# 2005 Chevy Crew Cab Saga....



## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

This is my first install ever. Of course the more I search the more I realize I know absolutely nothing about mobile audio (or anything audio for that matter)! But I guess we all had to start at this point, so here goes.
What I am starting with...








Nothing special really, just a toy and people hauler. So I figured I'd spend a little money and make it a more enjoyable ride to destinations.
Figured I'd start from the bottom up so out came everything...well, almost.
























Before I knew better I covered everything with Raamat BXT. 60 square feet on the floor alone! 
















And I covered the back wall with 1 layer....








Then I threw down two layers of ensolite...
























Was going to throw on a third layer of ensolite before the MLV but I was concerned about having the floor too thick and not being able to get the seats back in. Good thing I didn't because with 1 layer of Raamat BXT, two layers of ensolite, a layer of MLV, the factory insulation sheet, and the new carpet with a layer of insulation glued to it made it a real pain getting the seats back in, but they made it.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Having finished the floor I moved on to the doors. The rear doors are a real pain with the huge holes that can't be covered with a flat panel.
Put down one layer thinking I was done but everybody said I should put down two layers.








So I put down a second layer on the outer panel and a single layer on the inner panel.








It was recommended to get some perforated aluminum to fill holes so that is what I got. Had to mold it a bit to fit the door but not too big of deal. 








Then I covered the aluminum inside and out with Raamat BXT and screwed it to the factory sheetmetal.








Not being a secured place to mount a set of components I ordered a mold for my interior door panel. I added an mdf ring, fiberglass, clay and more Raamat BXT to stiffin it all up.








I also added Raamat BXT to the interior door panel just to stiffin it up a bit and can whatever resonance may be.








I am using infinity kappa 6.1 components for the rear fill as in my early stages that is what all the local car audio places suggested. Wish I knew then what I know now but I'll make them work. I think they will be fine considering they will be faded down and used only when rear passengers are riding. If the tweets are indeed still to harsh for being faded down I'll replace them with some seas or something a little more mellow.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

I still need to glue on a layer of ensolite to the door panel and interior trim panel but for now I am moving on to the front doors.
I ordered molds for the front as well. They got the same mdf ring, fiberglass, clay, and raamat btx to stiffin it up.








I also covered the interior of the door trim panel with more raamat btx.








I bought a set of Hertz 163 components from Tonyguy on here and will mount the midbass in the mold. Still trying to figure out the best location for the midrange and tweets. Opinions welcome! More pics to come as I continue to deaden the front doors. Is it recommended to put closed cell foam on the outer panel as I am doing on the inner panel and the interior trim panel? I'd love to kill as much road noise as possible but don't want to ruin accoustics.


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## silverdiesel2574 (Feb 22, 2008)

For being your first install, your doing a great job.
Keep the pics coming, 
I wish my first install was this clean, lol.


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## baggedbirds (Sep 21, 2008)

looks good! Is that a 4/6 drop?


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

It is a 4/7 drop and I hate it. Well, I love the stance but hate the ride on the stock springs. I will be bagging it this winter or spring. Fortunately I can use the lower front a-arms for the bag mount so the kit wasn't a total waste. Serioulsy...it does not ride very smooth, especially on So. Cal. freeways.


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## freemind (Sep 11, 2008)

Excellent job man


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## baggedbirds (Sep 21, 2008)

teenycar said:


> It is a 4/7 drop and I hate it. Well, I love the stance but hate the ride on the stock springs. I will be bagging it this winter or spring. Fortunately I can use the lower front a-arms for the bag mount so the kit wasn't a total waste. Serioulsy...it does not ride very smooth, especially on So. Cal. freeways.



I have the same drop on my CC and it's just ok. I did my front with a spindle and a spring. I hope you have clearanced your crossmembers for that drive line with that drop. Unless you've gone with a 2 piece from an extended cab.

looks good


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

I put a two piece driveline in it. 
I attacked the front doors today and am pretty happy with it. Put two layers of BXT on the outer panel and one layer + on the inner panel. I still need to put the ensolite on but when I beat against the door panel I can feel the air coming out of of holes where the interior trim panel hooks to. 
Stock door...








