for VR as well - great friends.


----------



## jooonnn

I just spent an hour looking through half of the thread.

I can't really think of many things I wouldn't do to be able have a hundredth of the skill this guy has. 

Unbelievable!


----------



## robolop

Here some things which will get a place in the bimmer.



This weird looking thing will get a place on the engine. I search for hours and hours on the internet, and finally find something which was professionally made, AND worked good. I was able to test it for a couple of weeks, and the results were pretty good, and I was happy about it myself.














.

No, it’s not a turbo who blew up. LOL
















Then I bought another alu tube, but I need to do some heavy work on this, but when it’s finished, it’ll look pretty damn cool.























This is another, yet flexible tube.



























What getting added in the interior , you can see here.
















Weird thing if you ask me, however....
I hope I can place this thing where I’m thinking of placing it…and the inconvenient thing is…I’m planning to add 2 of these…


----------



## robolop

I invested some euro's in aluminium. Here-out I will make some rings.
A friend of mine will complete this task cause he has a more descent bench.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

So, what is the new hobby

































So, what is the new hobb?







'


----------



## robolop

FLYONWALL9 said:


> So, what is the new hobby
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So, what is the new hobb?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> '


I’m not going to give any details about my new hobby
It’s something I’m doing, something to do with my health.


----------



## TheDavel

my guess is he is making carbon fiber/aluminum legs/arms and doing an at home transplant...


----------



## ellocojorge

TheDavel said:


> my guess is he is making carbon fiber/aluminum legs/arms and doing an at home transplant...


I was thinking wheel chairracing. Since those chairs use aluminum and carbon. Since robolop is expert with these material in. sure he will succeed

Sent from my LG-MS910 using Tapatalk


----------



## robolop

Ok dude’s, playtime is almost over....and it’s about time I can focus on the bimmer again.

When I did the cabling a couple of months ago, I noticed that there was many room underneath the carpet.
I think I already mentioned FLOORPODS one time in this topic, but then I didn’t know what I know now.
Now I had the chance to see what’s possible, but I also wanted the MID and HIGHS in the A-pillars.
When I was working on the cabling, I knew right away: “I was going to make floor-pods”.
Off course, you need to know what extra value they’ll give to the install.
I chose to make them for a JL AUDIO 8W3v3-4:8inch (200mm) woofer

8W3v3-4 - Car Audio - Subwoofer Drivers - W3v3 - JL Audio

And now the answer on the question some people will ask: “why not a Focal Utopia Be 21 WX?

Subwoofer Focal Utopia Be 21 WX for high end Car Audio systems

I’m going to be very short about this. The Focal needs almost 19 liters to play, the JL Audio a bit more then 8 liters. Now, I can do a lot, but I can’t do a magic trick witch gives me 19 liters extra.
Then off course the price: the Focal is 599€ a piece, and the JL 199€…so that’s a big price difference.

The meaning of the speakers is to make them play as a kick-bass.
This was something I was missing on the 3-way set, and you don’t have much control over the 16cm”s in the doors…so…
How much power (watts) I’m going to give them, I’m not sure….but I’m thinking on something.
About the filtering….the one on the 16cm in the door will have to be adjusted.


For those who don’t know what floor-pods are, here’s an example on the ones I made into my old E30.





























OK, enough talking.

Here you can see the aluminium rings.
These ring I’ll use to tighten the speakers, they are 8mm thick.










This one will come on the front of the speaker.


















The rings on the front aren’t quite ready. I’ll have to work on these with the upper-mill. I’ll explain later why.










Now this is a JL Audi speaker, simple so far.




















The plastic rings which it was mounted with, ended up in the bin immediately.
After that I place my Stanley knife into the rubber, and cut out what was unnecessary.


----------



## robolop

I’m guessing the warranty just expired LOL
Then I also cut away the little edge here with the disc, I wanted to be flat.











Here you can see exactly what I mean.










On this picture you can see that the speaker is mounted tightly between the alu rings.



















This is how it’ll look like on the front.



























I’ll be placing these things in the car soon, and I’m looking forward to it !!
I haven’t been able to work on the car in a long time and I’m standing VVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRYYY sharp now to completing this…normally..


----------



## AVIDEDTR

That's just f'n awesome...^^


----------



## English audiophile

I would not be suprised if JL themselves did not decide to launch mounting rings like this after seeing this. Rob, you have too much talent for just one man to have lol


----------



## Schizm

I agree ^

I saw someones aluminum baffles in his vw(?) and decided I should do that in my truck.


----------



## Paul1217

Where do you plan on putting these? I thought that the sub enclosure was a done deal?


----------



## imjustjason

<-- Wants to see more pics of old E30 install.


----------



## metalball

EPIC build!


----------



## robolop

As like I did with the MID and the TWEETER on the A-pillars, I’ll also straighten the JL Audio with a laser.


Here you can see how I did this with the A-pillar speakers.











I milled a couple MDF rings.











The red ring on the right fits exactly in the aluminum ring of the speaker.










There in will fit another aluminium piece I once made for the 16cm in the E30











This is how it all looks with the laser


----------



## robolop

I worked on the alu rings with the uppermill 


This is a picture of the 16cm Focal in the doors. You can see there's a little notch where the ring is tightend with the inbus screw.











The rest of the Focal speakers also have this, so I thought it would be not more than normal I did the same thing with the new rings for the JL Audio's.
I realized that this wouldn't be an easy task, but I thought it through quite well HOW I'd get to work.



First I took a thick MDF plate of 5cm thick, so I had a good foundation.
Then I milled out the alu ring, so it was a bit lower than the MDF.











The little green boards L and R hold the mill, so it can't get nowhere.
The lower little plank serve as a STOP, so I can't go wrong there.
Between the boards I always do some tallow (from a candle) so it glides nicely.
The 2 alu plates on the inside of the ring serve as a security for holding the ring as it's place. Safety first!













Here you see what I had to have.










































So, these are the rings for now




















Here you can also see that I'm going to have a nice abrading job to do


----------



## robolop

Here you can see the result






























Do not underestimate this job. I worked on these 16 little notches for almost a whole day. Offcourse most of the time went in the preparation, but still***8230;


Total picture











The rings will stay like this for now. Once I'm starting the works on the floorpods, these will come into my hands for another 100 times, so the finishing of these things will be at the end.

O yeah, here a pic with on the background a weird looking thing of what I made for my new hobby.
Cool ain't it?


----------



## sinister-kustoms

robolop said:


> Do not underestimate this job. I worked on these 16 little notches for almost a whole day. Offcourse most of the time went in the preparation, but still


Good things take time, as they say. The work definately paid off!
Looks like your new hobby might be bicycle racing?


----------



## Hippo

or maybe even bicycle building


----------



## robolop

TheDavel said:


> my guess is he is making carbon fiber/aluminum legs/arms and doing an at home transplant...




That’s not a bad idea dude. If I knew everything would go so much faster if I could add 2 more arms on myself, then it would go 2 times faster and it all would be finished soon!


----------



## robolop

ellocojorge said:


> I was thinking wheel chairracing. Since those chairs use aluminum and carbon. Since robolop is expert with these material in. sure he will succeed
> 
> Sent from my LG-MS910 using Tapatalk




I’ll post a picture of a friends wheelchair I pimped out for a friend...:laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

English audiophile said:


> I would not be suprised if JL themselves did not decide to launch mounting rings like this after seeing this. Rob, you have too much talent for just one man to have lol



If you’ll see soon what I’m also planning with these, they won’t copy this with JL.
Sorry dude if I have too much talent like you say.


----------



## robolop

Paul1217 said:


> Where do you plan on putting these? I thought that the sub enclosure was a done deal?


The sub-box will come into the trunk, and will remain this way.
The JL’s will be used more for kickbass.


----------



## robolop

imjustjason said:


> <-- Wants to see more pics of old E30 install.




I’ll see if I got some more pictures of the E30. I had an accident with it after 12 years of drivingpleasure.


----------



## robolop

AVIDEDTR said:


> That's just f'n awesome...^^





metalball said:


> EPIC build!


THX DUDE's


----------



## metalball

Still a jaw-dropping build. Can't wait to see what else is in store! Finish the trunk already! LoL


----------



## madhouse12

man this build is simply beautiful and amazing at the same time. the effort and time you put into designing and making a single piece is more than some people's complete installs. Hats off to you bro. you have a BIG fan in Pakistan


----------



## robolop

Here the first pictures of the floor-pods in the car.
Like you can see, I let myself go with the Stanley-knife. I’m guessing most of you see me as an idiot now, but this was necessary for what I’m planning. The crazier , the better here in Belgium 




















When I laid the cables, I saw there was a lot of room underneath the carpet.
Where you see the red triangle, there was a piece of Styrofoam from about 30x20x7 cm, and then I’m not counting the thickness of the carpet as well.











The volume the JL needs is 8L, and I’m convinced I’ll get this much here.

The space from the top of the carpet to the bottom is about 9cm










I placed the speaker in as a trial, and you can see there’s plenty of space.













The speaker is placed good, and once I sat in the car, I’ve seen it doesn’t bother me in any way.











To make it a bit easier, I made a small water-leveler.










I place this on the screws of the grill, so I don’t need to measure of L and R are equal.



















In the meanwhile I got my some polyester in stock, cause it goes smoothly


OOOOOOOOOO yea, I’m guessing these will be the last floordpods I’ll ever make, so….be prepared cause I’m gonna give it all I’ve got 
This will be KILLERPODS I’m afraid


----------



## eviling

good grief you still work on things for this car?!


----------



## sydmonster

WOAH!! carpet is cut!!

This man can see well into the future for his kickpanel pods! Fantastic!


----------



## TokoSpeaker

I am curious with this instalation.
Very nice job, and many beautiful art of pieces that he created for this car.

Congratulations..


----------



## astrochex

all your previous work is spectacular, so I can't wait to see what you are going to make when you say you're gonna give all you got.

and I see you're a Rossi fan. I hope the Duc gets sorted in 2012.


----------



## robolop

After doing some research, I've seen that there's a double bottom in the interior's bottom, just in the place where the speaker will come. I drew the magnet of the woofer with a marker. Then I drilled a couple (4) 2mm holes, and I could feel with an iron little bar if that space was empty. When I was sure there was room to make a hole, I did the following:


the meaning was not to make the hole too big, if there was room for the woofers magnet, I was satisfied.
I took some bowls and cups from the kitchen, and compared it to the magnet.
I pinned it down with some screws, and polished it sometimes.
This would be my mold, simple!











Then I layed over 6 layers of fiberglass cloth, and left it to dry.










Once this was dry, I popped it of the glass with a screwdriver like nothing,










Here you see the polyester bowl in the Floor.
By doing this I can place the speaker 5cm more to the front










You can also see it’s all taped.










This wasn’t more then a couple of hours doing some polyester works


















You can also see that the bowl flows pretty far into the interior










Once it was all dry, I pulled out the entire piece, grinded it properly, and placed it all in the car afterwards.




















Now it’s all in one piece, and ultra strong


----------



## AVIDEDTR

Looks good Rob


----------



## req

awesome job rob!

cant wait to see the build of these kickpods!


----------



## quickaudi07

If you don't mind me asking where did you get your supplys for fiberglass? 

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk


----------



## quickaudi07

I would never think of the bowl cup idea!!!! It looks bad ass!

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk


----------



## subwoofery

quickaudi07 said:


> If you don't mind me asking where did you get your supplys for fiberglass?
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk


In Belgium?  

Kelvin


----------



## robolop

Hey dudes, I want to wish everyone a happy 2012.
May all of your dreams come true. Don’t forget to enjoy life, cause I know many people forget to LIVE !
For myself I hope I can make some nice things for the bimmer, and that many people enjoy my work, maybe even more then the years that passed.


----------



## nigeDLS

You want to put a grille on that mid!


----------



## tommybuiltinc

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## turbo5upra

nigeDLS said:


> You want to put a grille on that mid!


there is no reason for her to be in the front seat...


----------



## FLYONWALL9

Rob,
Really looking forward to your review of your new kick speakers. I had an idea 
very close to that to do enclosures in my doors, just haven't gotten around to it; 
as with most of the install Did you use any sort of mold release of did the 
polyester slip off the glass pretty easily?

Thanks for the 2012 wish, right back atcha...

Cheers,
Scott


----------



## LBaudio

you must use mold release paste when vorking mold out of glass original, if original is made out of plexy glass you dont need mold release paste.


----------



## metalball

Just out of sheer curiousity, what the hell was BMW thinking when they put that giant foam block next to the driver's door on the floor? Works out great for your kicks, but I can't fathom why they would do it from a design standpoint.

Seems like a flat floor with some reinforcement ribbing would have been in order.

Keep up the great work! Always a visionary, always pushing the boundary, and making poor guys like me live vicariously through your work!!!


----------



## robolop

As you can see this is the passengers-side. Because I’m right handed, it was a ****ty job to do. I thought it would be easier to add another elbow to my arm, but I gave up that plan.











Here another picture of how the bottom looked when I pulled it all out.
Looks like **** doesn’t it?












Removed the tape, and grinded it to a proper state.











Here you can see the depth difference with the bowl the bowl I added.










The inside of the bowl I also grinded a bit.
There some more polyester to come in here so I’m sure of a good adhesion.










Here and there I’m seeing it’s not thick enough, so I’ll have to put on some extra fiberglass cloth.

For the moment the ROBOLOP designer department is doing overtime. I’m working on something completely new, but I’m not sure I’m able to pull it off.
I’m seeing it work in my mind, but once you start making it, several problems pop up.
That’s completely normal, and if you take one problem at the time, maybe you’ll still make it at the end. 



Remember this.

ICE ROBOLOP (diafragma) - YouTube


This was also something I dreamed about, before I actually tried it….And after several hours of thinking and re-thinking it, trying, starting again, …. I did it


----------



## TokoSpeaker

Robolop makes me remember with "MACGYVER".

http://youtu.be/HaQvBbzslJE

Curious about next car that will be your next project.


----------



## robolop

Here dudes, you can see I made a Pirahna. This was something easy to do. lol


----------



## MDubYa

I'd give my left nut to be able to do this type of work...seriously my left nut


----------



## TheDavel

It looks like you are making an actuated sealed/vented opening for the enclosure... I could be wrong but that's what fishy business I think I am spotting here... that or an actuated tunable port???? Or maybe a brick oven pizza cooker... who knows your skills always leave one guessing...

Or is it the grill is going to be actuated? to expose or protect the speaker or to allow access to it?


----------



## robolop

Like I said before, these are the last floor-pods I’ll ever make. Because of this, I’m planning of taking it another level higher, and giving it all I’ve got. So be prepared .
You may have seen that I placed the 20cm JL ‘s at it’s place. Off course this wasn’t that simple, but it’s done, so that’s all that matters.
The next challenger is from a whole other level.
I’d like to make a grill which comes in front of the speaker, once the key is in the contact.
Like no other, there are several problems I have to take care of first…

1.	The minimal level of space I have



2.	The transmission of the system

3.	Make all of this so there’ll be no resonance once the woofer is blowing...and this...won’t be easy at all.


OK, enough talking, let’s do this.


These are the first test I’ve done. I called them EVO I cause I knew this couldn’t be done right from the first time.

This is EVO1.
You can see the first idea of the transmission to slide the grill.















The aluminum lat is now on the left, and now you have to imagine the grill is open.
You can see I worked with a brake-cable of a bike.
The engine is from BMW. This one is used to open the rear side windows of my car. It contains also limit switch contacts, so I don’t have to worry about that.











Then I started thinking again, and that’s how EVO2 evolved.


You can see that the transmission is totally different.
I deleted the brake cable, and put the little motor onto the hinge.
I also place a uniball on the engine.










The grill you see now is not the grill that will be mounted in the end. This is just a perforated plate I had left somewhere in my garage.
You can also see I mounted the engine with 1 screw and a rubber underneath.
This was very important, so the engine can move a little, and it runs smoothly.
You can also see I gave the thing a name:
PIRANHA… lol










I mounted this all in the car, and it immediately clear it was all too big.
Anyway, a little movie.

ROBolop vloerpods - YouTube

Meanwhile, Evo 3 is ready, and it looks much better.
I also want to remind you guys, that it is still possible I won’t get it to work, but I could not live with myself without trying it…


----------



## robolop

Meanwhile, EVO 3 took a jump into the bin, but it made me a bit wizer.
Sometimes you have to go 2 steps back, to go forward.
This is EVO 4, and I’m starting to like it.
You can see it has become more compact, and that’s a good thing.
I managed to reduce the centimeters, especially in width.
You can also see I took another grill too. This one won’t stay either, but I did this for the weight of the engine.






























The engine got a place on the back now.
Here you can see it with the grill closed.











Here it’s done it’s job, and the grill is open.









I screwed the engine tight on 2 thick rubbers. So it can do its job, while the vibrations are taking care off.











It’s important to reduce the vibrations for this little thing.
I can make it as nice as possible, but when the woofers start to play, and there’s resonance, then it sucks bigtime.
You can also see I’m using felt already.


The grills glides on the red vilt when it opens, mounted on the aluminum rail.










You can see that there’s a few mm’s space between the grill and the ring of the speaker.











You can also see this on the hinge.

Sorry dude’s, but there a LOOOOOOOOOOOOT more work to do until it’s finished;


----------



## eviling

this picture of a great example of if you **** up the first time..try try try again 



















NASA called...they'd like to offer you a job O_O


----------



## robolop

EVO 5 .... (and I'm getting tired of seeing it in front of me)

I've managed to improve some things on the grill mechanism.
I've made the hinge with a bearing now. Now there's no resistance.
Also, I can adjust the height now








I also added a screw to the hinge, so I can adjust it more fine.
Where the screw hits the alu ring, I'll tape a rubber.









About the measurements, I'm at the maximum now. I can't go any smaller now.










You can also see I added a MDF plank around the speaker.
This one comes a couple of mm's higher than the aluminium of the speaker.
I also taped some self-adhesive vilt on, so it catches up the grill and prevent it from trilling and resonating.









Next week I'm going to make the floor pod for the driver-side.
I've done some measuring, and it's going to be a VERY close call next to the brake and the gas-pedal. And I can't delete those .

Now you can say: "why didn't he start with that side first" Well, I would have thrown it in the bin after Evo 1.
Now there's a chance that's I'll manage to do it.
Dudes, just remember, there's a chance I'll throw it in the bin after all, and there'll be no electric grill.

A movie.


ROBolop vloerpods evo5 - YouTube


----------



## quickaudi07

Holy ****! Where the hell you come up with these ideas? Love your work man keep it going!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk


----------



## bertholomey

Great progress - I wish you luck on the driver's side. 

That movie brought a smile - thanks!


----------



## sbcaprice305

Very Nice.


----------



## spl152db

holy crap ! I forgot about this project as I thought it was completed! but DAMN you've really done a great job at the whole thing.


----------



## sbcaprice305

That's what i'm saying, that takes some skill.


----------



## metalball

Would be badass if you could make the woofers extrude out from the floor into the passenger cabin while playing! Really get those servo motors working. J/K

Keep up the amazing work.


----------



## req

brilliant rob. best car audio build evar.


----------



## robolop

"why another diaphragm for the woofer". That's the remark I got on several forums,
Making this isn't the issue, it's the other things***8230;
Everyone who pays attention to my posts and pictures will see that the speaker is as far in the corner as possible.
You can see that the aluminium ring is almost against the side (red line)















Here a picture of the diaphragm.
What you see immediately is how wide the side is.












So in other words: when I have to make a diaphragm, the speaker will have to come much more into the center of the interior, and I don't like the view of that.








Another problem is resonance...


When I make a diaphragm on to the woofer, I know that I'm asking for troubling even before it's finished.
In the trunk, it's way different, cause that thing doesn't make direct contact with the sub-box, but even there I'll have to wait until it's finished.
So for me dudes, the diaphragm isn't an option (even how cool it is).
For the moment I'm focusing on a couple of other important things. It's good to focus on something else for a couple of days.
So my head is clear went I start the work in the floorpods again next week


----------



## req

whatever you decide rob, we are all on the edge of our seates in apprenhension!


----------



## robolop

metalball said:


> Still a jaw-dropping build. Can't wait to see what else is in store! Finish the trunk already! LoL


No dude, as you can see I’m working on the interior for the moment. This is also because it’s pretty cold here in Belgium for the moment. It’s a bit warmer inside then outside.
The works for the trunk I’m postponing for in a couple of months





eviling said:


> good grief you still work on things for this car?!


Yes, what else would I do. You have to have little hobby.






sydmonster said:


> WOAH!! carpet is cut!!
> 
> This man can see well into the future for his kickpanel pods! Fantastic!


I’m trying to do so yes, and sometimes I manage to complete it too.






TokoSpeaker said:


> I am curious with this instalation.
> Very nice job, and many beautiful art of pieces that he created for this car.
> 
> Congratulations..


thx dude


----------



## robolop

astrochex said:


> all your previous work is spectacular, so I can't wait to see what you are going to make when you say you're gonna give all you got.
> 
> and I see you're a Rossi fan. I hope the Duc gets sorted in 2012.


Indeed, I’m giving it all I’ve got to complete the floor-pods. And these are the last ones I’ll ever make too.
Only that idea gives me a big boost to go for it once again.


----------



## robolop

quickaudi07 said:


> I would never think of the bowl cup idea!!!! It looks bad ass!
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk




Good idea ej? , and so simple


----------



## Misanthropic

Your building and fabrication skills are second to none. You use a router like it was a hydrojet and get equal results. Phenomenal craftsmanship. Wicked build. Thank you for sharing your projects with us. Your skills seem to be limitless. Beautiful.


----------



## robolop

Today I looked at the driver side if there was enough room for the speaker with the mechanical grill.
When I pushed the brake pedal I’ve got about 1cm in between. This was pretty close, so I started turning the little plank, this way I obtained as much room as possible on the upside.
When I let the grill turn upside, I’ve got plenty of space behind the brake-pedal.
But still, I need to relook some things…but that’s for later. And I’ll have to make some things in alu or inox too.
About the speakers, I won’t be able to do many things with that. And I’m going to start on the driver side first, cause room is minimal there.
These measurement I’ll just have to copy then for the passenger side. 
It’s all going to be a little more difficult than I thought, but I’m looking forward to when I’m finished, satisfaction guaranteed. But off course, you never know what’s coming.


----------



## robolop

After many EVO’s I hope I have the final model ready.
I first made a couple of molds to mill it all.



Top left you see the mdf where it all be mounted on.
Next to that you see, what a call a “filling plank” 
Bottom left is the little block where I make a hinge from, and next to that the little plank that will become the grill.
























Here you see everything in closed condition.
I’m not really sure what kind of grill I’m going to make. I mean I don’t know what the design will be of the holes in it.
But that’s something I’m not going to lay awake from, that’s for later.










Dis is dan met de grill open.









Someone has to mill and turn some aluminium things for me. It’s all ordered, but I’ll have to wait some before delivery.











You can see I put a plate with a little rubber there, the grill will fall on to this when it’s opened.









You can see how much place I have between the speaker and the grill.









With this arrangement you can see I have 12mm of space









Because I don’t know how much the speaker bounces when I’m BOOMING, I made another plate of 22mm thick 









In other words, when the one from 25mm (where I have 12mm of space) is too high, I can just change the plate and put the 22mm there.
Yes, it’s a millimeter job.



It’ll come more clearly for me too when I playing with these things.



O yeah, and in the meanwhile the works on my new hobby continue nicely…yihaaa


----------



## req

XD

it kills me to wait in between your posts rob!


----------



## robolop

turbo5upra said:


> there is no reason for her to be in the front seat...


Sorry dude.





FLYONWALL9 said:


> Rob,
> Really looking forward to your review of your new kick speakers. I had an idea
> very close to that to do enclosures in my doors, just haven't gotten around to it;
> as with most of the install Did you use any sort of mold release of did the
> polyester slip off the glass pretty easily?
> 
> Thanks for the 2012 wish, right back atcha...
> 
> Cheers,
> Scott


Off course I lubricated the fiberglass clothing with liquid polyester






metalball said:


> Just out of sheer curiousity, what the hell was BMW thinking when they put that giant foam block next to the driver's door on the floor? Works out great for your kicks, but I can't fathom why they would do it from a design standpoint.
> 
> Seems like a flat floor with some reinforcement ribbing would have been in order.
> 
> Keep up the great work! Always a visionary, always pushing the boundary, and making poor guys like me live vicariously through your work!!!


At this place, there’s nothing, and I used a very light piece of foam to fill it up and get an equal floor.
Simple and light






TokoSpeaker said:


> Robolop makes me remember with "MACGYVER".
> 
> MacGyver Theme - Season 1 - YouTube
> 
> Curious about next car that will be your next project.


Personally, I never liked that guy. I thought he was a wussy


----------



## robolop

nigeDLS said:


> You want to put a grille on that mid!




I’ve got the original grill for the mid and the high, but never mounted them.
Think there 100 times more pretty like that.


----------



## robolop

MDubYa said:


> I'd give my left nut to be able to do this type of work...seriously my left nut


Is the right one so special ?





TheDavel said:


> It looks like you are making an actuated sealed/vented opening for the enclosure... I could be wrong but that's what fishy business I think I am spotting here... that or an actuated tunable port???? Or maybe a brick oven pizza cooker... who knows your skills always leave one guessing...
> 
> Or is it the grill is going to be actuated? to expose or protect the speaker or to allow access to it?


I’m thinking it’ll be the grill...






eviling said:


> this picture of a great example of if you **** up the first time..try try try again
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Indeed man. This was super amaturistic, but that’s the only way to learn …


----------



## robolop

quickaudi07 said:


> Holy ****! Where the hell you come up with these ideas? Love your work man keep it going!
> 
> Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk


I’ve got a team here which number one priority is to invent new things for me.
That’s why they are called: “the inventors”






bertholomey said:


> Great progress - I wish you luck on the driver's side.
> 
> That movie brought a smile - thanks!


Thanks, I’ll need it






spl152db said:


> holy crap ! I forgot about this project as I thought it was completed! but DAMN you've really done a great job at the whole thing.


How the hell can you forget it, shame on you






metalball said:


> Would be badass if you could make the woofers extrude out from the floor into the passenger cabin while playing! Really get those servo motors working. J/K
> 
> Keep up the amazing work.


I’m guessing you’re a dreamer, just like me.


----------



## WLDock

robolop said:


> I’m guessing you’re a dreamer, just like me.


Yeah, your work seems like you wake up thinking about a crazy idea then you go down to your shop and make the dream a reality. The kicks are a fine example of that....I think all of us DIY'ers wish that we had that type of ability.


----------



## robolop

Ok dude’s, not so good new I’m afraid.
I kept myself busy by making some brackets, so I could mount the speaker and plank in the car. Then I also started on the driver side.
What you see right away is that I placed everything almost vertical. In other words, when the grill slides open, she slide up.
Off course, this was not my intention, but I have no other choice here.
When I place it all horizontally, I haven’t got enough room after the brake pedal.










