# 2008 Tundra DC



## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Hi, thought I would post up a build log. I consider myself a novice in car audio. My first system was a couple pawn shop 15"s, an Orion amp from a police auction and nothing much else. This was in a 1989 Dodge Shadow in 1997. I replaced the pawn shop 15"s with two Eclipse 15"s. The 15's and Orion amp were then moved into my '69 Barracuda and I added two JL Audio 8's, Eclipse 6x9's and Eclipse 3 1/2's, Eclipse 3640 amp, and Eclipse HU. This was installed at a shop. I then took all of this out and did my first install into a 1999 Dakota. I left out the 3 1/2's and bought some Infinity Reference 6 1/2's for the Dakota's front doors. I built two custom sub boxes for the 15s and an amp rack that fit under the extended cab seats. I put a little Dynamat on the back wall even. I was proud of rack. The 15's and 8's took up the whole back seat. Eventually everything but the two amps and 6 1/2's got stolen while living in Chicago in 2004. I drove the truck around with the amps just sitting in the back for years. I sold the truck and decided to finally use the amps again in my wife's old civic in 2009. This system had a Pioneer DEH-P6100BT head unit, the Eclipse 3640 for two Infinty Kappa 6x9's, and the two Infinity Reference 6.5's. The old Orion 2150 SX powered two JL Audio 12w0's(8) I got on Craiglist with my old Pyramid Capcitor. I custum built an amp rack for the trunk that turned out really nice. Sorry no pictures. I always prefered a SQ system before I knew what SQ was. The civic sounded really good to me. I bought a 08 Tundra DC in December 09 and sold the civic removing all the stuff I just installed a few months prior. I had some kind of wiring issue at the end as the system whined a little right before I took everything out of the Honda. 

So here is the truck and what was going to be the intial line up:










Polk Mobile Monitor Series 1040D, mount depth is 4 1/2" so they are pretty shallow.



















Pioneer DEH-P6100BT, Bluetooth and I-Pod interface.










Infinity Reference 6.5










Infinty Kappa 6x9










Orion 2150 SX for subs










Eclipse 3640 for 6x9's and 6 1/2's










Power Cap by Pyramid










And the old Eclipse 3 1/2's for the dash:


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

I have made a few changes to the line up now and it will likely change more as time goes by and money shows up. 

The polks were a little too tall, so I sent them back to Crutchfield and got in on the SI bm mkIII group buy. I ordered two:










I want to buy some nice component's in the future and had a chance to get a Sundown SAX-100.4 for a good price. The Eclipse is 60w x 4 while the Sundown is 100w x 4










I have also been in contact with Don @ SoundDeadenerShowdown and will be doing a large amount of sound deadening. I will be doing the floor first as I can't afford to buy all at once.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Started some dissasembly:



















Here are the factory 6.5's, they weigh about 10 oz's:



















A few days ago I decided to try and make my own rear door brackets. They turned out fine, except they are to thick and the flanges hit the door panel. I could cut down the flanges on the particle board to about 1/4", but that would make them pretty weak. I could make them out of a hard wood, or hard ply, but I already spent an hour or two cutting these out and got sawdust on everything in the gargae. I am over it, so I decided to just order some plastic ones. I read a few bad reviews about the ones Crutchfield sells, so I got some off eBay. They look right to me:



















And lastly I made the template for the amp rack on some blue insulation board. I transfered the measurements over to particle board and will cut it out soon.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Got most of the box done, just waiting for the subs to cut out the holes. The subs will be flush mount or lower if possible.

First time ever using the router to cut a groove. The box will be seperated there:









Tight but SI 12's will fit:









Test fit, nothing secured yet:










Bottom and sides are screwed and glued. Top laid on for test fit in truck. Accidently grooved the wrong side of the top at first :rifle:


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## Tonyguy (Nov 15, 2007)

Nice truck! Where in IN are you?


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## mSaLL150 (Aug 14, 2008)

are you completely separating the chambers in the box? If so, it appears that one sub has a lot more airspace than the other.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Tonyguy said:


> Nice truck! Where in IN are you?


Bloomington area



mSaLL150 said:


> are you completely separating the chambers in the box? If so, it appears that one sub has a lot more airspace than the other.


It is an optical illusion, the air space is within .012cuft of each other.


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## 6pucker (Jan 8, 2010)

nice build and very nice truck.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

6pucker said:


> nice build and very nice truck.


Thanks and welcome to DIYMA. I am a full 9 posts ahead of you


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## IH8ATTN (Jan 12, 2010)

mSaLL150 said:


> are you completely separating the chambers in the box? If so, it appears that one sub has a lot more airspace than the other.


 Yup that will sound a bit off for sure.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

So you are saying a difference of just a hair over one hundreth of a cubic foot will make that much difference?


