# 1997 Toyota Tacoma



## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I had to build the A-Pillars and the door panels to install everything where I wanted it, it all turned out very well.
Legatia L1v2 and Legatia L3v2 in the A-pillars, Clarus C61-2 in the kick panels and I am working on putting Legatia L6v2s in the doors.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I used felt and fiberglass resin to fabricate my A-pillars and door panels. I cut out my rings from ¾ inch oak. I hot glued paint stir sticks that Lowe’s has for free to hold my oak rings in place and then I covered them with felt from Wal-Mart. I used a spray adhesive to attach the felt and then applied the resin. Spray the adhesive where ever you need to apply the felt, making sure you wrap it around the A-pillar and glue it to the back of the A-pillar. Make sure you do not apply the resin to the back side of the A-pillars because it will make the adhesive turn loose.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Make sure you attach the rings while the A-pillars are still in your auto and reinstall them after you glue the felt to make sure they are in the location you need them. After you apply the resin you will not be able to move them.



















After the resin dried I used a sander, with 60 grit sand paper to get them as smooth as possible and cut holes in the panels to allow the L3s air space inside the A-pillars.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I then mounted the speaker rings after covering them with tape so they would not get damages.
I then applied body filler to fill in the low spots all the way up to the speaker ring so the A-pillar would be the same size as the speaker rings.



















I then sanded everything down with 60 grit, then 100 grit sand paper and primed the A-pillars.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

When the primer dried I sand them with 100 grit and applied body glaze in all the pits and holes. Don’t use the glaze for large holes; it is made for small holes and scratches. 




















After the glaze dried I sanded them again with 100 grit and then with 400 grit.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I then primed them and sanded them again with 400 grit. 










I then reinstalled the speaker covers to assure a proper fit.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I then applied a texture I purchased at Lowe’s that gives them a factory look.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

After they dried I painted them to match my interior.



















I drilled 3 holes in the pillars to give the L3s some breathing room. I filled the bottom of the A-pillars with spray foam to separate them from the kick panels where the Clarus are located.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

The A-pillars vent to the top of the cab, so they will have plenty of open space and they want get any pressure from the Clarus because of the foam separating them.
All there is to do now is mount the speakers…


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

They are hardly noticed from the outside.


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## slowsedan01 (May 4, 2008)

Very nice. These trucks can image well with a high seating position and a relatively low/flat dash. Will there be a sub stage?


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Yes I have subs in the back seat.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

The door panels were fabricated the same way as the A-pillars. 



















I took the door panels apart so it would be much easier doing all the fiberglass work.



















Before and after… (Above)


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

The rings were cut form ¾ inch Oak boards. The speaker rings are held in place with hot glue and pieces of paint stir sticks.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

All the holes were drilled so the resin would run through and give it a better hold to the panel. 



















I used a spray adhesive to glue the felt to the panels.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Where the felt wrinkled I cut the fabric and pulled it together. When I applied the resin, I covered the gaps in the felt with pieces of fiberglass cloth that I had precut.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I then sanded, applied body filler to the low spots, sand, prime, glazed, textured and painted the same way as I did on the A-pillars.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

The Legatia L6v2s will now have the doors for all the air they should need.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I replaced the 70 amp alternator with a 160amp, did the BIG-3(rewired the battery ground, +12v from the battery to the alternator and the ground wire between the motor and the truck body) with 4ga wire, installed a fuse holder and 150A fuse between the alternator and the battery. 
I used almost 200 feet of 12ga speaker wire.
Used several Autobahn RCA cables for all connections, wired all the amps with 4ga wire (+12v and ground), Installed a 200amp fuse at the battery on the +12v going to the amps. I installed a 12 volt relay-SPDT (single pole, double throw) wired with 12ga wire to use for all my remote turn on and a fuse on it at the battery, installed a fuse and 12ga wire from the battery to the crossover and eq to power them. There were countless trips to purchase different items like glue, paint brushes, fiberglass supplies, wire, wire terminals, paint, texture, cloth, wood, screws, body filler…


My amps are, Rockford Fosgate Power series; T1000-4 used on the Clarus C61-2 and L6v2, T600-2 used on the L3v2, T400-2 used on the L1v2, and a T1000-1 used on my two Hertz HX300D subs and a Rockford Fosgate 2 farad capacitor for all the hard sub hits. 
Below is the MDF board I cut, covered and used to mount my amps, crossovers, capacitor and all the distribution blocks.
The holes were drilled after each item was fixed to the board and the grommets (I painted black) were inserted into the holes to give it a better look.





































All the wiring and distribution blocks were done on the back of the board for a cleaner look on the front.
My truck is an extended cab so all the back seat is used for the board and the two subs.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

The sealed sub boxes were built to Hertz spec out of ¾ inch MDF board, glued and screwed together, covered, corner protectors added and speaker guards installed over the subs.



















Below is a look at them setting in the truck.











