# 1989 F-150 XLT Lariat, Complete Build



## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I just finished a build in a similar truck here: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/88480-basic-center-console-1995-f-150-a.html

That one was a large center console between the front seats, no stealth at all (except for using beige carpet to match the interior). Turned out to be more complex than I thought it would, and the results sounded great, but I don't intend to give up any seating on this build.

For the record, this is one of my own vehicles, not a customer's. In other words, I will take my time if necessary. Scooter, here's another good ol' Ford for ya! 

Here's what I've done so far:

Here's my favorite car audio battery, that never gets credit for what it is. That's right, the Duralast Gold:










Here's why I love it so much:










Here it is, installed in the truck:


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Here's a trick I use on pretty much all old Fords. Rather than wiring from the positive post of the battery, I wire directly from the starter solenoid:










Going up and over the engine:










Coming down the other side by the brake booster:










I used one of those waterproof compression bushings, by Phoenix Gold or Stinger, don't remember which one. I also used some clear silicone caulk around the edge for good measure:










Here's another view of what I did with the wire:


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Here's why I was so careful about sealing up that bushing:





That's all for today. The battery and wiring represents about 3 hours of work, I'll post more progress as I go.


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## scooter99 (Dec 21, 2008)

Oh I'm definitely in!!!

Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to go all the way across the engine compartment instead of finding somewhere at the passenger side to go through at?


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

scooter99 said:


> Oh I'm definitely in!!!


I knew you would be. 

Don't hold your breath, progress may be a bit slower on this one than last one. As a consolation, though, here's a rundown of equipment I plan to use:

Clarion DXZ785USB head unit
Bi-ampable Vibe Hex Coaxials
Xtant amplifier(s)
Second Skin or similar damping in the doors
Fiberglass, plus possibly Baltic birch or other fun materials

===========

*Since it's my own build, I can afford to be idealistic.* Here are some guiding principles for this build:

1) In the words of Fourthmeal, "Always push the stock locations as far as you can go before resorting to permanently defacing the vehicle for resale."
I don't plan to _ever_ resale this vehicle, since it is my off-road rig and work truck. However, everything is for sale at the right price.​2) Don't use more than the necessary number of components!
While I have nothing against a good audio processor, I'll be going the KISS route with this build. 2-way active plus sub, all crossovers and processing confined to the head unit. At least that is the idea.​3) Many people say "do it once, do it right". For this build, I'll say "do it once, but leave it open-ended just in case".
It took me seven years to get the system in my Sentra to where I want it, and soon I'll be gutting the interior and re-doing the front stage. While I like the "do it right the first time" mentality for satisfying customers, I know I am personally too picky for that. My goal here is to not make it too difficult to improve the system in the future if necessary.​
I think those three guiding principles will give my system very good karma. Or is it truck-ma in this case?

===========

*Just a few hints about what is to come over the next month or two:
*
1) I may re-do a few aspects of the interior, while maintaining the stock XLT Lariat look. One area that needs attention is the front seat.
2) I plan on building a ridiculously thin subwoofer enclosure under the rear seat, spanning the entire width of the vehicle. That enclosure will house a ridiculously thin subwoofer, an adaptable amp rack, and one or more Xtant amps.
3) I've considered MLV under the carpet, but I don't know how soon that will be a reality. I may wait to do it at the same time I replace the carpet, but then again it may be convenient to do while I have the seats out. That is a tossup, no promises there.

===========

*I'm excited for this build, if you can't tell.* I've been stocking up on components since last winter, and I'm finally ready to go for it. Unfortunately, I'm pretty busy with work right now, and today is my only day to run errands and buy tools.

Just bear with me and be patient, I will try to make this worth your time.


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## scooter99 (Dec 21, 2008)

Sounds like a pretty good plan! I'll be watching for sure. I don't know how anyone can work at a break neck speed on any of these projects, unless you're A) Single, B) Have no Kids, C)Single with no kids! Otherwise there's always things to do and ways to slow down the progress. You do what you gotta do and we'll just watch you do it when you do! Good luck! I'll be watching!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

scooter99 said:


> Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to go all the way across the engine compartment instead of finding somewhere at the passenger side to go through at?


I was asking myself that as well. Here's my fuzzy logic:

I think it was a case of sheer laziness, plus an obsessive compulsive urge to put the amp behind the driver's seat.

What I mean by sheer laziness, is it's the best place I could find to drill a 7/8" hole for the firewall grommet.

The amp placement is _somewhat_ logical as well: I don't want to run my RCAs anywhere near the truck's main wiring harness and of the other electrically noisy stuff on the driver's side of the car. I also have an old superstition that I should run the RCAs and the power wire on opposite sides of the cab. So running the RCAs down the passenger side means running the power down the driver's side.

*Two more reasons I did it that way:*

1) Default, the amp is on the left in my Sentra, that seems to be how it ends up on 70% of the systems I build.
2) It will make it easier to tune the amp, I can easily take it out and hold it on my lap while listening from the driver's seat.

After I ran the wires, I looked at that for a while and wondered if I was being stupid. But since I don't plan on a super-heavy current load, I am not all that concerned about it being a slightly longer run. On the '95 I did, I ran the wires down the passenger side and put the amp behind the passenger seat. That one was simply a case of saving money by making the wire a few feet shorter.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

scooter99 said:


> Sounds like a pretty good plan! I'll be watching for sure. I don't know how anyone can work at a break neck speed on any of these projects, unless you're A) Single, B) Have no Kids, C)Single with no kids! Otherwise there's always things to do and ways to slow down the progress. You do what you gotta do and we'll just watch you do it when you do! Good luck! I'll be watching!