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Started the teardown for sound deadening. My funds are limited so I split up my order at SOUNDDEADENERSHOWDOWN. I decided to get everything for the floor first. Don @ sounddeadnershowdown is really helpful. I just gave him some measurements and he put together an order for the whole truck along with step-by-step installation recommendations and tips.

I got out to the truck at 8 am and stopped work at 1 am. I stopped for meals and rum and coke refills.










It was raining much of the day. The truck wouldn't start after the teardown. So, I put a heavy tarp over the two open driver's side doors in an attempt to stay dry. About an hour later I realized I had tried to start the truck with the key to the wife's Rav 4:blush:...hey the keys look a like. I was finally able to squeeze half the truck into the garage to get out of the rain.










I decided to put CLD tiles over the stock Toyota "deadener" material. I figured it would have taken 2-3 hours to scrape and vacuum the whole mess out.










First panel of CCF with the tools I used.



















I couldn't resist trying out a piece of MLV before the CCF was done.










CCF done. To keep things in place and seems lined up I used some duct tape. It didn't stick much at first but I used the roller on the tape and it worked well.










MLV basically done. After rolling around in the cab of my truck with all this stuff and Captain Morgan for around 15 hours I feel like I wrestled a elephant.



















I got the front carpet back in and have had to trim some edges here and there on the MLV. My current seat is still my rolling shop stool, but I'm going out soon to put the front seat back in and start the main power wire.


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

Looks good so far. Can't wait to see the finished product.


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## Shelbrain (Mar 1, 2008)

Thats a great foundation to start from. I think you will notice a great deal of sound reduction from doing the floor first. For me it was the doors next that made the largest improvement. Good luck!


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## TRD07 (Oct 13, 2009)

great start


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## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

nice work, I have the same truck and did a total tear down and install to mine last year.... I can appreciate the effort. Looking forward to more pics.


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## IH8ATTN (Jan 12, 2010)

Bluepelican31 said:


> So you are saying a difference of just a hair over one hundreth of a cubic foot will make that much difference?



um if we are looking at the same box that is more than a hair.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

IH8ATTN said:


> um if we are looking at the same box that is more than a hair.


Ok, eagle eye, the left side is 2.5% smaller based on my latest measurement. And yes that is larger than a hair, sorry for such a bad analogy (human hairs range from 17 to 181 µm [millionths of a meter]). However, imagine me with a 10" hot dog, yours is 2.5% smaller so it is 9.75". Now if we took turns putting our hotdogs in the same bun, I don't think the bun will be able to tell a difference. As stated above I am a novice in car audio, yet I don't think the .014 cubic feet will make any difference to my ear or anyone else riding in my truck.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

4ga power wire: black and white techflex, solid solder connections, fuse block is mounted on slice of 1/8" rubber.


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## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

Did you notice a big noise reduction with the MLV ? I've been kicking around the idea of doing mine as well.


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## jambo (Dec 28, 2009)

I am in love with your Orion 2150 

Very nice work managing to squeeze that into such a tight spot


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Jumbo Jet said:


> Did you notice a big noise reduction with the MLV ? I've been kicking around the idea of doing mine as well.


I don't have the truck put back together. I drove it today with one seat and no door panels and everything was pretty loud. The floor did seem quiet with no vibration.



jambo said:


> I am in love with your Orion 2150
> 
> Very nice work managing to squeeze that into such a tight spot


Thanks, the amp has been in my installs for 13 years. I got it for $30 at a police auction.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Next change to the Tundra equipment line up. Infinity Kappa 6x9 and Infinity Reference 6.5 out and new 3 ways in:




























HSK 163's. My front doors from the factory were 6x9's. I am considering mounting the 6.5's and 3's in the space of the 6x9's with some custom baffles and the tweets at the top of the door panel. The Tundra dash has speaker mounts on the top orners. The 3's or tweets would fit there but they are aimed right at the windshield.


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## XD 40 (Nov 10, 2009)

Looks great. Just got my shipment of dampener today. Going home tonight after work to start the tear down. Too bad I need to get back and forth so until Saturday, no drivers seat removal. Funny the things you learn here. I live in Oregon so the weather sucks and the temp is less than ideal for dampener installation but seeing you little space heater made me say.."what a great idea!".

Keep up the great work......


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Yeah the weather has blown here in Indiana. I built the box and amp rack in 15-20*F and did all the floor in 35*F and rain. I set up the heater an hour before to get things nice and toasty.epper:


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## matdotcom2000 (Aug 16, 2005)

Dude we almost gonna be running the same setup. You gonna love it guaranteed.


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## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

Bluepelican31 said:


> HSK 163's. My front doors from the factory were 6x9's. I am considering mounting the 6.5's and 3's in the space of the 6x9's with some custom baffles and the tweets at the top of the door panel. The Tundra dash has speaker mounts on the top orners. The 3's or tweets would fit there but they are aimed right at the windshield.



