As a matter of fact, I have NEVER done a fiberglass enclosure before. This is my first time even touching fiberglass for anything.

Lots of reading gave me all the knowledge I needed to go forward.

Funkdaddy - the reason for leaving the speaker holes covered is to keep tension on the material fairly even. In order for the material to stick well to the rings, it needs to be nice and tight over them, and the resin allowed to soak through to the MDF to bond it all together.

If you notice, I didn't resin the centers of the speaker openings. It'll just take a quick swipe with a router or even my dremel to remove the material in the speaker holes, leaving a nice clean edge.

~HH

 

After writing about it, I just couldn't help myself from cutting out the sub holes:



And here are the subs in place - not bolted yet - just sitting in there. I'll paint the exposed portion of the MDF sub rings with black spray paint so they aren't so noticeable:



It's really getting there!

~HH

 

Very impressive head way, and really sharp looking! I hope you are plased with the work, it is far more impressive as it is your first. You just might have a promising future with this as a side career!!

 

I just caught this thread and I've read the whole thing since I'm also planning an enclosure like this one. Would it have been easier in the beginning if you would have taken the panel out of the car so you wouldn't have to work vertically? It looks great by the way...I love it when people do these kinds of modifications by themselves. Anyone can pay somebody to do it.

 

Thanks Dave - I certainly AM pleased with how it's turning out - and, as you said - even moreso because it's my first fiberglass project.

As far as a side business - well, I dunno about that . this thing is already 3+ weeks in the making, as I don't have a lot of time or space to work on this kind of stuff. But - once the wife and I move into the new house - with full basement and 2 car garage - the space issue might take care of itself - you never know....

Shadow - I don't think removing the panel from the car is that great of an option. On some cars, probably. But this panel would be a pain to remove (I think), and since there is a "floor" to the enclosure that is molded to the hatch floor, getting the shape right would have been tougher, IMHO. Maybe if it was molded in two steps - like mold the panel part out-of-car, then put the panel and mold back in the car and get the shape for the floor. But that's a lot more work and steps to take.

In retrospect, I think the blue "painter's tape" would have been better for the mold. Only because the mold stuck to the tape pretty damn good, and the tape stuck to the car - so popping the original mold from the panel might have been easier if the tape wasn't so stuck - the mold and tape could have come out together easier. And if I had done that (planned to have the mold bond to the tape, and the tape come off with the mold), I could have used a spray adhesive to lay down the first dry layer of matting. But the adhesive does break down once the resin hits it. Tough to say - I've also read about guys using tin foil or saran wrap in place of the tape. Its only real function is to protect the surface being molded from the resin and mess - so whatever works, works!

I dunno - it's all good. I'm sure there are better techniques than what I did, but it all came out fine!

~HH

 

ok i really like what ur doin i would really like to do that on my 2nd gen... my install is really sloppy right now... could you gimme some links on how to do this. And what materials you used??

 

I got lots of good info from CarSound.com's message boards: http://www.carsound.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php

Hunt around, do some searches, and make sure to look at the "Matt Borgardt on Fabrication" forum. I also found it useful to follow SoundDomain links and stuff - if you read posts from someone who really seems to know what they are talking about, see if they have a SoundDomain page, or any links in their signature.

This is also a GREAT thread on TermPro: http://www.termpro.com/cgi-bin/ubb/u...2;t=000549;p=1 - There's a LOT of info there - you'll find a list of all the materials you'll need, and lots of common questions answered.

And some more links to follow in this thread - there's a small list in the last post of the thread: http://www.termpro.com/cgi-bin/ubb/u...;f=32;t=000594

Just realize that I have been looking into doing this for well over a year, and have spent the past few months really reading and planning, and reading some more. The subs I'm installing have actually been sitting in my closet for 6 months! While there is no substitute for experience, all the studying I did gave me some great basic ideas on how to do this stuff. The process of cutting out some MDF baffle rings, making a mold, mounting the rings, stretching/resining the front material, etc - is all pretty "standard" technique for this type of fabrication, and I wouldn't have known any of it without seeking info on the internet, and asking questions when I didn't understand something.

Read up, then go do it!

~HH

 

hihoslva,
So how heavy is the box itself right now?

 

Right now, the box is about 10 lbs.

I would expect another couple or few pounds once I add the fiberglass to stiffen the front.

But that's pretty light, huh?

It's amazingly strong, too. I'm thinking about standing on it once all the fiberglass reinforcing is complete - just for ***** and giggles .

~HH

 

i want (crying)

 

That looks GREAT HiHo!! I thought with your hand busted up you'd be waiting longer to get going again on the project. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

 

Quick update:

I'm having lots of trouble glassing the inside of the fleece front. What a ******* pain in the *** - I can't really reach anything in there, and with all the braces for the sub rings, my access is severely limited.

I've considered mixing up a big ol' batch o' resin, and pouring it all in there - then rolling the enclosure around to spread it. Dunno if I'll get to that point....

Just spoke to the wife on the phone - she's like "let me try when I get home from work". Suuure - she spends 2 hours working on this thing with me this weekend, now she's the glassmaster. . Hell - I'll let her give it shot. More patience and smaller hands might make for easier work.

Damn 10's - 12's woulda given me bigger openings to work through . Hehe.

And Dale - the hand is doing quite well. I only took one day off from work (last Tuesday, it happened on Monday), and it's almost back to normal. The first few days were painful, but the progress has been steady. I'm still not 100% yet, and I still get pain if I try to do too much with that hand. But it's getting there.

~HH

 

Good thing you have that wife of yours! hahahahahha

Nah, glad to hear you're doing well. Your project is really coming along, I'd LOVE do something similar, but that means I'd have to buy more car audio stuff, and I'm not really up to that right now, hehehe...

 

Well, the wife gave it shot, too, but.....

I gave up. Too difficult, and it wasn't making a nice surface inside.

I said screw it and glassed the outside of the front. Probably 5 layers at least (more like 7-8 in the flatter areas), plus the 3 (maybe) sloppy layers inside - should be more than sufficient:



I can just trim the overhanging crap later.

Since I will be covering the enclosure with fabric, I made sure to keep the layers nice and neat. I know th pic doesn't show it very well, but it's laying very flat, and should be just fine when it's done.

This was so much easier - it was a joy to work on

I did receive some advice to cut the enclosure in half, or cut a big hole in the back to work through and seal it up later. I just decided to go the easiest route - and I'm HELLA glad I did. Worked out MUCH better.

~HH

 

damn that looks nice and clean and it doesnt look like it takes up alot of space which is good , nice set up

Danny