# Ford Ranger Fiberglass build



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

well im always changing ****. so new build will consist of four pyle 6.5 mids and four vifa tweets. ran active from a AVH4200 with a crossfire three way crossover. exile 800.4 on the front stage RD1750.1 on the skar VVX 15's

its my first time doing glass. finally going to tackle it! 
doig two 6.5 per door and two tweets per pillar! off we go!
started the pillars!!!! 




































old t shirt FTW













































couple sections got kinda wrinkly its not fully set as i used hot glue. going to ca glue all the edges once im fully pleased. so far looking great to me...


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

i had this plan to do three. i scratched it. gona have two mids as spares laying around the house. it was just to damn insane! couldn't get three in my door. hence the cutout on the top lol. mega fail! anyways, i had to cut circles on the door pannel as well to get it tucked up in there snug. i must say, its still comfy! my legs are still free e brake is beyond accessible! 

























[/QUOTE]

so i really did not like the way the cotton shirt got all bunched up. no matter how hard i tried! so, i raided the good old closet. found a womens shirt made of polyester. nice and stretchy  absolutely not ONE wrinkle

before resin









after resin









i think i mixed up the hardner a little lean, i will find out lol


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

pics of the subs;




































and the box they will be going in:
http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo125/don_hampton90/skar15snewbuild.jpg

amp:
its a v1  always wanted one. love the look! finally got one


----------



## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

Are you worried about the steep angle towards the ground of the tweeters? Love the idea just wondering if you tested it out. Keep up the great work.


----------



## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Yes interesting aiming on the tweets, but if it works it works. For some reason I thought fiberglass resin would not bond properly to most plastics, do you have to do anything special to keep the glass from delaminating in the future?


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

Thanks for the aiming concern. Before I started to glass I hooked up the tweets mounted to the baffle. At first I had the bottom angled more towards to listener. They where pretty harsh. I have never been a fan of on axis. I tried many dif angles untill the last which is what you see. For my listening preferences its just perfect believe it or not. I have always read when doing pillars aiming directly at the listener was a good way to achieve great results. Didnt like that lol. Also I used ca glue all around the entire under cloth. With small holes drilled


----------



## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

ive never heard that lol but I like the build, but it's not as much of an SQ build as it is an SPL or just LOUD system it seems.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

eviling said:


> ive never heard that lol but I like the build, but it's not as much of an *SQ build as it is an SPL or just LOUD system it seems.*


 thanks for catching that! doing what i can within my budget lol


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

first layer of fiber









third layer and holes cut out. was really easy actually 









test fit to make sure nothing warped and nothing did!









body filler..... oh yay!
just with 80 grit. going to smooth out and shape some more fill some minor holes as well. not in a huge rush which is good...


----------



## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

Wow!....I've never seen 2 tweeters a side in the A pillars before....It's your ears...

Good luck with your build


----------



## neuspeedescort (Feb 23, 2010)

they have a pretty heave down fire going. will be loud but not as harsh on the ears.


NEUMAN


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

neuspeedescort said:


> they have a pretty heave down fire going. will be loud but not as harsh on the ears.
> 
> 
> NEUMAN


What I was going for


----------



## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

There is no "right or wrong" in car stereo, just thought I'd ask if you had tried it before you went ahead and built it. I run my speakers 90* off axis firing directly into the windshield of my car. May not be good for everyone but it works for me. Good luck and keep the pics rolling, looking good so far.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

chefhow said:


> There is no "right or wrong" in car stereo, just thought I'd ask if you had tried it before you went ahead and built it. I run my speakers 90* off axis firing directly into the windshield of my car. May not be good for everyone but it works for me. Good luck and keep the pics rolling, looking good so far.


Im a strong believer in this also. Anf yes I tested it out first. Would hate to just do all this work and it come our a fail haha! Ive heard a few setups that do the same as you with the tweeter aiming at the window. Sounded good. I wanted to do this in the first place in the planning stage but the tweeters I have just wouldnt fit that way without creating a massive blind spot


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

got more done today. finished up the major sanding of the first filler coat. i laid it on to bumpy etc. learning as i go thou!


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

getn some more work done. i have not touched the pillars yet from the last pics. i might re-do them due to the angle of the downfire. might try smaller pods i will test them out before i fully finish them up. BUT i started the door pods!!!!
did the good ole tape job. took some time with 1" tape haha









so i didnt snap a pic of the back panel before i cut it up









cut the breather holes:









baffle hot glued on









mids test fit









ont he door:


















wrapped her all up:


















view from the inside:








more to come later!


----------



## blackknight87 (Jul 11, 2011)

dang those kick panels are huge. how u gonna fit your legs in there!


----------



## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

Looking good! Keep up with the updates.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

blackknight87 said:


> dang those kick panels are huge. how u gonna fit your legs in there!