The next problem was, that I had to place the speaker a couple centimeters from the side. When the grill opens, I needed that space.










Yet another problem was that once the grill was open, she came against the bulkhead.










Here you can see that the speaker came a bit more to the inside.










The fiberglass pots I made, have no use anymore.
I made these specially so the speaker would fall more deep, to have some space to place my left foot.










When all these fact left me no choice to do it otherwise, I took a look at the right side.
And there was another things that needed to go…










Now, not only the cables, but also the glove compartment needed to be delete for a big part.


Now, I did some drastic changes in previous cars of mine
Examples:

-	A petrol tank that needed to be removed, cause a subwoofer wanted his place
-	Adjusted seats/rails so this could be mounted more in the back
-	Remove all heating out of the car, so there was more room, …
-	
So shortly, I never backed down to do some drastic changes to the car, in order to have the best possible sound.

With this car, it’s totally different. I have no problem for doing some adjustments, no matter how much work it is, I’ll sleep every night.
But with these grills, I already spent about 60-70 hours. Now I was thinking, this opensliding-grill project ….I’d better quit before I lose too much time.
Did I raise the bar to much…No, I don’t think so, now I know I tried, so I can live with it. If I didn’t, I always would keep in mind: “what if I had tried ….”
So dude’s, this is the end of the opensliding grill project.

This decision made, I have some other idea’s for the floor-pods…and I’ll be using those little engines again .

We’ll see


----------



## req

well rob, it still is awesome. i can agree with the choice to let it go, having to make all the trade offs in speaker placement is not a good thing when the object is to have the best sound. 

the only suggestion i could make is what if the grill was not the size of the speaker, and only covered half. so when it rotates it would be smaller that the speaker, but still protect it.

ill draw a quick picutre, give me a minute.


----------



## ultimatemj

OR, what if the cover was not rigid? And could swing on an arc, or roll up?

Some cutting board plastics are likely stiff enough to protect a woofer and flexible enough to open up possibilities!

Just saying :drunk:

Totally enjoying the thread BTW. IMO, this is one of the best build logs on here :thumbsup:


----------



## madhouse12

make an iris or camera shutter like structure.... the kind u did for the back. the metal grill will not move from its place, just the "fins" would


----------



## Paul1217

x2 ^^^


----------



## TheDavel

^ Read a few posts back... he already stated this wasn't an option...


----------



## MDubYa

What about putting the motor on the left side and having the grill rotate to the left away from the pedal??


----------



## TheDavel

Pocket style sliding door option, maybe a roll top desk/overhead rolling door like option, aircraft hanger door style option? I'm sure you've thought of all these but maybe worth exploring...


----------



## sydmonster

hmm One chapter in this saga closes... but we all Robolop will find his mojo again and bring this build something spesh!!

LORV THIS BUILD!!


----------



## robolop

Here some more pictures of some weird stuff. I tried out some new things here and there concerning epoxy.
The one turned out better than the other, but at least I know the things that went wrong.


----------



## req

what are they for?


----------



## sinister-kustoms

Moto-x?


----------



## TheDavel

TheDavel said:


> Pocket style sliding door option, maybe a roll top desk/overhead rolling door like option, aircraft hanger door style option? I'm sure you've thought of all these but maybe worth exploring...


I've been thinking about some other alternatives... an actuated "spiral fan" (think about blades radiating from a center point, one on top of the other) style solution would be slick and feasible... you could pull that off w/minimal space... Material thickness is the only issue I see but it also depends on how you implement it... Boy do I have some pretty sweet ideas of how you'd make this happen going through my head right now...


----------



## robolop

req said:


> what are they for?





sinister-kustoms said:


> Moto-x?



it’s not an motorcycle part.
And I thought it was too cool NOT to post


----------



## robolop

TheDavel said:


> I've been thinking about some other alternatives... an actuated "spiral fan" (think about blades radiating from a center point, one on top of the other) style solution would be slick and feasible... you could pull that off w/minimal space... Material thickness is the only issue I see but it also depends on how you implement it... Boy do I have some pretty sweet ideas of how you'd make this happen going through my head right now...





I think it’s great that you’re putting in ideas, put I’m guessing you’re not thinking about the resonance.
When I mount a rolling shutter on that, how am I’m going to make that vibrate-free?
I know for quite a while now that I can’t do it 100%
Sometimes you come before something which you can’t do, but the world still keeps on turning…


----------



## madhouse12

window blinds style cover?


----------



## sinister-kustoms

robolop said:


> Sometimes you come before something which you can’t do, but the world still keeps on turning…


And boobs keep on bouncing


----------



## robolop

sinister-kustoms said:


> And boobs keep on bouncing


Yes man, I also think it’s pretty cool she opens her mouth in the end


----------



## robolop

Dude’s, the chapter of the sliding grill is closed. Let bye-gones be bye-gones


----------



## porscheman

lol, leave the guy alone people. you know how cranky mad scientists get when pushed, think about that guy with bolts in his neck


----------



## HondAudio

robolop said:


> I think it’s great that you’re putting in ideas, put I’m guessing you’re not thinking about the resonance.
> When I mount a rolling shutter on that, how am I’m going to make that vibrate-free?
> I know for quite a while now that I can’t do it 100%
> Sometimes you come before something which you can’t do, but the world still keeps on turning…


Something about that woman and "coming"? What?

*fap*fap*fap*


----------



## robolop

Made something special.
What would it be?


----------



## sinister-kustoms

Jeezus, is that a tape measure!?


----------



## robolop

Here some pictures of my tuned tape measure (or how do you guys call this?). I’m not planning of using it for daily use.
It’s a “TO LOOK AT”-TAPE MEASURE

The making off:





Screwed it all apart, and sprayed some basecoat.













After that I sprayed it Ducati Red, and made some CF roundels.

And yes, this thing still works .

















































If Rossi wants it, he can come and get it.
He’s quick in getting somewhere


----------



## Niebur3

^^ Nice.....when are you going to start the outside of your house?? lol


----------



## robolop

Ok dude's, it's been a while since I posted something, but I've got some good news (well, for me that is)


When my mother past away last year, me and my wife left behind in a house that was waaaaaaaaaaaay too big for us. After some heavy negotiating, which meant not having any time left for the car our house is sold.
In other words, I can start packing but don't know where-to for the moment. We're looking for an apartment to rent in the meanwhile. I hope you will understand that in that case, the bimmer project will be on hold.
This will be a big disappointment for all my readers (3.400.000) but I also have some good news for you guys.
Once we moved out, I'm planning another big project.

The apartment I'm searching for is just something for certain amount of time. How long I'm not sure It could be 1 year, could be a bit longer. It's the intension to go back to a house of my own, with a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG garage off course. 
Now, we know where we want to go, but it needs some time in other words, the house isn't free yet.
There is a garage present there, but only big enough to place 1 car and that's it. So I suggested my wife we go and live in the garage, and I'll use the rest of the house as "working place" for the car, but she wasn't too happy with that tsss, women, always the same! 

So there needs to be a garage and working-place built on the site. Off course, I wouldn't be Robolop, if I didn't made any drawings and plans already. The final plans need to be improved by the county, but all those things will take a while. 
I sat down and looked into my crystal ball, but it didn't answer me, so can't tell you guys how long it's going to take until I'm picking up the works on the bimmer again.
But once these things are arranged, we're back on track!


What I do know is that I'm really looking forward to the future.
About the works on my bimmer-project, I can't say when they'll start again. But, you know, that project is far from finished, maybe I'll keep on working on it forever .
The future says that I'll have a much nicer working place after all this where I can focus 100% on the car


When I was packing to move out, I found many things that I made for the bimmer, I took the time to look at it, and see if I did it correctly. I realized that in some things, I put an awfull lot of time, I've must have been crazy! 
But it gives me a kick to get back on track again later, and put the bar maybe even higher?


----------



## English audiophile

Looking forward to the new project.Good luck with the move.


----------



## req

God speed, it's never good when a parent passes, I am glad that you've got the strength to keep moving forward with your life and work. 

Whenever you are ready, we will be here for support sir. 

Good luck!


----------



## sydmonster

Hope your keeping well Robolop!! Greetings bud.


----------



## dales

i enjoyed the fabrication. you are patient and an artist. kudos!!!


----------



## AdamTaylor

Seeing your work makes me sick.... things I only wish I could do, you do it just messing around.


----------



## robolop

Hey dudes, the big move is done! First of all I want to thank all my friends who helped me with this. I knew I could count on them, but it was a LOT MORE than I expected. Everything is moved properly, without a scratch, thanks to those guys. THANKS!!
What remains now is an empty house.
I took some pictures of the last moment I was there.
This is the working-place where I spent a LOT of hours making things for the bimmer.
Some of you may know that I told once…”this place meant the world to me, so much more than winning the lotto”, … Just this place was enough for me, really.
I could be there for days without getting bored. The moment I switched the compressor to “ON”, I was like “O YEAH”.
Radio on Studio Brussels, or a CD from the Foo Fighters, Linkin’ Park or Metallica (which I saw last week on Werchter Boutique with there 25 year existence of the Black Album! O YEAH!!)
That was MY space for several years, damn… I’ll miss it!

Metallica pictures werchter boutique 2012 - YouTube

I always enjoyed being there. 
This was the garage where I put the bimmer when I was working in the trunk.
You can see, this was nothing special at all.


















Then this was the space where I made all the things, not so big, but I was happy with it.










The white walls where holy for me, and always clean. I washed the walls monthly! When I decided to sell the house, I neglected the cleaning process which you can see clearly.


















So, an important chapter in my life is closed.
About the new chapter , I’ve got some good news.
I’ve rented a little hangar where I can place all my materials, tables, … In the meanwhile I’ve got some air and electricity there. The big problem is that I can’t make too much dust in there, so I’ll have to adjust myself there in the things I do. .. but still, it’s better than nothin’.
When the works on the bimmer will continue, I’m not so sure. It can still take a couple of months, but knowing that I can….gives me a pretty good feeling already


----------



## $rEe

robolop said:


> Ok dude's, it's been a while since I posted something, but I've got some good news (well, for me that is)
> 
> 
> When my mother past away last year, me and my wife left behind in a house that was waaaaaaaaaaaay too big for us. After some heavy negotiating, which meant not having any time left for the car our house is sold.
> In other words, I can start packing but don't know where-to for the moment. We're looking for an apartment to rent in the meanwhile. I hope you will understand that in that case, the bimmer project will be on hold.
> This will be a big disappointment for all my readers (3.400.000) but I also have some good news for you guys.
> Once we moved out, I'm planning another big project.
> 
> The apartment I'm searching for is just something for certain amount of time. How long I'm not sure It could be 1 year, could be a bit longer. It's the intension to go back to a house of my own, with a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG garage off course.
> Now, we know where we want to go, but it needs some time in other words, the house isn't free yet.
> There is a garage present there, but only big enough to place 1 car and that's it. So I suggested my wife we go and live in the garage, and I'll use the rest of the house as "working place" for the car, but she wasn't too happy with that tsss, women, always the same!
> 
> So there needs to be a garage and working-place built on the site. Off course, I wouldn't be Robolop, if I didn't made any drawings and plans already. The final plans need to be improved by the county, but all those things will take a while.
> I sat down and looked into my crystal ball, but it didn't answer me, so can't tell you guys how long it's going to take until I'm picking up the works on the bimmer again.
> But once these things are arranged, we're back on track!
> 
> 
> What I do know is that I'm really looking forward to the future.
> About the works on my bimmer-project, I can't say when they'll start again. But, you know, that project is far from finished, maybe I'll keep on working on it forever .
> The future says that I'll have a much nicer working place after all this where I can focus 100% on the car
> 
> 
> When I was packing to move out, I found many things that I made for the bimmer, I took the time to look at it, and see if I did it correctly. I realized that in some things, I put an awfull lot of time, I've must have been crazy!
> But it gives me a kick to get back on track again later, and put the bar maybe even higher?


Bonjour Robolop, 

Je voit que vous avez pu trouver suffisamment d'espace pour travailler, c'est cool.
Vous êtes très impressionnant sur votre travail, ça fait maintenant quelque années que vous êtes dessus et vous ne lâchez pas, je suis très admiratif car personnellement j'ai vraiment l'impression de m’ égaré sur l'objectif que je m' étais fixé sans parlé de madame qui n' est pas forcement très enthousiaste quand je travail sur ma voiture. 
Je sais que c'est pas tout le temps facile d' allié vie familiale (conjugale) et hobby, j'ai l' impression que vous le faite très bien.
Bon j’arrête là... Tout ça pour vous dire qu'il y a énormément de gens qui apprécie votre travail, vous êtes une vraie source d'inspiration pour beaucoup de forumeurs ici et ailleurs, (mais je pense que vous le savez déjà!), alors longue vie a vous et continué comme ça, vous le faite admirablement bien.

PS: Désolé d' avoir mis se message en français mais ça aurait était catastrophique a traduire!


----------



## subwoofery

$rEe said:


> Bonjour Robolop,
> 
> Je voit que vous avez pu trouver suffisamment d'espace pour travailler, c'est cool.
> Vous êtes très impressionnant sur votre travail, ça fait maintenant quelque années que vous êtes dessus et vous ne lâchez pas, je suis très admiratif car personnellement j'ai vraiment l'impression de m’ égaré sur l'objectif que je m' étais fixé sans parlé de madame qui n' est pas forcement très enthousiaste quand je travail sur ma voiture.
> Je sais que c'est pas tout le temps facile d' allié vie familiale (conjugale) et hobby, j'ai l' impression que vous le faite très bien.
> Bon j’arrête là... Tout ça pour vous dire qu'il y a énormément de gens qui apprécie votre travail, vous êtes une vraie source d'inspiration pour beaucoup de forumeurs ici et ailleurs, (mais je pense que vous le savez déjà!), alors longue vie a vous et continué comme ça, vous le faite admirablement bien.
> 
> PS: Désolé d' avoir mis se message en français mais ça aurait était catastrophique a traduire!


Essaye Google Translate - ça marche pas mal  

Hello Robolop,

I see that you could find enough space to work, it's cool.
You are very impressive on your work, it's been some years now that you are on it and you do not let go, I personally am very appreciative because I really feel 'm lost on the goal I m' was determined without speaking of Madame who is not necessarily very excited when I work on my car. : (
I know it's not always easy to ally family life (marriage) and hobby, I have the impression that you do it very well.
I stop right there ... All that to say that a lot of people who appreciate your work, you are a true inspiration to many forumers here and elsewhere (but I think you already know!), Then long life to you and continued like that, you do it admirably.

PS: Sorry to have to put the message in French but it could have had catastrophic result! 

Kelvin


----------



## req

we look forward to it sir! congrats on your next step in life!!


----------



## robolop

Hey dudes, for the moment, I’m not working on the bimmer. I’m just enjoying it by driving it.
Within’ six weeks, there’s a new VW Polo being delivered at my house. This is the new car for my misses, and me, for daily use.










I’ve already ordered some pretty nice things for it, and also have some things laying around here to change.
The things that’ll change on the polo, will need to be done FAST (cause it’s a daily car). But that doesn’t mean it won’t be done properly! 
When the works on the POLO (LOP) will start, I’ll open a separate topic.
So dudes, I’ve still got some weeks of leave left to brainstorm so I’m all prepped up for when the works start.


----------



## DeanE10

Looking forward to it


----------



## Echo42987

I'm surprised this thread isn't a Sticky yet....probably some of the most incredible work in the game I've seen.


----------



## screamatamonkey

Echo42987 said:


> I'm surprised this thread isn't a Sticky yet....probably some of the most incredible work in the game I've seen.


Seconded...


----------



## spl152db

I'm sure someone has stickied on this thread.


----------



## sydmonster

robolop said:


> Hey dudes, for the moment, I’m not working on the bimmer. I’m just enjoying it by driving it.
> Within’ six weeks, there’s a new VW Polo being delivered at my house. This is the new car for my misses, and me, for daily use.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I’ve already ordered some pretty nice things for it, and also have some things laying around here to change.
> The things that’ll change on the polo, will need to be done FAST (cause it’s a daily car). But that doesn’t mean it won’t be done properly!
> When the works on the POLO (LOP) will start, I’ll open a separate topic.
> So dudes, I’ve still got some weeks of leave left to brainstorm so I’m all prepped up for when the works start.



YES!!! He's back!

welcome back mate!!


----------



## req

i love showing people your work. anyone who knows anything about fabrication is always speechless.


----------



## metalball

Welcome back, Robo! Time for more carbon kevlar!


----------



## robolop

I was having some troubles with my Alpine headunit (bigface). The mechanism of the front panel gaves some hesitations.
Letting this fix, wasn’t my cup of tea. Would have cost me some big bucs, and it’s still an “old” device.
So I went and search for a new headunit. And because I had Alpine whole my life, I chose in the same brand.
After getting some info from someone who news everything about the latest models, I chose the ICS-X8. 













Als you can see I chose a dubbeldin device now.
I’ll try to blend it in into the middle console where the originale bmw radio sits now.

Alpine - Bluetooth - ICS-X8




The things you can do with this headunit it just TOO much to explain.


----------



## DeanE10

robolop said:


> Alpine - Bluetooth - ICS-X8[/url]
> 
> The things you can do with this headunit it just TOO much to explain.


Good choice, I was looking at this one my self but still haven't decided on what head unit to get yet.


----------



## robolop

After 3 months of absence, I’ve started to work on the bimmer again. And as I said, my Alpine headunit started to get an own life, so I decided to get a new one. The thing was over 10 years old, so I bought me a new Alpine headunit


Now, mounting a dubble dindevice in your middle console isn’t that easy as it looks.
The dept isn’t deep enough, unless you want to put your saw into the airco parts…
After some searching and looking, I didn’t encounter this as a big problem.
Here you can see the part I cut out.












The hole I cut out the plastic, I’ll have to close again later, but then…in another way or material. Later more about this.




Here you can see the device I’ve bought, and as you see I can go deep enough to mount it in there.











I made a little mold out of cardboard.













Once I had this, I took an aluminium plate of 4mm thick and tightened it in the hole the radio is supposed to come.


----------



## pankrok

aluminium
NOW he is back!


----------



## robolop

Because I didn’t want to cut anymore into the aluminium plate on the top, I had to adjust the piece above that.













Here you see I cut something off of there, so it fitted nicely again.













I’ve got an Ipod Touch for a while now, but I’ve never been able to use this in my car, cause my old Alpine radio wasn’t compatible with this.
Now I looked if I wasn’t able to work this in next to the radio, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room. The screen of the Alpine is 18cm, and as you can see, there was only a few mm’s left to blend this all in, and I didn’t think that was enough.














Then I took the plastic frame of the radio, and placed it in the area I had forseen.
You can claerly see there’s almost nothin’ left to mount it in, in a nice way.
















What is also remarkable is that the dashboard isn’t quite straight at the bottom.














And so, the little frame found its way into the bin . LOL





Then I made the hole into the alu plate. The meaning was to centre the radio , but that didn’t work out.
When I did that, there wasn’t enough room behind the unit anymore, and I hit the flap of the ventilation.










You can also see that the little iron frame, that was included in the Alpine box, won’t be used either.



I made myself a couple of aluminium brackets so I can determine of the device needs to come more forward or backwards.






















Now, there will be many people here who know much about E46 , and I can see them thinking ‘why do so much trouble if you can buy a dubble din frame cheap, and ready to use.
I was going to use such a frame, until I fitted it, and threw it in the bin.

Watch de lines Left and Right













So you see, the bin is filled much faster than you think.


----------



## DeanE10

Lots of work ahead Rob but I am positive you will make it look simple and bad ass! Love the aluminum brackets, I had to do the same in my truck, yours just looks far better


----------



## sydmonster

even here!! work continues to flow on this amazing build!!

Still a fan!!


----------



## Octave

You might want to check this out. Found it a while ago.

E46 Double-DIN
Mounting- Kit:


----------



## imjustjason

Octave said:


> You might want to check this out. Found it a while ago.
> 
> E46 Double-DIN
> Mounting- Kit:


Yeah, I don't think that's how he rolls though.

When he's done it will look like it came in the car... actually better.


----------



## req

oh yes. here we go again! >_<


----------



## douggiestyle

robolop said:


> And so, the little frame found its way into the bin . LOL
> 
> So you see, the bin is filled much faster than you think.


Most of our taste levels ain't at your waste level. Welcome back


----------



## and_elli

Greetings from Norway. As many here i read/looked at your full install/fabrication thread on the other forum and is just amazed with your skillz and attention to Details. Very nice that you picked up your fabrication again so we all can see more Alu.bling and Carbonfiber


----------



## markland556

Impressive!


----------



## robolop

This will beh ow the readio will get fitted in.











I can still slide it back- or forwards, but that won’t be much.




















About the Ipod touch, I’m not quite sure how to use this. Then I make something for this device, I sure not want to see a cable or socket sticking out.
I’m afraid I’m going to use the Stanley knife to make the socket a bit smaller.


----------



## sydmonster

Cut it!!


----------



## JayinMI

Doesn't Soundman Car Audio make a 90 degree dock connector with the intent of installing iPads in cars? Might be a simple soultion.

Here it is:

90 Degree Passthrough: SoundMan Car Audio

A little pricey tho.

Jay


----------



## spl152db

JayinMI said:


> Doesn't Soundman Car Audio make a 90 degree dock connector with the intent of installing iPads in cars? Might be a simple soultion.
> 
> Here it is:
> 
> 90 Degree Passthrough: SoundMan Car Audio
> 
> A little pricey tho.
> 
> Jay


why not use this? it's smaller and appears to take up less realestate. 
Apple Licensed Black 3.2ft Right Angle Cable iPhone iPod Cell Phone Accessory | eBay


----------



## JayinMI

Even better. I'd only ever seen the Soundman one. 

Jay


----------



## spl152db

JayinMI said:


> Even better. I'd only ever seen the Soundman one.
> 
> Jay


I can't tell from the picture, but the soundman may be larger than the ipod/iphone and its so shallow I can't see it being encapsulated. Not sure though.


----------



## MDubYa

I am more excited about this build then I am about my own...Can't wait to see what you come up with next!


----------



## FLYONWALL9

Its great to see you doing some work here and there on 
the build again. 

Good stuff! 

Cheers,
Scott


----------



## robolop

Octave said:


> You might want to check this out. Found it a while ago.
> 
> E46 Double-DIN
> Mounting- Kit:





imjustjason said:


> Yeah, I don't think that's how he rolls though.
> 
> When he's done it will look like it came in the car... actually better.




I’m guessing they sent me the wrong double-din mounting-kit . I looked about everywhere, but the abnormality that I’ve got, I haven’t seen anywhere else.
I’ll have to send it back so I’ll get my dollars back.











But now, I’m going to make something myself.


----------



## robolop

Thanks for welcoming me back dudes! The last few months I’ve seen a lot of beautiful and nice installs on this forum. As you may know, I’m all around the globe, from Australia, England, China, Us, …
I found out that DIY MOBILE AUDIO forum, for me, sticks out according to information ...
I also had the chance to gave my opinion here and there. Sorry dude's I haven't done this lately. I've seen a lot of nice things passing here, but I haven't got the time to comment.
For the moment I'm living in an appartment, and I'm liking it a lot. The only disadvantage I've got is that I have only one parking-space for one car.
So I've rent a big garage about 2km's from where I'm living, and there the bimmer is standing over there. All my material is over there too, so when I've got some time, I can go and work on the car. 
But I don't have the ability to make a lot of noise, or dust,...so that's a pitty.
It's just a provisionally solution. I'm busy for something else, and when I'm able to pull that off, it'll be a LOT better then before. Later more info about this.
I'm going to tinker a bit to give the f*cking radio and ipod a descent spot in my interior.


----------



## sydmonster

...


----------



## robolop

and_elli said:


> Greetings from Norway. As many here i read/looked at your full install/fabrication thread on the other forum and is just amazed with your skillz and attention to Details. Very nice that you picked up your fabrication again so we all can see more Alu.bling and Carbonfiber





I’m guessing you are a bit of an aluminium and carbonfetishist ...........


----------



## srtchris

Nice


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## metalball

Can't wait


----------



## and_elli

robolop said:


> I’m guessing you are a bit of an aluminium and carbonfetishist ...........


Well you are not tooo far of Robolop I am an Dental Technician by ocupation(Not Dentist for those who wonders) and have fetish about high attation to detailed work and people who know how to handle their materials and machines


----------



## robolop

A good friend of mine, whom I learned a lot from, always said, you have to start with the most difficult thing first. After that, it can only get easier.

So I started to make a Ipod Touch holder. When I started on this radio part, I already knew it wouldn’t be simple to do, but that’s a challenge that keeps me focused.


I first had the idea to work with aluminum, but I didn’t have enough confidence in the way it would turn out.
So I made it in polyester.

.
Here you can see I sandwiched the Ipod between a couple of layer of polyester.






















When I was doing this, I realized : “WTF am I doing?”
Messing around with an Ipod that cost a couple of euro’s. Many things could go wrong and it could get broken.
But it was too late, I had to carry on.

Once this was dry, I had to do something extremely dangerous.
I had to pull the device out of the fiberglass trying not to damage it.
I took the Dremel, and cut away a little piece of the polyester.











I need to do this right towards the tape, a bit deeper, and I scratched the front.











When this was done, I could remove the piece.











Because the holder was much to big, I cut away a little piece.




















And so this wasn’t a problem anymore to remove it out of the fiberglass.
I also could remove the plug easily.











Then I milled/drilled it to a nicer state.











I was very satisfied with this.


----------



## req

woah dude! steady hands!


----------



## robolop

But then I changed another thing. I left out the black rubber cover. Cause when I slided the Ipod into its case, the rubber didn’t fit perfectly around it.
So I pasted some little blocks on the back, so it sat nicely.



























Then I put the Ipod back in, and filled it with filler/mastic


















Again, it was a dangerous moment to f*c kit all up. I wanted it all to be like this so I just needed to rub the inside for a couple of minutes and done.
Once you’ve taken out the ipod, it had to look good too, doesn’t it?

Here you can see how it turned out, and I’m very pleased with the end result.









I taped the plug with superglue, and now it was time for the next step.










You can see that I cut out the unnecessary stuff.
I taped the cables upwards.











Taped the plug.









And after that I added a layer of polyester.










This little plank I brought back home, and once it was dry I immediately tried out if the Ipod stil functioned.

And yes, I still does, in spite of all the risks I took with the poor thing.


----------



## DeanE10

looking good! curious on how it is going to mount...


----------



## TwoDrink

Looks awesome. Fantastic Dremel skills. (Not a coffee drinker, eh?!) I appreciate the time you spend showing your methods. It is very informative and insperational.