My situation is married (but no kids yet), full-time job to keep up with, college education to finish, a house and two 22-year-old daily drivers to maintain, and a business to run on the side. I won't feel guilty about taking my time.


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## scooter99 (Dec 21, 2008)

Wow, nor should you!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, I have bad news for my wallet, but good news for my spare time: my job has no overtime available this week. That means I have Saturday and Monday to myself, and I will be moving forward tomorrow with this build.

I got a new DMM, and did some quick electrical system testing tonight. I just wanted to be sure the battery and alternator are functioning properly before proceeding. You can see from the first few pictures that I upgraded my battery negative to chassis ground wire with 1/0 Monster Cable, as well as the battery positive to starter solenoid wires. I may add a few extra engine to chassis ground wires later if I feel it's necessary.

So here are the results of the testing, averaged over a few trials. I took these readings at the terminals:

Battery only, engine off: 12.57 volts
Engine idling, between 900 and 1500 RPMs: 14.08 volts
Highway cruising speed, between 2500 and 3000 RPMs: 14.21 volts
Battery voltage while cranking starter: 11.97 volts

This is a pretty strong performance, in my opinion. I didn't have a simple way to check the amperage output of the alternator, or the current draw of the starter, but I'd say everything seems to be in order. Tomorrow I will probably install the Clarion DXZ785USB, and possibly even the Vibe Hex coaxials. I also might build prototype box for my Power Acoustik Thin-13. Expect a handful of updates between now and Monday!


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Great start so far bud

The numbers you posted on your charge system seem really nice. I only wish my little beater would post such numbers. I've done older Fords and Chev's of that vintage, and some Goats. Best I recall I also ran the power wire along with the factory wad like you did. Only thing I would do diff would be to match the factory split loom. Lastly, I would (if you have enough wire to do so) would be to tuck it a bit closer to the fire wall, again to give it a more factory type job. Your only talking about 4-6" at the very most to do so. It may make it look quite a bit better and a bit tighter to the car. I would guess also you will use this car to kind of showcase your talents. So the easy to do details that stick out or look a bit out of place may not appeal to a customer. This is only my very humble opinion, you do good work take that extra 15min and make it look like its a part of the car so you have to make a point to point to show it to the customer. I would even go so far as to use wire ties in the same or close to the same locations as what the factory would. You know, don't just tie it down to an AC line or something like that.

I like the use of the type grommet, I've used those also when I had to run really LARGE wire under the car. You know, looking at your pics I may would run that wire under that AC line in that bundle, then follow it down and under the break booster, or minimum follow what looks like a vac line as it runs just under the fluid fill. Just an idea. Not at all meant to bash what your doing.

That battery you used is rather handsome, I would guess it has an equally attractive price tag? Wish I could use something like that but because I need to run two my best route is one of the audio specific really small deals.

You said you were working at a slow pace, we'll see still just how much faster your able to progress in relation to my sled.

Keep up the good work and great updates! Very thorough.

Sorry for the long post, I was both bored and on my meds


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> Great start so far bud
> 
> The numbers you posted on your charge system seem really nice. I only wish my little beater would post such numbers. I've done older Fords and Chev's of that vintage, and some Goats. Best I recall I also ran the power wire along with the factory wad like you did. Only thing I would do diff would be to match the factory split loom. Lastly, I would (if you have enough wire to do so) would be to tuck it a bit closer to the fire wall, again to give it a more factory type job. Your only talking about 4-6" at the very most to do so. It may make it look quite a bit better and a bit tighter to the car. I would guess also you will use this car to kind of showcase your talents. So the easy to do details that stick out or look a bit out of place may not appeal to a customer. This is only my very humble opinion, you do good work take that extra 15min and make it look like its a part of the car so you have to make a point to point to show it to the customer. I would even go so far as to use wire ties in the same or close to the same locations as what the factory would. You know, don't just tie it down to an AC line or something like that.
> 
> ...


Good to have you here, Fly! As for the wire, you make a good point. I won't worry about it for now, but I may go back later and cover it with some black techflex or at least a black split loom. 

As for the battery, the Duralast Gold is Auto Zone's top of the line, they usually cost $90 to $110, and last _forever!_ Supposedly the lead plates are welded at all the corners, not just the top, to increase vibration resistance. I haven't dissected one to see, though. 

This one cost me $110 plus tax because I wanted to keep the old one as a spare, and didn't make a core deposit. I've had one in the Sentra for three years now, and that car is used in some abusive situations (read: big stereo). The headlights almost never dim noticeably with this batt. It really does stand up to a beating, and I've never had it go flat unless I leave the lights on. I wanted a gel cell for off-road durability, but I just couldn't justify the cost when this one had more CAs, CCAs, and a better reserve capacity.

So now that I'm done gushing about my battery, at least you know why it's my favorite!

As for the voltage numbers I threw up, they should be good enough. At first, I was a little disappointed. My Sentra did a solid 14.4 at idle when I first upgraded the alternator!

Enough typing for the morning, my next post will have pictures!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, I'm taking a lunch break, I got another three hours in this morning. Here's what I accomplished:

1) Thought long and hard about buying some Second Skin Damplifier or Damp Pro, then broke down and bought some no-logo FatMat instead. I couldn't bite the bullet on the price for the good stuff. Even though the two products are not really comparable, I've certainly had acceptable results with FatMat in the past.
2) Took out the old radio and discovered a tangled rats nest of wires. It looks like I have my work cut out for me in that department.
3) Drove to Auto Zone, picked up a spool of 16-gauge Tsunami speaker wire, and spent the rest of the morning making wires. I would have used lamp cord if we had a Home Depot in town, lol.