Mid way through...








And after...








It was much easier to cover the holes on the front doors. I used the same perforated metal to cover the holes and used Raamat BXT on both sides to form an air tight seal.


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## on1wheel06 (Nov 21, 2008)

great work so far!

are those pods from CustomSpeakerPODs.com?
if so how do you like them?

are the kmc's 22s or 24s?

and i have a bunch of bagging parts i want to sell pm me for pics/prices.


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## Tonyguy (Nov 15, 2007)

Very nice work so far! Youre gonna love the Hertz.


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## TREETOP (Feb 11, 2009)

VERY good looking truck! Have you considered blacking out the grill and bumper to match?


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## Sulley (Dec 8, 2008)

teenycar said:


> Good thing I didn't because with 1 layer of raamat BTX, two layers of ensolite, a layer of MLV


Wow, Great job with deadening, very clean work. What did you use for MLV? and would you use the BXT again?


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## remeolb (Nov 6, 2009)

Wish my first install looked that good!


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## don_chuwish (Oct 29, 2009)

Very nice, keep the updates coming!


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

The KMC Slide wheels are 22's. 
The Hertz components came today!
I'm pretty happy with the Raamat BXT. It took exactly 1 roll (60 square feet) to do both front doors. I have now used 3 rolls of this stuff (180 square feet) and need to buy a fourth to finish up some areas. I should be able to get the ensolite on the panels tomarrow. Doing the front doors made a huge difference! When I close the door with all the others closed it feels tight, like air is being compressed in the cab. I did block off the rear vents. I'm hoping not to have rattles at this point. Banging on the sheet metal feels pretty solid and rattle free for now. 
The MLV I got from a local supply place. Not the greatest deal but it worked well. I made sure to tape all the seams so there were no broken areas for noise to get through.
I did order the interior panel molds from www.customspeakerpods.com. I think they are a good start for a newbie like myself. Having put mdf rings and fiberglass and clay on them they feel pretty solid. Next time I'll just make some wood baffles. 
If I hadn't already purchased the components and speaker pods, I would have thrown some 8's in the doors and done a total diy kit but I thought it was more than I could bite off for my first install. This will no doubt go through stages as most builds do.
Not sure what I am going to do with the bumper and grill. I may get a more stylish bumper cover and paint it either white or back. I'd also like to get rid of the stock grill in favor of something else and black it out.
Thanks for the interest.


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## Tonyguy (Nov 15, 2007)

Glad you got the Hertz already. Enjoy them!


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## socaldmax (Mar 4, 2009)

Looking great!

Where did you get that metal for the door panels?


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Industrial Metal Supply. But pretty much any decent metal shop will have perforated metal or aluminum. Either will work. Something in the 16-18 guage should do.


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## 2500hd (Aug 22, 2009)

So has the a/c suffered at all since you blocked off the vents? Seem like i could fit so much more back there if I just ripped all of mine out


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## tinctorus (Oct 5, 2009)

2500hd said:


> So has the a/c suffered at all since you blocked off the vents? Seem like i could fit so much more back there if I just ripped all of mine out


He is talking about the vents that are on the back wall of the cab 
theyre just flaps of plastic
I dont see why the a/c would suffer from that
Unless you thought he meant the a/c vents were blocked off


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

A/C seems fine without the vents in. I guess if you were worried about it you could pull the vents and glue a board to the back and air would still be able to pass through the back wall due to the uneven plane.
Anyway I glued down some ensolite to both panels and crewed down some mdf rings. I made the rings from 3/4 inch MDF using my verticle bandsaw. Not the most fun but it is what I have until the bits for my new router get here.