Thank you.


----------



## and_elli

Awesome craftmanship as usual How are you gonna finish it up? carbonfiber? integrate the pod holder with the surrounding of the Alpine Player?? now that's an challenge


----------



## metalball

Ballsy... I dig it! Awesome products as usual.


----------



## XaznKewLguyX

dang.. thats pretty sick.


----------



## robolop

I modelled out the ipod holder a bit, but there’s still a lot of work to do













The front looks pretty good already.
At the bottom, where the button is, I also rubbed out a rounding in the holder. First I thought it looked like crap, but the longer I look at it, how better it looks.
The rounding is still not quite good, and requires some work 












In the middle of the rounding I need to go a bit lower, if you compare it to the rounding of the button.



I notice that, the more I look at pictures from the work I’ve done, I see little errors here and there.
From this front panel I took about 30 pictures, from all sides. Just to see if I couldn’t find any errors.. When you work on something hours and hours…you turn CRAZY


----------



## req

well rob, for us - its crazy good! keep it up ^_^


----------



## AccordUno

You might want to patent it.. Apple might buy it up and then sue over it.. Looks good..


----------



## robolop

DeanE10 said:


> looking good! curious on how it is going to mount...


I’m going to do that in a special way dude.






TwoDrink said:


> Looks awesome. Fantastic Dremel skills. (Not a coffee drinker, eh?!) I appreciate the time you spend showing your methods. It is very informative and insperational.
> 
> Thank you.


I’ve got a dremel for several years, but this is the first time I use this tool.
For really fine stuff, like this, it’s ideal to use.







and_elli said:


> Awesome craftmanship as usual How are you gonna finish it up? carbonfiber? integrate the pod holder with the surrounding of the Alpine Player?? now that's an challenge


No carbon dude, I’m going to spray it black or silver, like the moldings of the interior, I’m not sure.


----------



## robolop

metalball said:


> Ballsy... I dig it! Awesome products as usual.





XaznKewLguyX said:


> dang.. thats pretty sick.


Thx dude's







req said:


> well rob, for us - its crazy good! keep it up ^_^


Thanks, I will surely do





AccordUno said:


> You might want to patent it.. Apple might buy it up and then sue over it.. Looks good..


I don’t like appels that much, I’m more of a Banana-man


----------



## robolop

A little while ago I bought a new VW polo, and we were waiting for it to get delivered.
Today, it’s standing in front of the house now, and it’ll serve as our daily car. My wife will drive it the most of the time, so I had to make a promise not to lower it or add rims on the car.
But she gave me green light for the ICE department .
The components I needed, have already been delivered, so I’m ready to go.
Still, first I want to finish the radio in the bimmer, cause I was never good at working on 2 projects at the same time.
I’ll open a project-topic for the Polo when the works start.
Soon more about this.


----------



## eviling

robolop said:


> A little while ago I bought a new VW polo, and we were waiting for it to get delivered.
> Today, it&#146;s standing in front of the house now, and it&#146;ll serve as our daily car. My wife will drive it the most of the time, so I had to make a promise not to lower it or add rims on the car.
> But she gave me green light for the ICE department .
> The components I needed, have already been delivered, so I&#146;m ready to go.
> Still, first I want to finish the radio in the bimmer, cause I was never good at working on 2 projects at the same time.
> I&#146;ll open a project-topic for the Polo when the works start.
> Soon more about this.


Soo tuned in for this build 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2


----------



## robolop

Teaser shots


----------



## DeanE10

hhmmm Rob... Should I be looking at your work or the hot blond? Not sure which is the tease?


----------



## robolop

DeanE10 said:


> hhmmm Rob... Should I be looking at your work or the hot blond? Not sure which is the tease?




The hot blond, dude.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

The boobs get the eye but the loose pink panties capture!!! WHOAAAAAH


----------



## robolop

Ok dudes, the front plate of the radio is almost 80% finished. The other 20% will follow shortly.
You can see that I've worked in the Ipod holder with a polyester plate, so that it tru.

















Working in wasn't that difficult, first of all I tightened it with one big wooden woodscrew.
Then I mounted it in the car, and turned the way I wanted it to stand. After I stood the way I wanted, I tightened it with another woodscrew.
After that I made a fiberglass porridge and tightened it all with the polyester. It's superstrong this way.
After that I filled it out with filler.

















About the inside I'm very pleased too. Around the socket (where the Ipod is plugged in) it looks splendid.


----------



## DeanE10

this is holy **** awesome...


----------



## req

awesome job rob!!!


----------



## pankrok

(I hate this guy)


----------



## FLYONWALL9

Rubbing down that inside curve is stellar. You have really mastered the
art of sandpaper. 

Great stuff. I've been wondering how I was going to mount an MP3 player
in my console. I may have to have a go at something like this.


----------



## HondAudio

robolop said:


> The hot blond, dude.


http://img1.joyreactor.com/pics/comment/girls-*****-129041.jpeg


----------



## metalball

That's just plain wrong....


----------



## ToddG

unbelievable skills.


----------



## robolop

DeanE10 said:


> this is holy **** awesome...





req said:


> awesome job rob!!!





ToddG said:


> unbelievable skills.


THX Dude's...


----------



## robolop

pankrok said:


> (I hate this guy)


Sorry dude, when I start on the next, I’ll do my best to make it suck 











FLYONWALL9 said:


> Rubbing down that inside curve is stellar. You have really mastered the
> art of sandpaper.
> 
> Great stuff. I've been wondering how I was going to mount an MP3 player
> in my console. I may have to have a go at something like this.




This wasn’t an easy job at all. I’ve abraded/rubbed for hours and hours to get to this result.


----------



## AccordUno

Okay, that is pretty sharp. and getting paint on inside as well.. Kudos to you..


----------



## robolop

AccordUno said:


> Okay, that is pretty sharp. and getting paint on inside as well.. Kudos to you..


Jep Mate :laugh::laugh:


----------



## robolop

Here you see the radio-plate, mounted in the BMW


















The Ipod-holder where I put A LOT of work into.










But I’m pleased with the result on the bottom, where the socket is
.









You can also see that I turned the Ipod a bit more towards the driver’s side. This could give a wrong impression on the picture I think, but once you’re behind the wheel, it looks darn nice.


































Off course I let the character line from the dashboard, flow into the L and R of the plate.



















Another work that’s for 80% finished. I’m guessing everyone has seen that the plate doesn’t perfectly match with the color of the original moldings of the car. 
Now we are looking for a supplier of paint where we can order it.
If we can’t find it, I’m going to let all of the inlay be repainted. I can’t live with color difference, but this should work out fine.



About the lighting, I’m not satisfied yet. When I’m driving the car at night, it looks more sober than the original screen.
So I’m going to make some extra changes by adding some indirect lighting. I can do this perfectly from above.
The plate is my cup of tea, I’m pleased with the result.
Again, I didn’t time how long I worked on this piece, but believe me, I’ve put a lot of work (and time) into this to make it look how it is now.
But when the result is there, you forget all the hours…


----------



## and_elli

You have so freakin badass craftmanship skillzz I am so jealus at you for your skillz


----------



## FLYONWALL9

Great detailed photo's! My very favorite one is this
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/robola/GIFS/RADIO/DSC04780_resize.jpg

Wondering how you came up with the color that the part currently is? I've had to go
to a couple of different paint shops to find one that really knew how to match my paint.
They use a camera to shoot a sample of what you already have. I'm sure you know
about this, it just took me a couple shops that really knew what they were doing. I
got small aerosol cans until I got the perfect match then purchased a quart. I'm sure
though where you live you could source out what brand, and exact paint code with
formula to have it mixed. That can be a real PAIN here in the states.


----------



## robolop

and_elli said:


> You have so freakin badass craftmanship skillzz I am so jealus at you for your skillz


THX Dude.


----------



## robolop

FLYONWALL9 said:


> Great detailed photo's! My very favorite one is this
> http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j272/robola/GIFS/RADIO/DSC04780_resize.jpg
> 
> Wondering how you came up with the color that the part currently is? I've had to go
> to a couple of different paint shops to find one that really knew how to match my paint.
> They use a camera to shoot a sample of what you already have. I'm sure you know
> about this, it just took me a couple shops that really knew what they were doing. I
> got small aerosol cans until I got the perfect match then purchased a quart. I'm sure
> though where you live you could source out what brand, and exact paint code with
> formula to have it mixed. That can be a real PAIN here in the states.


I understand what you’re saying. When I let the hood get painted, they also measured the paint with a device.
I know what I’ve done wrong with the polyester radio piece… I tried to paint it too thick, and that’s why I have too much gloss on this piece.
I’m going to sand it down with a 1200, and they spray it a little. A hope it’ll work. We’ll see.


----------



## robolop




----------



## Booger

Floored by workmanship....... Just wow.


----------



## bobwires

Nice work Robo!


----------



## robolop

Booger said:


> Floored by workmanship....... Just wow.





bobwires said:


> Nice work Robo!


THX Dude's


----------



## D-Bass

the work in this build is lacking at best. I mean, seriously, no nuclear reactor to power the system, with copper cooling channels to the steam bath in the tire well, the with neon lights. what a slacker. :laugh:


----------



## robolop

When I bought the bimmer, she was 9 years old, and there and there were some traces of use, especially on some plastic interior parts;
So I ordered all these things new at my BMW- concession holder.
Because she’s doing her wintersleep now, and it’s freezing in my garage, I’ll wait some more months before mounting these things. I’ve got time.











And then there’s something totally different, a big breakthrough in my life, and I’m getting goosebumps typing this.
But what it is, I can’t say now, but it will be good for the works on the bimmer and the polo.
Later more info about this dudes.


----------



## AccordUno

You're moving to the states and setting up shop near me?


----------



## SciPunk

Rob, 
I just stumbled upon this project and the polo one. I spent all afternoon reading the BWM from start to finish. I read the polo one yesterday.

Your work is beyond real words. You are a master at your craft and your true passion for what you love shows in every piece you make. 

Thankyou for sharing your talent and passion with us. Now please adopt me...LOL


----------



## robolop

AccordUno said:


> You're moving to the states and setting up shop near me?


Moving to America, sure would I like that. Yeah!! But when I see that your location says “TN”, I think you don’t live in LA…
Too bad man…If you had lived on the Ocean front walk in Venice, and you’ve got a workshop for me there, I’d love to come and live next to you. As consideration (rent) I’ll open the doors of my shop so everyone can come and see what I’m doing. I just lay my old hat on the floor so people can flip in some coins.
Damn, do I get goosebumps typing this sh*t. Hell yeah!
But sorry dude, I’ve got some nice things coming my way the next couple of months, so I can’t leave Belgium anyway.....


----------



## AccordUno

Yeah, well it was worth trying.. Trust me, if I could live near the beach I would be so there as well, except it would have to be on the east coast, California has a few things that I don't agree with (actually several things)...


----------



## slade1274

How's gulf front in St. Pete Beach. I'm sure I can find some space to back you.


----------



## optimaprime

when can i start buying custom parts from ya!!!  love both of your builds going right now!!


----------



## Noobdelux

i know SimplicityInSound would not mind your help : P



robolop said:


> Moving to America, sure would I like that. Yeah!! But when I see that your location says “TN”, I think you don’t live in LA…
> Too bad man…If you had lived on the Ocean front walk in Venice, and you’ve got a workshop for me there, I’d love to come and live next to you. As consideration (rent) I’ll open the doors of my shop so everyone can come and see what I’m doing. I just lay my old hat on the floor so people can flip in some coins.
> Damn, do I get goosebumps typing this sh*t. Hell yeah!
> But sorry dude, I’ve got some nice things coming my way the next couple of months, so I can’t leave Belgium anyway.....


----------



## robolop

There are some parts of the interior I’m going to replace. And in the future, some other things will be added on that list.










After its winter-sleep of 5 months I put away the sheets, and I started cruising around with my oldtimer again, LOL
Well, oldtimer, she’s 14 years old already, so…
But if felt like you give candy to a kid…A big smile on my face when I drove out the garage.




















I already told you guys earlier that the bimmer-project is on hold for the moment. As you know I’m working on the ICE of the polo again, and the plans I’ve got will give me enough work for the months to come. And after that, there’s another BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG project coming up!
Later more about this!

What I am doing now is checking out other wheel options… I’ve seen something I like, but I’m not quite sure about the specifications. We’ll see what the future brings..


----------



## soul786

We all love BIIIIG projects


----------



## sydmonster

She's alive!!! !!


----------



## Potent

Hi Robbie,

Car looks amazing... Very inspiring...

I think now you should fabricare your own version of a CSL Bootlid... That will definetly take this beautiful car to another level...

All the best and please keep on inspiring me with your awesome work... You have taught me to really be different and always try new things...

Thanks alot,

Manny.


----------



## Dmack

Serious question, Rob: I have been a fan since day-one--some five years ago. What are you going to do when you finish?


----------



## FLYONWALL9

robolop said:


> it’s not an motorcycle part.
> And I thought it was too cool NOT to post


A few pages behind everyone else... The DR. is just too
cool for school!

So, the big you've been keeping from us is he is going to
be buying your car to add to his paddock


----------



## robolop

A dream come true


----------



## DeanE10

Moving from the garage? Or a garage conversion?


----------



## req

word up rob!


----------



## LBaudio

LAB is very common word this days,....also part of the name of my personal invite car audio forum


----------



## robolop

Hey dudes!
You may have noticed there's not much movement in my topic. For the moment I haven't got time for my projects...
As I said, I'm working on ROBoLAB now.
This will be my new garage and working place for the rest of my life.
It's a building from 52 square meters, and I'm reaaaaaaaally happy with it.
Here some pictures of the works which are already done.







On the side there'll come a garage door. I can open this one when the weather's good.



Backside of the building. Here I kept the windows as large as possible, to have as much light as possible.



Works on the roof.







So these are the things that are already done. This week the roof will be completely finished, and so the builder can complete his works as well.
The garage doors are ordered and should be here in 4 weeks.
The door and window for in the back won't be here before the summer, so that sucks bigtime.
As for the rest I'm very pleased with the work that has been done so far. Now I'm doing MUCH thinking about how to do it on the inside.
But I'm sure for one thing, this winter I'm not going to have to work in the cold.


----------



## Jaloosk

Awesome!


----------



## astrochex

robolop said:


> A dream come true


Robolab sounds like the operational center for a Batman villain! 

Congrats on producing the shop you have always wanted.


----------



## req

oh yea dude!

that is fantastic!

i just bought a house in feburary and i have a tiny garage - but its a start! 


i think i speak for everyone when i say that we are all super excited to see the works of art that come out of that new garage!


----------



## robolop

To be clear, this is not a shop. The things I'm going to make here is only for my BMW and POLO. 

My biggest hobby.


----------



## metalball

Sweet building expansion! Expecting great things in the future.


----------



## DeanE10

robolop said:


> To be clear, this is not a shop. The things I'm going to make here is only for my BMW and POLO.
> 
> My biggest hobby.


We know Rob... But we also know you like to tinker with the BMW and Polo so there will be LOTS of cool things coming out of that Garage


----------



## robolop

Robolab is in Turbo-mode, and I like it!



The roofbuilder has almost done. Here and there a little job to do.
I also think I'm not the most easy person to work for, but they all knew that before they started.

The heating is also in place, so I know I won't have cold feet during the winter.




















Next week the rest of the floor will be placed.

The work-terrace is getting a view


----------



## metalball

Like the in floor heating!


----------



## req

wow im so jealous


----------



## quality_sound

Floor heaters are what I miss most about Germany.


----------



## bbfoto

Love radiant floor heating.  Best efficiency of any system, especially if you incorporate solar water heating, which can be very simple, inexpensive, and easy to DIY if you want. Radiant floor also doesn't create any major air drafts and minimizes airborne allergies.

But the tube spacing looks a bit too close together for optimum efficiency...a waste of tubing and the glycol or water will cool too much before it cycles back through the heater or heat exchanger. (I've installed this in all 3 homes I've built and my dad installed it in the house I grew up in). But it's probably just the perspective and camera angle that makes it look that way. We also use fiberglass strands mixed into the concrete for increased strength (like duraglass fg filler with "Kitty Hair") especially in earthquake-prone California.

It will definitely be nice and comfortable to work in your shop all winter.  Congrats on your new workshop!


----------



## quality_sound

I just like my feet to be warm when I pee in the middle of the night.


----------



## sydmonster

wow... even the garage is custom and personalised!!


----------



## robolop

Because I’m having so much fun making something with the uppermill, I bought me another one.
It’s a Bosch GOF1600 CE Professional.











I bought this one to hang it under the table. So I don’t need to switch it every time. To operate it easily, I made some kind of lift.
But I need to do some corrections, after thinking it through again.
The intention was that I could turn an inbus screw on the top of the table, and it would go up and down.
To operate the lift, I’m using a simple steel brake-cable of a bike.

These iron tubes I made and mounted.



















I’ve sawn out a new piece of mdf and screwed it on the table. The 10mm thick volkern plate will also be mounted on top.










So this is the lift, but ho wit works, it’s too complicated to explain.



















Here you can see the steel cable through the foot of the mill.










It runs towards the lift, and gets back on the other side at the foot of the mill.










Here you can see everything, before it was mounted.










Here you can see the volkern plate where the mill is underneath. You can see the screw, with the wrench, to operate it completely.










So this is a quick way to change the mill.










I also made a lot of plates with holes in the centre, wich I can use depending on the diameter of mill I’m using.
I can tighten these with only 2 screws.










How the bottom looks.



















It all works pretty good, but I’m not 100% satisfied of the table.
So I ordered some things to expand it…



I didn’t work on my BMW or Polo for the moment, and I’ll think this could be like this for a while.
The works on Robolab are going fast, so that’s my priority now!


----------



## jvctan16

Wow. Just wow. I love how the lab is turning out.


----------



## Schizm

Less than a day and all the photos hit their bandwidth lol


----------



## sydmonster

> The works on Robolab are going fast, so that’s my priority now!


YES!!
YES!!!
YES!!!!


----------



## NJaNeer

We are all excited for you! Can't wait to see you working some more in your new lab. I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your hobby with us. You have inspired many of us, including me. My brother-in-law asked me the other day how long it took me to build my amp enclosure. All I could think of when replying to his question was, you don't put time in the equation when it is something you love to do! 


- Cheers


----------



## malcris

Just spent 2 hours reading though this build. I have a slvr 330i as well and it officially looks like a pos in comparison to the work of art you have created. I can only hope that you've had time to enjoy the car after all that hard work and painstaking attention to every detail. I can honestly tell you that you have inspired me to stop my current build and re-think everything. Thank you..


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> YES!!
> YES!!!
> YES!!!!















NJaNeer said:


> We are all excited for you! Can't wait to see you working some more in your new lab. I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your hobby with us. You have inspired many of us, including me. My brother-in-law asked me the other day how long it took me to build my amp enclosure. All I could think of when replying to his question was, you don't put time in the equation when it is something you love to do!
> 
> 
> - Cheers


You understand it...







malcris said:


> Just spent 2 hours reading though this build. I have a slvr 330i as well and it officially looks like a pos in comparison to the work of art you have created. I can only hope that you've had time to enjoy the car after all that hard work and painstaking attention to every detail. I can honestly tell you that you have inspired me to stop my current build and re-think everything. Thank you..



GO 4 IT.


----------



## robolop

The works on my workshop advanced so fast, but once the buildingholiday started, things came to a hold.
I’ve got many respect now for people who are building or re-building a house.

I’m at the point now that the biggest assholes are gone.
Sure, there are people in the building business who know their shizzle, but there are other ones…
After waiting more than 18 weeks for my windows and doors, everything was wind-closed.
Then the walls need to be plastered. Try to find someone who can do this 100% straight and tight…Fortunately, I found one, and he did a fantastic job!


After he left, I could start thinking about the set-up of the rest of the garage. So I came into action!
The wood for the closets has been delivered, and will be sawn later on this month.
The company who will do this became nuts of my demands, but hey, I’m paying them big bucks for it!
I want to use every square inch of my workshop.
The first wardrobe I’m going to make is the hardest one. Because I couldn’t find a slider of 3m50, I made it myself.






The slider runs on 16 wheels, and has to keep straight with 20 bearings which run into a U-profile on the floor. Well, that’s the thing I’m counting on. I put a lot of work into this, so I’m hoping it works.
In the meantime I’ve got a new friend, which keeps me company every day!







We call him Smelly


----------



## imjustjason




----------



## robolop

imjustjason said:


>


----------



## robolop

When I started this project, the challenge was to have a multifunctional garage and working space.
Every centimeter needs to have a purpose, NO lost edges or corners.
From the first day I had my approval, I started thinking how I could partition these 45m² as good as possible. First of all as a working space, but also to have a nice garage for the bimmer.
The big space you see now, will be divided into 2 by a rolling curtain (shutter). So it’s perfectly possible to work in my workspace without damaging or soiling the car. And if I want, I can pull the shutter up, and have one big space.

In most of the garages I’ve seen, you put the car inside, and there’s always some stuff next or in front of the car. In my opinion, that’s lost space. 
I refused that this would be the way in my garage, so I came up with this…


A sliding wall of 3m50, 1m80 and 60cm deep.
This wall needs to open very smoothly, and be stably enought so, once it’s stashed, it couldn’t fall.
But I knew there has tob e a catch…
And there was…Once it was finished, I stumbled upon the fact that the floor isn’t 100% straight. So every time I slide from L to the R, it came 3-4mm out of place.
This couldn’t be the case, so I made a pretty stable glider.


I tightened a big aluminium U on the floor, which holds an iron chassis from the closet.
As you can see I worked with bearings. And you also see I folded open U in the beginning.











So this is the closet/wall I’m talking about










Here she stands in the middle of my working space.




















And here she is in the end of the working space.



















When the architect started drawing he knew he had tot hink about this, so the door could open.










Here she’s fully pullied out, and you can see it at the back. I’m going to finish this of with a thin plate.











And here she’s again at her actual place in the garage part.


----------



## Jaloosk

That's pretty sweet


----------



## optimaprime

Damn it looks great


----------



## AVIDEDTR

jealous


----------



## jvctan16

Nice update  Can't wait to see you work on the bimmer again.


----------



## metalball

Killer workspace!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4


----------



## sydmonster

He's back!! and even the garage is ROBOLOPEDD!!


----------



## robolop

I'm busy in RoboLab...


----------



## robolop

After looking for quite a wile, I managed to find some handles that fit my cupboards.
I had to do some millingwork to mount them in a descent way.



I turned off the all of the frontpanels. 




















I milled away the thickness of the aluminium, of the handles












So it'll rest nicely equal on the top, and on the inside of the drawer











The front


----------



## sydmonster

..

easy open, easy close...


----------



## ECLIPSEsqfan

Absolutely stunning level of craftsmanship in all of your work sir. Thank you so much for taking the time to share it. It is humbling and inspirational.
Also, congratulations on the new home and workspace.


----------



## metalball

Do you have an ETA on when Robolab will be open for business?! Can't wait to see more progress on the Bimmer and Polo!


----------



## robolop

No comment....















































The enterprice


----------



## sydmonster

.... and again. woah.


----------



## and_elli

Sorry to be such a noob, but could someone enlighten me what that is?


----------



## robolop

and_elli said:


> Sorry to be such a noob, but could someone enlighten me what that is?


No comment....lol


----------



## Syracuse Customs

and_elli said:


> Sorry to be such a noob, but could someone enlighten me what that is?


It's ARTWORK !!


----------



## and_elli

Syracuse Customs said:


> It's ARTWORK !!


I can see that but i can't see what it's suppoused to do, something with drawers or similar???


----------



## sydmonster

and_elli said:


> I can see that but i can't see what it's suppoused to do, something with drawers or similar???


its robolop being robolop...

Its deliberately secretive...
deliberately shady...
deliberately teasing...
deliberately being a show man...

see, even his build threads, just cant be normal, nor can his garage... 

Your not being a noob, you are just caught in the suspense and wonder, just like the rest of us.

I think its some for of automated fence/feeder for cutting timber,... but I too am not sure.


----------



## imjustjason

robolop said:


>


It's amazing to me how something so simple can look so elegant.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

Not sure if you have seen Jack Olsen's garage? It has been on 
a couple TV shows here in the states and in a handful of publications. 
I would guess that you have, but if not

The 12-Gauge Garage


----------



## robolop

About Robolab…it’s still going pretty slow. I ordered some stuff, and I have to wait on it for a while.
In the meanwhile the cupboards and drawers are filled with my materials. I also spended a lot of time chosing the best place for each material.
I switched positions many times, but now, I’m starting to know where everything is.
Also, I bought new toy!

The Makita mlt100

I snapped a picture how that thing came out of the box.



















After looking and measuring, I turned this off.










Like I said, this is a quite a toy. When you wand to saw something 100% perfect, you don’t need to do it with a table-saw of 475€, unless a mm doesn’t matter.
The intention is that the saws 100% where I wanted it saw.
If it’ll work, I don’t know. It’s also the first time I do this, but I’m looking forward to it.


Now that I have this table-saw, I can also think more how I’m planning to make my worktable, and how big it should be.
Everything needs to be compact, and be at the exact right spot in my garage.
I’m going to blend the sa wand mill into my working table, and when I need them, I just have to remove a rubber math to use it.
In other words, I’m going to make a multifunctional table, which I’ve put a lot of thinking work in…
To have better view on what I’m making, I mounted some pieces of wood to see if the dimensions are correct.



At the bottom of the picture you can see the mill, a bit high the saw.










You can see that the new glider of INCAR which IS properly adjusted



















This is only the beginning of the table. I’m going to think good now, before I’m ordering the rest of the wood and steel.
In the end, it’s the last working table I’ll ever make, so it has to be on point!


----------



## Cooluser23

Hi Robolop, Cool to see you on diyma. Your Focal BMW install is still my favorite install to date, and probably the reason I grew interest in high end car audio in the first place. You are an inspiration to us all.


----------



## robolop

About the working table, every day is a day full of progress in terms of the drafting of the mill and saw. Every day I’m working on that for a couple of hours. Once I’ve changed something, I call it a day, and work on it the next.
In the time in between, I’m trying to make some other things.
Here I made some iron little shackles which fit in the aluminium U.


Some pieces of iron, sawed at length.










After that I disced it at the right size, and abraded it nicely straight on the sanding belt till it all fitted nicely in the little sloth.










Drilled the holes, and turned in the new M5 thread, and gave it a little paintjob.













This was the result after 6 hours. These things just eat time!

The meaning of these bars, is that you can clamp something with it.



















Here an example. 
I still need to buy or make the clamps…










In the meantime , this aluminium plate has been delivered …. This will be placed on my pillar drill. I had planned to make this myself with my uppermill, but for the price I bought it, I couldn’t make it myself.