Morning pictures will be up any minute.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

So it's been taking all the discipline in the world to not take all my stereo money and buy a 1990 Ford Mustang that is listed locally. But seeing as I'd then have to do an engine swap, I'll stick with my current plans.



First off, here's some of the equipment I'm planning to use:










Yes, that is a pair of DXZ785USBs. No, I don't plan to use them both in the same install...

The reason I decided to go with the Power Acoustik Thin-13 is that it's the shallowest sub I've ever found, and it most likely has enough cone area to get the job done. Mounting depth is 2", though I may try to leave enough room for the motor of a JL13TW5 in case I decide to upgrade in the future. Originally, I wanted to use this old-school Xtant A410, but I couldn't quite figure out a good place to put it in this vehicle, so I made a change of plans:



















Who can resist a little amp porn? Here are the guts of my little A2002. I wish all 200 watt amps could look this way!










More pictures in my next post, then I'm headed back outside to see if I can do some damage.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Here's the old radio, seen as it was when I bought the truck. Actually it was worse, almost falling out of the dash. It still works, but it's time for something fresh. This will be for sale soon, so watch the classifieds if you would like to pick up a very basic Pioneer deck for bottom dollar. _Note the (plastic) burlwood and brushed aluminum trim, this is a motif I may use later if the opportunity presents itself._










Here's the rat's nest I mentioned earlier. I am surprised the CD player actually functioned:










Here's one end of the wires I made:










And here is the other end:










I figured labeling everything will save time in the future. This is especially true if I redo anything later, or especially if someone else tries to figure out why on earth there are twice as many wires as they need in each door.

Well, that's all for now, folks! You can expect at least one more update today.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I'm now trying to decide whether I should put a 6.5" or a 5.25" speaker in the factory hole. I think the original speaker was a 6". I know I can make a 6.5 work, but I'm thinking the 5.25 won't beam as soon and might be better for that reason. It will be dark in an hour or two, so I will post more pictures soon.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, I have another update pending. The memory card in my camera actually crashed, but I think I can recover the pics with a little patience. Once I have the pictures back, I'll post them up.

Here's what happened this afternoon:

I organized the rats nest and wired everything. I removed the passenger door panel, removed the old speaker, fished the speaker wires into the drivers door, and installed a new speaker. I said screw it with beaming, I'm using point-source drivers anyway, so I went with the 6.5".

Once I got the right speaker in, it was dark, so I'm saving the rest until Monday. I set up my crossovers by ear, and listened to my one speaker. It already has a ton of midbass from that one speaker, and I haven't sealed up the doors or damped anything. It will certainly take some tuning, but I'm not going to worry too much about that until I have both speakers in and the doors damped. Oh yeah, and it certainly can't hit the low bass the way I like, so I will for sure be doing the sub and amp as planned.

I'll post the pictures up tonight once I figure out how to recover them from my card.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I had lots of fun wiring:














































_The moment of truth (drum roll, please)... ...Yes! It fits, wires and all!
_









I'll have to shave that dash piece in order to fit the trim ring around the CD player. At least it's better than the previous installation already!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Door panel removed:










Old speaker removed, wires fished through factory loom:










Sometimes, a picture _is_ worth a thousand words:










Note the separate tweeter and woofer inputs:










Ready to hook up the speaker:










This is just a temporary installation, I'll seal up the door later. Just wanted to get it playing tonight:










Well, that's as far as I got. I left the truck all torn apart inside, I'll deal with it on Monday. Believe it or not, this represents another seven hours of work, bringing the project total to 13 hours.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> The numbers you posted on your charge system seem really nice. I only wish my little beater would post such numbers.


Your little beater, haha! I didn't catch that when I first read your post. If your Porsche is a beater, then my Ford is a lowrider! :laugh:


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## timmay77 (Jun 21, 2010)

That vapor barrier is in surprisingly good shape! Good build.....


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

timmay77 said:


> That vapor barrier is in surprisingly good shape! Good build.....


Yeah, that surprised me as well. Judging by the amount of dust accumulated inside the door panels, I'd guess they have only been off a handful of time in the entire life of the truck.

Thanks for the compliment, and believe me, I'm only scratching the surface. At the current rate, this will probably take me another month or two before I'm satisfied. I hope to finish, or at least wrap up the basics, before my job transfers me out of town. Then again, a per diem check could certainly help me have enough money for the build!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Up for the morning!

Today's activities will include:
1) installing the driver's side speaker
2) concealing the speaker wires
3) troubleshooting the passenger midrange
_When I first installed it, it was making a weird "crunchy" noise once I got up to a *reasonable* listening level. I've got to determine if it's clipping from the HU, or if I installed a damaged mid. Fortunately, I have a stack of these speakers several feet high in my office, so I can try swapping it out. A third option is that I'm simply overpowering it, but that seems unlikely._​4) putting the door panels back on
_I'll go back later and do the sound deadener, I just don't want to look at bare door panels all week!_​5) playing with Sketchup to get a working schematic of what will go under the rear seat
6) identifying problem areas in the interior and brainstorming solutions.

I'll post pictures as I have them. This will one of those very full days that can make me feel like I'm not actually accomplishing anything. At least by the end of the day I'll have a working HU, tweeters, and mids, even though I'll be going back later for deadening and such.

Wish me luck!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, I put in 5 hours today, here's what I accomplished:

I ran the wires to the drivers door, the same as on the passenger side. Then I concealed the wires. No pictures of that, there's nothing to see!



