# 98 Neon R/T Build Thread



## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

OK. I started my build thread over on CarAudio.com, but I'm sick of all the Walls and SPL vehicles and immature people, so I came over here. 
So far, DIYMA is much more to my liking.
I'm going to abbreviate this part, since I imagine most people can follow what I've done with little description, and if you have questions, ask away!

Here's my starting point:










1998 Dodge Neon R/T, 176k, I've since removed the stripes, replaced the rusty hood and removed the wing from the trunk lid. I upgraded my headlights/turn signals/foglights with Depo crystal clears running Silverstar bulbs.

My current setup is:

HU - Pioneer Premier DEH-P790BT/iPod cable/XM Radio
Amps - JL 300/4, JL 500/1
Sub - Kicker Solobaric S10d4 4ohm (The old ones with ISD cones)
Rears-Stock
Fronts-Dynex 6.5's

Pretty sure my 300/4 is bad, so I'll probably sell my 300/2 to get the money to replace it. I plan to run a set of Pioneer Premier TS-C720PRS's active for my fronts and 1 10" Solo. 

Started my Sub box with this:














































Here's on of my subs:










Misc...










cont...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Here's how I made my grilles:


















































































The center was made from 1/4" MDF and the outer ring was made from 1/2" MDF. 

cont...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Then I went back to work on the box...

I used Ponte' fabric to make the shape.














































In some pics, there is a hole in the back of the box. I cut the opening so I could get at the inside, and it got glassed back in at the end.










Verifying strength by applying 250 lbs 



















cont...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Used some Bondo glass to blend the edges in perfect, and Dynatron Filler and Bondo Glaze for the rest.























































Painted using Duplicolor Car and SUV Flame Red CC paint. 










Used a nutsert kind of deal to mount it to the car.










Grille painted. (Needs a little more body work, but I use my trunk, so I figured I'd see how it help up...I'll probably redo it with acrylic or aluminum later)










cont...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Trim ring:




























Rave Faux Leather










Peeled off the backing so it's stretchy:



















Glued the back side










Box wetsanded/buffed and polished w/o trim:










With Trim:



















Ooohhh....Shiny 










cont...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Amp rack:



















Routered to match profile of JL amps:



















Trim:























































(Pushpins were glued in and covered in Bondo glass.)



















Vinyl trim: (Note BeA stapler  )





































Painted, Wetsanded and polsihed:










Grille cloth over the top to let heat out and so you can't see seat padding.










Installed:



















That's where I'm at right now. None of this is wired, I figure I'll wait till I get my speakers anyway. I might hook the sub up, but I'm OK without it for now.

Trying to keep it nice and simple. I kinda miss the setup in my 05 Colorado I had, I had 8's in the doors, 5's in the kicks and tweets in the pillars, an Alpine radio and PXA-H700 w/ controller.

Here's a system diagram of the old setup:










Time alignment/EQ is a wonderful thing.

Oh, and all that was in a standard cab 

Jay


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## TheDavel (Sep 8, 2006)

Good looking work!


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## TXwrxWagon (Sep 26, 2008)

I LOVE the detail of the amp rack shroud & the sub-grill is AMAZING... the linearity & precision of the center "wheel" of the grill is awesome... great job.

Rob
2004 WRX Wagon


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks. When I first posted the build thread on CA, one of the first questions asked was "Did you CNC the grille?"

I kinda was building this as a rolling resume, since I'm on unemployment right now, and I pretty much overshot my budget so it'll be a little while before I do much to the inside. I might whip up a custom dash kit or something else small since I already have the stuff to do it. 

I plan to rebuild my door panels before winter, but I'll need my front stage first...so we'll see how that goes.

Jay


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## shadowfactory (Oct 20, 2008)

x2 on the sub box that is the most original box I have seen in quite a while!


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## JediMentality (May 7, 2008)

Does you box also double as a spare?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

If it did, I'd have put my amps in the spare tire well 
I scaled it down to 11" OD, so I don't think the bolt pattern lines up anymore 

Jay


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

Nice install! 