----------



## robolop

This was in the mail today











I must say that the Incra stuff isn’t that cheap, but the quality (for me) is on of the best!

These metal rings stay in place with little magnets.
I also bought every size available. Safety is priority here!





















I searched for a good T-square for a while now, but I didn’t find what I was looking for.
So I made it myself.
Here’s the aluminium I bought.











I tensed a pieces, and mille a sloth into it.










This is the result I was looking for.


----------



## porscheman

these are rather nice, a little pricey though
Measuring and Layout - Precision Woodworking T-Square 12"


----------



## sydmonster

This work shop/Robolab will be amazing!!

Its like this >> The 12-Gauge Garage but SQ focused and even more detailed!!


----------



## robolop

The “longslider” is ready.
Here some pictures of the big picture.










Final picture of the T-square. It looks heavy, but it’s not so bad.
I didn’t want to make it too light as well, it needed to be accurate and strong.



















The black hinge is to tighten it.












How it’s adjusted now, it should be exactly 90 degrees. I measured this with a big aluminium snag.
I a store nearby, they have special equipment, and soon, I’ll go there to let it measured with a digital meter.




I can also do minor corrections.
On the bottom left you can see one inbus-screw, with 4 little holes around it.
With this screw I can do minor corrections. Once it’s all 100% in every angle, I drill the holes a bit bigger and put 4 screw in it.











I also drilled 2 holes where I can insert a inbus-key.
By turning there, I can determine i fit all shifts nicely like I want it.
Do I tighten it more, I’ll have more friction of the Teflon on the aluminium slot.










Here it’s all mounted on the table.
























Of course, I have to see now if I can get this thing 100% tuned. But I already know it’s going to be 10 times better than the trash which was originally delivered. 



What the table itself is concerned, I’m going to makes these out of aluminium as well.
I’m measuring everything accurately to set an order.
I’m going to make the frame with the profile.










This profile is available in many sizes and is very strong.
I let everything being cut to get it as precise as possible. Cost factor is going up, but as I said earlier, it’s the last time I make something like this.


----------



## audio+civic

leave it to Rob to make you feel ineadiqute about your wood shop. Looks great Rob


----------



## ebrit003

audio+civic said:


> leave it to Rob to make you feel ineadiqute about your wood shop. Looks great Rob


^^^LOL - My thoughts exactly^^^


----------



## diy.phil

sigh... I don't even have a shop  I have to cut/paint outdoors, but I get to install (and anything non-messy) inside the garage though.

This Robolob, his vision, work and skills, ... is just amazing! Did you guys verify he's human or robot?!!


----------



## sydmonster

diy.phil said:


> This Robolob, his vision, work and skills, ... is just amazing! Did you guys verify he's human or robot?!!


hahaha!! Yeah, several of us have often wondered that. Hell i'm almost stalking the man and follow his build thread on two different forums!


----------



## robolop

sydmonster said:


> hahaha!! Yeah, several of us have often wondered that. Hell i'm almost stalking the man and follow his build thread on two different forums!


----------



## mark620

Looking at the pics of building the shop, car audio is a walk in the park for you....Put You, Bing and JOey together ....WOW the dream team..


----------



## robolop

mark620 said:


> Looking at the pics of building the shop, car audio is a walk in the park for you....Put You, Bing and JOey together ....WOW the dream team..




I send both walking, and I'll keep myself busy with Rachel


----------



## haakono

Hehe, yes  Rossbolop


----------



## sydmonster

robolop said:


>


HAHahahahahah!


----------



## robolop

When I bought a new stereo for my workshop, I immediately knew the boxes that cames wit hit, would be dead in an instant.
But I had a nice set of Yamaha’s laying around here. But the brown cabinaets didn’t fit in the interior well.
So I got the speakers out, measured them, and made new housings fort hem.
I made these of 25ùù thick mdf, and covered it with a thin layer (1mm) of formica.
After that I made a grill, and covered it again with black speaker fabric.
These were the speakers that originally came with the hifi.










Voila…finished. I just need a big plug to hang these on the wall.
They are really heavy!



















So the speakers were finished, and then there came an exciting moment for me.
How hard could I play music around here, without disturbing anyone?
In my previous garage it frequently happened, the old lady from nextdoor started complaining.

After the first listening-test, I had a big smile on my face.
I could play it so hard I could, without anyone hearing anything.
I took this in condideration when we ordered the windows. When you take 2 different thicknesses in terms of glass, it gives a better stop to sounds.










Here are a few photos of a strange thing I made;
I’ve been able to convince some friends that I’m making a jukebox next…and they believe it, haha



















Once it’s finished, you’ll see what I made it for…


----------



## robolop

The biggest part of the aluminium profiles needed for my tables has been delivered.
I think to finish my first table at the end of this week. It’s quite a puzzle to put everything together, and to make no mistakes.

I’m planning 8 sockets fort his table.
And I’ve already modified them 










Soon the first table will be ready, and I’ll need a forklift to set it straight.
Although it’s made of aluminium, it’ll still be heavy 
















A sneekpeak


----------



## robolop

About a month ago, I told you guys I was going to make my last table. Because not all parts had been delivered yet, I made a smaller one first. 
The penultimate table  This one is 200x64cm, and completely made out of aluminium. 
What I’m going to use this for, I will tell you later. There’s still too much in my head of things that aren’t on point yet.












In the background you can also see that I divided the garage in 2 by descending the roller curtain. 
We’ve managed to blend this in in a very nice way, and I’m very happy with the result.












About the aluminium part, I immediately thought that I could screw this into each other quickly…forget it.
The first problem was that I could not mount the supplied wheel directly under the legs (8x8cm). So I makde 4 plates out of 12mm thick, and screwed these underneath.










I had to laugh at the wheels that they had supplied me. They Looked very shoddy, but once everything was finished, they turned out perfectly.




















I provided the table with 2 boxes of 4 sockets.
Then I put the uppermill in it, to make some room for the cables.



















Because I'm right handed, I’ve also put the outlets on the right side



The advantage of this profile is that you can plug-in threaded screws (m4-5-6-8) everywhere you want, and move them anywhere you want. 










On this side I added some more of those things.
On the other side I would like to mount a folding machine (pleating machine).
How I'm going to do this, and make this, I haven’t even thought about. 
I also do not know the ins and outs of how to make a folding machine, but maybe my friend Goole will know…Or maybe there are people here who can give me some tips and tricks?

You can also see that I've tapped screwthread into the holes on the top plate. (m8)










On the top, I can tighten whatever I want, where ever I want.










So far the table.


What's going on behind the curtain at the workshop, is not quite finished.
Not that much to do anymore, but when you want perfection, it just demands you put a lot of time in it.
The YAMAHA speakers also heve been suspended from the ceiling.










Onto a certain height, I placed some Volkern (trespa- plates of 6mm thick.
I certainly wanted this material. It’s superstrong, and you can wash this quite easily.



Once I had the plates, I thought "I'm going to stick against the wall with tec 7 in a couple of minutes”
Forget it. 
You should not glue this material directly against the wall.
If you do this right may warp over time. 
Now, if you know what it costs, you should not take the risk. 
So I first glued some 2cm strips against the wall.
Then I sprayed a loooooooooooot of cans Tec7 on the wall, mounted the Trespa, and then clamped it tight.


----------



## marcs325i

you have to be the most insane overall custom fabricating beast I have ever seen.

you always seem to amaze me with what you create!


----------



## Thoraudio

Awesome as always, although I'm kinda surprised you're not using the Festool system.


----------



## req

yes! roblopshop!!!

love the updates because i can never figure out what you are actually planning in the end!


----------



## sydmonster

continued excelence!! 

Rob what is the Trespa plates?


----------



## robolop

The new stereo is ready to get blended-in to the sliding closet of my garage.
It’s all made of aluminium.










This is ho wit will look.



















I can pull the Iphone holder towards me to plug it in.


----------



## imjustjason

I'm so embarrassed. My full size receiver just sits on a wooden shelf... that looks pretty sorry now.


----------



## robolop

porscheman said:


> these are rather nice, a little pricey though
> Measuring and Layout - Precision Woodworking T-Square 12"





sydmonster said:


> This work shop/Robolab will be amazing!!
> 
> Its like this >> The 12-Gauge Garage but SQ focused and even more detailed!!



I’ve looked to the pictures of the garage attentively.
It looks well laid out, the partitions are on point.
What strikes me is that there’s too much material that’s not stored in a closet or something.
Very positive I think is that there’s always a fire extinguisher around when needed. 
I’ll need to buy me one too…


----------



## robolop

Thoraudio said:


> Awesome as always, although I'm kinda surprised you're not using the Festool system.


When I look at the prices of Festool products, I pass.
For a hobbyist like me, without undermining Festool, their products are just too expensive.





req said:


> yes! roblopshop!!!
> 
> love the updates because i can never figure out what you are actually planning in the end!


I have to create some curiosity, no?





sydmonster said:


> continued excelence!!
> 
> Rob what is the Trespa plates?


It’s hard to explain for me what it is…you should Google it…





imjustjason said:


> I'm so embarrassed. My full size receiver just sits on a wooden shelf... that looks pretty sorry now.


As long as there is music that’s coming out of the speakers, it ok dude.


----------



## slade1274

sydmonster said:


> continued excelence!!
> 
> Rob what is the Trespa plates?


Think Formica.....


----------



## robolop

slade1274 said:


> Think Formica.....


Jep dude


----------



## sydmonster

Thank you all!!... got it.

Rob, thank you for continuing to share this build with us and just show us that even little things, like workshop speaker system can be detailed and thought out!


----------



## robolop

During the move, the compass I once made, died…











Because I'm still waiting on some things, I decided to make a few new ones This time, also in aluminium.
First I bought two pair of compasses for few euros. I needed them for the needle and pencil holder. 
Then I measured the out and played with the copy router (copy mill).



















Because these things are obviously much larger than a normal compass, I also had to make a reinforcement 
This also serves as a way to secure it.





























This is the result



















To let it all slide beautiful I've taped a kind of paper on the read, the one they make seals out of. 
Where this was not possible, I use Teflon washers.










The biggest one I made with an aluminum tube where I can mount a pen in. 
The point I made a out of a scriber.










Because it is so big, you can see that I can straighten the pen, and point, if necessary. 










Yet, another work completed wich took a lot of time, but I’m sure of one thing though… 
I’LL NEVER MAKE SOME COMPASSES AGAIN






.


.


----------



## robolop

I’m pretty busy assembling the last table.
It was a big puzzle, but it’s perfect for me.
Preview…




















An immens load of hours went into adjusting everything correctly.


----------



## sydmonster

EPIC!... seen twice in one night. Makes me a weirdo, but I dig this stuff.


----------



## robolop

Just a few more little things, and my sawing table is almost done. For the moment I'm waiting on a new cutter/mill

The long narrow table is ready for use The purpose of this table is to put on my drill press, grinder and mill.
What I also wanted is that I could move these devices to where I wanted without them being loose on the table, so it’s more easy to fall off.

When I ordered the aluminium I saw they sell Teflon gliders as well, so I bought some.
Of course, this didn’t fit in the profile I needed, don’t ask me why. The benefit was the fit was too small, and I could make this work with the uppermill.

On the left you can see I made the slot bigger.










This was an easy task, but you have to do it in a safe way

I mounted the teflon plate on a piece of aluminium.
So I could keep it all under control. The 2 large sunken holes you see, I made to fit my fingers, this way I have the most grip.



















Here’s the result










Then I cut slabs of solid core (volkern) where the units will be mounted.
I also tuned the drill a bit… 
I wanted a big plate where I could clamp things on.
First I made a mold of MDF in the shape that I needed, and after that I had to mill everything with the copy-mill, simple.



















In the background you can see the volkern plateb where the aluminum comes will come to rise. 
The black screw is to secure the plate onto the drill.










Here you can also see that, wherever I want, I can put threaded busses i, to mount things. Very handy if you ask me..










In the center there will rest a piece of 16 mm MDF…This I made pretty big (9cm), so I wouldn’t drill into my aluminium. Once the block is wore out, I’ll put in a new one. I made myself some stock 










Because I only wanted 1 screw to tighten the plate, I made this at the bottomside.










This fits perfectly onto the drillingtable.

Since I now have a greater table on my drill, I couldn’t operate the handle to lift or descend the table, anymore.
This came against my aluminium plate of course. 


I was able to extend it with a piece of aluminium I had lying around here…



















Note the black screw at the bottom.










Here you can see the massive slab where the drill is on.










I also made a glider to put on the aluminum plate. Here I can do anything I want with it




























I can also so tighten my drill-clamp where I want.



















Here you can see what I mean with ‘relocating the devices



















The next step is too make a “cutting-board”, I’m looking forward to it.










































.


----------



## carlr

respect...


----------



## LBaudio

do you accept pre-orders for a working table ...just kidding, table looks awesome


----------



## quickaudi07

All i got to say, you are insane! 

We all could tell, you love metal  

WoW props to you my friend, you got my respect !


----------



## robolop

I’ve made another insertion plate form my router (uppermill). This plate will be mounted on the side of the table. More about this later.
I didn’t want ANY screws in that plate. The plate itself, is kept at it’s place by 4 magnets, which are mounted in every corner.










The hole where the insert plate will come needed to be as accurate as possible. This can be done in a fairly simple way. 
You tape the insert plate, puts the plate at the right spot and just let everything fill with polyester resin. 
Once everything has hardened, you gently knock it out. The thickness of the tape is the only level you have, so extremely little!










The 4 screws I fitted with rubbers. So I can insert the plate that it fits nicely with the top of the table. On those screws, the magnets will rest.



















This system, I also applied for the rings that surround the mill. First, I machined an aluminum ring, and then pressed in the magnets.



















In the foreground you see the different rings that I have. These are from INCRA, and I can now use them in my plate.










Here you can see how everything looks, and the work and hours I put into it, paid off.






































Now I just have to wait for the aluminum where this plate shall rest on. 
I’m going to send a post-pigeon to Germany this weekend (MOTEDIS)


----------



## req

insanity.


----------



## JayinMI

This should be on Garage Journal. lol This is amazing.

Jay


----------



## Potent

Pure Inspiration Robbie... Thanks for pushing the boundaries and giving us something to work towards...

All the Best...


----------



## HondAudio

*robolop* should stop making car stereo parts and just get into the business of manufacturing tools for the rest of us


----------



## robolop

My multifunctional table is finally ready. I knew this wasn’t an easy task, since I had no experience with this what so ever.
This is how it turned out.



















The milling-part










I also added a glider here.



















The lines you see, are 1cm apart from each other, and the depth is cause of the white layer of volkern.
A looooooooooooot of work went into this.










In the T-Track you can also glide in some clamps.










The sawing part.










I kept the space between the sawing blade, and the volkern as minimal as possible.



















When I need to set the saw into a corner, I just need to remove the tiny plat around the blade. But I’m guessing this won’t happen very often.




























Here with the setting I made myself, and it worked perfectly.



















Since the legs of the table are not on the ends, I had some problem mounting my sockets.
But I’ve managed to solve this in a descent way (for me)

I’ve mounted everything on an iron flexible tube, and so I can put the outlets where and how I want.



















Here you see that the INCRA millingplate is on aluminum brackets.










The cutter I recently purchased. 
This is a Triton 2400 watts. 
I bought this specifically because I thought it could handle this easy from above. 
This also doesn’t come out under the table anymore too.


This table was one of the hardest things I've made in my new workshop. 
Finally, it all needed to be 100% correct (and it is). The micrometer has served well, and without this little device you're nowhere.












What rests now is to buy a rubber mat of 4mm thick to put on the table. It is after all a work table after all.


Now I just need to make some little stuff here and there’s, and also need to do some painting. Once this is done I will post pictures of everything.

































.


----------



## Blu

:bowdown:

Wow... just wow!

That is an absolute thing of beauty... You should be extremely proud of a job incredibly well done!


----------



## Niebur3

Unbelievable. You need to make these things for a living!!!!!


----------



## cajunner

this is the bar?

I quit, I give up. I'm not even using MDF right and there are guys out there tackling extruded aluminum with micrometers.

this is not hobby grade!

I want my money back... oh, wait. It was free to view? 



alright alright alright.


----------



## SPLEclipse

You're insane. 

My bench is half of an old ported box turned on its side. There's mold on it. Come help me please.


----------



## REGULARCAB

Wait wait wait, how the heck have I missed all this wonderfulness?


----------



## quickaudi07

Your un F-ing real man, I have never seen anything like this... 

Some of the coolest ideas I have ever get to see thanks to you


----------



## JayinMI

SPLEclipse said:


> You're insane.
> 
> My bench is half of an old ported box turned on its side. There's mold on it. Come help me please.


Yeah, When he started this I was like "Ooooh, this is gonna be sweet." But I had no idea. (OK, maybe a little because of past experience) I'm using a fold up Ryobi table saw and a "router table" I whipped up out of 1/2" MDF and some White board over a garbage can. 

That table is so nice, I wouldn't feel right using it. lol

Jay


----------



## robolop

quickaudi07 said:


> Your un F-ing real man, I have never seen anything like this...
> 
> Some of the coolest ideas I have ever get to see thanks to you


----------



## req

i thought i was smart when i used a piece of scrap plywood over some saw horses. you know, those saw horses you can buy the 'ends' for at lowes\homedepot for $5\each and then put the 2x4's in yourself?

yeah, the legs were uneven and it was very wobbly. :'(



rob is my hero.


----------



## robolop

Everything has an end… (except a sausage, thosre have 2 ends )
11 months after the build of my new garage has started, it’s finally finished.
I’m extremely proud and satisfied with the result, and I’m looking forward to spend the most of my time in it.
Here are some pictures of how it turned out.










The red color, is just taste. IMO, when I would have used white, it would be too much “kitchen of hospital” sphere in there.





























Here you can see that the rolling shutter that seperates the garage from the workshop is pulled down.
I’m really happy I did this.










Because I wanted to use every inch of the place, I also made a small closet to put away some stuff.



















The shutter is completely inserted into the room. The gliders aren’t visible. And when it’s up, you can only see a little slit in which it moves.










I managed to blend in the stereo on the front of the rollcloset.










I added 3 sockets, and the remote of the closet.










The long ditch underneath the sockets is there for a purpose as well.










You don’t want to now how much milling, grinding, sanding hours I’ve put into the front plate alone…
But it’s the result that matters, so time is not important.


More pictures with explanation coming soon.


----------



## carlr

Speachless...


----------



## dvc




----------



## metalball

Drool...

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


----------



## Freijojo




----------



## robolop

Some pictures of the rolling cupboard.



















Some of my stock of aluminium and wood.



















When the closet is filled with all my materials, I wanted at least 10% of space left in my cupboards and drawers.
I accomplished this goal.


In my old workshop I had a corner that was always filled with fine thin strips of wood or aluminum.
Every time I had to pick something out of there, the rest fell over, and it was always a messy corner.
This I certainly did not want to have anymore and I ended up making this.



















Everything remains at its place, and I have a good overview now.



















Between the pedestals there was still plenty of room left…










The area in between is on small wheels.
I can shift the whole thing to the front, to place somethings behind it. And shift it all nicely under it, in place.


Here you can see the things I don’t need immediately.










When my eletrician asked me where I wanted the sockets, he looked weird when I said I only needed 1 per workingtable.
You can never ever have enough sockets he said.
Still, I wanted them mounted in another way than the normal ones on the wall.

I let someone fold me a stainless steel bar, and I nicely mounted everything in there.
You can see I also didn’t use the little cover around the sockets. Looks more clean to me, and…I saved me some euro’s, haha, lol










They are nearby, and there’s never an annoying cable on my table.
I counted all my sockets in- and outside my garage, and I can totally say…I must be nuts. 


One of the nicest things in my working place, IMO, is still my sectional door.
Once the floor heatings is off, i’ll open it, and I get the nice scenery for free.










I’m also very happy with the nice working terrace, which has several compressed air-points.










This table will stay outside, I just need to cover it with an aluminium plate.










I can get everything outside in a second, and I can work outdoors.










I added rubber mats of 4mm on every table.
If I want to use my saw or mill, I just roll the rubber to one side, simple










Regarding the division of my drawers, I needed a closet which contained all my keys and screwdrivers, in a central point.
So I lose a minimum amount of time to take something.


You can also see I first measured the plastic units from Facom. So it all fits perfectly, and there no space around it.










I did the same with the plastic little trays for screws and nuts.










As for the routers (milling), I made myself something nice so I had a nice overview.











Soon much more with a little movie


----------



## ultimatemj

:bowdown:


----------



## quickaudi07

Omg!!! I hope all of this hard work and thoughtful work bench is going to pay it's self off. I'm just amazed on the detail and ideas you have come up. The shop is so damn clean, you could simply eat of the floor.

Wow is not an expression anymore. It's called a talent. .. you should bring that to America Garage got talent.... I'm sure u will be the winner in all aspects. 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk


----------



## req

i didnt know there was an american garage got talent competition hahah. is there? :uhoh:

but seriously rob. what the hell. i want to go to there


----------



## raulgz

this garage looks incredible!!!!!! great work!


----------



## rcurley55

Is this on Garage Journal? If it isn't, it should be.


----------



## tonic25

Awesome GARAGE


----------



## rton20s

I quit...


----------



## sydmonster

I had to see it again... still amazing work. So much patience Rob!


----------



## quickaudi07

Good Job, 

For that reason I don't like you anymore Rob lol j/k 

It looks like everyone could do such an amazing work, only if you have the time, money, and good plan to go along with it... 

Anything is possible in America  

Now quit looking start doing!.. hahah

BTW: Its Friday!


----------



## robolop

quickaudi07 said:


> Good Job,
> 
> For that reason I don't like you anymore Rob lol j/k
> 
> It looks like everyone could do such an amazing work, only if you have the time, money, and good plan to go along with it...
> 
> Anything is possible in America
> 
> Now quit looking start doing!.. hahah
> 
> BTW: Its Friday!




Ok Dude,because it's Friday, something special for you.


A couple of months ago I purchased myself a new belt and disc-sander. It looked almost identical to the model that proved it’s service for over 9 years.
When I unpacked the new machine, I immediately saw that it was big dud.

I worked with it for over 2 months, but I bought more drive belts then the machine was worth.
Enough was enough.
I found the cause pretty quickly. The suspension of the engine was running skew;, and the front part of the roller was not beared.

I had the old one laying around, so I put the disc in all of this.
On the right you can see the old piece, with the roll that was beared.




















Then I stretched everything nice and straight, and welded the 2 parts to each other.










The top side made pretty tight.










Did some more improvements on the side, so it was all runing straight.










Everything goes perfectly now, and I don’t need to replace any drive belts.


----------



## robolop

The right part is now also completely finished
I also moved the gray cabinets that were in my old workplace










It’s the intention that they get out of there at some time. I’m already making some plans for my garden shed, and they’ll move over there when it’s finished.












A second basin, next to the cabinets wich contain my polishing materials for the bmw, and EVERYONG MUST KEEP AWAY FROM THOSE .



















The long aluminum worktable. I also made it so that it fits nicely between when I do not need it.










Here you can see how I gave my welding set a place behind the sliding closet. 
And against the wall, I screwed another rack to storage some other stuff.




















I had a stainless steel plate of 2mm to bent and welded, for the workbench outside.
So it’s protected for rain and snow.


----------



## Butt Hz

Outstanding work, Mr. Olop!


----------



## ebrit003

It is so good! One day when I have a garage again....


----------



## robolop

With the construction of the garage , I haven’t had any time to work on my bimmer. I just cleaned her no wand then, but nothin’ more.
Previously, she was under a cover for the whole winter, but now, I drove it all year. And you can tell by looking.
A crack in the front bumper , crushed stones on the hood and frontbumper , aluminum which doesn’t shine anymore… Too many things that don’t look good anymore.

At first I started polishing the car. All plastic parts in the interior where contained even the lightest scratch, will be replaced (are here already)
Front bumper has been removed, and is waiting for a respray. .I 'm also thinking of making the carbon fibre for the bumper, once again. And perhaps give it a slithly different look.
Appointment for further polishing the car is already made. This time I will not do it themselves, but leave it to a professional.
New lamps from DEPO are already mounted. 
There are some other orders that need to be delivered, but England sent me my new shoes already.










And when I clean, I clean!









Before:



















After:


----------



## MUGWUMP

Nuts!

Do you have a DA polisher? If it's just swirls from washing it's pretty easy. I recommend the Meguiars DA Microfiber Correction System. You can get just the pads and polish minus the DA. I just did my Mustang and I was really impressed. Anyone can do it.


----------



## wdemetrius1

Everything looks great!!!

I'm patiently waiting to continue to be amazed.


----------



## robolop

I just want to say “THANK YOU ALL” for the nice comments you gave me on my garage.
For me it’s a dream place where I can pursue my hobby as good as possible.
I’m sure it’s thanks to all of you, I raised the bar a bit higher.
One thing I learned from myself,, is that I became much calmer since I’ve finished my workshop. Now the goal is to keep it as tidy and clean as it is now.
But don’t forget this…
In my old stable, which was small, cold and damp, I had loads of fun, and I made so many nice things.
So you can see I doesn’t have to be high-tech and fancy to create something nice.
Using the hands, and everyone has the same pair, is the thing to do!


----------



## req

right on rob!

the shop looks fantastic. i mean super top notch. i am really looking forward to what comes next for the bimmer!


----------



## jpeezy

nice set of facom screwdrivers, of course the rest of that shop is a dream, reality for u, but motivation for the rest of us. Really nice work and thank you for sharing.


----------



## robolop

New wheels fitted.


----------



## Notloudenuf

Can I come to Belgium and hang out with you for the week?


----------



## HondAudio

Did this install ever get finished, or did the thread become "Look how awesome robolop's garage is!!" ?


----------



## eemichael83

Looking sharp robolop. Would you mind taking a photo of your audio setup in the trunk zoomed out? Most of the photos you took are tighter shots that show detail but I'd like to see some photos that are zoomed out with the full trunk to get a better sense of the scale especially knowing your focal's are 5". Keep up the awesome work!


----------



## danno14

robolop said:


> New wheels fitted.


Now you're talking! I LOVE 5 spokes 



of course all the rest pales by comparison.
Not!

Amazing skills.


----------



## The Performer

HondAudio said:


> Did this install ever get finished, or did the thread become "Look how awesome robolop's garage is!!" ?


And we can't forget the random pictures of hot women... 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


----------



## cerwinvega_fan

Wow...


----------



## JayinMI

robolop said:


> New wheels fitted.


Are those Vossens? Did you photoshop the cat in? I would never get a cat to sit still that long. lol


----------



## robolop

In terms of organization of the workshop, this is (I think) the last thing I had to put in order.

I made two solid aluminum brackets.










These were made to hold the router table in place, once it’s folded open.




























If I do not need this, it justs hangs next to the table, and this doesn’t takes any space somewhere else.



