Next, I noticed that the basket of the midrange I installed Saturday looked distorted from being wedged into the wrong size hole. I couldn't get a good photo of that, but it was definitely developing a slight bend where I had tightened the screws. So I cut some baffles or spacers from 1/8" tempered masonite:










Applied a 1/4" roundover so it would fit:










Test-fitting it to the speaker:










Test-fitting it to the door:










Once I had those cut, I used them as spacers so the door speakers would have a flat mounting surface. 1/8" is all it took to make a 6.5" speaker fit a cutout meant for a 6"! I installed the left speaker and re-installed the right speaker. Then I put the door panels back on and buttoned it back up for the week. The soonest I'll come back to this is Saturday, if I don't have work then.

Project total is now 18 hours, thanks for watching!


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Nice catch on the speaker misfit, down the road that would surely
lead to voice coil rub I bet. 

Any plans to coat them in epoxy or some other type of resin?


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> Nice catch on the speaker misfit, down the road that would surely
> lead to voice coil rub I bet.


Yeah, that's what I was concerned about. I'll be re-doing them anyway in a week or two when I do the deadener, but I'm glad I caught it sooner rather than later. I sure am glad to have a working head unit and speakers for now!



FLYONWALL9 said:


> Any plans to coat them in epoxy or some other type of resin?


Probably. The insides of those doors don't see much moisture, especially not that high on the door. Not nearly as much as the engine compartment, for instance. Seeing as the masonite is tempered, it's already slightly moisture resistant, it's the exact same stuff every Japanese car from the 1980s and early 90s used for door panels. In fact that's why I have some on hand, I plan to eventually rebuild the door panels on my '89 Sentra.

When I do get around to the deadener, I'll either throw some spray lacquer, or polyester fiberglass resin, or just good ol' deck stain on them for good measure. But I'm sure they'll be fine for now.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I have a small update: no overtime this week means I have Saturday and possibly Monday free again, and my sound deadener is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I doubt I'll be digging out the fiberglass just yet, but we shall see. I'll see if I can find any scrap aluminum sheet metal at work tomorrow as well, for sealing up the holes in the doors.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I put in another 7 hours between last night and today, and have mostly completed one door.

Last night I spent some time tuning the DXZ785USB, and I am very happy with it as a head unit. The internal amp seems a little weaker than I expected, so I'm up in the air about whether or not I will need a 4-channel later for my front stage. The PEQ, time alignment, and crossover features are straightforward and powerful, you would not believe how much difference time alignment makes in a cab that WIDE. Okay, maybe you would.

I am really loving the adjustable color backlight on the Clarion:










20 bonus points for anyone who recognizes both musicians!










Then I took the passenger door card off to get started on some damping.










More pictures to follow momentarily.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I peeled off my beautiful vapor barrier with a razor knife:










Next I scrubbed everything with windex till it sparkled:










I decided to use this Z-metal as a brace inside the door:


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I had fun figuring out how to put the Z-metal inside the door:










Eventually, I got it in. Yes, I did test to make sure it doesn't block the window mechanism. The chalk line indicates where the brace is.










I secured it with several pop rivets along the length. The door feels a bit sturdier now.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Man, uploading pictures to my website is going slowly tonight for some reason.

First bit of CLD applied (lower door) and test fitting some heavy gauge aluminum sheet metal I picked up from work:










I thoroughly cleaned inside the door, used some aluminum tape for extra backing (since I would otherwise be attempting to adhere peel-n-stick to that bumpy spray damper the OEMs use), and applied CLD inside the door.










Another picture of that:


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, finally the rest of my images finished uploading.



















@Fly, I decided to waterproof the mounting rings with Minwax 30 minute lacquer. I got two or three heavy coats on there, and now they bead water.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

More damping:




























The white stuff is just DAP Alex Plus (acrylic latex plus silicone) caulk. I'm letting that dry over the weekend before deciding Monday if I need any more damper.

If you look closely, you can see that I damped the door in such a way that if I need to access the inside of the door, I can just drill out the pop rivets, cut the caulk with a razor, and remove the appropriate sections of sheet metal. Most of the sheet metal got damper on both sides.

That's all until Monday. Preliminary listening says the damper improved midbass, but if my ears didn't tell me that then the last seven hours was a waste.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

PS, the project total is now 25 hours, and I would estimate I'm at 25% completion.

Another note, I strongly recommend buying door panel clips at Auto Zone! They come with a 90 day warranty, and they honor the warranty! I went to Auto Zone tonight to buy some more clips to replace the ones I broke, and the guy there was like "didn't you just buy some the other day? did they break already?"

Anyway, long story short, I got a whole box of panel clips for free! Who knew anyone would warranty a dinky little plastic clip?


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

hey, post 39 isn't showing photos. nice job so far


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

MTopper said:


> hey, post 39 isn't showing photos. nice job so far


Do you mean post 29? If so, I tried to fix it just now. Let me know if that works for you.


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

Yeah..... typo on my part but its working just fine now.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

MTopper said:


> Yeah..... typo on my part but its working just fine now.


Good to hear, I had just used too complicated of an image code initially. 



MTopper said:


> nice job so far


I forgot to say it earlier, but thanks! There is still much work to be done. I'm doing my best to keep quality up, even at the expense of schedule. Schedule? Who am I kidding? I don't even have one for this build!


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Two things that don't belong in a build of your own....
A deadline
A schedule
Take it from me I'm the Master! lol

Nice work so far. I guess now I should take and put up some
pics of mine for you.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> Two things that don't belong in a build of your own....
> A deadline
> A schedule
> Take it from me I'm the Master! lol
> ...


Of course! I'm eager to see it!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I decided to play with Google Sketchup for fun...



This may be a bit premature, but I put together some sketches of the amp rack and subwoofer box that I will be putting under my back seat. I still need to build some prototype boxes to explore ported vs. sealed, and to see if the PA Thin-13 and Xtant A2002 are a good combination for this build.