HAHA! they look alot bigger than they are. i can still access the e-brake easily as well as the handle. the bottom stocks out a total of 3.25" with the door closed. i could have moved the bottom down a little more so the mid goes into and behind the panel BUT i thought that since the pannel is plastic and the pod will be bolted to it when the door shuts with all the weight it could possible wiggle and the back of the mid could hit. hence the mid not going into the hole. sorry for the long winded response haha! just looking out for anyone with a ranger who wants to do this! alot of ranger owners are stuck to the stock speaker mounting. with the way im doing this you can fit 6.5's or a 8" or three 5.25's . so ranger owners if you have any questions LMK! 



quietfly said:


> Looking good! Keep up with the updates.


 update: laying the last layer of the back on the passenger door


----------



## cobra93 (Dec 22, 2009)

d_man1 said:


> HAHA! they look alot bigger than they are. i can still access the e-brake easily as well as the handle. the bottom stocks out a total of 3.25" with the door closed. i could have moved the bottom down a little more so the mid goes into and behind the panel BUT i thought that since the pannel is plastic and the pod will be bolted to it when the door shuts with all the weight it could possible wiggle and the back of the mid could hit. hence the mid not going into the hole. sorry for the long winded response haha! just looking out for anyone with a ranger who wants to do this! alot of ranger owners are stuck to the stock speaker mounting. with the way im doing this you can fit 6.5's or a 8" or three 5.25's . so ranger owners if you have any questions LMK!
> 
> 
> update: laying the last layer of the back on the passenger door


I could be wrong, but didn't you have 4-e8's in the back of this ranger at one time?

I'm a fellow ranger owner.
I've done one elaborate fiberglass/aluminum build on my '93 cobra and a quick build on my '00 ranger.
I wasn't happy with what ford gave me to work with either.
I'm glad to see that you tested to see what works for you.
It's odd to see no map pockets on your doors.
Will your window cranks still work?

The build looks good so far, keep it going.

I had to keep my door drivers protected from damage, so I went a different route.
I wound up going the widebander/midbass to the active side of audio and ease of tuning in my first DIY system.
I'm a steel fabricator by trade, so I did what was the easiest/fastest way for me and allot of testing as to placement.

Here's a couple of pics.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

yes sir i had 4 8's in the back. ive had quite a few setups


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

i did this to both the driver and passenger side:
cut the excess cloth around the baffle cutout as well as along the bottom. trimmed up all nice. i mounted them to the door to get an idea of what they will look like. i am more than pleased they fit great, did not warp at all either. next layers of glass then filler, the easy part is done lol


----------



## cobra93 (Dec 22, 2009)

Looks good.
Are these attached to the metal door skin or just the plastic panel?
Are they going to be "bolt on" pods or are you planning to blend them into the panel?
Power or manual windows. It's hard to tell from the pics, especially with the green things that look like window cranks would attach to them.

I'm waiting to see what you do with the 2-15's.

Keep it up.


----------



## cadaver (Sep 17, 2006)

cobra93 said:


> Looks good.
> Are these attached to the metal door skin or just the plastic panel?
> Are they going to be "bolt on" pods or are you planning to blend them into the panel?
> Power or manual windows. It's hard to tell from the pics, especially with the green things that look like window cranks would attach to them.
> ...


yeah, I was kinda curious how you were gettin around the pods covering the window crank handles. Are you converting to electric windows?


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

yeah i converted to electric windows. chk it out from my ranger forum:


> To make the install go smoothly make sure you have lots of time to do it! pre-plan and plan some more! nothing wrong with planning! get an idea of how the setup is going to work.
> Running the wires throught he grommet is quite easy if you push the grommet into the door on both sides as far as possible. shove the wires in and grab ewith your fingers and slowly work them down. be patient! have a beer or two!
> once the wires are in now its time to set up the gear on the roll up window.
> In the kit a crap load of gears comes in it. choose the 11a for this kit. OR in another type of kit find which one fits. only one will lol. NOTE you will have to make a shim. 1/2" hole drilled out to slide over the peg with the gear. this is to keep the gear that connects to the cable drive! MUST BE DONE!
> ...


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

*also the doors will be bolted on BUT will be blended into the door and wrapped in beige suede*


----------



## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

Looking good!!


----------



## cobra93 (Dec 22, 2009)

I understand now. Thanks for posting the pics.

I'll follow your build.


The one nice thing about ranger doors, there's nothing behind the factory speakers.
Unlike most, it's clear until you roll the windows down.

Here's a pic of my victim.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

cobra93 said:


> I understand now. Thanks for posting the pics.
> 
> I'll follow your build.
> 
> ...



yeah i know nothing is there. my OG plan was a 8" woofer 6.5" mid then the tweeter. the woofer would be housed in that area. i scratched that idea lol


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

Got the boring tedious work out of the way
Testinf fitment. Its snug with the rockford!