The roundells I milled, I provided with a layer of paper which they use to make seals from. 
The advantage is that it doesn’t scratch, but the best thing is that once it is established, it doesn’t come loose from it’s own. 
This for the safety of the router-table once it is lifted.


----------



## LaserSVT

I look at builds like this and get depressed realizing how little skill I have.


----------



## strong*I*bumpin

LaserSVT said:


> I look at builds like this and get depressed realizing how little skill I have.


I get depressed on how broke I am


----------



## REGULARCAB

When I close my eyes and go to my happy place, I swear it look almost exactly like your shop... nuckin futz


----------



## sydmonster

Really like the execution on that router table. Making excellent use of space.
An engineering answer if I've ever seen one...


----------



## mitja155

strong*I*bumpin said:


> I get depressed on how broke I am


and im just depressed


----------



## robolop

The new wheels are ready. Just a small detail. 
A teaser.......


----------



## req

TEASER!


----------



## robolop

Here some pictures of the rims, wich are now black.
After a lot of sanding, they were painted Titansilver on the outside.
Once it was all dry, I taped off a little lane of 3mm. Then everything got coated black, the same black as my moldings.
Once the tape was removed, enough layers of varnish were added, to it's all equal and tight.

Front rims are 19x8,5 with a 235x35x19 et35.



















Back is 19x9,5 with a 265x30x19 et 45.



















In the rear I also added a spacer of 6mm, to have it just wide enough as I wanted it to be.
Off course, she rubbed in the back, so I worked on the body a bit so the tires didn't touch anymore

The carbon fibre dust-caps are 1mm removed from the rims. Off course this it TOO close, 
So I guess I'll have to make new ones


----------



## TheDavel

Wouldn't expect anything less than perfection from you, looks great!


----------



## sydmonster

nice... very nice. Black wheels are great touch! The show-off you custom carbon shields very well and look mean on their own! I LIKE!

Can we have a picture of the whole car (3/4 shot)?


----------



## robolop

OOOOOOOO Yeaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh.

And they were good again.

Rock Werchter 03/07/2014 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZu8fzfAbgw


----------



## robolop

I made 4 carbon plates for the new dustcovers.
These will be 10mm smaller then the inner side of the wheels. Front and rear there’s 12mm difference in the diameter.










This is a fiberglass plate.



















After that I milled to rings in MDF with the right diameter and milled out the carbon plates.










The Boomerangs are gone, and I made it all flow together with the form of the caliper.

Front:










Rear:










Once this was all finished, I could start milling the aluminium parts I needed.
First I mounted the fiberglass plate on the new rings I ordered, but then again, it was the same as those before.
So I made something out of aluminium myself.
I milled some pieces of aluminium, too many to name them all.










Used a bearing to mill it perfectly round.










Because the plate was so small, I mounted it onto a slat, so I was sure I’ll have all my vingers afterwards…










This was the result after many hours of labour.










The other aluminum plate what you see lying in the middle is to serve as a model. This I will make in carbon fibre











Meanwhile, I’vebeen busy. The paint of the BMW has been cleaned to the extreme. 
This time I have not done it myself. If I had to buy all the products again, I could let someone clean it for me, and still pay less.
A friend of mine is a professional and knows what he’s doing. 
I’ll take the time later on to post some pictures, and give some info on what products he used. I was impressed with the result.


----------



## req

your skill with the router is so amazing rob... every time i have to read it like 5 times and im still stunned. you make it look so easy!


----------



## robolop

I worked in the center plate, which will contain BERYLIUM



















Thereafter, taped the aluminum plate on a piece of carbon, and kept everything against the copy milling.


These are the plates now










Meanwhile, 4 rings were machined from 11mm and 3mm thick



















I've also made some little plates which will contain my logo.



















I have been very pleased that hazardous work is already done. What you see on this picture are a LOT of hours of hard labour.
































































The next day I'm going to keep myself busy with aluminum, sanding it all thoroughly. Because I'm going to polish everything , the smallest scratch needs to be sanded off.


The carbon fibre will get sanded and provided with the needed layers of epoxy. The fiberglass plates will go the paintjob for some layers of primer.


----------



## TheDavel

I quit. 

Great work as always.


----------



## imjustjason

robolop said:


> I've also made some little plates which will contain my logo.


You know you're a badass when you have a logo, wish I had a logo.


----------



## rton20s

imjustjason said:


> You know you're a badass when you have a logo, wish I had a logo.


Done...


----------



## rton20s

And just to be clear. That isn't a slight toward you. More just a reflection of how I feel about the quality of my own work when I look at this thread.


----------



## carlr

Speachless as always...


----------



## sydmonster

had to take a 2nd look!... what a true evolution of work!


----------



## reithi

I have been through this thread countless times. It is a story of a journey towards audio and engineering excellence. The attention to detail and precision in execution leave me speechless.

This is the best build log hands down that deserves 6 or more precisely 7 stars.


----------



## AVIDEDTR

damn....beautiful


----------



## JayinMI

TheDavel said:


> I quit.


I feel the same way. lol

Jay


----------



## strong*I*bumpin

I can't look no more,excuse me while I go hide in a closet.


----------



## robolop

The brake calipers are almost ready to get painted.

Here you can see I sanded them before adding some primer.










Then I took some time polishing the little inox screws

Right = polished.










You can see in the background how many I needed to do. (200pcs)
After I did a couple (i’m guessing 10 or so) I got sick of it. My fingers were pretty hot from rubbing into the brush al the time.

Then I invented this
A piece of volkern of 6mm, drilled some holes and tapped some new screwthread.










So I can do many more in a short period of time, and my fingers were safe.










These recessed roundels I also polished. 
In the foreground you can see how they were.










Here you see the claws in the white primer. These must become thoroughly sanded again. There are better things to do. 
The carbon rings are equipped with the necessary layers of varnish. These must now be sanded and polished, then they are ready.










The carbon fibre plate I provided with the the logos. Letters are under the epoxy. 
These must be sanded thoroughly now, and a few coats of varnish must be layed.


----------



## gfbl

holy sheit, your attention to detail is incredible! who thinks of polishing screwheads.


----------



## robolop

gfbl said:


> holy sheit, your attention to detail is incredible! who thinks of polishing screwheads.




I have forgotten to tell that I've also sanded everything first..:laugh::laugh:


----------



## gfbl

you need help sir 
that being said i wish i could do the same


----------



## iroller

sub'd


----------



## robolop

All the parts of the brakes are painted. 
I laid everything on a table so you can see all the content of these thing. It gave me a thrill to see everything like this. 
There’s a lot of work in these, but I sa wit like this on the table, it was worth it, for me anyway.
I am also superplease about the paintjob (Thx Bruno). These things are not so easy to spray tight. Only 2 little runners after it's perfect. These will be sanded off anyway.



















The inside of the brake discs are the same color as the car.



















Now my job is to mount everything again, without making any scratches.

I have my CLOCK tuned too…



















Now I look at the time with a big smile on my face!


----------



## rton20s

I'm thinking you could make a comfortable living just building clocks.


----------



## gfbl

maybe i missed it but is this a hobby or your profession? your skills are remarkable to say the least. have you ever built floor standing speakers? that would be child's play for you


----------



## eddieg

I think Robolop should offer Morel his own design version for the "fat lady" speakers


----------



## robolop

I put the calipers wack together.
4 in a row.














































And also put together the dust caps

Here I is still have a problem (Luxury Problem).

Next to the Berylium logo you can see that I have used several roundels and plates.
Personally I think the black little plate looks very nice, but they might show a bit more brut compared to the rest.











These are the black aluminum plates I milled itself.










Polished the aluminium roundels










Around this, I planted an O-ring, and thought this would look better 

And finally, the black anodized roundels.











When I would touch the disc, while mounting the wheel, you wouldn’t see any damage on the paint of the rim


----------



## jvctan16

hours of work..talk about detail. wish you were here so I could learn from you personally


----------



## req

those things have to have so many hours into the fabrication.

awesome.


----------



## SHAGGS

I was completely unaware that Belgium had 72 hour days.  
Unbelievable as always.


----------



## quickaudi07

Your nuts man. what's next .???? 
As always beautiful!!!


----------



## HondAudio

SHAGGS said:


> I was completely unaware that Belgium had 72 hour days.
> Unbelievable as always.


No... Robolop just packs 72 hours worth of work into a normal 24 hours


----------



## metalball

Bowing to the superior skills of Robolop!


----------



## SUX 2BU

One of the reasons your work is so incredible is that everything looks manufactured by machines and automated processes with no hand-making mistakes but because it is all hand-made, the precision and consistency is truly remarkable.


----------



## robolop

One of many.


----------



## FreeTheSound

robolop said:


> One of many.



Beautiful work....and Rossi is on a serious come back signing again for 2 years with Yamaha so I will take that clock please


----------



## robolop

FreeTheSound said:


> Beautiful work....and Rossi is on a serious come back signing again for 2 years with Yamaha so I will take that clock please


Forget it. dude


----------



## AVIDEDTR

I just came. DAMN!


----------



## quickaudi07

robolop said:


> One of many.


WTF, I have no words! I'm 99.9% sure everyone on here the followed your post is amazed with what you do! Simply amazing!


----------



## litrekid

FreeTheSound said:


> Beautiful work....and Rossi is on a serious come back signing again for 2 years with Yamaha so I will take that clock please


Hell ya, go Rossi! Wasn't sure how he would fair without Burgess but always knew he wasn't done. 

Beautiful work on the car too. 

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk


----------



## AccordUno

I just got to ask, do you still work for a company? Have you thought about starting your own company on the side marketing some of the things you have built for your car, like those brake liners and all the little parts for the calipers? You'd make a nice amount of money selling to all the BMW drivers here in the states.. Euro scene is getting stronger..


----------



## LBaudio

...but if we flip this coin....it's nice to have something that no one else have....priceless, for everything else there is Mastercard 

über super nice werk as allways


----------



## KyleMDunn

I am always speechless scrolling through this thread...


----------



## robolop

Pictures from the Photoshoot.



























































































There is also a small movie of ROBolab.

Under construction.


----------



## hakmazter

Rob, those factory brake retainers that you polished….. I did the same thing and mine started to rust on my e90. Not sure if you are chroming or just polishing, just thought you should know. Mine is a daily driver and gets rain and snow occasionally. Just a heads up. Luckily they pop off easy, but then you get to deal with scratching the red paint.


----------



## robolop

Last saturdaynight someone bashed into my front bumper.
The car was parked in the underground parking lot of the appartment-house.
The one who did it, didn’t leave a note…so I’m guessing no one’s quilty…GRRR

Bumper take a good hit, the carbon piece in the middle is cracked

So I’ll guess I’ll fix this myself again…


----------



## eddieg

Could be a good a idea to check for a good car DVR that keeps recording few good hours after engine is halted. 

So what now? change in design or just a fix?


----------



## imjustjason

That sucks pretty major, you had a TON of hours in that bumper and air inlet. 

Check with the apartment houses security, they may have surveillance video of who hit you. Look around for cameras, if there's cameras in the vicinity then it's likely it was caught on tape.


----------



## req

im sorry rob :'(


----------



## rton20s

Man that totally stinks. Absolute scum. 

I guess on the bright side, we get to see you do even more awesome work.


----------



## leepersc

HondAudio said:


> No... Robolop just packs 72 hours worth of work into a normal 24 hours


NO, actually, Belgium has the shortest weekly work weeks of anywhere in the world! Not to mention "career breaks". 

See: World's shortest work weeks - Belgium (7) - CNNMoney & http://www.employment.belgium.be/defaultTab.aspx?id=38255

Not hating, the work Robolop does is perfect. Just stating some facts is all! ...........Prepare for FLAMING on me!!


----------



## HondAudio

leepersc said:


> NO, actually, Belgium has the shortest weekly work weeks of anywhere in the world! Not to mention "career breaks".
> 
> See: World's shortest work weeks - Belgium (7) - CNNMoney & Posting - working hours and rest periods - FPS ELSD
> 
> Not hating, the work Robolop does is perfect. Just stating some facts is all! ...........Prepare for FLAMING on me!!


BRB moving to Belgium 

Seriously... I feel less and less 'MURICAN every day. I need a serious change of scenery.


----------



## leepersc

HondAudio said:


> BRB moving to Belgium
> 
> Seriously... I feel less and less 'MURICAN every day. I need a serious change of scenery.


Me too! I thought America was the best...not so much!!!


----------



## robolop

Disassembled the front bumper today. Actually, I didn’t have any time to put into the BMW, but I couldn’t take it much longer seeing her like that.










It looks pretty beaten up on the outside, but on the inside, it doesn’t look much better.
The reinforcement bar on the inside is torn out on one side.










The license plate bracket also snapped










Reinforcement bar that mounted in the bumper, dislodged from the blow. 
And not a little bit as you can see.










Cut it all clean and and prepared for repair.










This time the bar will no longer come off that easy



















Once it’s hard, I can cut out the bad parts in the front










In other words, bumper took a good beating, and I am now satisfied that the bonnet is not hit too.


----------



## quickaudi07

I know this sucks seeing you beautiful car being damaged by some *******. But again it could have been worse !


----------



## robolop

I editted the front of the bumper pretty much

Where the cracks were, I grinded everything away so I could lay a new layer of fiberglass. So it will be solid as a rock again.










Here you can see I cut everything away till the last piece.
That's very important, and now it's all very strong, and I can begin the finishing works.



















The bumper doesn't fit as nice as before. The line between the hood and lights isn't 100%
I'm going to work on that as well, so there's 4mm game between it.

The carbon piece that was mounted in the bumper, also was cracked on the back.
I managed to repair and reinforce this. Fortunate that there's nothing on the carbon fibre itself.
This was a very difficult pieces to cover in CF.










Meanwhile, I worked on the bumper with filler already.
As I said, the line between the bumper and the hood/light was ruined.
Of course, I corrected it everywhere with the straight 4mm space.

I fixed this easy by taping a little ruler underneath the hood and lights, and fill it all up with filler.










It maybe looks like child play, but it's a time consuming job.
But the line is correct now, so I'm happy.










The recess I made when I bought the bumper, didn't look as it was originally made.










I had to made it again, and I also made some minor changes.



















The carbon piece that was in the center, I had to repair (to a crack in the back)

I did a minor adjustment there. The thick piece of aluminium (15mm), is slightly more interacted to the bumper.
So it doesn't stick out that much anymore

before










after


----------



## req

your beautiful car gets damaged and instead of just fixing it to how it was before, you refine it even more.

you are an inspiration sir.


----------



## imjustjason

The guys at a normal body shop would still be scratching their heads trying to figure out what to do.


----------



## upgrayedd

amazing work.


----------



## robolop

Carbon fiber time.


----------



## quickaudi07

Bad ass !


----------



## robolop

Time to do a little change on the mirrors.










It crossed my mind a few times before to add some sidemarkers into the mirror covers.
So I took the disc and disced a little sloth to fit 5mm thick plexiglass.










Ofcourse I wanted carbon fiber on the mirros as wel.
So I added 3 layers of fiberglass fabric on the bottom










Because the mirror was thicker at the bottom, I have everything worked out fine.










This I wanted to do so, cause when the mirrors are painted, this will leave a beautiful marking.

Here you can also see that I have the caps threaded. So I can demount everything nicely 





























Here you can see it on the outside. It’s only a discrete change.










The next thing I must do is to provide the caps on the bottom with a layer of carbon.
These must be completey ready first. Once they’re done, I can adjust the rest 100% on to the thickness of the caps.
Everything must fit in the end.

I provided the polished caps with a layer of carbon fibre.











Now there are three layers of epoxy on. Once everything is hardened, I can start sanding the epoxy tight.
Then I have one layer to set, and then there will probably be no more imperfections

I can’t complain about the glance though…


----------



## eddieg

Just so people would grasp what is going on - How much time does it takes to do just one mirror cover like this? 

And how much work process is put in to it? 

Should be insane...


----------



## req

im really looking forward to seeing that LED side marker when you are all finished. very cool!


----------



## robolop

The mirrors are in the basecoat. As you can see I changed one more thing.











When I was satisfied with how it looked, I mounted the little motor and the glass. Just to see the total picture.
Because the glass sits about 3-4mm from the sides, you could see a bit of the little screw that holds the carbon plate. 
Of course, this was a NO GO for me. So I made a little bump, so you can’t see the screw anymore. Once everything is painted silver, you won’t even notice the bump anymore.


----------



## KyleMDunn

Those mirrors should look amazing when they are done. Overall - your attention to detail is second to none.


----------



## robolop

The mirrors are ready










I also provided them with leds for when I open the door.










About the indicator, I made some test pieces of 5mm thick plexiglass.










I also sanded it (1200) cause I liked the light distribution better then.




























In this picture you can see that I didn’t follow the line on the front of the mirror.
It’s only a mm of 4, but I found it somewhere different.










As for the lighting of the indicator itself, I’ve tried everything.
The best result came from a normal simple lightbulb that I colored with an orange sharpie.
On the inside of the mirror, I made a coverplate (polished and painted black) onto the plexy and the light. 
I certainly did not want that the whole mirror would be lit when I used the indicator.
Everything is now mounted on the BMW, but I haven’t got the time to take pictures.
To be continued


----------



## LBaudio

Awesome.....just waiting for more....


----------



## req

my goodness, your work is impressive.


----------



## NA$TY-TA

I so want to learn how to mold CF. Awesome job as always man.


----------



## spl152db

NA$TY-TA said:


> I so want to learn how to mold CF. Awesome job as always man.


take piece you want to copy. Make negative with fiberglass, make positive with CF. lots of little steps in the middle, but thats the basic.


----------



## imjustjason

I would be happy to just be able to get my mirrors that clean, let alone the custom work.


----------



## hakmazter

Did you sell your car or get lost in an awesome project in your garage? Haven't heard from you in a while.


----------



## robolop

You guys must have noticed it’s been a little too quiet in my topic.
The house where I rebuilt my garage last year, is also in need of a big renovation.
I’m thinking this will take about 5-6 months, and probably longer, which is fine. As long as the works are done the way I wanted, it’s fine by me.
Of course, the works on the bimmer are complete frozen for the moment. She’s hibernating, nice and warm under a blanket.

I’m looking forward getting back on to the bimmer, once the house is finished. For the moment nothing has changed, cause there’s other stuff on my mind.
But I’ve got some nice and really special ideas stored in my mind for the moment I start…
In other words, you’re not getting rid of me that easy.


----------



## LBaudio

Good luck with house renovation......I can only timagine how it will look like when done under your standards.....based on looks of your garage it will be OVERKILL!


----------



## req

so will there be a Robo-house build log? I cant imagine if you are going to renovate your house, how amazing that's going to be!


----------



## robolop

For the moment I’m making something weird…and no…it’s not for the bimmer.
My wife will be very happy when it’s finished.


----------



## claydo

Uhh...I have no idea, can't even fathom a guess. Coming from you, I know it'll be badass tho....


----------



## req

its got to be some kind of light fixture. thats my guess


----------



## hakmazter

Hey Rob,
I found your home audio counterpart. I wonder if he is a US relative of yours?

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=192226

Building (2) High End Tower Speakers - Blu-ray Forum


----------



## DavidRam

I just went through every single page of this build. Un-****ing-real, In-****ing-credible, A-****ing-mazing, Awe-****ing-some, Bad-****ing-ass...

*WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*


----------



## rxonmymind

When passion and the love of the game is combined it no longer becomes "work". I can relate to this passion in another game and that was tennis for me. As a young buck I was out there 7 days a week 4 hrs on the weekdays till dark(playing at night is awesome) and 8-10 hrs on the weekends. It wasn't work. Just loved playing. Then before you know it, you become really good at something and it's truly FUN. Time flys by. Your no longer constrained by time. Your outside of it. So when I see this, it brings a smile.
Well done. Bravo.


----------



## robolop

I made a UFO for robohouse


----------



## robolop

Hi dudes. For the moment I’m still busy in our new home. We’re living here for about 2 weeks now.
Off course things aren’t completely finished, I’m busy completing and finishing off. Like making some extra cupboards, elevator, and some other stuff.
I don’t have any time left to work on the bimmer…

Elevator.








When I started on my garage a, I also said it had to be 100% finished until I started working on the bimmer again.
Well, I feel the same about my house, so you’ll have to wait a bit longer to see some more updates on the bimmer.
I’m longing for the moment when I can start again, because I’ve got many new idea’s about things I could do on my car.
And yes, quite a lot…and some cool things as well. But we all have to wait a couple more months.


Here some pictures of how the workspace looks for the moment. Many people may think it’s not beeing used, cause it always so tidy, but that’s not the case.
I try to keep it clean as good as I can…but I want it to get used for what it has been built for, so I don’t care about usage marks here and there anymore










For the moment there are some extreme hot temperatures here in Belgium, and I’ve got some trouble sleeping at night. Sometimes I get up at 3 o’clock and I can’t sleep anymore.
Then I just go to my garage, open all the doors, and do some more work on the cupboards I’m making.
It gives a wonderful feeling, and that’s all we need in this life.

See you dude’s


----------



## req

wow rob 

keep on doing what you do best. I hope the weather cools down for you, it is very hot here in Virginia beach as well!


----------



## hakmazter

See you soon, can't wait to see what you have been dreaming up.....


----------



## Ericdd

more info on the elevator please


----------



## robolop

2 Weeks ago, I bought a couple of SoundStream Reference Class-A 6.0 amplifiers.
The seller told me they both were in excellent condition.

When I connected them, I immediately heard that there was something wrong.

On one amplifier the left channel does totally nothing.
And on the other one the left channel gives a lot of noise.

Does anyone know a good address where I can have these amplifiers fixed ?




Gr Robolop.


----------



## claydo

Ugh....sorry bout yer faulty amps! That sucks....


----------



## Octave

That's a no brainer. Gordon at Amp Doc The Amp Doctor - Servicing your amp!


----------



## LBaudio

^ x2
Gordon Taylor, UK


----------



## eddieg

robolop said:


> 2 Weeks ago, I bought a couple of SoundStream Reference Class-A 6.0 amplifiers.
> The seller told me they both were in excellent condition.
> 
> When I connected them, I immediately heard that there was something wrong.
> 
> On one amplifier the left channel does totally nothing.
> And on the other one the left channel gives a lot of noise.
> 
> Does anyone know a good address where I can have these amplifiers fixed ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gr Robolop.


Try as well to contact Stephen Mantz (Mr. ZED Audio him self) via ZED audio's website - he as well offers amp fixing services and as well amp improvements services.


----------



## SteveH!

this is gordon taylor of genesis car audio fame. he does amazing work. 

The Amp Doctor - Servicing your amp! https://www.facebook.com/TheAmpDoctorLtd/


----------



## Isaac.Troseth

Rob! I'm glad to see you're still crafting things. I remember watching this build in '08 or so on fiberglassforums.com. Very inspirational. Keep it up!


----------



## robolop

It’s been a while since I posted here. Renovations on the house are 90% finsihed. Here and there we need to do some finishing touches. But the hard work has taken it’s toll on terms of health.
Me and my wife need had to take it a bit more slow last few months, we really needed it.
So the bimmer is taking it’s beauty winter sleep under the sheets

I have purchased 2 Soundstream Ference Class-a 6.0 amplifiers. I came across them on a belgian ebay site, and purchased them immediately.

I also had these amps in my Fiat in 1996. Many of you would think “why the hell you buy amplifiers of 20years old”, but I know how they play, and what they are capable of.
When I bought these the owner ensured me they were in perfect condition. But when I plugged them into the BMW, I immediately heard somethings was not right.
The left channel of the first one didn’t play at all, and the other one had a left channel that cracked pretty fierce. Of course, I sent an email to the guy who sold me these, but until today…no reaction.

Then I started looking for a distributor of Sound Stream, but that was not easy to find.
So I asked the question on one of the forums in the USA, if someone knew anyone who could fix these.
After a few hours, I have many response. There was someone in the UK who can fix everything in terms of amplifiers.
So I did a few emails, and he said it was no problem to fix them.

What struck me is that there were many people replying to my question that I had to check the switches in the amplifiers, and try to clean them.

So I completely removed the switches, a surgeon’s work…




Here are the switches



And some pictures of how they look on the inside.





I cleaned the contacts with some sandpaper, and it immediately looked much better.






The second switch was slightly smaller, but it also had to be taken apart.



Then everything had to be reassembled and connected.
To my great surprise, everything working perfectly now .
Then I did the 2nd amp…and it also proved to work after I had hooked it up.

I 've tested every amplifier for over 2 hours until they got very hot , and all plays like it should.


----------



## Coppertone

Good deal, glad to hear that it's all working out for you ...


----------



## Kazuhiro

Nice work. Is this a common problem with the 6.0's?


----------



## claydo

Awesome! Good news finding out its something you could do yerself......didn't even have to wait for them to ship...instant gratification!


----------



## deeppinkdiver

common issue in old school SS amps, very worthy of keeping. GREAT amplifiers, nice find Rob..


----------



## bigbubba

That is interesting news on the switches. I have 3 - SS Ref. 500 and 2 - Ref. 300 amps which I love. So far all of mine work fine except one of my 500's has a little turn off thump.


----------



## 1FinalInstall

I have to ask, is there at least 1 exterior wall of the new house that's carbon fiber with a window trimmed out in a beautiful piece of decorative polished aluminum? Maybe a carbon mailbox.... Which by the way either would be AWESOME!


----------



## robolop

Kazuhiro said:


> Nice work. Is this a common problem with the 6.0's?





claydo said:


> Awesome! Good news finding out its something you could do yerself......didn't even have to wait for them to ship...instant gratification!





deeppinkdiver said:


> common issue in old school SS amps, very worthy of keeping. GREAT amplifiers, nice find Rob..





bigbubba said:


> That is interesting news on the switches. I have 3 - SS Ref. 500 and 2 - Ref. 300 amps which I love. So far all of mine work fine except one of my 500's has a little turn off thump.



The amplifiers are working perfectly now, and it didn’t cost me a penny.
What I’m going to do in the future, is send it tot he UK.
I mailed a few times with Gordon Taylor and he can sound them even better by changing some components. A friend of mine is going to the UK in 4 months, and he can drop them of there…
We’ll see…


----------



## robolop

1FinalInstall said:


> I have to ask, is there at least 1 exterior wall of the new house that's carbon fiber with a window trimmed out in a beautiful piece of decorative polished aluminum? Maybe a carbon mailbox.... Which by the way either would be AWESOME!



No dude, I haven’t got any carbon fibre stuff for in my house yey… But what has not happened, is yet to come 
This will be a cupboard for my collection of Ferrari’s (scale 1/36). When I started my renovation, I already knew that would be the last thing on the list.
And yes, this will be made with aluminium and carbon fibre.

[/URL


I’m following your topic. You’re making some really nice things, and especially now I see you’re working with PPI, I’m a huge fan!