This shows the amp rack with the beauty panel removed:










A close-up of the amp mounting shelf, and how the beauty panel will seat. The "port" on this side represents part of a ventilation system:










This is pretty close to how it should look with the beauty panel in place:










This design will change if I decide not to go ported. Either I'll have a ventilation opening to be symmetrical with the port, or I'll hide the ventilation system if I go with a sealed box. For the construction, I plan to use baltic birch and fiberglass. For finishes, I'm still debating three main options. Option one would be paint or bed-liner, with cherry or burlwood accents. Option two would be upholstered or carpeted, with painted or bed-lined accents. Option three would be any basic 1-material finish.

I really doubt porting is feasible here, since I have so little space to work with. Still, I plan to try it in a prototype box and see how it sounds.

The sketches represent another hour of "non-work", so the project total is now 26 hours.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, morning update. I'm waiting for it to get warm enough to do peel & stick in the driver's door. 

I put the passenger side door back together this morning, and everything fits. Nothing to see here, just stock XLT Lariat trim:










While I was at it, I decided to fine tune the time alignment. Using the stock locations, and riding with the seat all the way back, here are my path lengths:

Left speaker to left ear, 35" = 89 cm.
Right speaker to right ear, 59" = 150 cm.
PLD = 150 - 89 = 61 cm.

I set up the time alignment and speaker gains with presets so I can reverse it for left or right listening positions, and also made an "all seat" preset. Having never used time alignment in my own vehicle before, it's fun being able to flip between presets and almost _feel_ the image moving around my dash.

That puts me another two hours in: one hour reassembling the door panel, and one hour tuning the deck. Project total is now 28 hours. Expect another update later today.


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## scooter99 (Dec 21, 2008)

Great! Looking forward to it!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Scooter, this post is mostly for your benefit, since I know you're planning a build in a similar vehicle.

If you decide to use the stock speaker locations (which as stated is one of the guiding principles of this build) you may have a problem with the mid-basses buzzing and rattling on low notes. The cause of this is a piece of open-celled foam inside the door card which presses on the cone of the speaker. :laugh:

I didn't want to remove the foam, because it looked like it was there to help give the door panel a snug fit. However, the buzzing (though faint) was dragging down my sound stage. When it would buzz, my attention was immediately drawn to the exact location of the speakers, but in other sections of the music the stage seemed to float higher. Obviously this is a problematic quirk, and one I could not accept in the final product.

My solution is shown in the pictures already, but I forgot to explain. By putting a speaker grille on the mids, I held the foam away, without sacrificing the snug panel fit it afforded. While the sound stage is by no means perfect, it is now coherent, and I would say very good for such poor speaker locations. 

Anyway, that's a little tip that went a long way to improve my sound stage, if you can fit the grilles in there, do it. Otherwise you might have to cross the mids higher to avoid the buzz.

Okay, back to work! I'm about 2/3 done with the driver's door.


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## scooter99 (Dec 21, 2008)

Ok thanks for the tip. I'll file that away for when I get ready to do mine!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, my evening update is pending. I put in another 7 hours, bringing the project total to 35 hours. Am I 35% finished? I wish I could tell you! Anyway, expect pictures within the next few minutes.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

First off, I deadened the driver's door. That took me about 5 hours. I didn't keep the camera rolling the whole time, because I got pretty much the same treatment as the passenger's side.










Next, I wanted to put everything back together, but ran into a little hiccup. The fabric that covers the inside of the cabin pressure equalization vents was loose, and looked too tattered to re-use:










Conveniently, I had some grille cloth left over from a pair of vintage Marantz bookshelf speakers I restored a while ago:


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Masking the grille cloth:










Masking the vent, and the door panel:










Grille cloth applied with spray adhesive:


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I made the bond while the multiuso adhesivo (3M Super 77) was extra tacky, so I think it will hold. However, I still threw on some aluminum tape to hold it up just in case:










I would have used a charcoal grille cloth, but I'm sure no one will ever notice this:










Here's what I mean about no one ever noticing it:










The reason that vent is there is to equalize cabin pressure, that's why I didn't cover it when I sealed up the doors. I figured it's on the opposite corner from the speaker, and between the slotted metal, and plastic grille, it's just going to behave as an aperiodic vent anyway.

So fixing that grille and reinstalling the door panel took about an hour. Then I spent an hour running errands, buying fiberglass, wires, etc. I got three 12' pairs of cheap Scosche RCA interconnects. I'll run all three, even though I only plan on using one pair (for the sub) for now. It may be necessary to add a 4-channel amp in the future, who knows? Anyway, refer to my #3 guiding principle:



> 3) Many people say "do it once, do it right". For this build, I'll say "do it once, but leave it open-ended just in case".
> It took me seven years to get the system in my Sentra to where I want it, and soon I'll be gutting the interior and re-doing the front stage. While I like the "do it right the first time" mentality for satisfying customers, I know I am personally too picky for that. My goal here is to not make it too difficult to improve the system in the future if necessary.​


As stated earlier, the project total is now 35 hours. That's all for today, I'm sure I'll be back at it within a week.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, I have a few small updates, but I'm mostly posting so I can get my brain organized and make an efficient use of time tomorrow.

I have officially decided I need a bit more headroom, so I'm going with a multi-amp setup. I have the Xtant A2002 I already posted pictures of earlier. I just ordered a matching A3001, and I need to get my hands on another A2002. So the plan is a three-amp setup. I may install two to start with, and keep fishing for a third one. Either way, I will be sure to leave room for all three.