And got the door panel on.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

So in moving my midrange and tweeter around in different spaces it seems to me that off axis up in the a-pillar sounds the best. I do not have time alignment so maybe this is why. But firing at eachother seems to be the best. So I cut some baffles for the midrange and tweeter. The tweeter mounts flush into it and I'm not sure how best to mount the midrange. I could mount it above (sinking the body of the midrange into the mdf) or below the 3/4" mdf. If I mount it from below I think I need to round off the edges from above. Let me know what you think.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Tackled the rear doors this morning. Covered the last large hole and put down a layer of BXT and Ensolite and installed the speakers and put the panel back on.
















If I had it to do over again I would have covered the holes and not put speakers in it as they were a total PITA! Oh well....done now.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

So I took it for a little test drive as this is the first time with all the doors "done" and the interior panels on. First impression is that it is so much more quiet! I wish I had a decible reader to give some quanitification to how much more quiet it is. Mind you I have done nothing to the firewall or the wheel wells where no doubt most of the road noise comes from. I've spent probably just over 500 bones on "deadening material" and it has been worth it. If you have a Chevy truck like I do I highly recommend you spend some time getting rid of the noise and rattles. It is becoming a joy to drive and I can't wait for the stereo system to be finished as well.


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## skibum (Aug 24, 2005)

I like the install so far (I had an 06 crew). Why did you put mdf baffles on the doors then attach the drivers to pods? I want to see where this goes. These trucks yield amazing results.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

It forms a sound tube into the sealed door. I put a dense foam ring on the sheet metal baffle that the pods sit up against. Hope that makes sense. Hard to get a picture of. I'm told it would yield better bass if the speaker shot into the sealed door rather than just firing into the space between the sheet metal door and the interior trim panel. In other words if you just install the pods there is about a 1 1/2" space between it and the sheet metal on the door. So I put a baffle ring on the pod and baffle ring on the door with a foam ring between them to give a seal between the two panels. I would have liked to use clay to join the baffles but as you may know the door slides on rather than bolts on.


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## Chrisjbell (Oct 19, 2009)

Very nice so far! I'm following this one closely - I'm going to start on my '07 new body crew cab pretty soon. I've got the dampener, waiting on the noise barrier. Mine will have to go through several iterations - I've picked up a LOT from this forum and much of what I've got will "need" to be replaced. Anyway, checking out a good quality beginning like this is really helpful. Thanks for all the details, especially in how you dealt with the doors.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Thanks for looking. If I were to give any advice on the doors or if I had it to do over again. I would still put down the butyl BXT, maybe 2 layers like I did just to stiffen the large flat panel up. I would order some of the luxury liner pro as the CCF is 1/4 inch thick and has the MLV glued to it. I would put this on the outer door panel. I don't think it would work in the inner door panel and still be able to get the interior trim panel back on. I used 1 layer of the BXT and one layer of ensolite on top of that and it was a pain to get the panel back on. Hopefully with the new body style your rear doors won't be like my doors. It is nearly impossible or at the very least a LOT of work to properly mount a driver to the sheet metal on the door with the regulator motor where it is. This is the main reason I opted to mount them off pods. Don't skimp on the deadener as it is not only nice for the midbass and stereo in general but will make your truck a lot nicer to drive/ride in.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Since I am waiting on the ampliers I figured I'd build a rack for them to mount to. Material is 3/4" square .065 wall tubing and the tabs are 3/16" cold rolled plate. I place the 3 front side tabs to bolt directly off the factory seat mounts. The rear tabs are far enough apart to mount outside the frame rails so it doesn't interfere with the driver's side fuel tank.








Dimensions are 49 inches long by 10 inches wide. 








Front side tabs are a little odd shaped because I wanted them to recess into the factory seat tabs.








The rack compresses down on the trans. tunnel but still gives plenty of breathing room under and over the top once the amps. are mounted.
Overall I think it will be really clean and simple. My seats still fold down as well. It was nice to get back to tig welding since I've taken a bit of a vacation from fabrication for a while. And I bought some plastic end caps to finish the ends off since I didn't 45 degree cut the corners.
The JL amps are 19.75 inches long and 9.25 inches wide so the rack will give me plenty of room to mount them both as well as the crossovers for easier tuning.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Amplifiers mounted and wiring run...