----------



## Kazuhiro

I believe the manual for those amps has something along the lines of "Your soundstream will outperform any amplifier in the world!"


----------



## robolop

Because I’m mounting the Soundstream amplifiers upside down, the inside should look very nice as well.
All the components must be perfectly straight.
The screws where the final stages are fixed with, I personally think, look like ****!


To just replace these screws would be simple, but the original screws are UNC (Unified Coarse) thread, and in Europe it’s metric thread.
So I have to retap everything for M4 screws.





After that I sinked in the original thick roundells, sanded and polished them.
I worked almost one full day to get to this result.






But I’m really happy with the result

On the inside, the amps will remain like this for the time being. On the outside a lot of things will happen, I’m afraid.
I think the aluminium casing which holds the circuit board, will get a treatment with the mill/cutter in the near future.


----------



## imjustjason

Are they going in the BMW or another project?


----------



## robolop

imjustjason said:


> Are they going in the BMW or another project?


These two Soundstream amplifiers will be on the Focal Utopia No 7


----------



## Victor_inox

robolop said:


> Because I’m mounting the Soundstream amplifiers upside down, the inside should look very nice as well.
> All the components must be perfectly straight.
> The screws where the final stages are fixed with, I personally think, look like ****!
> 
> 
> To just replace these screws would be simple, but the original screws are UNC (Unified Coarse) thread, and in Europe it’s metric thread.
> So I have to retap everything for M4 screws.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After that I sinked in the original thick roundells, sanded and polished them.
> I worked almost one full day to get to this result.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But I’m really happy with the result
> 
> On the inside, the amps will remain like this for the time being. On the outside a lot of things will happen, I’m afraid.
> I think the aluminium casing which holds the circuit board, will get a treatment with the mill/cutter in the near future.


Now you have to resolder all those horrifying joints....and polish them as well.


----------



## robolop

Kazuhiro said:


> I believe the manual for those amps has something along the lines of "Your soundstream will outperform any amplifier in the world!"


I've already had these amps when I competed IASCA competitions whit the Fiat 500. I know what these things can handle, and how good they are.


----------



## robolop

Victor_inox said:


> Now you have to resolder all those horrifying joints....and polish them as well.


If I have built these amplifiers in the BMW, I will then send them to England, to Gordon Taylor .

The Amp Doctor - Servicing your amp!


I emailed him and he can make them even better than they already are.


----------



## Victor_inox

robolop said:


> If I have built these amplifiers in the BMW, I will then send them to England, to Gordon Taylor .
> 
> The Amp Doctor - Servicing your amp!
> 
> 
> I emailed him and he can make them even better than they already are.


For some odd reason I believe you capable of soldering yourself.
You crazy man!


----------



## req

every time this thread gets a post, I get excited.

thank you for keeping this alive rob! I cant wait to see what you do with the amplifiers!


----------



## robolop

It has been quiet for a while on this forum topic,
but believe me, that was totally beyond my control.

Those who know me in person, I guess they know why.
And all others ... maybe better take a look at this video :

https://youtu.be/gWyVrfTlqdU


----------



## claydo

Holy **** rob, I had no idea.......the fact you're working from a chair both makes you're work that much more amazing, and some what makes you're unstoppable drive for perfection understandable......good luck with yer current problems, I truly hope it doesent slow you down! 

Much respect, 
Clay


----------



## Victor_inox

Much respect Indeed!


----------



## Blu

claydo articulated it perfectly, not much more I could say other than I am wishing the best of outcomes for you.

Blu


----------



## rton20s

Robert, your work has been inspiring since the first time I saw it. I truly hope for your sake (as well as the entire industry) that you can get the help you need to be able to continue pursuing your passion.


----------



## SQram

Wow, incredible. I wish you all the best Robo, hope to see you back to work in the near future.


----------



## TheDavel

My respect level just jumped x10! That video gave a perspective that is beyond belief. I now know how much more I need to push myself. We have no excuses. We cannot take short cuts. We must always push things and ourselves further. I am more motivated now than I've been in 10 years. Respect!


----------



## 1FinalInstall

Rob, I have gone to your work on the BMW for inspiration and ideas more than any other install since I started my own "install therapy/treatment". We're all with you brother and hope for the best possible outcome. A big thank you to Cris, for keeping an old VHS tape around for 19 years that most of us would have tossed. That was a great watch and like TheDavel mentioned, gave us all a perspective that's beyond belief! :bowdown:


----------



## deeppinkdiver

Several people before me said it perfectly, your work and skill set are amazing. We can not stop short of perfection with the passion of our hobbys. You are a true inspiration Robert. Thank you for sharing, I wish you only the best.


----------



## jpeezy

Octave said:


> That's a no brainer. Gordon at Amp Doc The Amp Doctor - Servicing your amp!


thanks for the tip, have you had any repaired by him?, got a couple old punch 45's i was gonna get reworked.


----------



## jpeezy

I think what I like most about your work besides the obvious quality, and attention to detail, is the different perspective that you take when executing your projects, all very precise and well thought out. Now considering the Sick Bmw, your most awesome home and shop, the wheelchair has to be just sick too,(if this question offends you at all please except my sincerest apologies, hopefully it doesn't. ) it appears as though it doesn't slow you down. Hopefully you continue to be able to share your work, its like reading a really good book(a really nice mechanical picture book,for the coffee table, i'd buy it).


----------



## MajorChipHazard

I will never complain again about anything that holds me back from achieving my visions as an installer.You Robert,are an true inspiration


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## AccordUno

man, Robolop As a Military veteran that has seen guys fight thru injuries, I had no idea that was your situation. Keep fighting, no matter what, keep fighting and keep up the up the good work. I wish I had 15% of your skills..


----------



## robolop

Meanwhile, I’ve done some medical examinations to my shoulders. In each shoulder a muscle group and tendons are torn or ripped off , and this gives many problems..
As you can see I 'm going through life in a wheelchair. I think none of you guys knew that already.
That explains why I have shoulder problems . The last 20 years I've done some crazy things with the shoulders, and there had to be a time when these were going to fail
I just wanted to do some more years , 10 – 15 would be awesome , but that will not happen anymore.

April 7 I’m in for a first surgery on the left side. In total, the recovery will take six months.
Once this is good, the same will happen on the right side.
Again six months rehabilitation.
So in total, I won’t be allowed to do much for a year , and let everything heal and recover well. .
The Doctor also told me once everything is healed, I’m won’t be able to do crazy things with them anymore.
They will heal pretty well now, but when it happens again, it’s game over for me.

Meanwhile I’m busy with some things that will make it more easy once I can start on the bimmer again.
Here's a small elevator that I made to sit on. Normally this is a bath lift but of course, I modified this a little.
For the things I do low to the ground , I sat on a little board on wheels . This was very easy for me , and it was a good enough solution. 
To get from the wheelchair to the board was no problem. But when I needed to get back in the wheelchair , I had to do enormous efforts with my arms and shoulders. So this I just can’t do anymore…



















Now, with the electrical board , I can put it as high as the wheelchair is , and then I can shove/slide myself on it. 
When I’m on it, I just drop it to the desired height. This works perfectly 



















Entering the BMW as before is also not an option anymore. 
I have created a bench that I put between the wheelchair and the seat . So I slide into the car. The wheelchair is now beside me on the passenger chair .
So I can get out independently whenever I want.











As for the car hifi , I 'm going to have to change things to the installation too.
I 'm busy thinking about it , but certain things I will not be able to do anymore


----------



## claydo

Shiiit, sorry rob, but I know anything you do will be waaaay beyond my abilities, the limitations are just gonna bring ya to a point where your work will be within the grasp of our feeble minds......lmao. Here's hoping you a speedy recovery from your upcoming surgeries......


----------



## 1FinalInstall

claydo said:


> Shiiit, sorry rob, but I know anything you do will be waaaay beyond my abilities, the limitations are just gonna bring ya to a point where your work will be within the grasp of our feeble minds......lmao. Here's hoping you a speedy recovery from your upcoming surgeries......



+1 and again, we're all thinking of ya over here brother. With all of that down time with the gears running, I can only imagine what your going to come up with once your healthy and ready to get back in the shop!!


----------



## SUX 2BU

As others have said, the fact that you install at the level you do is incredible but to do it in a wheelchair is indescribeable.

I have to ask: how do you do work in the trunk? My own back hurts after only a short period of bending over in a trunk but how do you do it?


----------



## FLYONWALL9

Rob,

Best of luck with your treatments and rehab. Though I'm not in a chair I could have very easily ended up so. 12 years ago I was struck by a two inch steel cable that broke under tension. I had my first treatments over the past 2 months. Today was a HUGE milestone for me. It was the first time in 12 years I have had ZERO pain. Even though to help I had pain meds. In the past even with pain medication I still had substantial pain, it just made it bearable. It is very hard to put into words what it is like to have little to no pain when you have lived with it for so long. 

What everyone can learn from your admittance and video, is to never discourage or disrespect the work someone is doing and sharing with others here. No matter the level they are able to work, you just never know what they are going through. Everyone has daily struggles, it is the character of the person that separates them. It is up to us (the people who read and follow the build) to show the respect each and everyone of us deserve. 

So, God bless you for being an inspiration, not for your inabilities or skills; but for your humility and willingness to help others. Wishing you all the best with your upcoming treatments and hoping your pain is minimal.
Cheers,
Scott


----------



## carlr

Rob,

You are a true inspiration - my best wishes for a speedy recovery.


----------



## robolop

TheDavel said:


> My respect level just jumped x10! That video gave a perspective that is beyond belief. I now know how much more I need to push myself. We have no excuses. We cannot take short cuts. We must always push things and ourselves further. I am more motivated now than I've been in 10 years. Respect!


Thx Dave for the loverly words. We’re all trying to do our best.
I’ve been following you on the www for a long time!






1FinalInstall said:


> Rob, I have gone to your work on the BMW for inspiration and ideas more than any other install since I started my own "install therapy/treatment". We're all with you brother and hope for the best possible outcome. A big thank you to Cris, for keeping an old VHS tape around for 19 years that most of us would have tossed. That was a great watch and like TheDavel mentioned, gave us all a perspective that's beyond belief! :bowdown:





deeppinkdiver said:


> Several people before me said it perfectly, your work and skill set are amazing. We can not stop short of perfection with the passion of our hobbys. You are a true inspiration Robert. Thank you for sharing, I wish you only the best.


Glad you learn something from this. Soon I’ll have some more time to check out installs descently.
Mostly time fails to give a nice response om some of the things I see.





jpeezy said:


> I think what I like most about your work besides the obvious quality, and attention to detail, is the different perspective that you take when executing your projects, all very precise and well thought out. Now considering the Sick Bmw, your most awesome home and shop, the wheelchair has to be just sick too,(if this question offends you at all please except my sincerest apologies, hopefully it doesn't. ) it appears as though it doesn't slow you down. Hopefully you continue to be able to share your work, its like reading a really good book(a really nice mechanical picture book,for the coffee table, i'd buy it).


No, you don’t insult me at all.
My wheelchair is like my bmw. Titan Silver, Black Rims, Carbon Fiber and Aluminium.
I’ll take some pictures for you


----------



## benny z

i've always admired the work in this car. now to see you have done it all from a wheelchair is beyond belief. incredible work and a true inspiration on every level.


----------



## robolop

MajorChipHazard said:


> I will never complain again about anything that holds me back from achieving my visions as an installer.You Robert,are an true inspiration
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


We don’t have much to keep on complaining. Sometimes you need to face the facts that something you want to do, simply doesn’t go.
We are not magicians. 




AccordUno said:


> man, Robolop As a Military veteran that has seen guys fight thru injuries, I had no idea that was your situation. Keep fighting, no matter what, keep fighting and keep up the up the good work. I wish I had 15% of your skills..


Of course, I’m not giving up, but sometimes things happen that you can’t control yourself.


----------



## robolop

claydo said:


> Shiiit, sorry rob, but I know anything you do will be waaaay beyond my abilities, the limitations are just gonna bring ya to a point where your work will be within the grasp of our feeble minds......lmao. Here's hoping you a speedy recovery from your upcoming surgeries......


Believe me, there are many things in my head that I still want to make in the bimmer, but it’ll take a while before I can do those things, and the question remains if I’ll be able to make those things at all….


----------



## robolop

SUX 2BU said:


> As others have said, the fact that you install at the level you do is incredible but to do it in a wheelchair is indescribeable.
> 
> I have to ask: how do you do work in the trunk? My own back hurts after only a short period of bending over in a trunk but how do you do it?



Fortunately, I never suffer from backaches . If I have to work in the trunk I put a pillow where the spare tire is in . I raise myself up to the edge of the case , and then I let myself quietly down until I sit in it. 
Then I put my legs a little bit more comfortable, and I especially foresee that everything I need is beside me so that I don’t need to climb out 10 times.
Coming out of the trunk is much more difficult. Here also I overstrain my shoulders again . I fear that I won’t be able to do so in the future. 
We’ll see…


----------



## AVIDEDTR

speechless


----------



## zapcoaudio

AVIDEDTR said:


> speechless


x2...


----------



## AVIDEDTR

robolop said:


> Fortunately, I never suffer from backaches . If I have to work in the trunk I put a pillow where the spare tire is in . I raise myself up to the edge of the case , and then I let myself quietly down until I sit in it.
> Then I put my legs a little bit more comfortable, and I especially foresee that everything I need is beside me so that I don’t need to climb out 10 times.
> Coming out of the trunk is much more difficult. Here also I overstrain my shoulders again . I fear that I won’t be able to do so in the future.
> We’ll see…


I am in complete aww, of your work and to be doing this with such precision in a wheel chair, is a bar I will never likely achieve.

I hope your body heals so you resume your impeccable work.


----------



## optimaprime

robolop said:


> Fortunately, I never suffer from backaches . If I have to work in the trunk I put a pillow where the spare tire is in . I raise myself up to the edge of the case , and then I let myself quietly down until I sit in it.
> Then I put my legs a little bit more comfortable, and I especially foresee that everything I need is beside me so that I don’t need to climb out 10 times.
> Coming out of the trunk is much more difficult. Here also I overstrain my shoulders again . I fear that I won’t be able to do so in the future.
> We’ll see…


I will be praying for you! The moment I saw you in wheel chair in that video I realized right then that your work is way more precious then I took for granted. I truely believe you will be back in some form or another. Maybe with a helper you could pass it along and keep going. God bless you man . The whole forum is pulling for you .


----------



## MDubYa

optimaprime said:


> I will be praying for you! The moment I saw you in wheel chair in that video I realized right then that your work is way more precious then I took for granted. I truely believe you will be back in some form or another. Maybe with a helper you could pass it along and keep going. God bless you man . The whole forum is pulling for you .



Couldn't say it better...Prayers man!


----------



## robolop

A few years back I started cycling as I thought it would be good for me.
I got a recumbent bike from a friend and modified it a little bit….

original



Robolop Design.


----------



## AVIDEDTR

jaw = floor


----------



## robolop

After many hours, the result.









Hope brake disk .






Last week I sold him. I may no longer drive.


----------



## claydo

Lol, I knew it would be a sick bike before the pics popped up......

Hate you had to sell it rob, someone got a custom masterpiece.....


----------



## benny z

that's awesome!

sad to see you sold it.


----------



## robolop

claydo said:


> Lol, I knew it would be a sick bike before the pics popped up......
> 
> Hate you had to sell it rob, someone got a custom masterpiece.....


Personally I think it is one of the most beautiful things I've made. But I could do nothing with it.


----------



## Coppertone

Everything that you touch becomes a thing of beauty.


----------



## 1FinalInstall

claydo said:


> Lol, I knew it would be a sick bike before the pics popped up......
> 
> Hate you had to sell it rob, someone got a custom masterpiece.....


Too funny Clay, that's exactly what I thought, I couldn't click fast enough! Very cool Rob! Post pics of everything you've done, no matter what it is. I can find inspiration in it all. We all love your incredible talents! :thumbsup:


----------



## Victor_inox

1FinalInstall said:


> Too funny Clay, that's exactly what I thought, I couldn't click fast enough! Very cool Rob! Post pics of everything you've done, no matter what it is. I can find inspiration in it all. We all love your incredible talents! :thumbsup:


I second that, I learned that aluminum can be milled with router table,not necessarily million dollar CNC machine. 
I also learned that folks without OCD will never achieve Rob`s level of perfection. As soon as I realized how much time such craftsmanship takes i wanted to quit.


----------



## deeppinkdiver

Simply amazing work Rob.. Your love for your craft shows with each piece you build. It is inspiring to say the least!

Do you have any video's of you creating or making things?


----------



## rton20s




----------



## claydo

Werd rton....werd....lmao.


----------



## bertholomey

robolop said:


> A few years back I started cycling as I thought it would be good for me.
> 
> I got a recumbent bike from a friend and modified it a little bit….




Shout out to Val  Love it! Thing of beauty!


----------



## English audiophile

After getting a notification, I just had to look and once again am blown away. Rob, you continue to raise the bar in design and installation standards. God bless you, I hope your recovery is swift.


----------



## danno14

"I got a recumbent bike from a friend and *modified it a little bit….*"

You understate a little....
Sorta like saying you went for a little walk and ended up going around the world 


As has been said many, many times in this thread- you are truly inspirational.
Thank you for being here and contributing.


----------



## carlr

And once again I find myself picking my jaw up from the floor.


----------



## robolop

It has been 4 weeks now since surgery to the left shoulder.
The surgeon told me that the inside of my shoulder was much worse than he had thought, but surgery went perfect.
I’m recovering at home, and my wife treats me as a price. She is such an amazing woman.


For the moment my arms still hangs in a bandage, so I move it as little as possible. In order the muscles and tendons heal well. This is very important.
In three weeks I can start physiotherapy.



Now I fill my days laying in my bed a lot and surfing the www.
Every day I try to sit in my wheelchair a bit longer. Laying in bed was nice the first week, but then, the boredom strikes.


This I had already bought before surgery and modified it a bit. Once I’m able to drive it, I can go for a tour.

I also sold 2 bikes I may not drive in the future, and in the meanwhile I have purchased an e-bike.
This I had already bought before surgery and modified it a bit. Once I’m able to drive it, I can go for a tour.


----------



## deeppinkdiver

We all wish you a speedy and successful recovery Robolop


----------



## claydo

I'm glad your wife is taking good care of ya rob......here's wishing you a speedy and complete recovery!


----------



## TheDavel

I know the road to recovery is a long and challenging one with shoulders and I wish you the best!


----------



## astrochex

Robert, with your drive and perserverence, your recovery is only a matter of time. I hope that time is short for you.

Thanks for sharing the fruit of your incredible inspiration and talents.


----------



## Chief Wiggum

Rob, thank you for sharing your amazing builds and personal story. I wish you the very best and a successful recovery.


----------



## gfbl

speedy recovery rob, always excited to see what youre working on.


----------



## robolop

As you can see in the movie, I’m going through life in a wheelchair.
Of course my bimmer is adapted, so the gas and the brake is operated at the steering wheel.
You can let a specialized company do this, but I chose to do it myself.
I let a company do it to my first car, and this looked hideous, AND it cost me a lot of money too…

Meanwhile, this is my 4th car I adjusted myself.
You can do it yourself, as long as it’s properly done, and all secure. Once your build is done, you need to get an approval, by a technical inspection.
Of course there are rules you must respect.
One of those things is, that you can not weld onto the brake pedal

This is a picture of the entire system that is mounted to the steering gear.
On the left you see the bracket where the pivot point of the brake is mounted.
This bracket must be made very strong, cause a lot of power comes on it, especially when you have to do an emergency brake.




























The bracket itself is mounted with 2 clamps on the handlebar and two screws on the side (where the dashboard is secured)



















This piece is screwed to the brake pedal.



















This adjustable rod is connected between the brake pedal and brake on the steering wheel.










Here you can see how everything is mounted in the bimmer.
The iron bar with the rubber handle that you see, is my brakepedal.
Before the handle you see a mountainbike-brake. This is the thing I use to accelerate.











So, the brake lever is connected with a steel rod, screwed onto the brake pedal. This works perfectly, and most of the time, I only need a few fingers to brake.
What acceleration is concerned, I’ve made this with an INOX shiftingcable of a bicycle. The runs into a “gain”, and comes our behind of the gas pedal.
By pulling the mountain bike lever, I also pull the gas pedal. It works perfectly, and runs smooth.
The advantage of how I made it, is that my wife can operate the entire vehicle in the normal way, feetwise.


----------



## benny z

very cool! i'll bet you could market your systems for others in your position.

incredible that you do all of this yourself.


----------



## deeppinkdiver

Wonderful design, I must say that I wondered how you drive the bmw. As with all you work on, this is genius.


----------



## danno14

As usual with your work, MAD RESPECT!!!

If you ever have need for something Mobility related that's "off the shelf", drop me a line. I sort of have a hookup with BraunAbility for discounts.
Best to ya, 
D


----------



## 1FinalInstall

Very cool!


----------



## reithi

Genius at work.......inspiring is an understatement.


----------



## claydo

That's gotta be the slickest hand controls I've ever seen implemented. A robolop design fo sho! The limited exposure I have with these setups revealed cumbersome, ugly and some dangerous looking designs........not yers tho.......two thumbs up......


----------



## robolop

Here you can see the modification of the brake I once ordered. The brake alone cost me 1500€

Here you can see clearly how dangerous the thick screw is, where the brake lever pivots on.
You don’t want to know what it’ll do to your knee when you’re in an accident.










The interior of this E30 still is one of the most beautiful ones I’ve had.
But what isn’t can still be…
A lot of carbon fiber and alcantara.

Custom door panels leder carbon alu.
Custom dashboard alcantara.
Custom center console covered carbon.
Custom kick panels.


----------



## Victor_inox

Even that blue dumpster looks badass!


----------



## deeppinkdiver

Mmmmmmm E30... Absolutely stunning work Robolop


----------



## danno14

LOL! Those door panels alone are worth more than the wole car!

And I LOVE e30's!!!

Very, very nice


----------



## robolop

I had a flat tire at 90 km, and got two times flown into the guardrail with the front and the backside.
Every time I look at the photos, I think this is still a beautiful model.


----------



## Victor_inox

Ouch!


----------



## deeppinkdiver

This was a very sharp specimen!! Man I just love the lines of the E30's


----------



## req

for a minute there rob, I thought that you had totaled your bmw 330... I was about to cry.

but then I realized it was a different car. phew.


----------



## robolop

There is good news, but also bad. More soon .............

Teaser


----------



## robolop

It is now as a 13 weeks since I 've had my surgery on my left shoulder. Time flies…
The recovery is according to plan. I've been doing some physiotherapy for several weeks now .
Frankly, I still need to pay attention on what I do. It’s easy to overdo myself and overweigh y shoulder.

Of course I had a LOT of time to think. As for the BMW , I'm NOT going to be able to do a number of things . 
Getting into the trunk won’t be possible anymore. And you know what has been created for in there….
How the story of the trunk will turn out, I don’t know myself. We will see

Since the beginning of this week, I felt good enough to go to the garage. I think most know that I had some made the ICE in my wife her Polo..
When we started the renovation of the house, I retrieved the ICE from the trunk so we put could put the seats down and load some more stuff..
Now we have decided not to remount the install, but use the trunk for normal use. 
This was what was inside.




























Of course I was already doing a lot of thinking about what I could do to BMW 
This was mainly a light work what I could make at a table.
I had two door panels laying around here, and I had the 4 Focal Utopia Be 13 W wich came out of the Polo. You can guess what I did.


This is how the box looks after clearing my mind





















EMPTY


----------



## deeppinkdiver

robolop said:


> There is good news, but also bad. More soon .............
> 
> Teaser




Robolop.. What is in the fore ground of this photo on top with the colored pastes and the screws in each? Is this just you mixing different compounds or something else?

I hope your shoulder becomes much better then it has been. Best of luck on further recovery.


----------



## Installer Josh

I just watched your video, I had no idea. Thank you for sharing your work through the years and thank you for sharing a bit you your life with us. You are my car audio Hero.

Get well Brother.


----------



## robolop

3 days of madness.
Livestream.
Tomorrowland Belgium 2016


----------



## JP Fabrication

robolop said:


> 3 days of madness.
> Livestream.
> Tomorrowland Belgium 2016


Love it. I saw Deadmau5 B2B Eric Prydz Last year at Day of the Dead in SoCal '12


----------



## robolop

I already changed my doors to fit in the Focal 16cm










The 16cm now going to have to make room for two Focal Be 13 WS .
This is going to be a challenge because I want to let them play in a closed room to play between 10 and 14 liters. Preferably 14.
That's not going to be easy , thinking in terms of space , and then again thinking about the resonance, but i’ll manage.

Difficult is still not impossible, I’ve already done it with my previous bmw (e30)










First of all, I cut some, and cleaned up a bit.
Loosened all of the cables.









*
Cleared all of the cables nicely, and brought in the saw. You can see what I sawed, it’s lying on the ground.










This all looked a lot better to me. 
Thats what I sawed, of course, I treated against corrosion etc. You can also see that I put on an aluminum slat L where the panel will be placed ON .










Because I needed to have a firm foundation , I milled two panels of 4mm HPL ( Trespa) . L and R.



















I provided some holes for clips to secure the plate to the original position.



















This fixation I use for making it a bit more easy for me . Within a few weeks you 'll begin to see that these panels will be screwed .


Then I started to make the closed room.
I made a loooooooooooooooot of silly little molds made out of cardboard , and then I drew it all on on 18mm MDF .

After a lot of milling I had this.










This all w
ill be mounted in the car










A familypicutres of the 18 parts L&R.








*


----------



## Coppertone

Beautiful as always.


----------



## robolop

Because I did not have to modify the top of the original door panel, I'll use it like this.
I still had two panels laying around, so I decided to put in the saw.










This is how it looks now..









As you can see now, I can perfectly see where the window lands once it’s rolled down.
Here you can see I’m about 3mm under the window.










Of course I need to close this room on the backside.
I’m planning of doing this with MDF of 16mm. So I took a lath of 18mm and held it against the window, and then drew a line.



















What was too much I milled away , and now I have such a 5mm between the window and the MDF .


----------



## 1FinalInstall

I can't wait to see where this is going. I love that I finally get to watch a Robolop build in real time!


----------



## robolop

The four MDF sections that stand in the door I have now adjusted so that the window can go down like it should. 
You can see at the back there is quite a difference in terms of depth. This has to do with the shape of the window.






































Now I have this, I can start to adjust the original top , and fix the panel that I made.
So I can have it back in 1 piece , & I can move on to the next step.


----------



## optimaprime

Wow this gonna sick door panels


----------



## carlr

I'm always amazed by your routering skills, those doors are going to be something very special I'm sure!