The Rockford Fosgate T600-2 amp will be mounted on top of the sub on the left side.
Building an audio system like this is very time consuming and there is a lot of details that can’t be over looked that most people will never see. I really enjoyed building this and love the sound so far but I still have some work to do.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

My girlfriend April did a lot of the work but I could not have finished it without my #1 helper Blaine.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

To dampen the doors I used Frost King Duct Insulation, it is used to insulate and stop vibration in air-conditioning duct work. It is self-adhesive foam with a foil backing; it comes in a 12in. x 1/8in. x 15 ft. roll. This stuff will stick to almost anything and unlike most dampening material this stuff is only $18.77, one roll will do one door, inside and out.



















I used this same stuff to line the inside of my Corvette and it cut out almost all the road noise.



I lined the inside of the doors.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I then closed up all the openings using sheets of plastic, that I silicone and screwed down over the openings before applying the duct insulation to the outside of the door. 










I covered the entire door, overlapping each piece at the seams for a tight seal.










After pushing the duct insulation into all the low spots I then sprayed a spray adhesive over the entire area and stuck a piece of felt cloth over it for added dampening and to stop the door panel form hitting the foil backing.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

My door panels.
I have still got to pull the dash, door seal plate; kick panel and door panel back out to paint them all the same color.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Got my T600-2 mounted










Also got my Bit One mounted.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Took out all the panels in the back set and dampened them and the metal behind them.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Applied the dampener to all the panels and used spray adhesive to attack a piece of felt over the entire panel to stop any vibrations.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Worked on my wiring a little, trying to get it all organized and hide out of the way.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Here is a picture of L6v2s installed in the doors; they look good with the Clarus 61-2 in the kick panels.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Here is a shot of the all ten front speakers, L1v2 and L3v2 in the A-pillars, Clarus 61-2s in the kick panels and L6v2 in the doors.


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## momotaro (May 3, 2006)

Jeff Butts said:


> I replaced the 70 amp alternator with a 160amp, did the BIG-3(rewired the battery ground, +12v from the battery to the alternator and the ground wire between the motor and the truck body) with 4ga wire, installed a fuse holder and 150A fuse between the alternator and the battery.


Nice install! I've got a Tacoma similar to yours and was wondering where and how much did you get the 160amp alternator? Thanks


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## DJ Big O (Apr 12, 2011)

Very clean install, I bet it pounds and sounds crystal clear! Man I need to get to work on my truck!


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## Mopar244DIY (Dec 1, 2009)

Nice front stage ! How does it sound? I can only imagine how awesome it must sound.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

momotaro said:


> Nice install! I've got a Tacoma similar to yours and was wondering where and how much did you get the 160amp alternator? Thanks


1995 Toyota Tacoma Alternator 2.4L 2.7L 160Amps!! | eBay


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I have True RTA set up on one lap top and My Bit One on another so I can see my adjustments as I make them.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Been working on where to put my Bit One controller, seen an idea somewhere on the net, can’t remember where I saw it but it looked something like this.










Above is what my center bezel looked like before I started.










I cut out the A/C vents for room to install the Bit One controller and a volt guage.










Forgot to take pictures of the fiber glass work but there was fiber glass before the body filler.










Got it sanded and primed, I will post more when I finish.


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## volnir (Jan 26, 2010)

My first post here... amazing job!

Best regards from Brasil!!!! :beerchug:


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## momotaro (May 3, 2006)

Jeff Butts said:


> 1995 Toyota Tacoma Alternator 2.4L 2.7L 160Amps!! | eBay


Thanks buddy!


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## adamand (Apr 19, 2009)

Jeff Butts said:


> To dampen the doors I used Frost King Duct Insulation, it is used to insulate and stop vibration in air-conditioning duct work. It is self-adhesive foam with a foil backing; it comes in a 12in. x 1/8in. x 15 ft. roll. This stuff will stick to almost anything and unlike most dampening material this stuff is only $18.77, one roll will do one door, inside and out.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

No problems


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

adamand said:


> Jeff Butts said:
> 
> 
> > To dampen the doors I used Frost King Duct Insulation, it is used to insulate and stop vibration in air-conditioning duct work. It is self-adhesive foam with a foil backing; it comes in a 12in. x 1/8in. x 15 ft. roll. This stuff will stick to almost anything and unlike most dampening material this stuff is only $18.77, one roll will do one door, inside and out.
> ...


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

Just bought some HAT L3SE to replace my L3v2,


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## HAMMERx831 (Dec 22, 2010)

Hey Jeff, I was wondering how you like the system and how it sounds?
I have always been told that the general idea is "less is more", however for my 88 full-size Chevy truck, I am planning a system very similar to yours. ( 8" Dayton Midbass in sealed enclosures in doors, infinity perfect 6.5" 'low-midrange' in kicks, tweeters and 3" 'hi-mids' in a pillars on a passive x-over).
Since it is a truck, it always seemed like it was lacking up in the dash/pillars. The kickpanels DO sound great, however I wonder if having tweeters playing similar frequencies in the kicks AND pillars would sound.. 'crowded for lack of a better term.