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## 2500hd (Aug 22, 2009)

That looks real clean! That's pretty much exactly like I want mine to look like. What power/ground wire are you using?


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## mSaLL150 (Aug 14, 2008)

Looks great! My buddy has a 2001 Silverado with the 6.0 and has that same set of Hertz 3-way components up front with IDQv2 12s under the seat, all powered by Zapco Ref amps and it sounds damn good. You'll love the Hertz!


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

nice install


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Knu wiring. 1/0 and 4g. I like it, very flexible and easy to work with.


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## remeolb (Nov 6, 2009)

Awesome install!!! Covering those amps like this would look really awesome...


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

I started my first attempt at fiberglassing. I decided to place my midrange and tweet in the a-pillar. I scuffed up the a-pillar plastic with 36 grit paper on my DA. Then I drilled 1/4" holes in the plastic for the resin to soak through and provide some anchorage. I made a baffle and glued it where I thought it sounded the best. I bought some Ponte cloth and super glued it to the wood baffle. I then pulled it over the a-pillar back edge and hot glued it in place. I put down a coat of resin and let them dry. Then I put two layers of 1.5 oz mat down and sanded them smooth. I sanded out the wrinkles on the one pillar that had them and put 5 layers of glass over the sanded area to give it some strength. They seems solid as a rock now. 








































I am waiting for the Rage Extreme to come so I can put down a layer of milkshake and sand it smooth. 
I'll probably end up painting them.


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

First install?? Are you serious!?! 


This looks WAY too good and solid for a first attempt. I admire your work and attention to fabrication detail. You should be VERY proud of yourself. I commend you.


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## remeolb (Nov 6, 2009)

Ditto. That looks _sick_ so far.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

those pillars look great, can't wait to see what they look like in the truck


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## Chrisjbell (Oct 19, 2009)

^ x2! The a-pillars are just beautiful. Great ideas I'm going to keep in mind as my build moves along. I have the truck apart right now, Dynamat and MLV down, building my sub box. I don't think I'll be able to match your workmanship but it gives me something to shoot for.


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## treylittlefield (Dec 26, 2009)

wow man nice truck  i like the white on black


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Well...it being my first time I think it is going well. It isn't rocket science. I do recommend you get a good resin as it can make or break your building experience. I used some junk from Home Depot and the stuff hardened up on me waaaay too quickly. I ended up getting some b-220 from us composites. It is very nice and easy to work with and pretty inexpensive. Before you start, order the right products. They will make your fabrication a lot nicer. I used the 1.5 oz matt from them too. For the A-pillars just tear the matt with your fingers into 2-3 inch squares. Tearing it allows the edges to fade into the other patches easier and makes it easier to sand. When spreading the resin you want to dab with short swipes to get the resin to soak into the mat, rather than painting it on. I went very liberal with the resin. Drilling the holes in the a-pillar allowed the resin to soak through the matt and into the holes and leak onto the backside of the pillar so as to provide little "anchors". None of this is my idea, I took it all from people willing to share. Make sure you have everything out that you are going to need when you start the resin process. You need to work fast as it will start to harden up with doing one a-pillar. It took about 6-7 oz of resin to do a layer of 1.5 oz matt. I have 3 layers of the 1.5 oz matt on it and it seems solid as a rock. If I had it to do over again or if I was using a larger diameter driver I would think it beneficial to put wood screws through the plastic a-pillar and into the dowls and crews into the baffle and into the dowls so there is more than just hot glue securing it. The Ponte clothe is nice and can be bought at any fabric store. I much prefer it over fleece. There may be something thinner out there that stretches more but it is a good start. For this application I think what I have will be fine. The strength comes from the fiberglass not the covering. The covering just gives you a foundation to layer the glass upon. I'd like to try pantyhose at some point. Thanks for looking and if you have any questions at all let me know. I'm no expert but I can sure tell you all about my experience.