Crossover under passenger seat. Perfect for it!








Random image before wire up and clean up








Cleaned up wires


----------



## silversound (Feb 5, 2010)

looking good


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)




----------



## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

i see some liquid genius is there for some help. good choice on birch, i can't stand mdf because of all the dust


----------



## cobra93 (Dec 22, 2009)

Looking good.
How deep is that box going to be, ~10" I'll guess.
Looks like you'll still have some leg room.

What's new from Home Depot?


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

i love the look of the wood i cant bring myself to paint it....


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

cobra93 said:


> Looking good.
> How deep is that box going to be, ~10" I'll guess.
> Looks like you'll still have some leg room.
> 
> What's new from Home Depot?


box is 12.75" deep sir. port measures 10.5" x 8.5". box is 5.5ft^3 after all displacement. and yup i will still be able to move the seat all the way back and lean comfortably. 

that last question im a little lost...


----------



## cobra93 (Dec 22, 2009)

The box looks good.

I used some 11 ply plywood the last time around, shot it lightly with black paint, the grain still comes through nicely.

In the pic above with the box and the beer, there's a big Home Depot box in the background, that's all.
I thought it could have been some new tools to build the box.


----------



## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

d_man1 said:


> yeah i converted to electric windows. chk it out from my ranger forum:


haha i was looking at this, and i'm like wait how is it moving the window than i realised it's not, it's moving the krank that moves your window and was like OHHHHHHHHHH DUH haha. cool stuff though, always wondered how one would do the switch with out direct OEM parts which would probobly be a massive PITA. very nice, ive seen electric lock added but never a electric windows. very nicley done  how much did that run ya btw? 


the build is looking good. much like i predicted too huh, very powerful looking system i bet this beast will get louddddd


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

cobra93 said:


> The box looks good.
> 
> I used some 11 ply plywood the last time around, shot it lightly with black paint, the grain still comes through nicely.
> 
> ...


hmmm this could be a good idea actually... and the big home depot boxes are for when i ship boxes. you can chk out my website Webpage



eviling said:


> haha i was looking at this, and i'm like wait how is it moving the window than i realised it's not, it's moving the krank that moves your window and was like OHHHHHHHHHH DUH haha. cool stuff though, always wondered how one would do the switch with out direct OEM parts which would probobly be a massive PITA. very nice, ive seen electric lock added but never a electric windows. very nicley done  how much did that run ya btw?
> 
> 
> the build is looking good. much like i predicted too huh, very powerful looking system i bet this beast will get louddddd


it cost me $60. decent little kit. still working. install it right make sure there is nothing loose and it cant do you wrong!


----------



## XaznKewLguyX (Sep 5, 2007)

Lots of progress bro, it looks good.


----------



## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

d_man1 said:


> hmmm this could be a good idea actually... and the big home depot boxes are for when i ship boxes. you can chk out my website Webpage
> 
> 
> 
> it cost me $60. decent little kit. still working. install it right make sure there is nothing loose and it cant do you wrong!


wow thats cheap 60$ for both? i cant imagine those motors being worth any less than 20$ a piece  or 60 a side?


----------



## cobra93 (Dec 22, 2009)

Try shoot your favorite color on the inside of the box and see what you think.
Even after 2 medium coats, the grain stood out.
It surprised me and I'll do this again on my next enclosure.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

XaznKewLguyX said:


> Lots of progress bro, it looks good.


thanks man! did i build you a box before??? or am i mistaken lol



eviling said:


> wow thats cheap 60$ for both? i cant imagine those motors being worth any less than 20$ a piece  or 60 a side?


nope 60 total man. pretty cheap... okay switches also. easy ass installt hou! here is a link:
Amazon.com: XO Vision PW202 2 Door Power Window Kit: Car Electronics



cobra93 said:


> Try shoot your favorite color on the inside of the box and see what you think.
> Even after 2 medium coats, the grain stood out.
> It surprised me and I'll do this again on my next enclosure.


ill try it on a scrap piece. to lazy to unmount the subs lol. 
i tested them out on the amp with the box outside the car.... its going to be impressive! boy do they play LOW in this bad boy! i really dig the port placement on this design. i was worried about loading issues with the right sub but not even an issue.


----------



## cobra93 (Dec 22, 2009)

Vids on the way?


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

cobra93 said:


> Vids on the way?


once it is all done by next weekend, yeah vids will be up. its finals week for me so lots of study time but i did get some more work done to the pods: i bolted the pod on then i drilled a crap ton of little holes so i can fiberglass the whole pod to the door for extra support since the pannel is plastic:









looks alittle lumpy in the top right of the pannel, cuz it is lol. i went back and smoothed it down.