Buying an A3001 introduces a new spin, because it only make 150 watts RMS into 4 ohms, but 300 watts RMS into 2. My subwoofer is a single 4 ohm. So basically, I need to determine if 150 watts RMS will be loud enough, or if I should buy _another_ subwoofer and run the pair in parallel. The logistical question here is do I really have enough room under my back seat for two 13" subwoofers and three Xtant amplifiers? The odds seem slim (no pun intended), IIRC I have about 57" to work with, by maybe 15" deep and maybe 3" tall. I'll double check that tomorrow.

My plan is to build some test enclosures tomorrow , hook up my A2002 and PA Thin-13, install a ground wire, and have a listen inside the cab of my truck. If the test enclosures give me conclusive evidence on way or the other for whether a single Thin-13 can make enough bass for my tastes, I will go ahead and start getting ready for fiberglass. Expect pictures throughout the day.

One last update, I'm back up to 50 hour weeks, so I can only put in one day a week. If I go up to 60s, this build may go on hold for a month or two. Our crew is on a multi-million dollar project that is a few months behind schedule, I'm honestly surprised that I've had _any_ free time to speak of.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

3 amps sounds like a good idea to me! Back in the day I did an install in a Dodge Ram where the amps were installed in the bottom of the back seat. So, once the seat was lifted with a linear you were looking at the amps behind plexi. That seat however had a tub frame which the rack was mounted to. 

So, question is does your seat have frame work? If so that is free room you could use, also as thin as your amps are it would work like a champ. Also, as long as that seat is you could do your distro in it as well.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> 3 amps sounds like a good idea to me! Back in the day I did an install in a Dodge Ram where the amps were installed in the bottom of the back seat. So, once the seat was lifted with a linear you were looking at the amps behind plexi. That seat however had a tub frame which the rack was mounted to.
> 
> So, question is does your seat have frame work? If so that is free room you could use, also as thin as your amps are it would work like a champ. Also, as long as that seat is you could do your distro in it as well.


No, good idea, but that won't work with this type of seat. It has a hard back made of some type of laminated metal or hard plastic, and I really don't want to cut into that. I'll post pictures later. I'm still sorting out the details of how it will all fit, I would kind of like to be able to show it off, but if I put it under the seats they will no longer fold!

I'll have to do some kind of mock-up to see what's feasible. Fortunately, I have basically the thinnest possible subwoofer for this build, with only a 2" mounting depth. I may be able to go a few inches wider than the 57" I mentioned if I make it so the seat has to be removed to mount or unmount the box. If I end up with three amps and two subs, that will really be the only option.

It wouldn't really make sense to go much wider than 60", because baltic birch comes in 5' x 5' sheets, and I would prefer to make the entire top out of on piece. I guess a little joinery never hurt anyone...


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

I think you misunderstood me. the amp rack was in the seat bottom 
not the back. So when you fold the seat bottom up to get under it
you were looking at the amp rack and the subs on the floor.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> I think you misunderstood me. the amp rack was in the seat bottom
> not the back. So when you fold the seat bottom up to get under it
> you were looking at the amp rack and the subs on the floor.


Naw, either way. The seat bottom and back are both the same construction. The seat bottom pivots 180° on an axis at the front of the bench, so it ends up upside down. The seat back folds forward 90°. You end up with a flat surface where you can put groceries or tools or whatever, instead of just stacking them on the seat and on the floor. It's kind of weird, but it makes a dang good cot as well. I'll miss that feature, you could seriously roll out a full sized sleeping bag and air mattress in that space. But when it folds into that position, there is even less room under the seats.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, up for the morning. I did some measuring, and I actually have 60" to work with. With all three amps installed (assuming I will find another A2002) I will have pretty close to 35" of amplifiers. There isn't enough room to stack them or overlap them, and while turning them sideways would save a few inches, it would make the wiring inconvenient.

That leaves 25" for subwoofers, basically ruling out the option of a pair of 13s. I will have to get all of my output from a single sub. The 13s are 13-1/4" wide each.

I'm now designing the test boxes, then I'll drag out the table saw and some OSB and start cutting. Pics to follow shortly.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

(Edited in 2022 to restore picture content)

Afternoon update, part one.

I spent the morning designing and modeling the test boxes. Here's what I came up with for the design:










I determined I have about 0.5 to 0.6 CF _gross_ to work with, and and so I worked within those parameters to come up with two options. The sealed box would be 0.46 CF net, the ported would be an absurd 0.31 CF net. As you can see here, both yield less-than-optimum response curves. I am clearly counting on cabin gain to work it's magic:










Here's a snippet from my own personal spreadsheet, I plugged in the specs just for kicks and giggles. As you can see, I am in strong disagreement with the spreadsheet about how this speaker should be used. In fact, if I went with the "optimum" box size, power handling would be shot to hell:










Expect more pictures momentarily, then I'm headed to the store to buy screws and poly-fill.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

(Edited in 2022 to restore picture content)

Afternoon update, part two.

I spent a solid 40 hours caulking at work this week, I can't believe that on my day off I picked up a caulk gun to seal the inside of this box:










Here's the box with the lid on. I'll cut the hole later:










Let me say this, I love working with OSB, compared to MDF or baltic birch. I always use it for prototype boxes, and back in the day (before I decided to market myself as a professional installer) I frequently used OSB for permanently installed boxes. Sure it's resonant as all get-out, and sure it needs a fair amount of bracing, but it's cheap, soft enough that I don't have to counter-sink my screw holes, and I can even sometimes get away without pre-drilling. Heck, it's even somewhat dimensionally stable! That said, it has enough drawbacks to prevent most people from touching it when it comes to car audio. At $7 to $12 per sheet, *I still think it's the perfect material for prototype boxes.*

Okay, now I'm off to the store to buy some supplies, I'll post progress in the evening. This two-part update represents another three hours of work, bringing the project total to 38 hours.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, I'll post evening pictures in an hour or two. Here's the gist of what I accomplished this afternoon:

1) Bought screws and poly-fill.
2) Built the ported test box.
3) Installed a ground wire.
4) Installed a temporary remote wire.
5) Installed a temporary set of RCAs.
6) Wired the Xtant A2002 (temporarily).
7) Used the subwoofer and the sealed box to set the gains by ear.
8) Enlisted the help of my wife, who is a scientist by profession, to design a double-blind experiment so I can listen to both subwoofer designs without knowing which is which. That way, I can determine which one I actually prefer without letting my ears lie to me.