I saw you mentioned earlier that the adapters you made were too thick and hit the door panel. I make speaker adapter plates for a lot of guys on the Tundra forums. If you use 3/4" MDF as a base plate and then a 1/2" MDF mounting ring, they will fit just fine.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Jumbo Jet said:


> I saw you mentioned earlier that the adapters you made were too thick and hit the door panel. I make speaker adapter plates for a lot of guys on the Tundra forums. If you use 3/4" MDF as a base plate and then a 1/2" MDF mounting ring, they will fit just fine.


The back doors were to thick on the flanges, for the fronts there is plenty of room. I am considering cutting out the factory front door grills and fab'ing up som kind of baffle enclouse that mounts to the door and flushes with the door panel when installed. It would house the midbass and mid and angle them slightly up. Maybe covered with CF or Vinyl...

Newest package.


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## XD 40 (Nov 10, 2009)

Sweet...................


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## matdotcom2000 (Aug 16, 2005)

Bluepelican31 said:


> The back doors were to thick on the flanges, for the fronts there is plenty of room. I am considering cutting out the factory front door grills and fab'ing up som kind of baffle enclouse that mounts to the door and flushes with the door panel when installed. It would house the midbass and mid and angle them slightly up. Maybe covered with CF or Vinyl...
> 
> Newest package.


Honestly you really dont need it to be that thick. I just just used a 3/4 mdf w/ 1/4 in the front and in the rear you should have plenty of room with a 3/4 mdf. Also why would you cut the door panel if you dont have too, just mount the mids where the factory mids are in the dash. You may have to do some fab work with a dremel on the dash but not much, I will post pics for mine if you want. Put the tweeters either in a a pillars or in the sails. If you have to rip the system out the part that would need to be replaced is the sails or a pillars vs. a door panel. 

Just my two cents


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## IH8ATTN (Jan 12, 2010)

Bluepelican31 said:


> Ok, eagle eye, the left side is 2.5% smaller based on my latest measurement. And yes that is larger than a hair, sorry for such a bad analogy (human hairs range from 17 to 181 µm [millionths of a meter]). However, imagine me with a 10" hot dog, yours is 2.5% smaller so it is 9.75". Now if we took turns putting our hotdogs in the same bun, I don't think the bun will be able to tell a difference. As stated above I am a novice in car audio, yet I don't think the .014 cubic feet will make any difference to my ear or anyone else riding in my truck.


no worries man I am sure it will sound good regardless...just making a point


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

IH8ATTN said:


> no worries man I am sure it will sound good regardless...just making a point


Cool 

...

Hello,

Before I could start running or making any wires I needed to get the amp rack mocked up in order to get measurements for all the cables. The cables will be laid behind the rack and pass through some slots I routed out. I also diagrammed the basic layout. I have it carpeted, one amp, one power cable, and the distrabution/fuse block installed (no pic yet)










Now with measurements I started making some RCA's:

Soldered the signal line & ground line:










Finished plug:










Finished right/left pair:


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

matdotcom2000 said:


> Honestly you really dont need it to be that thick. I just just used a 3/4 mdf w/ 1/4 in the front and in the rear you should have plenty of room with a 3/4 mdf. Also why would you cut the door panel if you dont have too, just mount the mids where the factory mids are in the dash. You may have to do some fab work with a dremel on the dash but not much, I will post pics for mine if you want. Put the tweeters either in a a pillars or in the sails. If you have to rip the system out the part that would need to be replaced is the sails or a pillars vs. a door panel.
> 
> Just my two cents


The first brackets I made were from particle board so they seemed like they were going to be weak if I made them to thin. I also cut them out with a jigsaw and it took forever. Now that I got a jasper jig and have got my first practice routing I am still considering several ideas for the fronts. I am not going to have rears hooked up.


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## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

Bluepelican31 said:


> Now that I got a jasper jig and have got my first practice routing I am still considering several ideas for the fronts.


Thats how I make mine, the Jasper makes all the difference in the world. I'll never cut a circle out with a jig saw again. Keep the pics coming, loving this thread.


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## XD 40 (Nov 10, 2009)

Just another shout to say looking great man. Keep up the good work. It's inspiring to watch these builds come together. (and it sure doesn't help with the addiction to this stuff....:laugh


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## GSlider (Jun 11, 2009)

Good lookin' install so far. Ive been droolin' over the new Tundras' for awhile.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Jumbo Jet said:


> Thats how I make mine, the Jasper makes all the difference in the world. I'll never cut a circle out with a jig saw again. Keep the pics coming, loving this thread.


Thanks



XD 40 said:


> Just another shout to say looking great man. Keep up the good work. It's inspiring to watch these builds come together. (and it sure doesn't help with the addiction to this stuff....:laugh


I have gotten so many ideas since checking out the build logs nad the longer I do it the madder the wife seems to be getting.