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## cheesehead (Mar 20, 2007)

As others have stated..... Hard to believe this is your first install. Very nice!

I've got a couple of questions for you if you don't mind. 

You mentioned you bought your door pods from Custom Speaker Pods. I went to there site and didn't see any pods for the chevy crew cabs. Am I overlooking something? What modifications did you have to do to the original door panel to install the pods?

Also do your plans include a sub? I have a 03' crew cab I am planning an install in. And I am looking for ideas for sub placement. I want to keep everything as stock as possible. So the only place I can think of right now is behind the rear seat. Which doesn't leave much room. Any thoughts?

Keep up the good work and keep the pic.s coming!


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

If you go to Custom Speaker Pods and go the gm section on the right hand side you will after clicking on that link see they have them for fullsize trucks as well. You don't have to do any mods really. I did on mine, but other than drilling a few holes they fit pretty good. Honestly though I'd recommend attaching the driver to the door rather than the panel. You are going to get better sound that way. I modified my pods a lot to get them as rigid as possible. While they mount to the panel, they also mount to the door.

I am building a sub box to go behind the rear seats. I am running the Stereo Integrity Mag V4 12 inch subs. in a sealed box. Space is tight and these seems to be about the best for small spaces. The mounting depth is 5.5 so they just barely fit. I'll get some pics but the box will be very simple, made from 3/4" MDF. Hard to justify making anything fancy for something that is always hidden. I know the box is 56 inches long, 13 inches tall, 7 inches deep at the bottom and 5.5 inches deep at the top.


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## cheesehead (Mar 20, 2007)

teenycar said:


> If you go to Custom Speaker Pods and go the gm section on the right hand side you will after clicking on that link see they have them for fullsize trucks as well. You don't have to do any mods really. I did on mine, but other than drilling a few holes they fit pretty good. Honestly though I'd recommend attaching the driver to the door rather than the panel. You are going to get better sound that way. I modified my pods a lot to get them as rigid as possible. While they mount to the panel, they also mount to the door.
> 
> I am building a sub box to go behind the rear seats. I am running the Stereo Integrity Mag V4 12 inch subs. in a sealed box. Space is tight and these seems to be about the best for small spaces. The mounting depth is 5.5 so they just barely fit. I'll get some pics but the box will be very simple, made from 3/4" MDF. Hard to justify making anything fancy for something that is always hidden. I know the box is 56 inches long, 13 inches tall, 7 inches deep at the bottom and 5.5 inches deep at the top.


Thanks for the reply Teeny

I look forward to seeing the sub box. Do you think there will be a problem with the sub hitting the back of the seat?


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## 3fish (Jul 12, 2009)

remeolb said:


> Awesome install!!! Covering those amps like this would look really awesome...


Is there a problem using metal racks and grounding amp to the chassis? Sorry for simple question like this...


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## GSlider (Jun 11, 2009)

WOW! Very detail oriented and I love it. Beautiful job for your first install.


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## I Need Bass (Jun 2, 2009)

...man you have just convinced me to deaden my entire truck ('04 GMC extended cab)...not sure if I should go with the Raamat or Edead? Do you plan to put subs and amps in the cab? I want to put two SPX 17 pro's in my each of my front doors and mount the tweets in the A-pillars...I think it will sound sweet!! YOur truck is awesome, keep up the good work and post pics as you modify


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## remeolb (Nov 6, 2009)

Almost 2 months and no update on the A-pillars. How are they coming?


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## soundsp1975 (Jul 14, 2009)

Are there any updates on this build?

Thanks...


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## ohhowie (Nov 10, 2009)

Haven't seen any yet. I think a lot of people are waiting to see the outcome of this awesome build, I know I am.


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## mr.metoo (Feb 20, 2010)

good looking build


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## .GARY. (Apr 6, 2010)

Great looking build so far, any updates? I have an 06' Sierra CC that I'm planning to start working on this summer as well.