Right now, I listened to one box, and am typing this while my wife installs the other subwoofer. I must say, that is seriously hot IMHO. Expect pics soon (no, not of my wife, sorry guys...)


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

(Edited in 2022 to restore picture content)

Okay, evening photo updates are finally here. It's past midnight here, so I'll make this as quick as I can. That said, this is a picture-heavy update, so bear with me.

Here are the guts of the tiny ported box:










By the way, do you like my rims? Here's the box with the top on:










This is a 2-gauge, solid copper terminal. I folded the 4-gauge wire in half, then crimped it with my welding crimper:










Heat shrink applied. I could barely fit the heat shrink over the 2-gauge terminal:










Here it is installed:










More pictures on their way...


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

(Edited in 2022 to restore picture content)

Here's how I cut my circles. By the way, this method keeps me from needing a plunge router.

First, I cut a very shallow cut. This lets me double check the diameter before fully committing:











Next, I drill a hole the same size or just slightly larger than the router bit. Insert the bit and start cutting from there:











The cuts usually leave a little nub like this:











The detail sander makes short work of that:










And, voila!











Still more pics are on their way.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

(Edited in 2022 to restore picture content)

Does this remind you of my sketchup drawing at all?











This gives you an idea of just how shallow the subwoofer truly is. They aren't kidding about a 2" mounting depth!











Here's a shot of the motor structure. According to the sticker, it works fine in 0.5 CF. We'll see if it works in less than that, LOL:











One thing I love about temporary builds, is you can just do what *works* instead of always worrying about what is *correct*. Duct tape speaker terminals FTW. Yes there is caulk inside there as well:


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, that's all the pictures. Just a bit more of an update and I'll head to bed (finally).

I freaked out when I first hooked up the amp, because I had initially connected the remote wire by accident to the power antenna wire so the amp didn't come on, didn't even light up. Once I figured that out, I tried it again and got a red light. That freaked me out, since the protect light is usually red. However, I turned the gain up a bit and sure enough, it works like a champ. For those not in the know, the A3001 does 150 RMS into 4 ohms, and 300 into 2. The A2002 does 200 RMS into 4 ohms bridged, so I will have slightly less juice on tap in the final setup. If my A3001 proves gutless when it arrives, another A2002 (or an A6001 for that matter) would do the trick. 

Both boxes sound good, I might actually prefer the ported one. I played both boxes from a 31.5 Hz HPF up to a 100 Hz LPF. From what I can hear, the ported box seems to have more kick, especially in the upper frequencies. I can't say for sure if one is louder than the other, but I got the impression the ported one was. I'll have to listen a few more times before I make the final call. For now, I am leaning 90% towards ported, even though it will be a logistic nightmare making it fit.

This afternoon and evening I put in another 7 hours, brining the project total up to 45 hours. Today was officially the end of the beginning, next time will be the beginning of the middle. The middle is when I'm building the box and amp rack, hooray!


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

I was thinking about this today, and my ears _must_ be lying to me. It is absolutely untenable for such a small ported box to even work! The other thing that baffles me is that I used only 7.5 square inches of port area. However, I listened to both the sealed and ported last night, and I still think the ported was better.

It bothers me that it's so small though. As I was thinking about it, I realized I could take a page out of Chad's book and do an external port. No, not out of PVC pipe, but one that is concealed in the front of the amp rack. That will allow the chamber to be as large as the sealed one, the port to be the same length, and therefore the tuning to be a bit lower. Now here's a response curve I can live with (keeping in mind that cabin gain will pretty much correct the rolloff:










I think that will be my best possible use of space, and considering the 0.31 CF enclosure isn't offensive to my ears, I can imagine one at 0.46 CF being any worse. By the graph at least, it looks better. It's still ridiculously small, but I think it will be satisfactory for my goal of balanced sound. (No over-the-top bass in this build, though I like that game as well, haha).


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Expect a photo updated later tonight. I tore out the back seat, and made a modest start on the actual box. Progress is slow, but this part is design build...


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, here's today's update:

I didn't get started until about 2:00 PM, so I only put in 6 hours today. I removed the rear seat, and removed the temporary subwoofer box and amplifier setup. I'm down to just my coaxials running off of deck power, and I miss having bass already.

Here's my beautiful back seat before I removed it:










I forgot to take a picture of this until I had the seat already halfway apart, but this shows how the back seat folds into a shelf:










Here it is with no back seat. I vacuumed that area before taking this picture, it was pretty filthy:










Sorry about the blurriness of this picture. I took it at night with no light other than my flash, and had to rely on a flashlight to get the autofocus to do it's job. Anyway, this is a test fit of the first two panels of the enclosure. I'll have to do some trimming to get it to sit flat, but it's a good start:










That's all for today, and it took me six hours! I had a bit of a delay when I realized that the only lumber yard that sells baltic birch locally was closed today, and the one that sells it 30 miles from here was closed as well. So I had to run to Home Depot, and settle for 1/2" MDF. I'll make it work with exorbitant bracing, haha...