GSlider said:


> Good lookin' install so far. Ive been droolin' over the new Tundras' for awhile.


Thanks, I got the truck around New Years and have been doing this install pretty much since I've had it. It sure beats the 2000 Civic I was driving once in awhile (still riding the motorcycles most the time).

------

Did I say the Orion came from a police auction? The cables had been cut upon removal so in all my other installs I had these ghetto looking butt- connector/e-tape power and ground cables going on:










The above pic also shows my recent fix for the speaker wires. This old amp has a pin connector for the speaker outs and remote-in. Fix was solder butt connectors with heatshrink, techflex still to come. I didn't have much wire left to work with.

We'll here is the the repair and final look:




























On my Tundra forum a member asked about the dimensions of the rack. I will post those here and there in the next update.


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## XD 40 (Nov 10, 2009)

Great looking rack. Once I get my post count up I hope to post so pictures of my project. WAY less technical than most posts and certainly looks simple compared to what you are doing. Keep at it. Can't wait to see more photos of your work!


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

XD 40 said:


> Great looking rack. Once I get my post count up I hope to post so pictures of my project. WAY less technical than most posts and certainly looks simple compared to what you are doing. Keep at it. Can't wait to see more photos of your work!


My first post was the first one in this thread. Good luck with your build.

-----

Here is the rack (not to scale) I cut off the two right-side down pieces so they don't interfere with my sub box:










-----

Latest work:

My wife went back to work yesterday so these last two days have been my first with just me and the baby, so I have been trying to find some things to work on inside.
I soldered together a two-headed remote turn-on wire.










I have decided to drop the capacitor unless it is needed later. I mounted my ground distrobution block and now have ran all power and ground cables from each amp to thier appropriate blocks. 










Close up; I am hoping for a loose spine look down the center with the cables:










Backside:










Tomorrow I should have some outside time. I plan to run the last RCA pair I made up, run the remote wire, and then install the headunit. Passenger seat goes back in next. The rest of my sound deadening material from SDS is scheduled to arrive too. If that happens I will deaden the back wall and test fit the amp rack and figure out exactly how I want to mount it.


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## derickveliz (May 15, 2009)

Looks good!

and this is my first post!


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

derickveliz said:


> Looks good!
> 
> and this is my first post!


Thanks for speaking up


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## 2167 (Dec 5, 2007)

Is it the techflex ? or the power / ground wire?, that is making the GROOVY barbers pole effect


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## TRD07 (Oct 13, 2009)

keep up the work.


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## AdamTaylor (Sep 7, 2008)

2167 said:


> Is it the techflex ? or the power / ground wire?, that is making the GROOVY barbers pole effect


techflex


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## Menace Kustoms (Jan 31, 2010)

Man, I can't wait to get my tax returns in a week or two!!! Don is the first call I'm gonna make. That floor looks amazing! I have to do techflex now too, thanks, lol.


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## Kellyo77 (Dec 5, 2009)

Looks really good so far. I like the repair on the Orion. Keep it up!


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Kellyo77 said:


> Looks really good so far. I like the repair on the Orion. Keep it up!





TRD07 said:


> keep up the work.


Thanks.



Menace Kustoms said:


> Man, I can't wait to get my tax returns in a week or two!!! Don is the first call I'm gonna make. That floor looks amazing! I have to do techflex now too, thanks, lol.


Thanks for stopping in. Techflex is cool it takes a little while to get iton, but makes up for it by avoiding having to use any split loom plastic shielding around sharp edges and high traffic areas.


....

Small update:

RCA's and remote-on wire were ran to the rear of the truck from the dash. I was able to install the HU and put the front passenger seat back in and most of the dash/console pieces. I must not have everything lined up perfect because there is a small gap between the HU and the CD tray. I forgot to hookup the Hands Free mic too. I will take it out or wait till I upgrade HU's.



















Started sound deadening on the back wall and up the c-pillars. Just got the easy part done so far: CLD tiles for vibration suppression.



















I bought some supplies for the rack straps/mounts. Will toy with these a bit and see. Got my idea from Jumbo Jet. His picture, his work:


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## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

Which dash kit did you use? There was a problem with the earlier Scosche Tundra kits with a large gap on the lower portion where it meets the A/C controls. Is that where you mean? If so try the Metra kit 99-8220HG, they fit perfect.


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## TRD07 (Oct 13, 2009)

I am ready to see the amp rack installed.


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## XD 40 (Nov 10, 2009)

I second that motion for the amp rack install!!!


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Jumbo Jet said:


> Which dash kit did you use? There was a problem with the earlier Scosche Tundra kits with a large gap on the lower portion where it meets the A/C controls. Is that where you mean? If so try the Metra kit 99-8220HG, they fit perfect.