If you had great results with your system, it gives me re-enforcement to continue with my plans. Oh, and is there anything you would do different after having listened to it a while?

Thanks for any input man. Killer install, a+ work man.
cheers!


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## hokiruu (Dec 16, 2010)

I really enjoy this thread and seeing your build, asI am cutting my teeth on my 00 Tacoma Xtra cab install right now. Also curious how you like having 10 speakers in front in the a pillars and kicks? I especially like seeing your door panel pods. Are you happy with how they sound? If you had to choose just one location for one pair of tweeters and one pair of mids, which locations would you choose?

Also, I talked to Rick at Raammat who has won some comps in his Xtracab so he is very familiar. He said the rear cabin vents are a major source of noise in the cabin and to sound deaden as much as possible around them, including appyling some Ensolite or comparable product on the outside of the cab around the vents between the cab and bed. He said this is quite effective.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

It has been fun building it and it sounds good but I am about to redo the door pods, the mid bass sound alot better attached to the metal door. I am going to remove the entire door pocket pod and replace it with a 3/4 inch board the same shape, this will put more of the speaker inside the door. 
I have the option to turn on or off any of the speakers in my truck, two sets of tweeters in different locatios do not sound good, I only use the tweeters in my pillars. The tweeters in the kicks sound good too but not if both sets are playing at the same time. I will post pics when I get started. 
I use tweeters, mids and mid bass so I have mid bass in the doors, mids and tweeters in the A-pillars and it sounds good but I can turn them off and play the mids and tweeters in the kick panels and they sound good also.


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

HAMMERx831 said:


> Hey Jeff, I was wondering how you like the system and how it sounds?
> I have always been told that the general idea is "less is more", however for my 88 full-size Chevy truck, I am planning a system very similar to yours. ( 8" Dayton Midbass in sealed enclosures in doors, infinity perfect 6.5" 'low-midrange' in kicks, tweeters and 3" 'hi-mids' in a pillars on a passive x-over).
> Since it is a truck, it always seemed like it was lacking up in the dash/pillars. The kickpanels DO sound great, however I wonder if having tweeters playing similar frequencies in the kicks AND pillars would sound.. 'crowded for lack of a better term.
> 
> ...


In my system I have a lot of control over each speaker, if you are going to have a lot of speakers you need to be able to control them (eq, time alignment, phase, crossover points…). A good signal processor can be your best friend. You do not need a lot of speakers to get a great sound, I can run just my speakers in my kicks and they sound good or I can run my mid bass in the doors and the mids and tweeters in the pillars and they sound good, I can even run just my mid bass and my mids in the pillars and that sounds good too. It all depends on how you install what you have. Don’t install a speaker in a sealed encloser that is recommended to be installed in a ported enclosure… The best advice I can give is take your time on every part of the install, read, read, read and follow what the manufacture recommends, they have did a lot of research and development and they know what their product can do. 
My kick panel setup has a set of components with one speaker that handles the mids and mid bass with a tweeter for the highs and a passive crossover, they sound great. My mid bass in the doors and my mids and tweeters in the a-pillars sound great too, I run them active, with a bitone signal processor. 
I can also turn off my kicks and a-pillar tweeters and just run my door mid bass and a-pillar mids and they sound great too. 
All of my speakers have great range so they give me a lot of options. The Hybrid Audio Lagatia L3s are amazing. With their range you can run them with or without tweeters. You can get any of their speakers here 12v Electronics : Hybrid Audio Technologies Online Retailer - Car audio - Speakers - Amplifiers. 
If you are going to run active make sure you have control of the crossover points because tweeters and mids can’t handle low frequencies and you will blow them. 
Just run a wire long enough so you can move your speakers around and install them where ever they sound best to you. Don’t just hook up everything and try to make it sound good, make it sound good and then install everything. Listen to each set of speakers separately (tweets, mids and then mid bass). Set your head unit and amp gains so you do not have any clipping is the most important thing. Don’t get in a rush, take your time and really listen to what you do. If it sounds good remember what you did, if it makes it sound worse don’t do it.
Speaker position really depends on the automobile, equipment used, where you put it and this will be different for each automobile and your thoughts of what sounds good. Just read and try different things but what works for me may not work for you.


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## evangojason (Feb 12, 2010)

Nice work! The amount of control and options would have me "playing" for weeks!


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

About to replace the L3s with L3se and go tweeterless


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## Huckleberry Sound (Jan 17, 2009)

Whats the latest on this install?


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## Jeff Butts (Mar 5, 2012)

I took it all out and installed most of it into a 2007 Tacoma. You can see part of it at this link
http://www.buwaldahybrids.com/forum/showthread.php?22418-2007-Toyota-Tacoma-install&


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## audiophiledepot (Jan 16, 2015)

Nice job jeff.


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