----------



## req

all the pictures are dead rob


----------



## Victor_inox

req said:


> all the pictures are dead rob


Last two pages all pictures works fine for me, I haven`t checked further up.


----------



## pocket5s

req said:


> all the pictures are dead rob


i see all the pics on this page. jumped back to page 53 and saw those as well


----------



## Jscoyne2

You should put all pics on a pic website or something where we could view them all together

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk


----------



## req

i think it may be that my connection is blocking the pictures.

carry on


----------



## robolop

I was able to mounten the upper part of the original panel pretty firmly on the volkern ( Trespa ) .
I was able to screw this beautiful but once all that is done, I also glued it together.
You can also see the frame 2x18mm MDF which stands on the solid core.










So the original upper part is tightened!




























Then I started to make a model where the speakers can stand into
These three MDF parts are made with the uppermill.

In the upper end the speakers will come.
In the middle you see the outside where the grill will be placed in , and underneath it frame where the grill will be mounted in.



















Here you can see everything together.




























This is the piece of MDF where the rest will be placed on.



















The right part where the peakers come to be (model-wise) fora bout 90% complete.
As you can see , it looks very blunt as it is now .
Soon you’ll see some changes


----------



## 1FinalInstall

AWESOME!


----------



## Onyx1136

There are a lot of smooth compound curves in those doors. What do you use as router templates?


----------



## robolop

deeppinkdiver said:


> Robolop.. What is in the fore ground of this photo on top with the colored pastes and the screws in each? Is this just you mixing different compounds or something else?
> 
> I hope your shoulder becomes much better then it has been. Best of luck on further recovery.



The purpose of the filler (bondo) is to see which adheres best to the door panel.
The screw is just for pulling . So I could feel better which was the best.


----------



## robolop

Victor_inox said:


> Last two pages all pictures works fine for me, I haven`t checked further up.





pocket5s said:


> i see all the pics on this page. jumped back to page 53 and saw those as well





Jscoyne2 said:


> You should put all pics on a pic website or something where we could view them all together
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk





req said:


> i think it may be that my connection is blocking the pictures.
> 
> carry on



Can you now see all the pictures yet?


----------



## SQ WRX

Doors look much better now. Great work!


----------



## robolop

The part which stands in the middle of the door, I made of polyester. 
Of course I had to make a mold of it first. Firs I cut out the cardboard , then cut 1mm thick HPL what I still had laying around.
The advantage is that you can make a good model if you clamp it, and tighten it up.










Then taped everything, and cut the polyester to size. 3 Layers of cloth.










This is the result










You can also see that there is a rounding over the entire length .










This should now be thoroughly sanded, and then everything nicely done with filler.


Then I started to make a support for imposing the elbow. This will be the upper part.
I also have a first mold ( the 3 front) made from MDF and then milled everything. 





































Good thing I only have 2 doors 


----------



## robolop

Onyx1136 said:


> There are a lot of smooth compound curves in those doors. What do you use as router templates?



I do not use special router templates. I saw me some thin strips of MDF and then paste it with double-sided tape .
Then I go round it with the cutter, and it's done.
I keep it up as simple as possible .


----------



## Onyx1136

Your next project really should be dust collection. MDF dust is seriously carcinogenic, and lung cancer probably sux. A shop-vac, 5 gallon bucket and vortex collector are all you need. You could have it up and running in a couple hours, no problem.


----------



## 1FinalInstall

Can't wait to see more! The E30 doors you built are one of my favorites.


----------



## SUX 2BU

The lines and gaps on those pieces are amazingly tight and clean. I have a router (mill) too but my work never looks that clean. Nice job.


----------



## eviling

One cut but a thousand measurementsthat's the key. People always run to the saw. Most this kinda trim work is preparation. Amazing craftsmanship. Always loved reading this log. Even when I was off the car audio for a few years I still followed this thread whenever he posted. He took a break too if I recall. 

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk


----------



## robolop

As for the armrest I did a small change . The original latch to open the door is chromed.
I definitely wanted to make this view come back in my armrest I’m making.
I cut out an aluminum plate of 5 mm thick and then glued it to the MDF and held against the copy milling cutter. 
Simple. Of this alloy you will only see the thickness . I'm going to polishing and chrome plating leave.



















To put everything firmly tight I have two pieces of aluminum machined from 6mm . These you won’t see anymore once everything is covered. So it would seem like the armrest is floating.











Because everything is no longer flat , I provided the inside with 5 layers of polyester



















Sanded, and sprayed it black.










When everything is ready for the doors they go on a diet


----------



## Mlarson67

As always Amazing!!!


----------



## 1FinalInstall

Rob, Do you use a jigsaw/bandsaw to rough cut your aluminum before milling? Thanks, J


----------



## robolop

1FinalInstall said:


> Rob, Do you use a jigsaw/bandsaw to rough cut your aluminum before milling? Thanks, J


 I use a Bosch jigsaws, and WD40


----------



## robolop

This is going to be the bottom side of the armrest. 3 layers machined MDF , and then glued everything together.




















Then finished everything and made a Pirana of it (female red lips ).










Armrests are (model-wise) ready for 70%



















I’m going to add a little change to the aluminium.
Where the red line is, I’m going to abrade it so it will look more smoothly.










Meanwhile, I have to think of something original that is coming to stand next to the speakers. More on this later .


----------



## Huckleberry Sound

mmmmmm


----------



## robolop

I’ve done an upgrade tot he armrests (evo3). I thought they looked quite simple, so I sanded down the character line.
Now that I’m satisfied, i twill stay like this



















As for the sound, I’m going to try playing with a bass reflex. This is going to be very difficult, but I’ll try anyway.
A good friend of mine who has a special program fort his, is going to calculate the length of the gate.


I already made the exit of the gate.
And made a test.










After that I mille dit all from mdf



















And finished it of.











These 2 pieces have taken 2 days of work, but I’m very proud of the result. Especially according to presentation, that’s important for me.










So I’ll be mounted in the door.











What’s black will be covered in carbon fibre, and the bass reflex will be painted in silver, like the moldings in the interior










Here you can see the carbonworks. 5 layers of epoxy are added here.










After sanding you can see it’s not quite smooth yet, 2-3 more layers will be necessary


----------



## SUX 2BU

Looks great. Even the character line you sanded looks to have no flaws or waves in the lines. Impressive craftsmanship for sure.


----------



## sinister-kustoms




----------



## DavidRam

As always, Robolop, freakin' incredible!!!


----------



## Mlarson67

If we had a DIYMA hall of fame this car would certainly be there. Thank you robolop!


----------



## robolop

SUX 2BU said:


> Looks great. Even the character line you sanded looks to have no flaws or waves in the lines. Impressive craftsmanship for sure.





sinister-kustoms said:


>





DavidRam said:


> As always, Robolop, freakin' incredible!!!





Mlarson67 said:


> If we had a DIYMA hall of fame this car would certainly be there. Thank you robolop!



THX Dude's. 

I try to do everything as well as possible


----------



## carlr

As always the level of fabrication just blows my mind, truly inspirational.


----------



## robolop

On the end of the bas reflex, I made some sort of flange to tighten the whole thing.
I like to have many different components that you can screw in and out of each other when there’s somethings wrong with it




























This is the backside. It needs to be finished more properly











Here's how the plastic drain pipe is mounted. On this piece I can now continue with a right pipe Simple.




























Of course, this pipe will also be painted in silver.

And this is how it looks at the back where it’s screwed.












As you can see I'm busy again making some new door panels for my BMW.
My operated left shoulder is for 80% as it should be, of course there are limitations in terms of motion and strength, but as it is now I can get away with it.

However, I hven’t got good news for the right shoulder. They have taken a scan and it shows that my bone is worn.
All they can do is put a reverse shoulder prosthesis. In my case (wheelchair) this is not without risk. Since I use my shoulders more than a normale person, this will wear out much faster.
With a prosthesis, the movements of my arm are also very limited. I understand that’s when I’m doing this, my hobby could be finished..
Now stopping and doing nothing, won’t help either.
The surgeon told me I just have to everyday things but don’t force myself. Enjoy everything you do he said, and so I do.
Since I don’t have that much pain in it now I’m postponing the operation as long as possible.
A time when I have to have the surgery, they can’t say…

I didn’t sat still very long, when they told me the news.
A lot of thinking never helped anyone in this case. There are worse things in ,life.
Working in my garage, on my bimmer, having fun and enjoying the things I can still do…that’s the message for now.
That’s it…simple.

Old skool pictures From Steve Brown and me.


----------



## 1FinalInstall

I may now officially give up on dads truck... :rifle:


----------



## 1FinalInstall

Mlarson67 said:


> If we had a DIYMA hall of fame this car would certainly be there. Thank you robolop!


Lets be honest, Rob's the President of the HOF!!


----------



## Yawar538

You sir, are a true MAGICIAN!
Hats off!


----------



## Victor_inox

1FinalInstall said:


> I may now officially give up on dads truck... :rifle:


 I agree there is no point to pursue this hobby no more. perfection has been achieved.


----------



## bradknob

Inb4 he builds his own new shoulder....


Rob, you certainly have a gift. you are truly an inspiring individual.


----------



## Coppertone

^^^. Now THIS statement I definitely agree with lol.


----------



## rton20s

bradknob said:


> Inb4 he builds his own new shoulder....


----------



## robolop

A couple of years ago I an oven myself to let my carbon fiber pieces to cure.
I sol dit when I moved out of my house. Now that I’m settled, I made a new one.
Cause someday, I want to make a carbon fibre trunk spoiler, I made this one big enough.
Accidentally, a friend of mine had an oven laying around in his garage for me.
Because I NEVER had any issues with my previous one, I used the same materials.

Here you see the 2 heating elements where I only connected the outer ones, cause this supplies the heat I needed (70 degrees) 










You can also see that I provided the solid iron plate with a heat-resistant cloth.










The case I made of 18mm thick melanin. Cause the heat goes up, I also provided the top with a cloth.











You can also see that the plate is about 6cm from the bottom. I did this to prevent the wood overheating.
The original lamp was also used. So I don’t to put the thing OFF in time










Then I also made a aluminium plate with big holes to put on the big pieces.












When everything was ready, I put everythings on my driveway and turned it on for 10hours on the highest setting.
If something would happen, it should have been then.


----------



## DavidRam

robolop said:


> A couple of years ago I an oven myself to let my carbon fiber pieces to cure.
> I sol dit when I moved out of my house. Now that I’m settled, I made a new one.
> Cause someday, I want to make a carbon fibre trunk spoiler, I made this one big enough.
> Accidentally, a friend of mine had an oven laying around in his garage for me.
> Because I NEVER had any issues with my previous one, I used the same materials.
> 
> Here you see the 2 heating elements where I only connected the outer ones, cause this supplies the heat I needed (70 degrees)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You can also see that I provided the solid iron plate with a heat-resistant cloth.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The case I made of 18mm thick melanin. Cause the heat goes up, I also provided the top with a cloth.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You can also see that the plate is about 6cm from the bottom. I did this to prevent the wood overheating.
> The original lamp was also used. So I don’t to put the thing OFF in time
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then I also made a aluminium plate with big holes to put on the big pieces.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When everything was ready, I put everythings on my driveway and turned it on for 10hours on the highest setting.
> If something would happen, it should have been then.


Brilliant!!!


----------



## 1FinalInstall

Very cool Rob!


----------



## Slow Cruiser

Do you just plug in the element or are you able to adjust the temp on it also?


----------



## robolop

I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year 2017.
Enjoy the creative process of making beautiful things.
And may most of your dreams come true ... I said most, not all, because life gets so boring if we don't have anything to dream about anymore.

This morning there was a strange person on my table.


----------



## Victor_inox

robolop said:


> I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year 2017.
> Enjoy the creative process of making beautiful things.
> And may most of your dreams come true ... I said most, not all, because life gets so boring if we don't have anything to dream about anymore.
> 
> This morning there was a strange person on my table.


 I bet you used power tool to screws all those screws to form his mouth.

Happy new year Rob!


----------



## rockinridgeline

Happy New year Rob

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk


----------



## robolop

As you may have already noticed, I’ve posted nothing last months. About the doors I was making,there has been a drastic change. 
After that I put the doors on a strict diet, they were still going to too heavy for me. I’ve put a really big amount of work in them the last couple of months, but hey…the world didn’t end.
The only thing I know is that again, I learned a lot about milling.
I am now working on making something totally different. In terms of weight, this is much easier because I do not go play in a closed casket..
The design will be totally different!


----------



## benny z

You're such a tease! Pics?! 

And happy new year!


----------



## robolop

This is the part where the Focal subs will get in.

It contains 3 layers of MDF.
The upper part is the part where the speakers will be mounted.
In the middle is an outer ring. These 2 are nicely rounded and will be glued togehter later on.
Underneath there's a little sloth of 4mm of MDF which will be placed between the outer ring and the spakers.
Later more about this...





































Because I'm not a partisan of tightening speakers in mdf, so I milled some Volkern (trespa) rings on the back.
I glued these on the mdf. So I can mount the speakers firmly without worrying the screw will loosen.











This plate of 8mm thick is a mold I've milled. Later more about this.










You can see that this sloth will be at the back.



















In the meanwhile I've already finished some things on the 2 doors, so updates will follow shortly


----------



## LBaudio

>>>>cant wait to see next batch of pics......


----------



## robolop

These are about all the parts I have ready for the doors. This is from the left, and fort he right, everything else is also ready.











Because the part of the speaker will “float” against the doorpanel, I milled a 8mm thick plexiglass










On the inside of the plexi I’m going to paste a orange led strip
Once the interior lighting is on, everything will glow up nicely through the plexi










This will beo ne entire part, mounted against the original door.








.

Here you can see the plexi



















The MDF around the spakers, will be covered in a layer of carbon fiber. But this shape needs to have some roundings before I start.



















Here you can also see I made a little bin.










Then I made a piece of polyester to give it a nice finsih.










I remounted the basereflex. It won’t be functional anymore, but I thought I put a bit too much work into it to throw it in the bin.


Al these things will be screwed and glued on to the door until it’s one entire part.
Once this is dry, all the holes from the crews will be covered up. And then filler will come over.
I’ve already done this with the right door, and it looks pretty good I must say.


----------



## imjustjason

You may have never heard this before. but; you're one hell of a craftsman. I would be willing to bet you've spent more time and paid more attention to small details on these door baffle/boxes than most people on this forum spend on their entire cars. 

It truly is exciting to see new things you've done, that bar always gets higher.


----------



## ErinH

agreed. this is awesome.


----------



## AccordUno

Rob, you just keep crushing it. you keep pushing next level work every time


----------



## 1FinalInstall

They look awesome Rob, love the floating look!


----------



## req

most excellent, rob. You're always an inspiration to us. keep pushing the boundaries!


----------



## robolop

Now I have most of the parts ready of those 2 doors, I glued and screwed it to the original panel.
You can see I didn’t mind one or two screws less 










Once this was done, I’ve managed to work out evertything it looks like one big part. 










In the meanwhile the BMW artificial leather had been delivered and I covered the 2 speaker-panles. This needed to be done so the I could adjust the little front-panels for that.

On this one you can see the top one is ready. The meaning is that there’ll be a nice round edge around the speakers and the outside. This is a time consuming job. Onderneath you can see the plate under construction.
The first time putting filler with a rubber flap and moddelling it.
Here you see I just did some on my finger. It’s sometimes the easiest way to get a perfect rounding. Sometimes the easiest way is the dirtiest 










Once this was all done, I needed to do the same around the speakers.
I’ve already done this several times, so I knew that if I demounted the ring to sand the filler, the edge on top will break off.
So I used some roundells to put under the ring, each 2mm thick. So everyting is a little bit higher. When something breaks off, I still have filler enough, and I don’t need to do it all again.
Wisdom comes through the years.










Putting filler and sanding




















Making the roundings of these 2 plates I’ve been busy for 6 hours. I could have made these just flat, but…..you know. 

Here the backside of the little bin. Cause I don’t want any stuff in my car, nothing will ever be in this ones, but it looks so cool when you have it.










The backside of the plate I can screw off for upholstery


----------



## DavidRam

Freakin' awesome! Can't wait to see these covered and lit up!


----------



## Mlarson67

Love love love it. You sir inspire me!


----------



## robolop

This is the 8mm thick plexiglass between the doorpanel and the speakers.
you can also see I mounted an orange led strip on the inside. This one is also 8mm thick










Here the result with the lighting on.



















Here’s the plexi on the door.










All you see is that 8mm










The speakerpanel and the plexi will be mounted with 7 screws, and that will hold it just fine.










Then, the speakers will be screwed on.










After that the coverplate will be on it, so it all looks smooth.



















The coverpanel will be covered with carbon fibre. I’ll see this will be tightened strongly as well.



Here you can see everything with the lighting on.















































The lighting is too bright as it is know. But once everything is mounted and ready, I’m going to adjust the brightness so it’ll look close like the interior lighting of the car.


----------



## Huckleberry Sound

Impressed!


----------



## sinister-kustoms

So awesome Rob! I love how the cones glow with the LED's as well. The panels look on fire!


----------



## Coppertone

Fire badd, and in this instance " badd " is oh soo good.


----------



## 1FinalInstall

It turned out great Rob, I love it!


----------



## bbfoto

!!! BRILLIANT !!!


----------



## LBaudio

BEAUTIFUL!


----------



## robolop

I’ve got the bimmer for a long time know, and everytime I think that those idiots never made an cube inlay in the door, unlike the 4 door sedan .
Now I have the chance to make it myself. But to make something nice, I always have to modife several things first… Aaarg, why me!?
I made the doorpanel 10mm’s thicker where I’m putting the frame. If I didn’t do this, I couldn’t make a nice rounding.











Once I had this, I could make the frames.
3 things I definately had to have: you can demount them, they must be in a matt gray like the original moldings AND the bottom must come in orange lighting.
The first 2 are “simple”, but the lighting, that’s something else
The frames are made out of 3mm thick plexiglass, and the MDF layer is 4mm thick. Once these are prepared, I’m putting a layer of fiberglass over it.

Here you can see the model of MDF wood. The meaning is to mill in a sloth of 8 by 3mm. I’m putting a LED strip in there to give light.
you can see here I used a little rail to put against my uppermill so I’m getting a nice rounding.










This is the slot milled.



















The same thing with plexi. I needed to do this so the sides of the plexi are nicely lightened. In my case this will be the bottom only.



















Once these are finished, I’ll tape the led strip in, and the plexi will be glued against the MDF.


----------



## robolop

On the front, I’ve mounted some M4 tubes.











On everything will be a couple of layers of polyester so the front will be nicely tight.


----------



## robolop

This will be in the centre of the door.

Underneath you can see the molding I sprayed in primer.
You can see it has the same curving of the door. In the middle (black) is a little hatch that opens when the airbag pops (hopefully never).
In the back you can see the original part I heavily modified.
You don’t want to know how many hours of work I’ve put into these 3 things…and it’s far from finished.










Here’s the hatch in the middle piece. As you can see, it fits perfectly. I glued it in with hot glue.










The meaning is I’m covering it all with carbon fibre, but then I have a big problem.
I’m planning of covering it up in one piece, and then cut out the airbag panel with a stanley cutter knife.
I want to make sure the carbon fibre lines will add up perfectly, and I’m thinking that’s the only way to do it. 
When anyone has ideas of doing it otherwise, please tell me.

I also don’t want anymore tollerance between the two parts than the thickness of a cutter knife. Still not sure it’s going to work though… But I know know, it’ll be the hardest part to do in the whole “doorpanel story"


What you can see here is that I made the molding run in the same way as the airbagpanel. So I have a reference where to begin my cutting.










I made sure the bottom line is right under the handle (2mm). So you won’t see that if anyone goes wrong 










I’m also very pleased with the orange lighting. I just need to adjust the brightness. The meaning is no light will come out on top, which it does now. I’m going to paint the topside of the plexiglass black, so no light will come through.


----------



## benny z

love it.


----------



## oabeieo

Sick panels dood. That lighting is off the chain, I love it goes good with it for sure


----------



## 1FinalInstall

Perfect accent to match the lower.


----------



## LBaudio

You never fail to amaze us all.....super nice work again and again!


----------



## robolop

LBaudio said:


> You never fail to amaze us all.....super nice work again and again!


Says da A-pillar world champion !!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## robolop

benny z said:


> love it.





oabeieo said:


> Sick panels dood. That lighting is off the chain, I love it goes good with it for sure





1FinalInstall said:


> Perfect accent to match the lower.


Thx dude's


----------



## SUX 2BU

Looks great. I appreciate your vision and ideas on how to make something look so nice but really well integrated too. And how you can freehand cut those curvy shapes with just a jigsaw and without router templates yet make them so smooth is impressive.


----------



## LBaudio

robolop said:


> Says da A-pillar world champion !!!!!!!!!!!!!


Robert, you left me speachless with your comment,.....thank you, means a lot to me!


----------



## robolop

Slow Cruiser said:


> Do you just plug in the element or are you able to adjust the temp on it also?




I may control the temperature


----------



## robolop

1FinalInstall said:


> It turned out great Rob, I love it!





bbfoto said:


> !!! BRILLIANT !!!





LBaudio said:


> BEAUTIFUL!


Thx dude's.
Jason, I think it look 1000 times better now than before.


----------



## robolop

Here you can see how I mounted the cover of the speakers without seeing anything of it.
On the backside I screwed 4 aluminum plates, and when you look closely , you'll see a little pin (3mm) on your far right.



















The plate is screwed tight with the same screwes the speakers are tightened with. I took about 4 to make it tight enough.
Where the little pin sits, I drew a hole, so the plate is tightened as well.










Because on the backside I’ve got 4 plates standing, I needed to mill these out.



















Once I had this I could fit the plate. The plate will be inserted.











On the bottom you can see how it fits, and on top you’ll see the rings of the speakers mounted, and so you won’t see anything of the rest, simple.



















The the time had come to provide everything with a layer of carbon fiber.










Provided it with a couple of layer of epoxy.


----------



## SQram

Genius!! :scholar:


----------



## robolop

Being clumsy. I forgot to put hardener with the epoxy. I washed everything with aceton, and did it again. This time with hardener.


----------



## Onyx1136

So you don't vacuum bag your carbon fiber; you just lay it over the mold and let the weight of the cloth and resin hold it down? How do you deal with excess resin once it's cured?


----------



## robolop

Onyx1136 said:


> So you don't vacuum bag your carbon fiber; you just lay it over the mold and let the weight of the cloth and resin hold it down? How do you deal with excess resin once it's cured?


Sanding, a lot of sanding.


----------



## Onyx1136

robolop said:


> Sanding, a lot of sanding.


I saw you have an oven for curing it. Have you looked into the prepreg carbon fiber? It's carbon fiber mat that already has the resin preimpregnated into the mat. All you have to do is lay it up and bake it and it's done. No extra resin, no extra sanding, no mess, and no forgetting to put in the catalyst.


----------



## robolop

My last page is missing


----------



## robolop

Here you can see how I mounted the cover of the speakers without seeing anything of it.
On the backside I screwed 4 aluminum plates, and when you look closely , you'll see a little pin (3mm) on your far right.



















The plate is screwed tight with the same screwes the speakers are tightened with. I took about 4 to make it tight enough.
Where the little pin sits, I drew a hole, so the plate is tightened as well.










Because on the backside I've got 4 plates standing, I needed to mill these out.



















Once I had this I could fit the plate. The plate will be inserted.











On the bottom you can see how it fits, and on top you'll see the rings of the speakers mounted, and so you won't see anything of the rest, simple.



















The the time had come to provide everything with a layer of carbon fiber.










Provided it with a couple of layer of epoxy.


----------



## SHAGGS

It wouldn't be you, without Carbon fiber. 
#Most Killer build of all time!


----------



## LBaudio

My thoughts exactly ^^^^^


----------



## rton20s

So, was it Robolop that broke DIYMA? I get an email notification where he outlines a rare mistake on his part and the site decides there is no way it will let him post that? 

Seriously, this build gets better with each post.


----------



## robolop

Maybe it was because I had posted this!!!!!



Being clumsy. I forgot to put hardener with the epoxy. I washed everything with aceton, and did it again. This time with hardener.











The moderator maybe thought I would never ever do anything wrong, and so removed the post. 

No moderator I am not an alien.


----------



## imjustjason

robolop said:


> No moderator I am not an alien.


:laugh: The forum has been a mess for a few days, you weren't singled out for anything, you just happened to post right in the middle of some sort of issue, many people have had posts disappear.


----------



## rton20s

What Jason said. I was just giving you a hard time. DIYMA has been a disaster over the last couple of days.


----------



## robolop

In the meanwhile, I have sent the Soundstream amplifiers to England.
The Amp Doctor | The Amp Doctor 

I am confident in what Gordon is doing with the amplifiers.
These are some pictures he sent me.


----------



## robolop

This is what happened with the Soundstream amps.



Preamp chips upgraded to give better dynamics and detail. The TL074 parts were a good chip back in the 70's but the new parts now are quieter and better sounding. 
New caps to give more stable power supply rails and more stable imaging. 
Mica sheets conduct heat better than polyamide sheet so the bias is stable. 
Bias sensor moved so bias is stable at all temperatures and loads. 
HP / HC Switch removed as it's unreliable. Stereo / mono / mixed switch replaced with a new part as it had been pulled apart and not reassembled tightly - risk of a bad connection.


----------



## bbfoto

Very nice, Robert! Those changes should make some audible improvements and obviously contribute to the longevity of your amplifiers. :thumbsup: It's always nice to be able to keep the good old school equipment in top shape.  And not trying to be a jerk here, but I think that you need to send that PC board to _MrsPapasin_ to clean up the solder joints on those transistors.  It also looks as if the #C202 ceramic disc capacitor in the 3rd photo could use a replacement.


----------



## robolop

i’ve managed to cover the doorpanels, and it worked out fine.



















the carbon fiber panel where the speakers will get into, is about 90 procent finished. I need to sand and polish it a bit more for a deeper shine.






































Bassreflex is also finished. As you can see I sprayed the middle piece in the same color as the moldings in the car. So I have a nice contrast and still, everything blends in nice with each other.





































I need to cover the middle piece of the door, and after that, I can start mounting everything.


----------



## 1FinalInstall

I can't to see it all assembled Rob. Those speaker/carbon mounts look incredible but I still think the bass reflex is one of my favorite things ever!! Your carbon fiber looks like Lamborghini or Ferrari interior pieces, awesome. :thumbsup: :rockon:


----------



## robolop

1FinalInstall said:


> I can't to see it all assembled Rob. Those speaker/carbon mounts look incredible but I still think the bass reflex is one of my favorite things ever!! Your carbon fiber looks like Lamborghini or Ferrari interior pieces, awesome. :thumbsup: :rockon:


Thx Jason. I'm trying to do my bes.