I actually miss my old round 12" Solo-baric. Its SQ was tons better than the 12" L5 I tried recently.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I'm not a huge fan of the square subs for anything but getting loud. 
When they first came out (like 2000?) They sounded 'off' to me. Best as I could figure, is that since sound waves would essentially travel similar to the way water ripples when you drop a rock in it, that because they are square, the sound doesn't radiate "correctly." That was my theory back then. Now, I'd say that it might just have been the way they were engineered. They work OK in cars with trunks, where the artifacts are filtered by the interior materials, but I didn't like them in SUV's or hatchbacks. A couple of years later, they were improved and sounded better, but all in all I think my favorite subs are JL 10W3V2's or V3's. I liked the old Solo 12's better than the 10's, but I couldn't find those in 2005 when I went looking. I never really got the 10's to sound the way I wanted in my truck (standard cab truck, 10's facing the rear wall in .7 cf ea. at an angle), and was going to off them. After I sold my truck and was driving my beater 91 Eclipse, I threw them in a cheap prefab box of .7 cf and they sounded 100x better. I'm going to give them a shot in this car and see how they do.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Got the sub hooked up in the car. It sounds OK. Sounds about as good as any other fiberglass box I've heard, I guess. I'll probably sell it in spring and do something else.

I scratched my amp rack a little, and can see that painted glass may not be practical for my DD...Not too bad, won't be fixing til spring either, I suppose. 

Jay


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## Vestax (Aug 16, 2005)

Nice work man.


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## EricP72 (Mar 23, 2008)

I love the amp rack!


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Wicked, detailed work on the amp rack and sub box! Impressive!


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## Robert (Jul 23, 2006)

Amp rack is beautiful and sub grill has amazing details. Great job.


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

i say u put a grill to cover the amps so you can protect them, and hide them when you dont want to show them off. take em off when you want to show people, but great work, i like the amp rack idea and the attention to detail is amazing. good work!


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

Looks great!!!


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

man, that is a very nice looking box for sure! I love the craftsmanship and the originality of it.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I thought about making a cover, but I was working outside in my GF's driveway and ran out of time before the weather got cold. All in all, I'll probably leave it as is for a while. For my DD, it sounds OK (especially considering the equipment...and the fact that my 300/4 is not hooked up), but I'm thinking of picking up a new ride this summer...

This will continue to be my DD (50 miles one way to work---30+ MPG), but I'm diggin the Trailblazer SS...

Thanks for all the props!

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

JayinMI said:


> I kinda was building this as a rolling resume, since I'm on unemployment right now, and I pretty much overshot my budget so it'll be a little while before I do much to the inside. I might whip up a custom dash kit or something else small since I already have the stuff to do it.
> 
> I plan to rebuild my door panels before winter, but I'll need my front stage first...so we'll see how that goes.
> 
> Jay


Well, the door panels didn't happen. Neither did the 720's. But I *did* get a job working at the shop I used to work at (even made me garage manager).
Recently, I was doing online training on Pioneer's Mobile Electronics Live site and earned enough points to get a set of 720's for free. They are on there way and should be here before February.

Pioneer was also running a smokin deal on the new AVIC-F90BT for employees of authorized dealers, so I picked one up. Couldn't pass it up, really. Yes, I realize the sound quality isn't the best, but I mainly listen to my iPod and XM so it's not that noticeable, and I love all the features it has.

Of course, a double din head unit doesn't normally fit in a '98 Neon, so I remedied that 

OK...here's the next project:

Fit this:

Pioneer USA - In-Dash Navigation

in here:










So, a little cutting and a little filler work (3 days worth...) and I got this:










Then we hit it with some poly-primer to get to this:










So, I need to cut some plastic out of the bottom of the radio opening, but it looks doable and I'm keeping the ashtray and cig lighter in their stock locations...

OK. Here's the kinda finished product. I'm gonna pull it back out in spring and repaint it the right color, I just used the closest thing we had at the shop (which wasn't very close!)



















And here it is with my custom splash screen (screen that comes up during initialization) that I made in Photoshop:










Soon, my TS-C720PRS components should be here and I can start on *that* project.

Jay


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## BASS_WARRIOR (Jan 14, 2009)

Very Very nice man! How do you like the RS speakers?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I like them very much. I've installed a few sets, and for what they cost, we don't sell anything in their league. I had planned to get these for a while. I wish they'd get here already...

