# My Install - 2000 Toyota Land Cruiser (preparation Pt 1)



## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

This isn't my install, really. I'm the owner of the truck.

I'm having someone I trust, a professional installer, doing the install this summer. I'm starting this thread so I can keep track of things as I move down this road. 

About me: I guess I'm what you'd call old school audio guy and car-fi guy. In my little 1982 Dodge Ram 50 PU I had what was, at the time, a really nice Audio superstore set up. Zapco PEQ, several head units over the years (Concord HPL-XX, Alpine 7XXX), several amps (mostly Linear Power and ADS) ADS speakers and all manner of processors. I had to quit the arms race in about 1986, sold everything and have been driving factory audio for the last 20+ years. This Cruiser build will be my first aftermarket hi-fi since then.

The first step was getting the inside of the thing deadened a bit. There is a lot of steel in this vehicle, and therefore a lot of induced noise. With the third row seats removed there are a number of large holes through the back carpet that lead directly to the steel bed - with many of the exposed holes leading directly through the bed to the outside.

I picked a couple of rolls of Raammatt and about 6 yards of Ensolite. The two rolls was more than enough to do the entire floor of my cruiser, the rear wheel wells, the walls behind the rear wheel wells and the tail gate. In fact, I did two layers on the rear wheel wells and the front driver and passenger floor boards. I have enough to do the rear passenger doors and probably the headliner, too.

I ran out of Ensolite before I could line the walls of the rear wheel wells. I ordered some more and will have it in sometime next week.

After completing phase one of the deadening, I have to say that I am very pleased with the results. Very noticeable improvement. The tailgate has always had a tinny "ping" sound upon opening and closing. Its now has a solid and commanding thud as I lined both the skin and the inside with Rammatt. All of the holes have been sealed and the back deck is much quieter. The factory system also sounds much better - probably a combination of less intrusion from the road noise and the deadening on the front floor boards. 

My wife (1st grade teacher) who was only mildly aware of this project noticed a difference in the sound when she borrowed my truck on Friday. She drove it to school and back and asked if I did something to the speakers or the stereo, as it sounded better in there.... 


The plan is for a stealth install that will allow me to continue to load in a full cargo area. I'm a scuba diver, photographer and musician - so I'm constantly moving in wet gear or very heavy Anvil cases of drums and PA in and out of the back. 

Its going to be a fun road to summer - and I can't wait. This site has helped drive a lot of my decisions, and I'm really excited about what's going to come. I'll update this thread as I move down this road.

---
Ken


*BEFORE*

This is what I started with. Note the big holes through the carpet directly to the metal













*DURING*

This is the back end stripped. There is some factory deadening, but, well, you know....



This Cruiser has the rear AirCo unit. I wanted to leave that in, as its a hassle to tear out, resale one day, etc, etc. So we're (not "we're" as much as my guy is) going to have to work around it for the install.



This is the factory sub woofer. In the TLC, they sort of made a box that took all available space on that side (you should see the shape of this thing!), ported it and added a couple of 4.5's. Its a funky, honky plastic box. It'll be hitting eBay soon 



RAAM ON! Tail gate and back deck. 



Applied to the skin as well as the wheel wells




I've read here that this stuff is messy. IT IS!!!!!!!!! I was getting black goo all over the place. I tracked it onto my floors in the house, onto my desk, my keyboard and mouse... it gets everywhere.



I was a couple of hours into this project when the sun came over the back of the house. Not a problem, except that I'd just turned the back of my cruiser into an Easy Bake oven with all that foil... Solution? Put up a high tech sun blocker before I moved to the front!


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## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

*Moving to the front*. 
I pulled out the seats and the console, peeled back the carpet and went to work!



You can see the fuzz from the carpet and some of the factory deadening. Acetone is my friend. Removed the fuzz as well as all the black residue from the Raammat that found it way onto everything.






Now fully Raammed, I started from the front and moved backward with the Ensolite. Two layers of Rammatt and two layers of Ensolite on the front floorboards. I wanted to get the truck driveable as quickly as possible, which is why I completed the front first (even though I started the back first!) As it turns out I didn't need it that afternoon, so I was able to complete the job.



I ran out of Ensolite before I could complete the skin behind the back wheel wells. As soon as I get my order in, I'll finish those. HEE HEE!!! Note that I now have the sun-blocker windshield thing up. Guess this job is taking awhile, as the sun has moved from the back to the front now....










*AFTER*

This is the rear "after" shot. Note that there is no longer exposed steel. Mucho more quiet. 