----------



## cobra93 (Dec 22, 2009)

Oh, I forgot about the front.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

cobra93 said:


> Oh, I forgot about the front.


I haven't haha


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

More work in the next couple of days stay tuned!!!


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

pillar is in!









BOX IS IN AND BOLTED DOWN!










Final Shot! I MUST SAY this crap is mighty loud! the front stage is so crisp and clear! tweets crossed at 3400hz mids 3400hz down to 69hz. yes 69hz on the mids! THEY GET LOW! without my subs on it sounds as if i have a single 10 in the back. very very impressed with this front stage. the speakers cost me $104.34 shipped with two extra 6.5's, the crossover was a craigslist steal at $15, theRCA;s where an amazon steal as well, $31 for a 4ch rca, and three interconnects. two 1.5 footers and one 6footer. im probably going to run it for about a year or so as thats how happy i am with it. clear sound. imaging is spot on. same clear sound no mater the head placement. the tweeters IF on axis would be extremely harsh, im very glad they have a hard downfire. Now let me get onto the subs. they get damn loud to say the least!!! 

I was playing around with the subs and at quarter volume im dropping down into the low 12's  an EA alt will fix that!!!


----------



## Tarheels1 (Jan 20, 2011)

What about visibility with the "A" pillars?


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

Tarheels1 said:


> What about visibility with the "A" pillars?


visibility was HORRID! my front stage setup has change in about a year im just updating this thread with new work. 

New Equipment list:

-Two VIFA tweeters aforementioned earlier
-Same mid ranges as i love the sound 
-Polk PAD 5000.5 running front stage 
-Kicker SX500.2 on a Eclipse SW8000 in a 2ft^3 sealed box

I will periodically update and post pictures.

Nothing to drastic right? Im simply doing it right this time. my staging was alllll cluster****ed. i had my old tweet pods aiming down and off axis. no bueno.


old picture:










as you can see, lumpy and UGLY! 



now onto the new:




























CA FTW










solder and heat shrink is a must



















































































they sound Great


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

Box time! Subwoofer is an Eclipse SW8000 on a Kicker SX500.2 birth sheet states 630rmsx1 @ 4ohm should see just that as the driver is 3.01 ohm single coil. whipped up the box in just about 1 hour 10 minutes  hah

Enclosure Specs: Sealed 2ft^3 :thumbsup: ill post a screen shot of the frequency response but its sexy


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

Whats going on here??? 









Ooooh hehe









Without front beuty pannel 










With beuty pannel


----------



## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Is that front subwoofer panel going to be removable?


----------



## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

i like that box!

I need me some of these clamp things for my next build. what are they called? -


----------



## sjr033 (Dec 30, 2011)

eviling said:


> i like that box!
> 
> I need me some of these clamp things for my next build. what are they called? -


If you search Lowes or Sears website for "corner clamp" they should come up.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

TJ Mobile Audio said:


> Is that front subwoofer panel going to be removable?


yes it is. i will be using "Knock Down" furniture Hardware i picked up from Rockler Woodworking store. Sorry for the delay been really busy with my senior thesis.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

eviling said:


> i like that box!
> 
> I need me some of these clamp things for my next build. what are they called? - ]


Corner clamp. Be carefull and still use a square as when you apply the clamps to larger pieces they begin to not stay square. they have much nicer corner clamps at woodworking stores. bigger and adjustable angle


----------



## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

eh, i didnt use nothing fancy like that with my box  I just built it lol and mine was twice as big >_< was a real ***** to get square took me 3 furnature clamps, thats about all i used.


----------



## DonH (Jun 25, 2009)

eviling said:


> eh, i didnt use nothing fancy like that with my box  I just built it lol and mine was twice as big >_< was a real ***** to get square took me 3 furnature clamps, thats about all i used.


ive been building boxes for a bit  http://www.415customs.weebly.com

Still have alot of sanding to do for this before i paint it!





































picture of the part. Make sure you account for the distance of the piece. im sure online they sell smaller length shafts.










and just a visual without the wood as to how they work









as you turn clockwise, your pulling the shaft up, in turn flaring the black plastic shroud with prongs thus tightening the two pieces together.


----------



## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

ha those are the exact type of fasners i was gonna recommend actually. 

idk if i like them on a sub box though...maybe some locktight on em? that'd keep em from slipping.

ive only done a couple boxes my self. did a rear deck build a couple years ago with some JBL GTI 608's in little free air boxes. idk just experimenting. it came out cool looked good  

this is the box i did for my m16, just held the two sides on turned it that way and glued screwed squared and clamped to dry the glue. 










double layer 3/4"  



by the way i have this box but not the sub, i dont wanna destroy it, maybe youd be interested in it? it has a 16" cut out but could be done for anything else, its a solid solid box  

18x17.5x38"


sorry hope i'm not annoying you by talking in yout thread xD


----------