Jay


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## moosejuice (Oct 5, 2007)

Nice install, great detail on the amp rack and sub enclosure....

B-


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Stopped at Painter's Supply and bought some "Agate" paint and some low gloss clear. Resprayed it. Here's how it looks now:



















Jay


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## Fenriz84 (Jul 22, 2008)

wooooow


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Fenriz84 said:


> wooooow


Is that good or bad? 

My buddy was giving me a hard time because the radio retails for around $1300 and I only paid $1000 for the car.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Well, not much of an update, but my TS-C720PRS's showed up the other day. I got my subs working (radio had a bad preout harness).
So, once business slows down a little more, I'll start the build for the speakers.
I also ordered the wheels I wanted that go with my speaker grille.

Jay


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## JBLCAMRY (Apr 30, 2008)

Beautiful design, and craftsmanship.


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

Great looking work. Most imprtantly, I am glad you have a job again in these times. I don't think you'll go anywhere with the skills you have. I am impressed by your work (along with several others here). Keep it up.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Well, the 720's never made it in the car. They are still sitting in my bedroom.
Today I picked up my new ride. It's a Tsukuba Red 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Premium 2.0T/Auto. Over on Gencoupe.com Dogstar has been showing us the inside of the doors/rear area and this car is just *made* for sound.
Probably won't be much progress for a little while, and I'll start another build thread for the new car, but I figured I throw it out there.

Jay


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## SWINE (Aug 29, 2008)

I love this sub box!


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## talibmohamid (Dec 5, 2008)

WOW dude,,,,,,,great work mane.....do you do this for a living? LOL


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## Believe78 (Apr 24, 2009)

Awesome sub enclosure man . I've owned 2 neons, my first was a 96 . then I got a 99 like yours. Sweet install all around.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks! I'm about to put most of the equipment (including the wire and sub box) in the classifieds here and on Neons.org...

Here's the replacement:
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/58523-2010-hyundai-genesis-coupe-build-log.html

Jay


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## reindeers (Mar 7, 2008)

That sub grille is awesome and so is the amp rack!

Can't wait to see the rest man. Good job!


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## jprix82 (May 16, 2009)

Great install! I plan on doing a fiberglass corner build also,but from the way you describe it your not to happy with the sound of it?

Do you think you might not have enough air space for the sub?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Not as much this box, as other fiberglass boxes I've heard. They just don't sound "dead" to me, like the resonance is too high or something. I probably should have deadened the inside with Dynamat or something.

My best estimates say that it's pretty close on airspace (and probably a little big). I found a bunch of Dynamat Extreme in the basement the other day, so I may deaden it...but I don't have the car anymore, so I dunno if it's worth it.

I still have the box and amp rack tho...

Jay


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## Silver2003srt4 (Jan 3, 2009)

the box is sweet ive seen it 1st hand


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## JetskiMark (Jun 9, 2009)

Impressive fabrication skills and nice build.

Kudos.


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## Wonway (Jun 9, 2009)

Sweet build!!


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## MajorChipHazard (Feb 10, 2008)

Awesome build,great ideas you have there.Looks stunning


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I really miss this car... 

Jay


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

go buy another one. they're cheap as heck now a days haha


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Since I had a request for more in depth info on the rear seat amp rack, I figured I'd post it here...

I cut the seat, and the foam to get to about 2.5".

Then I fabbed a board, and added appropriate spacers so that it was level and flat with the back of the seat. Kinda hard to see, but this is the best pic of it I have.










Then the trim ring goes on...I used plastic christmas tree clips to hold it in. The are CA glued in a recessed hole, which is then filled with Duraglass and some filler before getting wrapped in vinyl.





































Then the amp rack just screwed down to the board I put in the seat...It also pulled the vinyl from the trim ring tight when inserted.

Hope that helps...

Jay


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## jsun_g (Jun 12, 2008)

What are you driving nowadays? Dug the sub box build! Do you plan another build in your current ride?




JayinMI said:


> I really miss this car...
> 
> Jay


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## TRD07 (Oct 13, 2009)

clean amp rack.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

jsun_g said:


> What are you driving nowadays? Dug the sub box build! Do you plan another build in your current ride?


2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, build here:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/58523-2010-hyundai-genesis-coupe-build-log.html


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