I should correct that - its not that its "more quiet" as I'm sure the DB level is about the same. Its that there is less objectionable road noise and intruding wind noise from the holes. I'm also confident that on a rainy day - when rain water is kicked up into the wheel wells and stuff - that's when the real benefit of the added deadening will be fully realized.

Next up is the pillars, rear doors and the headliner. The Installer specifically asked me to steer clear of the front doors and A Pillars - essentially anywhere he'll be working on. I cheated and did the rear wheel wells... 

This is not a small job. Fortunately I work from home, and I read here on DIYMA that I should expect 15 to 20 hours to complete it. It took me about 4 or 5 hours the first day, and a solid 8 or 9 for day two - that's without the doors or headliner. There is a lot here, and as I've never had one of these apart before, it took me longer to figure out how to get it all apart and back together. I can report (with great pride) that not a single clip was damaged in the filming of this episode. Not a one. 

I've been leasing for over 20 years - this is the first vehicle I've "owned" since that red 82 Ram 50. I haven't torn apart one of my trucks for decades. There is something very satisfying about stripping a vehicle down to the wirelooms again. You find all kinds of treasures when you take a previously owned vehicle down to the bolts. Apart from the french fry bits under the seats, I came away with 24 cents in coinage and a $6 pre-paid card for American Golf good for range balls. Now if I only golfed.... 


All of you on this board are a part of this job. Thanks for the encouragement and tips.

More soon.


---
Ken

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## FrankstonCarAudio (Feb 2, 2008)

Looking real good, Ken!
I especially liked the "high tech sun blocker"! 

This install should turn out fine...
Kep the pics coming..

Mark


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## Goindef154 (Apr 26, 2008)

Looks like a lot of work, looking forward to the wrest of it.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

holy moly, thast a lot of sound deadening  cait wait to see the install


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## braves6117 (Feb 13, 2008)

Good Work Keep Em Coming


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## slowsedan01 (May 4, 2008)

Looks promising. I love landys!


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Awesome job. Keep it up!


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## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

simplicityinsound said:


> holy moly, thast a lot of sound deadening  cait wait to see the install


Counting the moments, buddy.

Welcome home, BTW.


---
Ken


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## mobeious (Jan 26, 2007)

ok ok tell us what camera you are using


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## JoeSmith502 (Apr 26, 2008)

nice..


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## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

*Camera?*



mobeious said:


> ok ok tell us what camera you are using


Nikon D200, Stroboframe, Nikon SB800 Flash. I used a Nikon 12-24mm lens for the CFWA stuff and the Nikon 60mm for the close up stuff.

Is that what you mean?


---
Ken


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## mobeious (Jan 26, 2007)

yep... im lookin at the D60 as a starter camera


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## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

*You may love it*



mobeious said:


> yep... im lookin at the D60 as a starter camera


My wife has the D40. It drives me nuts! Its all menu driven, several of my lenses don't work on it, and because I shoot in manual most of the time, it takes too long to make the adjustments.

Her? She's coo-coo-go-nuts crazy about it. She shoots in auto, its light, its fast, there aren't buttons everywhere. 

I'm a little out of the demo. She's right in the demo. 

The color is excellent, the camera is light so it goes everywhere (the best camera is worthless if you've left it at home because its too big and bulky) and its an excellent walk around and shoot stuff cam.

The D60 is too. 

---
Ken


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## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

*UPDATE!!!!!!*

Cruiser dropped off at installer.

Weird being sans truck. Diving out of my wife's tiny Rav 4 is a challenge!

More pics soon to follow.

This is getting exciting!!!!


---
Ken


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## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

*'Nuther Update - The build begins!!! (can you tell who's doing the install???)*

As the owner of this Land Cruiser, and one who has dearly missed SQ car-fi since I left the arms race many years ago, I couldn't be more pleased than the day we broke ground on this install.

I'm not doing the install. Someone I met through DIY is doing the install. I'm not going to tell you who, but you will be able to figure it out before long, I'm sure...

One of the things making this whole process a bit unique is I'm leaving the country this week - so we're conducting all of the business, answering questions, going back and forth on design preferences, etc. over the internet.

Kinda cool. Kinda weird. Kinda cool.

SO - here it is...


=============================

*Objectives:*

Excellent Sound Quality
Single Din head unit with iPod control, and will upgrade to Nav and DVD over the winter. 
Reasonably Stealthy (some tasteful flash is OK)
Maintain workability of the vehicle - I dive, camp and fish and am a working musician - so there is always wet gear and heavy stuff coming in and out of the back of the truck. 