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## x97chevy (Dec 18, 2009)

Can I just say that is some great work there man and great pictures too.


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Well I got busy over the winter with skiing and snowboarding and a few other projects and forgot to finish the system on the truck. So I will try to update as I have time. Sorry for the long and drawn out project. I never figured it would take me this long but you all know how life gets in the way sometimes. 
So anyway I needed to mount the hertz boxes somewhere and I wanted to do it close to where the speakers would all be so I didn't have to run long lengths of wire for no reason. The only place I could find that was out of the way was where the kick panels were so I went to work and got them mounted. I'm pretty happy with how hidden they are as I don't like things showing that don't need to be shown.
Without the kick panel...








With the kick panel...


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

Great location and stealth


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## sincity_duck (Apr 1, 2010)

Thats a good idea for the crossover location! Good call!


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## jimp (Jul 12, 2009)

teenycar said:


> It forms a sound tube into the sealed door. I put a dense foam ring on the sheet metal baffle that the pods sit up against. Hope that makes sense. Hard to get a picture of. I'm told it would yield better bass if the speaker shot into the sealed door rather than just firing into the space between the sheet metal door and the interior trim panel. In other words if you just install the pods there is about a 1 1/2" space between it and the sheet metal on the door. So I put a baffle ring on the pod and baffle ring on the door with a foam ring between them to give a seal between the two panels. I would have liked to use clay to join the baffles but as you may know the door slides on rather than bolts on.



what did you use to install the foam ring to one side or the other??

nice install too.


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## Farmer-dent (Jan 19, 2010)

Awesome looking truck very nice clean build


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

Got some free time to update this thread. 
So these are what the pillars looked like after 3 layers of 1.5 oz mat and sanded with 40 grit paper on a DA.








Then I added a layer of Rage Extreme. Very nice to work with and super easy to sand.








Then I painted a few coats of SEM texture paint.








And here they are in the truck. I'm not sure what I want to do with them next so for now they are staying where and how they are.
















You can kinda see how far they project out toward the middle.


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

nice work, enjoyed viewing this


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

So....first impressions....AWESOME! I only have the three-way Hertz front stage in and minimal rear fill. I still need to finish the sub box, paint it, and install the woofers. But with the volume about half way up the truck pounds hard. I am going to back off the input to the mid woofers on the cross-overs once I get the sub woofers in. For now everything is flat and I still need to get off my butt and tune the amplifier. Also with all the deadening I put in, there are still some rattles to chase down with the volume up. For anyone doing these Chevy/GMC's you need to put some silicone around the switch/control plates in the doors! With the midrange and tweeters facing each other I can't tell with one side dominating the other with everything balanced. I wish I lived close to someone who could sit in it and tell me how to improve it but to me it sounds incredible and I am totally happy with it. Once the sub woofers are in I think it will be plenty for me. I'm into quality rather than loudness so I think this system will fit the bill nicely.


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## GSlider (Jun 11, 2009)

A-Pillars turned out nice bro.


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## Grendel (May 12, 2010)

Nice build... like what you do on Pirate


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Any updates?


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## Mayhem Industriez (Jun 15, 2010)

Wow this install came out great! I really like it


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## solored (Mar 9, 2013)

wow.... would love to see some finished results!!! Im looking into re doing my 06 duramax crew cab, and this thing is awesome! Wish I knew about the aluminum for the doors!!!!! That's a sick idea! Awesome idea with the foam filler to make a seal, I will doing this as well!! 

And first install..... BS! haha no man that is just crazy!!!! Good on you bro!


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

I need some help guys. Some ******* decided to help themselves to my stereo and the hertz 6.5 and the rear 6.5 and my amps. So I need a replacement 6.5 Woofer for the hertz 163 components and an 8” suggestion for the rear components. Needing 4ohm to go with the existing crossovers. And I need amp recommendations to power the two front components and the two rear components. I believe the rms of the hertz components is 150 and the rear the same.


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