eemichael83

Hello all! A couple of months ago I picked up an '07 TSX with 76K on it. Since I plan on keeping the car for many years, I've decided to splurge a bit on the stereo. I probably wont actually be installing until early March-ish since I'm planning on fiberglassing, but I've already started picking up the main components.

So far I've got a ZAPCO 350Wx2 DC amp, a ZAPCO 500Wx1 DC amp, an Image Dynamics ID10 sub, and a pair of Image Dynamics 6.5 CTX Components. I'll be getting some sound deadening material for the front doors and at least a significant portion of the trunk as well as all the wiring, distribution blocks, etc. a little closer to when I install. I'll also get the fiberglassing materials then. The plan is to mainly use the side 'pockets' in the trunk for the sub and amp placement to keep as much room in the trunk as possible as well as not obstruct the spare tire well.

As I've done on previous cars, I'll take plenty of pics of the components I use as well as install pics. Once, I even used an SPL meter and some sweep software to take in cabin response, which I may do with this build if anyone is interested. Thanks for any interest!

eemichael83

Well, I'm getting a later start on this than I anticipated but it's just now getting to where it is consistently warm here so I'll be getting on this soon. Today I ordered another Image Dynamics ID10 and placed a pretty big order to US Composites for Fiberglass, Resin, and other supplies. Will probably post pics of components soon and update as I progress.

eemichael83

As promised, I took some pics of the main components (except for an extra 10" which will be here monday along with the fiberglass material).

eemichael83

Did quite a bit of work this weekend and today. I figured it was better to install the Damplifier in the trunk before fiberglassing just in case the thickness of the Damplifier changed the shape of the carpet so Friday I applied 16sqft between the trunk lid and the trunk (saving 24sqft for the 4 doors). I wasn't able to take any pics of the Damplifier installed since it was dark by the time I finished, but in case anybody is curious and hasn't ever seen the trunk with the carpet removed:



Saturday I cut 114sqft of fiberglass mat into 1.5-2.5" wide strips and torn to 4-7" long, which took a lot longer than I thought it would:





Sunday, I practiced fiberglassing on a cracked fountain that needed repaired since I've never worked with fiberglass before. I wanted to get an idea of how it worked and how long I had to work with it before it started hardening.

Today, I took some time off work to get some more work done. I got the trunk taped off, which also took quite a bit longer than I expected. I'll actually get to put some fiberglass down tomorrow.








And the recipient of all the audio goodness:

eemichael83

What a back breaker! I spent a little while taping off a bit more near the back seat and then spent the rest of the afternoon putting down glass. The two 'pocket' areas weren't too bad and took just over an hour each to do. The area by the backseat is another story. What a pain in the ass! It took me about 3.5 hrs to put down one layer back there. The combination of it being so far back in the trunk and having to fight gravity for most of that area was awful. Once I get enough glass on it to pull out of the car it should be fairly easy going from then on. I think I'm going to try and get 3 layers on before attempting to pull the pieces out.

Prepped work area:


One layer of fiberglass:

eemichael83

After sitting and thinking about how much I hated glassing back by the back seat, and the amount of resin I ended up wasting from excessive dripping, etc, I've decided I'm only going to finish the to pockets in fiberglass and when I'm done I'll just build an MDF frame to fit in the area in the back of the trunk. Then I'll wrap it in the fleece and put just a few layers of glass on it OUTSIDE of the vehicle. This should make it a LOT easier and a LOT faster and hopefully keep somewhat close to the original look I had in mind. It might not have quite the fitted look I had originally hoped for, but at least I'll still have my back.

eemichael83

I got 4 layers on each enclosure today with some of the flatter spots having 5 layers (what I could throw on with the workable resin I had left). After letting each side cure for several hours, I got them out of the trunk. I found that sliding a putty knife around under the tape to break it free from the carpet really helped in getting the box out.





Even though I decided to scrap the idea of completely fiberglassing the backseat box, I still had to get it out and I was able to get it out without it cracking.



Since I was able to get it out, I can use it for measuring and fitting the MDF frame I plan to build for the amps rather than having to work in the trunk. Obviously I'll have to double check measurements from time to time since the mold does flex and will not be 100% accurate, but for most of the MDF frame, rough measurements work anyway.

Now that I've gotten them out of the trunk, I plan on relaxing the next few days before I add more layers.

Skirmich

Looking good! I love custom projects like these.. Keep up the good work!

eemichael83

Thanks Skirmich. I spent about 7 hrs in the garage today and got another 3 layers on each enclosure. They don't look much different but there's 7+ layers on each now (4 Mat, 3 Fiberglass cloth). I ran out of resin and won't have more until tuesday but I plan to put 1 more layer of Mat and 1 more layer of Fiberglass cloth on each for a total of 9+ layers.

eemichael83

I got the enclosures trimmed down this afternoon. After getting them cut down, I was able to get a better idea of how thick they are. I think I'm going to add 2 more layers to the drivers side and maybe one more layer to the passenger side. The drivers side was noticeably thinner and a bit lighter than the other. I could also feel it resonate just a bit when knocking on it. After I get a couple more layers down (along with a bit of wood reinforcement and bracing), I'll re-trim, set the rings in place, and cover with fleece. I think I'll be able to get the extra layers down along with the fleece in the next couple of days.

eemichael83

Current progress:

MySoCalLife

Nice

eemichael83

Got them sanded down a bit today and put on 3 more layers mat and 1 more layer of fiberglass cloth on each.



Will get to trim the excess and start with the body filler tomorrow.

eemichael83

Well I wasn't able to get to the body filler today because trimming the rings and sanding them out proved to be pretty time consuming. I don't have a router so I had to rely on a dremel and a curved sanding block to try and get the fiberglass around the ring right. I also cut and smoothed the excess around the outside of the enclosures.

eemichael83

I got holes drilled and wire run through then I sealed the wires in with resin. After putting resin around the wire holes, I poured some acetone in the mix with a little more hardener to thin it out and painted it on the MDF rings so that it would penetrate further and strengthen the rings. I also got my first attempt at working with body filler out of the way. I was a bit surprised at how fast the stuff starts setting up but I got better with it when working on the second enclosure. I think I'll still need to do at least a couple more passes with body filler and plenty more sanding before they're ready for paint but hopefully I'll be able to complete all that tomorrow.





While the resin was curing around the wires, I also took the two MDF pieces I had cut several weeks ago for the amps and cut some slots in them (so that I could reach through and pull wires) and glued them together into one piece instead of two separate pieces. I was originally going to try and place one amp on each side next to each sub enclosure but the amps stuck out too far for the spare tire lid to clear so I had to settle on mounting them across the back. I didn't want to waste the cut wood, so I just glued them together. They'll have more support when I start cutting the rest of the form later.

cltgt

Looks good!

Skirmich

Nice to see it's coming along! Good work buddy!

JediSpam

update pleaseee!!