*Components:*

A mid-line Pioneer with 4 volt output: the 6000 UB
Zapco DC650.6 for Midbass and Sub
Zapco DC350 for the tweeters
Seas Lotus Reference speaks
Image Dynamics IDQ10 Sub



After some conversations with the installer, we decided to op out of a door mount for the Midbass and move into custom kicks. The crude diagram (!) I received describing this to me is below. After looking at this very convincing diagram (!!) I said, "uh, OK - go for it..." 
 




Wiring bundles in the front doors (note: no more red lines...!!!)
 




The A Pillars in the Land Cruiser are no fun. They're very long (extending from the windshield all the way back between the doors to the B Pillar) and are covered with Toyota factory vinyl. The installer had to scrape, pull and cuss the factory vinyl off of these. In this shot is one with the factory vinyl removed and one with the factory vinyl still on. Ugh...





Beginning of the mold, with cloth stretched over the MDF ring and the resin applied.





My longazz Pillars sanded smoooooov





Pillarzilla covered in tan vinyl to match the interior, and then the Pillars with the Seas Reference Tweets installed
 




Pillars looking good. Stay tuned, and lets KICK IT!


---
Ken


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## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

*Did someone say Lets Kick It??!!*

So - we return to the install log featuring our mystery installer.

Dampening? check.

Pillars? check.

Time for the kick panels that were so artistically rendered at the beginning of this jolly project.


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This is the initial floor mold, trimmed to shape and bonded to the factory kick plate





The back vents are cut out, and the mold is dampened. Then the MDF rings with flush-mount rings are attached
 





The walls of the kicks are loaded with modeling clay to reduce resonation. I guess my guy had enough red for one, and had to bust out the green for the other  Is that for Port & Starboard???  





More dampening over the clay for additional resonance reduction, and to make sure the clay doesn't get any wise ideas and try to make a break for it





The front side of the kicks - totally sanded and ready for the tan vinyl





And the vinyl! Looking GOOD!!!!!!!!





With the speakers installed, and the wires flowing. Man, are these things gonna sound great!





The kicks installed. Can they possibly look this good? Must I put grills on these things (YES!!! Memo to self: shake the sand off your feet before getting back into the truck... :blush
 


=================================

WHEW!

Next up, the back end with the sub and the amps. He's gonna fabricate a rack and sub cabinet that will sit up over and behind the left wheel well area - where the current factory sub and the jack and stuff is stored. This will keep it off the floor (where all of the wet stuff goes after a dive) and kind of protected by the wheel well so my drum cases don't beat it to death.

This is gonna be fun. I can't wait to see phase two!


Who is this guy, anyway????!!!


Stay tuned!


---
Ken


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## JP Fabrication (Feb 20, 2008)

Looks great so far.

What is the blue stuff around the speaker ring in the kicks?


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

Red clay for left, green for right... like boat lights? 

Also this looks like Bing's work


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## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

*DING DING DING*



HondAudio said:


> Also this looks like Bing's work



We have a winner!

Yes. Its his work.


---
Ken


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

i would have tought my garage would have gave it away. or the seas/zapco/ID combo haha


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## FrankstonCarAudio (Feb 2, 2008)

The kicks look great, Bing..
Looking forward to seeing the amp rack combo.. 

The big giveaway for me was the deadener-clay-deadener construction..

Mark


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Nice choice of installer. 
Keep up the good work, Bing!


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## veloze (Jul 2, 2007)

Ken, nice choice of installer...Bing is the BOMB!! Your Cruiser is looking sweet.

On another note, are you aware of the SoCal meet on 8-9-08? I hope your whip is done by then, we'll love to see your install & maybe give us a demo.

Check the links below for more info regarding the meet. We hope to see you there. BTW, I'm sure you know, but Bing is coming to the meet  

Jose

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42301

or check the forum calendar

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/calendar.php?do=getinfo&day=2008-8-9&c=1


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## quest51210 (Dec 27, 2007)

good job as always


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

jose, the car will be at the meet  this the one i am bringing down , Ken will be out of town on vacation unfortunately  but i am sure there will be plenty of future meets for him to go to hehe


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## mo2vation (Apr 13, 2008)

veloze said:


> Ken, nice choice of installer...Bing is the BOMB!! Your Cruiser is looking sweet.
> 
> On another note, are you aware of the SoCal meet on 8-9-08? I hope your whip is done by then, we'll love to see your install & maybe give us a demo.
> 
> ...



Oh baby - I wish. I don't get back into the country until the 10th, so I'm gonna miss this one.

I can't believe my rig will be there and I won't.