The gap is between the cd tray and the bottom of the HU. The HU is too high. I can barely get the faceplate off due to it being snug up against the top of the trim piece.



----

Update:

Started my brackets. Bought a 36" piece of flat steel:










Bent to shape. I notched them out in order to install the child seat anchors on top of them at a later date. The baby's car seat still uses the low seat anchors at this time:










Test fit:










Painted and mounted:










I used allen bolts on the front for a nicer look:










CCF foam on back wall:










The recession in the back wall was very difficult to deal with when installing the MLV. I ended up making it two pieces and the amp rack will snug the bottom of the top piece into place:










Amp rack prelimenary installation: I haven't laid my speaker wire yet and need to make 4 very short RCA cables in order to split the front signal into the sundown for bridging. So, with that said the wire placement is not final in the pics. I ran out of time tonight, but I did hook up one speaker to the sundown and got music also the Orion powered up.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

NICE work sir!! Understated, straight forward, and clean......

I gotta ask though, the 4-6" strip under the window that you had
to break the MLV in two pieces. Would that little piece make much
if any difference? I only ask because, not only have I never used the
stuff, but it will give me an idea how important CCF and MLV is. Did
you do any before after comparisons? Lastly, what brand did you use.

THANKS!!


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> NICE work sir!! Understated, straight forward, and clean......
> 
> I gotta ask though, the 4-6" strip under the window that you had
> to break the MLV in two pieces. Would that little piece make much
> ...


I have not done any before or after sound tests since the truck is still half together. Since the upper portion is like a long metal tube between the cab and the outside I think the MLV and CCF should be applied. There is no trim or moldings that cover the area either. The back seats cover it. I used Sounddeadenershowdown. 

-----

Crossovers installed in glove box yesterday:

Here is the stock glovebox:









I needed to mark out the center and several other measurements in the box, I didn't want to ink up the hole thing so I put some tape down:










I had to cut out a notch so the wires would fit from up in the dash into the box:











I need to buy 4 more grommets but here is the finished install:


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## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

Looks great. The amp rack mounting straps came out nice.


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## TRD07 (Oct 13, 2009)

will the bottom of the rear seats still fold up with the amps and amp rack in?


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

TRD07 said:


> will the bottom of the rear seats still fold up with the amps and amp rack in?


That is the plan. They should.



Jumbo Jet said:


> Looks great. The amp rack mounting straps came out nice.


Thanks.

---

Sub box progress:

Adding lower baffles so I canflush mount the sub:




























Test fit of the SI BM MKIII's I got the other day:



















I am going to build a 3/4 to 1" beauty board to mount to the top of the box so the subs don't hit the bottom of the seats at full excursion. The plan for now is the box to be black carpet and the top board to be a vertical quilted black vinyl (yes I can sew) affair hopefully with "Tundra" embroidered or something.


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## IH8ATTN (Jan 12, 2010)

looks great man yeah i got my BM's the other day too, such a great built sub.....now i just gotta put em through the break in and enjoy them


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## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

Bluepelican31 said:


> That is the plan. They should.


They'll still fold up but they wont stay up by themselves like they used to. The amps on the back wall will rub the seats which wont allow it to fold all the way up. Not that a big a deal though, it doesnt bother me cause I dont have anything under my seats but the sub. 

Have you done the folding back seat mod yet by cutting the hooks so the back rests fold down?

The box came out beautiful..... very nice work.


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## mSaLL150 (Aug 14, 2008)

Very nice! I might try to flush mount my BMs like that since they are going under the rear seat as well.


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## nirschl (Apr 30, 2009)

Bluepelican31 said:


> That is the plan. They should.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi there,

Nice looking build and box! Just wondering how many cubic feet did you end up with for that box. 
I am also about to build one for (2) BM's.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

nirschl said:


> Hi there,
> Nice looking build and box! Just wondering how many cubic feet did you end up with for that box.
> I am also about to build one for (2) BM's.


With the flushmount baffles I suspect it came in around the .5 cu ft or just under.



mSaLL150 said:


> Very nice! I might try to flush mount my BMs like that since they are going under the rear seat as well.


I decided to recess a little now too.



Jumbo Jet said:


> They'll still fold up but they wont stay up by themselves like they used to. The amps on the back wall will rub the seats which wont allow it to fold all the way up. Not that a big a deal though, it doesnt bother me cause I dont have anything under my seats but the sub.
> 
> Have you done the folding back seat mod yet by cutting the hooks so the back rests fold down?
> 
> The box came out beautiful..... very nice work.


Yep my seat will not stay up now. See update below.



IH8ATTN said:


> looks great man yeah i got my BM's the other day too, such a great built sub.....now i just gotta put em through the break in and enjoy them


Cool!