Basically it was 1 hour removing the seat, 1 hour cleaning the truck, 1 hour driving to and from Home Depot, 1 hour shopping, and 2 hours figuring out how to start the box. The project total is now 51 hours, thanks for looking.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Well, my picture uploader was back online this morning, so here's my update from last night. I put in another 2 hours last night, and what I accomplished really shouldn't have taken 2 hours. That's what I hate about breaking up my time into such small chunks. Anyway, here we go.

This picture is for anyone's reference who tries to do the same thing in the future. If you want to put _any_ type of subwoofer, and I do mean any, under the back seat, you will need some type of riser. The factory one only affords you a usable 3" (assuming you need some room for excursion, amp cooling, etc) at the *deepest* point. This one was conveniently installed by the previous owner, and gives me an extra 2". I now have a little over 2" at the back, and a little over 5" at the front. I think later I'll take it out, sand it, and paint it to stop that rust. I don't know if this particular vendor still makes these, but I know I've seen similar brackets for sale online:










The only thing sacrificed by using that bracket is that no one over 5'11" can ride in the back seat. However, I ride with the front bench all the way back, so the back seat passengers are already limited enough on knee room that I wouldn't put anyone over 5'10" back there anyway.

2" galvanized steel Z-girt from work:










Baffle notched for seatbelts:










Baffle notched for seat risers:










Z-girt held temporarily in place so I can cut the side pieces soon. Didn't have a cutoff wheel for my grinder, so I used my grinding wheel instead. So many sparks it looked like the 4th of July!










Anyway, that's as far as I got, I'll be glassing the bottom within the next week or two. Project total is now 53 hours, thanks for looking!


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## don_chuwish (Oct 29, 2009)

Nice, great idea to prototype in OSB. Helps identify any fab gotchas ahead of time as well as proofing the numbers.
Your short backseat passengers will now enjoy a better view too, nothing wrong with that!

- D


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

don_chuwish said:


> Nice, great idea to prototype in OSB. Helps identify any fab gotchas ahead of time as well as proofing the numbers.
> Your short backseat passengers will now enjoy a better view too, nothing wrong with that!
> 
> - D


Thanks. Yeah, the main purpose for the prototypes was to test the manufacturer's claim that the Thin-13 performs well in small enclosures. Both enclosures sounded acceptable to me, even though the TS parameters suggested _much_ more airspace. In-car response was quite reasonable though, so I'll run with it. The other purpose for the prototypes is that I have simply never built a ported enclosure that small for anything but an 8" sub, and I wasn't convinced it could work.

Turns out, I have a few tricks up my sleeve for making the box bigger anyway, I'll just glass the whole bottom and make an amp "pocket" instead of a fully isolated amp rack. There will be enough bracing in this box that it will shake less than anything else in the truck anyway, LOL.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Slight update, I have decided I don't have room for three Xtant amplifiers, or rather that that space might be better used to increase the efficiency of my enclosure. I also decided I don't have the patience to collect a matching set. Instead, I'll go with a single class-D five channel. I just sent payment on this slightly used Infinity Kappa Five. I believe it will do everything I ask of it and more.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Okay, I have a few small updates. I've been dragging my feet on this build due to car shopping and lots of overtime at work. However, pretty soon I think I'll be back on track. By the way, I just bought a '96 Land Rover Discovery to use as a backup vehicle, so now I can afford to have a bit more downtime on the truck.

Today, I put in another 3 hours. I finished the frame for the enclosure, I masked the area I'll be glassing, and I trimmed the seat brackets back 1/2" (so I wouldn't have to notch the box, and so I could get a bit more internal volume).

Don't mind my messy shop:










Here's the area I masked. I held down the plastic with spray adhesive, and blue tape around the edges. I tried to make it a temporary bond, we'll see how that goes when it's time to pull it off. It's not perfectly smooth, but I think it will be good enough to give me the basic shape I need. Remember, this is utilitarian fiberglass, not finish fiberglass. And thank goodness, finish fiberglass can be a pain!










I'm thinking of using WD-40 for a mold release, but I haven't made up my mind yet.

I didn't get any pics of the seat brackets I trimmed, but basically the last 1/2" was really serving no function, and removing it made things much easier.

That's all for today, I may be back at it soon, but I also have some repairs to do on the truck. I need to get the glass done before it gets much colder, though. Wish me luck! Project total is now 56 hours, by the way.


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## derickveliz (May 15, 2009)

Subscribed 


. (o:


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Unfortunately, the truck is for sale. I just accumulated too many vehicles, and the truck gets used the least. I have some more pictures I will post later of the fiberglassing, but the project has been on hold due to weather for a few months now. Even if the truck sells soon, I may still complete the enclosure as a purely academic exercise, time permitting. Sad update, I know, but perhaps there will be a Land Rover build starting in the next few months, wink wink.


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## derickveliz (May 15, 2009)

)o:

Please let us know!

.


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## ryomanx (Feb 18, 2011)

TJ Mobile Audio said:


> Unfortunately, the truck is for sale. I just accumulated too many vehicles, and the truck gets used the least. I have some more pictures I will post later of the fiberglassing, but the project has been on hold due to weather for a few months now. Even if the truck sells soon, I may still complete the enclosure as a purely academic exercise, time permitting. Sad update, I know, but perhaps there will be a Land Rover build starting in the next few months, wink wink.


dag. i was just getting in to this thread but, i understand.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Yeah, like I said, I may still complete the box for fun, and if I do I will post it here. There are enough old Fords in the area that I may be able to sell the box and seat lift brackets for a decent amount. Also if spring/summer comes before the truck sells, then I will definitely finish the build.


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