That's just wrong, man.

  


---
Ken


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

Nice and simple. That's what I like about majority of the installs on this site. The execution is better and the results show...now, if only I could listen to these cars!!


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

Nice stuff - 1/2 of your pictures didn't load for me


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

slvrtsunami said:


> Nice and simple. That's what I like about majority of the installs on this site. The execution is better and the results show...now, if only I could listen to these cars!!


are you going to the meet in socal in a week nad a half?


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

I wish I could but work and my wife will not allow me to make it. She is returning from a long trip and I dont have anybody at work to cover me. Bummer...would really liked to make it.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

FrankstonCarAudio said:


> The kicks look great, Bing..
> Looking forward to seeing the amp rack combo..
> 
> The big giveaway for me was the deadener-clay-deadener construction..
> ...


Hmm. Any thoughts on lining the A-pillar plastic with clay? Yes, I realize that tweeters won't make the plastic vibrate but every bit of deadening helps, no? :blush:

I wouldn't mind putting an inch of clay on the entire floor


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## FrankstonCarAudio (Feb 2, 2008)

HondAudio said:


> Hmm. Any thoughts on lining the A-pillar plastic with clay? Yes, I realize that tweeters won't make the plastic vibrate but every bit of deadening helps, no? :blush:


You might be surprised at the difference!

I applied a layer of Dynamat to my A-pillars plastic and the difference was amazing!... I am using Hertz HT25 tweeters that sounded great before, but after, they changed... more mellow, rounder sound..
I can only put it down to minute resonance of the plastic... 

Give it a try, what's to lose?

Mark


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

yeah, there is some dampening o the A pilar back, around the tweeter area, i always do it


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

and where does the cut out in the kicks dump out to?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Mless5 said:


> and where does the cut out in the kicks dump out to?


it doesnt matter to my experience, the stock metal has a few holes in there that vents to a much larger area inside the body cavity...so thats where this one would be dumping to...

but i guess i am with the steve head school of kick building lol, i always make a large cutout, part of it into carpet, part of it ito the area behind the kicks, to me, it helps with midbass build up no matter what


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

okay, since Poor old Ken is off on an exotic tropical paradise with crappy internet connection, i will keep updating the log for him hehe...

the car is almost done, i should ave completed pics up tommorow... but this log should get you pretty darn close to what the final result will look like...it got a bit more abbreviated as time went on as i always forget to snap pics and soon realizes a few steps has already went past...

anyway...

moving onto the back portion of the install.

the idea is to put EVERYTHING into one side of hte cargo area, this way, it maximizes space and still keeps the ability to fold down the back seat and pass long things through. also, the install needs to be VERY DURABLE, as diving tanks, drum kits gets thrown in there all the time...

so...well the first thing i did was the floor carpet, i got so sick and tired at looking at the dirty, torn up old carpet, i just decided to make a new one real quick and slap it in, its not meant to be permenant, as he has plans to further proof his cargo area, but this is just so i can stop looking at the holes and the dirt lol



















so...well, i had to devise a way to support all the weight of the amps nd sub in that very uneven space...a common way to think about is to slap some glass down...well its a little more complicated than that for this, for one, the two amps, lined up end to end, is vritually as long as the hatch itself, and i have to make it so its both strong and easily removalbe to gain access to the amp connections should somethig needs to be diagnosed and fixed...

so instead, after an entire day of measuring and cutting templates, i came up with a rahter complicated supporting structure, to this will mount the amps and the subboxs inserted...sorta like the "morthership" i guess, the supports were hollowed up to try and reduce some weight and keep the center of gravity lower.




























to get an idea of how it sits in the truck, here it is fully secured. its mounted to solid metal at 8 different points via HD metal strips or screws, and also a few more HD L brackets for insurance, its so stiff that i can grab the rack and shake the entire car with it.

note all the wires ran through to that area:



















then, the amps were put on top and the wires wired up and organized:










next comes the subbox, which will slot into the main rack towards the back of the vehicle, first, the four sides were made out of MDF and cut to form to the contours of the vehicle:










then, the back side was taped off, and the MDF inserted, ready to glass the back side:










8 layers of fiberglass cloth went on it, i chose cloth becuase it does upside down and sideways clinging much better 










once that dried, it was removed, and 6 more layers of cloth went in, when that dried, i test fitted the enclosure once again:










the inside then promptly recieved three layers of liquid dampening










and here ist he back of hte box, sorry for the dark pic, it was in fading daylight...