--

Small update:

I put the seats in and they will *not* fold all the way up and stay with the amps and rack installed. I suppose the sound deadening, 1/2" rack, and wires ran behind was too much. I am at some point going to rebuild it. I will likely use flat steel frame and mount the amps to that, then fill around the amps with 1/4" board and run the wires on top of that. That should save me about 1".

Functionally the box is done. I recessed the SI's another 1/4" to ensure they didn't contact the bottom of the seats, and still need to build the beauty board to affix on the top of the box, in part to give another 1/4" to 3/8" more excursion space. I will also put something on the front edge too. Subs wired bridged to a bridged Orion for a pessimistic 600 x 1 @ 4 ohms.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Amp Rack remodel is through phase one now:

1 x 1/8 steel, steel cutting blade, welder for the amp rack redo:










Basic frame:
I found that the amps should be as high as possible on the rack. The least amount of room between the seat andthe back wall is at the lowest portion of the back seat when the seat bottoms are in mid-fold. Each amp has two vertical pieces to mount to. The amp mounting holes are in different locations thus the asymetrical vertical alignment. I have not welded in 12 years, so no close ups.










Frame finished:
I had way to much steel baught, but better then making a second trip to the store. This rack will be mounted they same way at the top as my old rack. The bottom will have two mounts that will bolt in between the seat frame and the back wall. Hopefully this will help keep things slim and tight against the wall. Sanded, primed, and painted although only the brackets will be visible.


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## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

That's looking good....I want to get a router but hate the amount of dust that covers everything in the garage when building boxes....

BTW, my dad had a '68 Cuda w/the 340 Formula S package, etc....never lost a race except to a Dart Swinger w/the same engine Got totaled years back when an old lady pulled right out in front of him in the rain and it flipped while having to avoid oncoming traffic in the other lane. That was a beast of a car!

BTW, not to get OT but any pics of the '69?


Jeremy


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Some how my two other pics were not included:

Frame finished:
I had way to much steel baught, but better then making a second trip to the store. This rack will be mounted they same way at the top as my old rack. The bottom will have two mounts that will bolt in between the seat frame and the back wall. Hopefully this will help keep things slim and tight against the wall. Sanded, primed, and painted although only the brackets will be visible.


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## TRD07 (Oct 13, 2009)

READY FOR UPDATES!!!!!!!!!!


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

niceguy said:


> That's looking good....I want to get a router but hate the amount of dust that covers everything in the garage when building boxes....
> 
> BTW, my dad had a '68 Cuda w/the 340 Formula S package, etc....never lost a race except to a Dart Swinger w/the same engine Got totaled years back when an old lady pulled right out in front of him in the rain and it flipped while having to avoid oncoming traffic in the other lane. That was a beast of a car!
> 
> ...


Two old pics; the only thing different now is the car is parked in the garage. My grandma baught the car new with a slant six. It got out of the family years ago, but my dad saw it in a field a few counties away and had it as a daily driver in the 80's. By 1997 when I was getting my license the car had been parked again for years. We had to repair the frame rails just to get it rolling. It got a 318 and new interior, some nicer fenders and hood. New paint too (flat black over rust). In college we built a 360 (in 2001). I have not done anything with it since. I drive it every couple months, carb needs cleaned other then that it still runs well. I have a second 69 that is just a shell. It has a nicer body and straight rust free frame. Maybe within this decade I will put the two cars together to make one nice one. As far as cuda's, Dad sold his 68 383 S a few years ago, still has a 68 340 S, a 65 slant six, and a 72 340. My sister totaled his 69 dailey driver when she was 1 back in '92 or so.




















----

Updates are hard to come by. Seems like I have no time, always trying to keep the wife and 4 month old happy. I will post some pics of what I currently have going, but not finished:

Rack progress:

Amps Mounted:










Filler and cable mounting board test fit:










Cut outs:










"Ramps" made for cables to lay smoothley from connection points:










I have painted the board but no pics yet. I will be attaching the distro blocks and running all wire on the board hopefully Friday.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Did this sound deadening work on the rear passenger door a few weeks ago. I just have to finish the top trim piece and I will have 1 down, 3 to go.

Ready, set, go:

The doors had some factory vibration panels:










Mostly sealed; I used some air handling sheet metal and extruded butyl rope to secure over the cutouts:










More CDL tiles:










Getting basic shape and size for CCF. I had to trim it a lot more in the end:










MLV cut to basic shape and size. Again this stuff had to be cut down more for the panel to fit back on. I also had to take the dremel and remove some of the cross bracing on the back of the door card. I sanded down a large chunk of styrafoam used to give the panel rigidity as well. I will try to get pics when I work on the next door.










