Boot Sub Install - Pics

[Redteg]

Just some quick pics I discovered on my computer of my boot making process. It may help people if they wish to do something similar.
I had a few requirements when making this floor:

1) It had to be simple and neat. I was sick of removing my sub and amp to fit my bike in the boot every weekend, so I had removed the sub altogether. In redoing the book I just wanted some bass to compliment the rest of the stereo, not hectic neon-flashing bass.

2) No permanent modifications were to be made to the car. No carpet cut, no holes drilled, no panels damaged. The car is still in very good condition, so I didn’t want to compromise that at all. Pieces are locked in like a puzzle. They do not budge unless you know in which order to remove things. Everything I have done is also reversible.

3) The spare was to be retained. The teg is a daily driver workhorse, and does some long distance driving too, so it needed to be practical and safe. The space saver spare is in there now but the full size spare MAY fit in there. I am yet to try.

Ok, pics…

1) Measuring up. I lined the boot floor with masking tape and foil, and then applied the fiberglass and resin. I think I laid two solid layers before removing it.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid210/p67a1f2a6b5478302cb8ee567cb4bd00c/eddc51dc.jpg

2) Mold removed. More layers added. I don’t remember how many, probably not enough though.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid210/pae43c4b8efac74e8aa04991232664d0c/eddc51d0.jpg

3) Baffle cut and sub mounted to check clearance. It’s a tight fit but I was happy to sacrifice quality for a bit more boot space. (It’s not the greatest sub anyway so I don’t mind).
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid210/p75390bd7015d902fba64cc661a7ef447/eddc51bf.jpg

4) Front bits cut out and bonded to seal box. Fibreglass outside and inside of the box. Resin was then poured around in the box to make sure of no holes. I mucked around with sound deadener inside the box and then stuffed it with Dacron. Sound deadener sheets were also put underneath the sub box. This minimized vibration greatly.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid210/pb1bd670cd5d564583793cdd546b69725/eddc51b5.jpg

5) Top floor cover made. This was the hardest piece for me to make cause I’m not that great with the cutting. Was tricky to get the sub cutout spot on.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid210/p69d733bfcf6057f7947cb0fa47dd9852/eddc51ab.jpg

6) Other pieces cut and fitted. Amp sits upside down bottom left. No overheating problems yet.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid210/pe5e4076ce173140866c332425edf0f76/eddc51a4.jpg

7) Grille shape finalized and the bit the grille fits into was shaped. Nice smooth curves. I tried many different shapes and was happiest with this.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid210/pc6aa2f9ee4c73e35187d8f2287b08c16/eddc519e.jpg

8) Almost done. I need to still decide on what material I am going to fill the sub area with. I was thinking of finding some stock material off the seats of something to integrate the install a bit better.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid210/p2fe93e4c2351a58862961f082b92610f/eddc519a.jpg

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~akarayiannis/Boot.JPG



This weekend if I have time I will remove everything and take better pics of the hidden stuff. I’ve been meaning to clean up stuff under there. I have also begun redoing the rear panels so that the insides of the amp are visible, and making one panel to go over the spare and rhs bit.

This could have been done differently, and most assuredly better, but I’m pretty happy with how it has turned out. Materials would have cost me $100-$150 at the most. Time is the hardest thing to find, as I have very little of it. Still, was good fun and suits my needs perfectly.



Newly resprayed bumper too!!! I need to get better pics!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid210/p1278019e136f0e694c16984cc369ce69/eddc2c20.jpg

[weeman]

nice, thats a great install, how long did it take you roughly

[VTi_b0i]

kool :) u can com do mine anyday :p whered u put ur amp tho? under the floor?

[marcs]

That's awesome man.
How did you measure the volume of the sub enclosure? Or did you just go for as much volume as you could get?
How much did the install cost you in materials? mdf, fibreglass, sound deadening?
How long did it take you?

I don't think the gen3 integras has that much space under the floor, but if it does i might aim for a similar end result as yours. Very clean install, im impressed.

[Redteg]

Thanks chaps, just posted to give people ideas. I'm not an authority on car audio by any means but I thought I'd give a semi-custom install a go.


nice, thats a great install, how long did it take you roughly
From December to June, hehe. I lose concentration and give up on larger projects. Also was very busy with work. I'd say I spent 2 weeks in December making the box, and 2 weeks in June making the floor.


kool :) u can com do mine anyday :p whered u put ur amp tho? under the floor?

The amp is underneath the bottom left panel. It is bolted upside down. Used to overheat and cut out when it was mounted in between a wedge box and the seat back, now its fine. Floor height was dictated by the amp, as its a chunky mofo, a Jaycar Response 2x150WRMS. (Sorry, not the greatest amp or sub).


That's awesome man.
How did you measure the volume of the sub enclosure? Or did you just go for as much volume as you could get?
How much did the install cost you in materials? mdf, fibreglass, sound deadening?
How long did it take you?

I don't think the gen3 integras has that much space under the floor, but if it does i might aim for a similar end result as yours. Very clean install, im impressed.

I didn't measure, I made the box as big as I could for the given area. Adding more wood in between the baffle and the fibreglass shell was my only option, but I wanted to keep the boot as low as possible. I mucked around with heights and reaslised that if it were too high I'd lose too much space. Stuffed it with dacron which is supposed to make a difference.

MDF was around $60 I'd say. I always bought more in case I stuffed up or needed it. Bought a massive piece for the actual floor which went from the back of the car to above my head. Had to drive from Norwest with my head tilted, hehe.