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

here is the enclosure in the scheme of things once again:










next, i built a display rack for the two distribution blocks, one for power and one for ground, they ar done in tan vinyl matching the interior










and this was then secured to the mothership at the right location, and the power and ground wires rounted through and secured to their respective blocks.










next, the front baffle to the subbox was attached, and also done in tan vinyl:










and finally, here is the mothership fully loaded, without the outisde cosmetic trim pieces...everyhting wired up and in their locations  










then the first layer of trim panel for hte front was made and vinyled:










and this was attached to the front of hte track, notice the subbox and the Dblock rack had to be properly spaced back so this panel would fit on flush with the opening:










a coupla more close up pics



















more than any other install, this one felt like a 3-d jigsaw puzzle lol


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

finally, it was time to make hte outter comsetic trim pieces...first was the main two piece MDF outter casing,joined and routed with coutouts:



















here is also a small MDF cutout strip from the top side of hte main panel, what this will look like you have to look at later pics:










here is a rough test fitment of the panels in the car, this will give you a decent idea of what it will look like 










then the main panels were caprted in tan carpet:










and that little window piece done in tan vinyl:










now you see what that piece is for, its to do a vinyl bordered cutout on the top side for the amps. whcih highlights the cutout. steel mesh was used in the opening, this not only masks the amps from plain sight, but also allows heat to dissipate:



















i ordered a set of land cruise emblems from toyota in chrome:










and attached them to the mesh, just a little osmething extra


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

the back panel was then made, note the grille cutout, this allows air to flow through the entire stucture front to back, as the zapco amps have fans that pulls in air from one side of the amp and out the other, this makes ure its not just circulating deadair:










and this panel was attached to main panels:



















even though the front of the rack will almost never been seen hidden behind the rear seatback, i made a panel for it as well, same deal as the front with a grilled cutout, for air cirulation:










and here is where it goes:










well, i am not going to show any pics of hte completed structure from the front, i still need to secure it after double checking everything 

so you just get a few more of the bare pics that shows the wiring and the stuff behind the front cosmetic trim pieces for now...

i will prolly make a new post tommorow ith the completed pics hehe




























thats all for now


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

wow, awesome work. You make it look so easy. Beautiful integration, very impressive.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

the finished pics are up:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?p=516843#post516843


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## seddon (Apr 1, 2008)

Very nice and clean install Bing as usuall.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

simplicityinsound said:


> 8 layers of fiberglass cloth went on it, i chose cloth becuase it does upside down and sideways clinging much better


And because it has a better glass/resin ratio, it's stronger, stiffer, conforms to compound corners, frays less, more easily available, comes in tape, more cloth type options available, etc, etc, etc....


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## BlackSapphire (Apr 16, 2008)

Bing, quick question regarding the kicks and the step between the following two pictures:



















How did you attach the fleece or fabric to the rings so that you could resin them? CA glue? Does that hold pretty well when you pull on the fabric? I'd be interested in seeing more details on your resin/FG techniques if you can point me to any threads that would help.

Awesome job. They look like they belong there.


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## qtipextra (Aug 7, 2008)

Sweet!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

BlackSapphire said:


> Bing, quick question regarding the kicks and the step between the following two pictures:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


yup, CA glue on parts where the ring sits BELOW the mold so when you stretch it over hte mold it doesnt pull off hte ring, it holds perfectly fine  but still try not to completely saturate the area with resin 

b


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## ElCidTx (Dec 22, 2014)

Bing/Ken,

I have a 2000 Toyota LC and I'd like to attempt a similar project. I have already replaced the front and 2nd row speakers with Alpine speakers, but now need to replace the subs in the rear.I have chosen to replace them with two JL audio 6w3v3-4 subs, which are 6.5 inch in diameter and 4.25 inches deep.

Externally, the enclosure box in the LC is about 8x14 inches. I'd like to keep the factory enclosure and just modify it to fit the two new subs and be done with it. Though I figure if I'm playing with that carpet I might as well just throw in ensolite and RAAMmat while I have it up. (nice work, btw, those photos are helpful)

Two questions:

1)Can I keep the factory subwoofer box and just modify it to fit these two new JL subs? I'm deft and crafty, I have no problems just making the holes wider and perhaps building out the box a bit to handle the extra depth, but I wanted your opinion as to whether it was feasible or even recommend. If no, what do you suggest? If I can't do that, what material can I make a new enclosure from? Suggestion as to vendors? I'm confident I can find the mesh material from my local fabric store , but anything sturdy I need advice

2) Do I need a new wiring harness for these subs?


Thanks in advance and congrats on the successful install here, it inspired me quite a bit..


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