Mostly done:


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Update:



















Here is how the beauty boards are going to lay. The plan is to cover them in vertical pinstriped vinyl. I am going to mount them with velcro:










The main wires will show down the middle and the amps shoul get venting through the sides:










Mounted:










The seat *will* fold up and stay up. It is very tight and they need a good push:


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## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

Looks great. Hows the MLV working out? Is it making a big difference? I wanna do mine as well.


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## derickveliz (May 15, 2009)

Jumbo Jet said:


> Looks great. Hows the MLV working out? Is it making a big difference? I wanna do mine as well.



I think it looks GREAT too!

I'm in the same process with my car, and as far as how the MLV is working?

Let me tell you that *"ITS AWESOME"*

.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

derickveliz said:


> I think it looks GREAT too!
> 
> I'm in the same process with my car, and as far as how the MLV is working?
> 
> ...


All I can say is the floor, back wall and right rear door are nice and quiet. I still need to do the roof and three more doors, so I can't really say definitively.

---

So here is how my first attempt of the vinyl covers went, the other side should turn out nicer, but I am not redoing this one.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Little bit of work this weekend:

A step by step on using SOUND DEADENER SHOWDOWN product to finish the bulk of my driver's side rear door:


In the e-mails with Don of SDS he said to 
"Start by pressing Extruded Butyl Rope (EBR) between the outer skin and the side impact protection beams. Leave gaps every few inches to allow water to drain. Cut some strips from a heavy plastic bag and press them into the top surface of the EBR to protect it from dirt."
I did that but didn't take pictures. 

Then I covered the large holes in the inner door skin with some sheet metal to help in blocking sounds and give a flat surface to mount CDL tiles and affix MLV and CCF. You can also see the initial placement of Velcro that will be an aid in mounting the MLV/CCF pancake:










Next, in the Tundra there is a large foam block that goes partially into one of the holes I covered. From the last door I learned that must be chopped down:


I started with a utility knife...



















...and ended with a electric palm sander:










Then, I hung a piece of MLV and cut it to rough shape temporarily affixing it with the Velcro.










I removed it and double checked fit by laying it in the door panel. I then traced it onto CCF:










I cut out the CCF. Also, in the last door I had to grind away and large amount of support in the lower part of the door card to get the MLV/CCF pancake to fit and the door card to mount properly. I didn't want to do that this time so I cut out the area in the CCF where the door card is the deepest with the bracing. Don instructs to cut out squares in the CCF for the Velcro affixed to the MLV to pass through to the Velcro on the door to get the slimmest possible MLV/CCF pancake as well:










Same picture as above but now notice my MLV/CCF pancake:










Now you don't notice the pancake because I covered it with the door card and it fit fantastically.










That is all for now.


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## lowriderman3 (Apr 11, 2010)

Very nice bro!!!!


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

lowriderman3 said:


> Very nice bro!!!!


Thanks.

...

I sure wish I had more time to work on this. I have a few updates:

Rear doors are completely finished. I didn't want to work MLV into these panels but the CCF was easy.










Amp rack is finshed, however the actual backwall is not:

Remember the seat bottoms will fold up and stay.





































I am going to try making baffles for the fronts out of cutting board. This will be for water proofness. I picked these pieces up for free at a local food service appliance repair business:










I need to determine where the 6.5's will fit best in the stock 6x9 door holes, before I finish these:











Early work on the midrange. Styrafoam orbs, fiberglass, MDF...










Thats all for now.


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## lowriderman3 (Apr 11, 2010)

^^Very nice!!


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

Good idea with the Styrofoam balls. That's what i did for my tweets. It works nicely.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/80082-94-mercury-sable-pillar-install.html


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

lowriderman3 said:


> ^^Very nice!!


Thanks again.



Austin said:


> Good idea with the Styrofoam balls. That's what i did for my tweets. It works nicely.
> 
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/80082-94-mercury-sable-pillar-install.html


Thanks, however, I found my big balls just were not going to work with my final choice on mid placement.

---


"Food service" baffle update:

I affixed the two pieces with Silcone and drywall screws.










Cut some off the front end to fit behind the door panel.










Woofer test fit. Mostly done, with a little fine tuning still needed.



















Mid placement. I cut out about 80% of the hole away. The mids will sit back in the door a little, but nearly flush on the bottom.










First time (ever) fiberglass:

Laid some foil. I shouldn't have cut the hole in foil, but it still worked out and gave a little more shape. Resin just got on all kinds of stuff.










Two layers. Will do two more for the back. The plan: place the mid baffle with some dowels, lay frabic and resin the baffle/farbic to the back piece making my pod.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

I came up with a small update. Though, things might be slow for a while. I lost my job and have for now replaced it with one that pays half as much. The truck is even for sale if someone is interested but it is not necessarily advertised. At least I own every thing I need to finish this but I have less motivation currently.

---

I did layers 3 and 4 of fiberglass on my pod back plates:










Cut to shape with the dremel cut off wheel:










Finished rear plates:










I will next be stretching some fabric over the top to give them the outward shape, then resin and more fiberglass. I don't want to spend forever sanding so I am going to cover them with black vinyl.