Fibreglass I think around $50, but don't quote me on that, was probably more. All I know is I got it alot cheaper from a boating shop in Northmead. Around half the price Bunnings sell all the bits.

Actual frame which the floor sits on was some wood they sell bulk of at Bunnings, probably cost me $10.

Carpet and glue was around $75, bought 3m of carpet from Bunnings for $20 per metre. Plenty left over after doing the boot and seat backs.

Nuts, bolts, screws etc, probably around $10.

Sounde deadening was one can of the spray stuff for inside the box and a couple of sheets of Jaycar stuff, so around $30.

Ok, so a bit more than $150 total, hehe. I could have had it done for me, but I couldn't justify paying that sort of money on my old car. Also, it was fun and I am proud of my efforts.

Ask any questions you may have guys, as I posted on g2ic, I want to give people ideas and maybe give them a starting point for their own project. I couldn't find alot of info for this myself so I'm more than happy to help you guys. I may not have all the answers, or the best answers, but I may be able to give you some ideas.

[SiReal]

bloody awesome work dude. i wish i had the skill to do what you just did.

[Redteg]

Believe in yourself!

[SiReal]

Thank you! Maybe consider having this moved to the DIY section with disclaimer. Might get more exposure there.

[Redteg]

Yee I don't mind where it is.

[marcs]

Awesome man. I feel inspired to give it ago. But i think i'm like you i'll start the project and realise how much work is involved and something that should take me a couple of weeks will span over months.

I think the toughest part for me will be the fibreglassing as i have never done anything like that before. I hope i don't kill myself or give myself cancer.

[Redteg]

Glassing is the most fun part! As long as you cover up the boot floor well enough with tape/foil and mix the resin/hardener well, there are no problems!

May take longer to harden in this cool weather though.

[Bayani]

Awsome Work. Looks great. Grats.

[marcs]

How long does it take for a coat of fibreglass to harden before you can apply another coat? I'm assuming a few hours? How many coats do you need to apply? Since it goes into the boot, im assuming you didn't need to bog and sand it up to look pretty?

[LXRY]

You made it look easy, lol....well done

[arverson]

great work redteg !! nice & clean stealthy install that leaves u lots of bootspace, top stuff *thumbs up*

[Redteg]

How long does it take for a coat of fibreglass to harden before you can apply another coat? I'm assuming a few hours? How many coats do you need to apply? Since it goes into the boot, im assuming you didn't need to bog and sand it up to look pretty?

Thanks again for your comments guys!

Hmm, not sure, hehe. It wasn't too long. It would depend on how much hardener you add to the resin, as well as the temperature. I'll go see if the resin tin has any info on it.

I covered the boot floor with the tape/foil, then applied the resin to that with a brush. I then laid strips of fibreglass all over it, and kinda brushed and dabbed more resin on top. By the time I was done with that I added more strips and more resin. It couldn't have been more than an hour after the last bit of resin when I removed the shell and let it cure outside of the car. (I probably added too much hardener)

When I did remove it, the shell was not firm, but I did not want to stink the car out too much and I was worried that some resin may have seeped through the tape and onto the paint.

I'm not sure how many layers I applied, probably 6-8, but I cut the fibreglass mat into strips so that I could overlap and apply it easier.

No need for putty as the aim of the glass is to get a accurate mold of the floor so that it sits in place.

[marcs]

Awesome. Well I had a look at my boot, no chance of doing a similar install unless i remove the spare :(

[jmsin1]

good work

[incoming]

pretty good DIY
have u had any experience with fibre glass before?

[Redteg]

That sux marcs. You should post a pic of the boot and see if anyone has any suggestions. I have seen fibreglass boxes made to fit inside the spare tyre... It all comes down to how much boot space you require. Maybe look at making a box to fit in the gap between the tail light and the wheel arch. It'd still be out of the way.

Incoming, this is my first major attempt at glassing. I had done it in Design and Tech at school once, back in the 90's (now not allowed cause of the fumes), and I have made my front speaker baffles, but that's it. I've been installing my own and mate's stereos for several years now, and wanted to experiment with something I used to always throw into the "too hard basket".

Here's some of my old work:

Commodore (Threw the car away, kept the shelf, hehe)
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~akarayiannis/COM_SHELF1.JPG

Prelude (Fiancee wanted 6x9's, I didn't dare argue! I also didn't want to cut any metal in the parcel tray. This is curvier than it looks in the pics. I need to fix the grilles on it too but have had no time.)
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~akarayiannis/illyshelf1.JPG

[marcs]

It's a gen3 integra, the only space under the floor is the spare tyre. I think i would rather keep the spare tyre in there though so i might just have to make an external sub box. The side between the tail lights and the wheel arch is too small in volume for the sub i have I think.

[shebangs]

You went to all that effort to install a xplod sub?
Why's your wheel on an angle in the drive way, when clearly you drove straight in to park it there ;)

[Redteg]

You went to all that effort to install a xplod sub?
Why's your wheel on an angle in the drive way, when clearly you drove straight in to park it there ;)

1) Yes, effort far outweighs equipment in my mind. I wanted great installation and integration, not doof.
2) Gotta put some effort in for photos too, even if it does mean turning the wheel. ;)

[LaZaZaL89]

bit of a bump, but that is an AWESOME install it inspires me to try do something like this to my teggy, the spare tyre sticks out like nothing else in the boot and i have a huge sub to fit in LOL