----------



## super josh

Wow those carbon pieces look fantastic  I've 'skinned' a few things in carbon and understand the amount of effort required to get that flawless finish 


Josh


----------



## DavidRam

1FinalInstall said:


> Your carbon fiber looks like Lamborghini or Ferrari interior pieces, awesome. :thumbsup: :rockon:


I would say it looks like "Koenigsegg"...


----------



## robolop

I isolated the doors.

Before I started, I checked again if no water got into the door when it rains. So I went to the car was, and focusses on the doors with the lance.
At home I took the hose and put it onto all rubbers and cracks. In both cases I didn't see a single drop in the doors. Not bad for a bmw of 18years old.
I already noticed before there was only 1 little sloth (2cm) in the door where there could be a waterfailure.

I chose Focal Bam XXXL https://www.focal.com/en/car-audio/...ories-and-cables/acoustic-insulation/bam-xxxl

This box contains 3 square meters of damping material. Normally you can do a whole car with this, but when I was finished on the doors, I used almost everything.


----------



## robolop

DavidRam said:


> I would say it looks like "Koenigsegg"...


That is 100 levels higher.


----------



## robolop

Doorpanels are about 90% finished now. Here and there I’m planning of doing a small detail which will be original and cool.
Later more about that…


Here an original doorpanel like they come from the factory.










These were the doorpanels I modified once. The bottom part was fully adjusted to make way for the 16cm Focal speakers.
EVO1.











Here some pictures about how they will look now.
Evo 2 (there will not come an Evo 3) 














































These are some pictures when the white lighting is on, when the door is opened.
On pictures it looks like it’s blue, but in real life, it’s white…



















There’s a LED strip underneath the door, in the storage compartment and behind the door handle.
The one behind the door handle needs some more modification, I don’t like it that way



















You can also see the white lighting coming out of the bass reflex.











The orange inner lighting was also finished, but it wasn’t like I wanted it to be. The orange strip I’ve used was TOO orange comparing with the orange interior lighting (original BMW)
This one is a bit more red. So some work is planned to get those strips out, and make them more red with a marker.
This will take a couple of hours, but when it’s all done and merges into the rest of the lighting, I’ll be very pleased.


----------



## imjustjason

I know at this point the quality of your work shouldn't surprise me, but it still does. I would be willing to bet a BMW tech would have to be convinced that's not some sort of M series panel he's not seen before. Amazing fit and finish. 

*tips hat*


----------



## rton20s

I'm with Jason. Every time I get an email notification for this thread, I know I am in for something cool. Still, every time I am blown away at the level of design and execution.


----------



## benny z

for real. badass.


----------



## robolop

imjustjason said:


> I know at this point the quality of your work shouldn't surprise me, but it still does. I would be willing to bet a BMW tech would have to be convinced that's not some sort of M series panel he's not seen before. Amazing fit and finish.
> 
> *tips hat*





rton20s said:


> I'm with Jason. Every time I get an email notification for this thread, I know I am in for something cool. Still, every time I am blown away at the level of design and execution.





benny z said:


> for real. badass.


THX Dude's.

I've done my best and there has been a lot of work, but I've forgotten that again


----------



## optimaprime

Damn damn damn !! You my friend are pure genius!!!! Fantastic work !!


----------



## rc10mike

That level of quality is astounding. It looks better than stock but doesnt look out of place. Simply incredible.


----------



## robolop

Home made carbon fiber trim (gear console panel).


----------



## benny z

I like the amber lighting!


----------



## DavidRam

robolop said:


> Home made carbon fiber trim (gear console panel).


F...ING GORGEOUS!!!!!!!


----------



## optimaprime

Rob you got any updated trunk and sub amp pics ? All that carbon fiber is beautiful


----------



## Mlarson67

robolop said:


> Home made carbon fiber trim (gear console panel).


All I can see is those badass mids in the background.....unbelievable!!


----------



## robolop

Doors with orange light.













Light of the plexiglass







Card box





Surprising lines.


----------



## LBaudio

CLASSY!


----------



## robolop

rc10mike said:


> That level of quality is astounding. It looks better than stock but doesnt look out of place. Simply incredible.





benny z said:


> I like the amber lighting!





optimaprime said:


> Rob you got any updated trunk and sub amp pics ? All that carbon fiber is beautiful





LBaudio said:


> CLASSY!



Thx Dude's, It has been a lot of work, but it was worth every minute. Up to the next


----------



## 1FinalInstall

I love this build! I never noticed the led's in the armrest/door pull until just now, nice Rob.


----------



## OCD66

Top notch work.


----------



## Coppertone

Great work, any updates that you care to share with us ?


----------



## Mlarson67

Hey what's up Rob any new creations? One thing I've never seen anyone ask is how does it sound? I would imagine with the attention to detail it would be phenomenal but what is your take?


----------



## quickaudi07

I wanna cry by looking at this thread !


----------



## Mlarson67

quickaudi07 said:


> I wanna cry by looking at this thread !


^^ME TOO!!

I figured it out Rob is from another planet. The rest of us here on earth can only dream of making something half as cool as his stuff! Was sick the last couple of days and reread this entire build-my jaw is still on the floor with a puddle of drool next to it


----------



## robolop

I'm making something strange. Modern version of E.T.


----------



## benny z

Idk what that is, but I love it lol


----------



## BrainMach1

It's Johnny 5 in sleep mode. 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


----------



## Mlarson67

Looks pretty cool. What's it for?


----------



## robolop

Mlarson67 said:


> Looks pretty cool. What's it for?


I have completely built an e-bike myself to put in front of my wheelchair


----------



## claydo

****in' A! That's badass!


----------



## 555nova

Wow! amazing


----------



## carlr

As always, top notch work coming from you!


----------



## 1FinalInstall

Were all thinking of you Rob. I hope you're feeling better brother.


----------



## robolop

Test test


----------



## AVIDEDTR




----------



## Coppertone

Hey there, welcome back and hope all is going well with you.


----------



## AVIDEDTR

I feel like robolop is going to drop the hugest fabrication bomb on us and minds will be blown.

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk


----------



## JayinMI

I hope so!

Hope all is well, Rob.

Jay


----------



## robolop

As you may have noticed, I didn’t post anything on my topic in quite a while.
There’ s a reason for this. My health somewhat let me down. 
Most of you may know I’m in a wheelchair, for over 30years now.
I had a wound on my buttock, and they’ve treated this 6 months to get the wound closed, but without any result.
Then they’ve admitted me to a university hospital. And after a few investigations they discovered that muchj more was going on.
I had gotten a bacterium in my left leg and hip. The doctor who was going to treat me immediately said that his was a very serious condition. He also added that several interventions were needed to solver this.
Because my bone was affected I also must fear an amputation.

I spent 11 months and 5 days in a sterile room that I was not allowed to leave.
I have had 5 operations. A lot of damaged bone and tissue has been removed, and my hip head has also been removed.
A week ago I received the good news that I could go home. The inflammatory values in my blood had become on a very good level, and I feel very good again.
Fortunately I was able to keep my leg, but of course, a lot has happened inside.
Of course, having been in my bed for so long, I hardly have an strength left in my arms anymore. But at home, I’m already trainging with some weights.
I will not be allowed to sit in my workshop for the next couple of months. This would not work either, and I feel that myself.
I hope that after the winter, around April/May I’ve recovered enough to pick up where I left in my workshop.

As far as the BMW is concerned, it looks beautiful under a sheet. I have had the idea of selling it, because I didn’t know what my future was going to be.
When I got home, I looked at him once more, and had a very good feeling about it again. Like when I looked at all the cool things I made for it...
So I’m definitely not going to sell it. 

I have a topteam of doctors by my side the whole way (and the hospital belongs to the best of the world), and a top nursing care that I now consider to be family…and not to mention, an amazing wife!
She assisted me every hour of the day. She has driven many thousands of miles to visit me. If I ever had a difficult day, she would tell me things to make me feel good again.
I also have a large amount of friends and many of them are very busy. Despite this I have had visits on almost every day. The hursing staff told me that they have never experienced this. 
Normally after 2 months the amount of visits mostly descreases… So I’m sure I have real friends!

I will have to take as much rest as possible, and also give it a lot of thought about my future.
This is one of the moments we should have the opportunity to look into a glass sphere, and someone could predict my future…but that’s not possible I guess...


----------



## DavidRam

robolop said:


> As you may have noticed, I didn’t post anything on my topic in quite a while.
> There’ s a reason for this. My health somewhat let me down.
> Most of you may know I’m in a wheelchair, for over 30years now.
> I had a wound on my buttock, and they’ve treated this 6 months to get the wound closed, but without any result.
> Then they’ve admitted me to a university hospital. And after a few investigations they discovered that muchj more was going on.
> I had gotten a bacterium in my left leg and hip. The doctor who was going to treat me immediately said that his was a very serious condition. He also added that several interventions were needed to solver this.
> Because my bone was affected I also must fear an amputation.
> 
> I spent 11 months and 5 days in a sterile room that I was not allowed to leave.
> I have had 5 operations. A lot of damaged bone and tissue has been removed, and my hip head has also been removed.
> A week ago I received the good news that I could go home. The inflammatory values in my blood had become on a very good level, and I feel very good again.
> Fortunately I was able to keep my leg, but of course, a lot has happened inside.
> Of course, having been in my bed for so long, I hardly have an strength left in my arms anymore. But at home, I’m already trainging with some weights.
> I will not be allowed to sit in my workshop for the next couple of months. This would not work either, and I feel that myself.
> I hope that after the winter, around April/May I’ve recovered enough to pick up where I left in my workshop.
> 
> As far as the BMW is concerned, it looks beautiful under a sheet. I have had the idea of selling it, because I didn’t know what my future was going to be.
> When I got home, I looked at him once more, and had a very good feeling about it again. Like when I looked at all the cool things I made for it...
> So I’m definitely not going to sell it.
> 
> I have a topteam of doctors by my side the whole way (and the hospital belongs to the best of the world), and a top nursing care that I now consider to be family…and not to mention, an amazing wife!
> She assisted me every hour of the day. She has driven many thousands of miles to visit me. If I ever had a difficult day, she would tell me things to make me feel good again.
> I also have a large amount of friends and many of them are very busy. Despite this I have had visits on almost every day. The hursing staff told me that they have never experienced this.
> Normally after 2 months the amount of visits mostly descreases… So I’m sure I have real friends!
> 
> I will have to take as much rest as possible, and also give it a lot of thought about my future.
> This is one of the moments we should have the opportunity to look into a glass sphere, and someone could predict my future…but that’s not possible I guess...


Wow brotha, that is a long, rough road to travel... I wish you all the best in your healing and recovery!

For what it's worth, you have lots of fans on here cheering for you!


----------



## rockinridgeline

So sorry to hear of your trials Rob. You have endured much more than most can imagine. Please know that you have inspired so many with your talent, but maybe more so with your perseverance and positive outlook. Prayers for your strength to increase so you can do what you love.


----------



## darinof

I Hope you get well soon and back to what you like to do most. Your creativity is amazing and inspire lots of people, me included.


----------



## rton20s

Thank you for sharing your experience. You know we're all rooting for you to regain your strength and recovery. I'm sure you'll be back out in the shop building cool stuff before you know it.


----------



## AVIDEDTR

I can't imagine this Rob. 11+ month stuck in the same room would be enough for me to call it quits.

You and your wife are amazing. You are a true inspiration to us all and I applaud your mindset to keep this hobby alive.
Cheers (beer cling) from Canada

Regards,
Julian

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk


----------



## Lanson

I just want to say that you should never sell this car. If it ever must part from your hands, I would urge you to enter it as functional artwork in a museum or somewhere that it can be shown for what it is, beautiful art. This thing is a masterpiece and you are a master.


Glad you are back


----------



## JCsAudio

robolop said:


> I have a topteam of doctors by my side the whole way (and the hospital belongs to the best of the world), and a top nursing care that I now consider to be family…and not to mention, *an amazing wife!*
> She assisted me every hour of the day. She has driven many thousands of miles to visit me. If I ever had a difficult day, she would tell me things to make me feel good again.
> I also have a large amount of friends and many of them are very busy. Despite this I have had visits on almost every day. The hursing staff told me that they have never experienced this.
> Normally after 2 months the amount of visits mostly descreases… So I’m sure I have *real friends!*
> 
> I will have to take as much rest as possible, and also give it a lot of thought about my future.


You may have had an unlucky situation with your health but this above situation is something very few people actually have. You are a lucky man in that respect.

I hope you fully recover and can get back to doing the things you love and take care of that wife too.


----------



## ejeffrey

All the best, Rob, and hope you're back in the shop soon. You're an inspiration to all of us here!


----------



## dcfis

Always think about your work ethic and attention to detail you put into every little thing no matter if it could be seen it not. Every time i think about cutting a corner i think of the pride you had to have to make sure perfect was really perfect. I'm sorry you are having a time of it. I will be thinking good thoughts of you my forum friend.


----------



## nittanylion64

I have no words. Your journey has been amazing so far. Good luck and I know you will be back to creating in your work shop.


----------



## robolop

He dude's, and about three years ago I made this another e-bike to put in front of the wheelchair.
I thought I had done that well, and now that I don't know if I can continue with the BMW, I thought, I can also create a Topic with this.










DiyMobileAudio.com Car Stereo Forum







www.diymobileaudio.com






Maybe there are others who are sitting in a wheelchair learning something from it. So if you have questions shoot.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

Rob,
Although I don't reply much on yours or many other threads, I do read and follow several as I'm sure many others do. That said, you should know many of us consider you a HUGE inspiration in many and various ways. For me, that inspiration is because I am unable to make the progress of a fully able-bodied person due to health issues. Your progress on projects no matter if it's your car, shop, E-bike or other is what helps drive me with my own projects. I'm sorry to learn of your most recent health issues but I am glad you are making a positive recovery. I'm also sure I speak for many if not all of us. Yes, we would very much like to follow along with you if you decide to make a new topic or thread. I hope the MODS on this page will continue to allow you thread space on this board for whatever project you have going. Thanks again for being a huge inspiration to us all and I wish you God's Speed with your recovery.... SCOTT...


----------



## robolop

FLYONWALL9 said:


> Rob,
> Although I don't reply much on yours or many other threads, I do read and follow several as I'm sure many others do. That said, you should know many of us consider you a HUGE inspiration in many and various ways. For me, that inspiration is because I am unable to make the progress of a fully able-bodied person due to health issues. Your progress on projects no matter if it's your car, shop, E-bike or other is what helps drive me with my own projects. I'm sorry to learn of your most recent health issues but I am glad you are making a positive recovery. I'm also sure I speak for many if not all of us. Yes, we would very much like to follow along with you if you decide to make a new topic or thread. I hope the MODS on this page will continue to allow you thread space on this board for whatever project you have going. Thanks again for being a huge inspiration to us all and I wish you God's Speed with your recovery.... SCOTT...


Thank you for these beautiful words.
For the moment I'm doing pretty well. I'm not the old one yet, but maybe that won't come anymore. I have to accept that. I will have to do new things that I can still do well, and for which I do not have to make great efforts. We'll see. Once the summer has changed a lot may have been ..... 
It is nice to read that there are people who have gained some inspiration. It has always been my intention to show everything as well as possible.


----------



## English audiophile

robolop said:


> As you may have noticed, I didn’t post anything on my topic in quite a while.
> There’ s a reason for this. My health somewhat let me down.
> Most of you may know I’m in a wheelchair, for over 30years now.
> I had a wound on my buttock, and they’ve treated this 6 months to get the wound closed, but without any result.
> Then they’ve admitted me to a university hospital. And after a few investigations they discovered that muchj more was going on.
> I had gotten a bacterium in my left leg and hip. The doctor who was going to treat me immediately said that his was a very serious condition. He also added that several interventions were needed to solver this.
> Because my bone was affected I also must fear an amputation.
> 
> I spent 11 months and 5 days in a sterile room that I was not allowed to leave.
> I have had 5 operations. A lot of damaged bone and tissue has been removed, and my hip head has also been removed.
> A week ago I received the good news that I could go home. The inflammatory values in my blood had become on a very good level, and I feel very good again.
> Fortunately I was able to keep my leg, but of course, a lot has happened inside.
> Of course, having been in my bed for so long, I hardly have an strength left in my arms anymore. But at home, I’m already trainging with some weights.
> I will not be allowed to sit in my workshop for the next couple of months. This would not work either, and I feel that myself.
> I hope that after the winter, around April/May I’ve recovered enough to pick up where I left in my workshop.
> 
> As far as the BMW is concerned, it looks beautiful under a sheet. I have had the idea of selling it, because I didn’t know what my future was going to be.
> When I got home, I looked at him once more, and had a very good feeling about it again. Like when I looked at all the cool things I made for it...
> So I’m definitely not going to sell it.
> 
> I have a topteam of doctors by my side the whole way (and the hospital belongs to the best of the world), and a top nursing care that I now consider to be family…and not to mention, an amazing wife!
> She assisted me every hour of the day. She has driven many thousands of miles to visit me. If I ever had a difficult day, she would tell me things to make me feel good again.
> I also have a large amount of friends and many of them are very busy. Despite this I have had visits on almost every day. The hursing staff told me that they have never experienced this.
> Normally after 2 months the amount of visits mostly descreases… So I’m sure I have real friends!
> 
> I will have to take as much rest as possible, and also give it a lot of thought about my future.
> This is one of the moments we should have the opportunity to look into a glass sphere, and someone could predict my future…but that’s not possible I guess...


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## English audiophile

I have not been on this site for longer than I care to remember but you Rob have always been an inspiration, not just for your work/projects nut also for your approach to life and how to live it. This was the first post I had to read on my return. I am so glad to hear that you are now home, hopefully comfortable and recovering well. God bless


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## Yawar538

Wishing you the speediest recovery. Can't wait to have you here amazing us with, yet again, your marvelous work.


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## robolop

Hi dude's .....
As you could read in my last post, I spent a year in hospital with a bacterium in my leg. Only now have I recovered well, and can I be lucky that I am still here. Last year October 15 I went under the scanner, and everything in my leg and hip was recovering very well. I myself had a lot of confidence in it, because I also felt very good. I also had a lot of faith in the doctor who operated on me. When we went to the parking lot my wife Carine couldn't be happier. She screamed with happiness. It had been a very tough year for her too, and yes, I can say I have the best woman in the world. However, it did not take long. 5 days to be exact.
She left by car on October 20 and was back an hour later. She stood in front of the garage and called me to go out with a wheelchair.
I did this, and when I got to the car I asked what was wrong.
She told me she could no longer stand on her feet. She had no strength at all on the steps. Of course I knew immediately that this was not good at all. The doctor has come and they have taken her to the hospital. After a few investigations, she told us what happened. Carine had had a spinal cord infarction. This is very rare, and they cannot surmise. The consequences were very serious for her. She would also be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. When we knew this we had a good chat with each other about the future. We could do 2 things, give up or continue. Of course she immediately opted for the second option. I have been living in a wheelchair for 40 years, she told me, and I also see what a good life you still have, she told me. She was in hospital for 8 weeks, and when she told the doctor that he should fire her. The doctor told her this was impossible. Patients with such a condition must convalesce for at least 1 year. And the Covid was also beating very hard here. She then came home and started her rehabilitation here. We are now about 3 months later, and I think she can do much more than patients who spend a year in hospital. For the moment we are well on the way to getting back to everyday life. Of course there are many things she can't do anymore and we need to ask for help, but I just have so many good friends who are always there for us. Of course I have not done anything more to the BMW. For the moment I have no interest in that, and not the time for it. Carine took care of me for 40 years. Whatever I asked her, nothing was too much. She has always supported me in what I did or made. Now I think I should do the same for her. And I do that too. I often still think that I came here almost every day to post pictures of what I was doing on the BMW. I now also realize what a beautiful time this was. I miss that I am no longer working on that. Time will determine how things should proceed. If I know a little bit more about what I'm going to do in the future, I'll be sure to let you know. By posting this message I want to say that happiness can turn into disaster very quickly. So, enjoy every day, hour, and minute you get, all of a sudden it can happen to you that it's done. The Covid got me too, but it didn't bother me much. Keep it safe dude's


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## ejeffrey

So sorry to hear this, Rob. All the best to you both.


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## nittanylion64

Good Luck! What a time. Take care of each other. It sounds like your relationship is solid. Man, that is a lot to take in. I can't imagine living it. What a strong couple. Just no words. Keep living and loving.


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## oabeieo

robolop said:


> Hi dude's .....
> As you could read in my last post, I spent a year in hospital with a bacterium in my leg. Only now have I recovered well, and can I be lucky that I am still here. Last year October 15 I went under the scanner, and everything in my leg and hip was recovering very well. I myself had a lot of confidence in it, because I also felt very good. I also had a lot of faith in the doctor who operated on me. When we went to the parking lot my wife Carine couldn't be happier. She screamed with happiness. It had been a very tough year for her too, and yes, I can say I have the best woman in the world. However, it did not take long. 5 days to be exact.
> She left by car on October 20 and was back an hour later. She stood in front of the garage and called me to go out with a wheelchair.
> I did this, and when I got to the car I asked what was wrong.
> She told me she could no longer stand on her feet. She had no strength at all on the steps. Of course I knew immediately that this was not good at all. The doctor has come and they have taken her to the hospital. After a few investigations, she told us what happened. Carine had had a spinal cord infarction. This is very rare, and they cannot surmise. The consequences were very serious for her. She would also be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. When we knew this we had a good chat with each other about the future. We could do 2 things, give up or continue. Of course she immediately opted for the second option. I have been living in a wheelchair for 40 years, she told me, and I also see what a good life you still have, she told me. She was in hospital for 8 weeks, and when she told the doctor that he should fire her. The doctor told her this was impossible. Patients with such a condition must convalesce for at least 1 year. And the Covid was also beating very hard here. She then came home and started her rehabilitation here. We are now about 3 months later, and I think she can do much more than patients who spend a year in hospital. For the moment we are well on the way to getting back to everyday life. Of course there are many things she can't do anymore and we need to ask for help, but I just have so many good friends who are always there for us. Of course I have not done anything more to the BMW. For the moment I have no interest in that, and not the time for it. Carine took care of me for 40 years. Whatever I asked her, nothing was too much. She has always supported me in what I did or made. Now I think I should do the same for her. And I do that too. I often still think that I came here almost every day to post pictures of what I was doing on the BMW. I now also realize what a beautiful time this was. I miss that I am no longer working on that. Time will determine how things should proceed. If I know a little bit more about what I'm going to do in the future, I'll be sure to let you know. By posting this message I want to say that happiness can turn into disaster very quickly. So, enjoy every day, hour, and minute you get, all of a sudden it can happen to you that it's done. The Covid got me too, but it didn't bother me much. Keep it safe dude's


my goodness... tough year glad your okay .... hope all else goes well


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## LBaudio

Prayers that you both get well soon!!! You are in our thoughts everyday!


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## bertholomey

Thank you so much Rob for posting this. Though it was heart wrenching to read about the circumstance that day with your wife and the subsequent diagnosis, your post was inspirational for me. It was wonderful to read about your discussion, and about the resolve you both have. To read about your commitment to each other is humbling, and thrilling as well! I certainly admire you both for that. I also admire her care for you, and now your opportunity to care for her. I'm thankful to read about the strength of marriage through the toughest of times. I'm also thankful you have many good friends that can support you both. You have many of us who care about you as well - many times, Jason K and I have mentioned you. I'm praying for you both!


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## benny z

Your optimism is infectious and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing everything.


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## English audiophile

robolop said:


> Hi dude's .....
> As you could read in my last post, I spent a year in hospital with a bacterium in my leg. Only now have I recovered well, and can I be lucky that I am still here. Last year October 15 I went under the scanner, and everything in my leg and hip was recovering very well. I myself had a lot of confidence in it, because I also felt very good. I also had a lot of faith in the doctor who operated on me. When we went to the parking lot my wife Carine couldn't be happier. She screamed with happiness. It had been a very tough year for her too, and yes, I can say I have the best woman in the world. However, it did not take long. 5 days to be exact.
> She left by car on October 20 and was back an hour later. She stood in front of the garage and called me to go out with a wheelchair.
> I did this, and when I got to the car I asked what was wrong.
> She told me she could no longer stand on her feet. She had no strength at all on the steps. Of course I knew immediately that this was not good at all. The doctor has come and they have taken her to the hospital. After a few investigations, she told us what happened. Carine had had a spinal cord infarction. This is very rare, and they cannot surmise. The consequences were very serious for her. She would also be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. When we knew this we had a good chat with each other about the future. We could do 2 things, give up or continue. Of course she immediately opted for the second option. I have been living in a wheelchair for 40 years, she told me, and I also see what a good life you still have, she told me. She was in hospital for 8 weeks, and when she told the doctor that he should fire her. The doctor told her this was impossible. Patients with such a condition must convalesce for at least 1 year. And the Covid was also beating very hard here. She then came home and started her rehabilitation here. We are now about 3 months later, and I think she can do much more than patients who spend a year in hospital. For the moment we are well on the way to getting back to everyday life. Of course there are many things she can't do anymore and we need to ask for help, but I just have so many good friends who are always there for us. Of course I have not done anything more to the BMW. For the moment I have no interest in that, and not the time for it. Carine took care of me for 40 years. Whatever I asked her, nothing was too much. She has always supported me in what I did or made. Now I think I should do the same for her. And I do that too. I often still think that I came here almost every day to post pictures of what I was doing on the BMW. I now also realize what a beautiful time this was. I miss that I am no longer working on that. Time will determine how things should proceed. If I know a little bit more about what I'm going to do in the future, I'll be sure to let you know. By posting this message I want to say that happiness can turn into disaster very quickly. So, enjoy every day, hour, and minute you get, all of a sudden it can happen to you that it's done. The Covid got me too, but it didn't bother me much. Keep it safe dude's


Rob, your last year sounds incredibly difficult in so many ways and for so many reasons. I simply cannot imagine what a difficult time that you have both been going through. Your health should always take priority. You were and always will be a inspiration to me and no doubt many others. 

God bless you both, I hope that things improve for you both soon.


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## robolop

In a few months I will start working on the BMW again. Big changes are going to happen. I won't be able to use anything I've already made. But I've been thinking for a while what is still possible for me to do. I've already bought a few new things that I've always wanted.


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## Coppertone

I am sure that whatever you have planned, we will be in awe of how you complete it. Well wishes to you sir and stay strong ..


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## BigAl205

We were just talking about you at finals, wondering how you were doing. I'm glad to see you're doing better


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## robolop

BigAl205 said:


> We were just talking about you at finals, wondering how you were doing. I'm glad to see you're doing better


Good or bad???????????


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## LBaudio

good to see you active again! good luck with install upgrade!


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## addissimo

Man, I remember watching that install as it was happening being in awe. So much amazing work. It also makes me incredibly grateful for how far we have come with factory integration! No more secondary headunits!


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