I also started working on the sub enclosure cover. It was going to be quilted vinyl like an old muscle car's seat. However, as I have been sewing either my skill or machine are not good enough as the stitch spacing is horribly inconsistent once I hit the batting and backing sections on the cover. I think I will start over and skip the quilting, just leaving the pin striping and piped edges like the amp covers.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Did I read it that your sister totalled car when she was 1? Wow...that takes a natural talent.


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## TRD07 (Oct 13, 2009)

Where are the updates?????????????


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

JayinMI said:


> Did I read it that your sister totalled car when she was 1? Wow...that takes a natural talent.


WTH are you talking about?



TRD07 said:


> Where are the updates?????????????


----

Looks like I will be able to keep the truck for now. I sold a bike, the wife picked up an extra shift, and I got a job that is more money then flipping burgers. However I have some days off but I always must watch my 8 month old daughter. Today I finally got a chance for a little work. Had to divide my time between yard work and truck work.

Started on the pod outer shell. I used a stunning piece of salmon fabric. Stretched and stapled then coated in FG resin. I will let it harden and do a few more layers.



















...still working on this thing, just not often


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## TEGBOY (May 4, 2008)

I love that Techflex, never seen it before. A great looking install.


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## blackedout (Nov 13, 2009)

Looks really nice man. Only thing I would have done a little differently is that subwoofer cover. Looks like you went through all the effort to make one, all you had to do was set your jasper jig to a different pin and you could've covered up the mounting rings like my install:


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

TEGBOY said:


> I love that Techflex, never seen it before. A great looking install.


Thanks, I saw techflex and this site and decided to use it.



blackedout said:


> Looks really nice man. Only thing I would have done a little differently is that subwoofer cover. Looks like you went through all the effort to make one, all you had to do was set your jasper jig to a different pin and you could've covered up the mounting rings like my install:
> QUOTE]
> 
> I made the cover not really for looks but as a decorative spacer to give the subs more room from the bottom of my seat. That is why I am using a 1/4 piece of wood instead of something thinner. I recessed the subs a little already but I only have a 1/4 of inch between the sub bottom and box floor.
> ...


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

A little more from today. I have been driving around with no door panels for months now. To open the door I pull a green cable. I started the front door sound deadening so maybe I can button these up.

CDL tiles on the door exterior. Don at SDS instucted to stick his Extruded Butyl "Rope" between the door skin and crash bars with some plastic bag covering it to protect the rope from dirt. Leave a gap every few inches for moisture.



















Door sealed:










More CDL tiles on the inner skin:










---

That's all, might get more time tomorrow.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Updates:

Made the speaker wire run to go from the crossover in the glove box to the driver side door. Three lines in the harness. Solder connections, heat shrink, techflex...



















Installed:










I ran the cable through the factory door grommets. I used a metal hanger and I small spritz of WD-40 to ease pulling it through. 










Pods finished! I thought I was going to have to do all kinds of sewing to get the vinyl affixed and smooth, however I cut the bulk vinyl from the back and used 3M spray adheasive. It worked way better then expected. For my first time ever with fiberglass and building anything like this at all I think they turned out well and will serve their purpose.


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

A few weeks ago I finished the driver's side door. Continuing with the sound deadening I added a deflector pad behind where the mid bass will be:










MLV and CCF test fit:










Baffle installed:










Close up:










Tweeter location:










Done:










Close up:










I decided to have all 3 components in line in the door since I am using a passive system and didn't want time alignment issues.


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## Cruzer (Jul 16, 2010)

thats a lot of work...

hope it is all worth it...

let us know


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## Bluepelican31 (Jan 7, 2010)

Cruzer said:


> thats a lot of work...
> 
> hope it is all worth it...
> 
> let us know


To be determined...

---

Update:

I have a few different days of work over the last month in this update. My dad also took my truck on his vacation at the beginning of month. He went to Niagara falls and also picked up a car he bought in the summer.

'49 Plymouth Special Deluxe 2 door sedan 









Final door sound deadening process: CDL tile installation on outer door skin-










Close:

Shows the butyl rope between outer skin and crash beam










Sealed and inner skin CDL tilling:










I didn't photograph the cable I made but it is the same as the driver side but shorter. Here is the final look of the "Crossover Chamber" or glove box:










Trying to finish up the cover for the sub enclosure spacer. It was a challenge adding piping to the sub opening cut out in the cover, especially for my first time:










Used a lot of needles to get it up to amateur standards:










Whoa:




























The cut outs in the cover certainly aren't perfect but it serves its purpose; the subs don't hit the bottom of the seat. I set the gains on both amps and can listen to the system now but it is mono until I put in the passenger door speakers.


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