Dude, that thing is gonna pound. I betcha a beer that you are going to surprise even yourself : )

 

Hey everybody--I've been out of town for the weekend, so didn't get to post pictures of how this turned out. Everything's done, but I messed up on the recess, so the holders for the grill don't fit. Need to figure something out on that one.

Anyway, the system sounds much better--much more low end than I had before. (New amp is MTX 801D vs. my old RF2002).

Here's pic:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...er20050095.jpg

 

Wow...I like that Derrick..Post pics of it in your trunk. Nice work though!

 

i really want to try to fiber glass my trunk around my subs, the only problem is that i think it might me too big to get out of the trunk.

On a 1-10 scale, how hard was this?

 

I'm trying to figure out how to bolt it in right now. Looks like I'll be drilling holes this weekend. I'll post some pictures of the finished project this weekend after I get it secured.

 

Well, I wouldn't say it was difficult, but it took a lot of time. I spent two weekends on it. I think mating the wood to the uneven fiberglass was the most difficult thing--because I was so worried about rigidity and airtightness. The other thing that drove me crazy was trying to keep air pockets from forming when laying down layers of glass and resin. I also learned that the glass fibers do not like to bend around sharp corners.

For me it was worth it because I really wanted to save as much trunk space as possible. A lot of people aren't concerned with trunkspace, so for them it might be too much work when you can just make/buy a box for $50-100. (This box cost me $80 to build not counting the $30 respirator).

 

if you wanted to paint ur box, what else would u have to do, just prime and paint or is there more?

 

if you wanted to paint the box, you'd have to bondo and sand until you get a smooooth surface before you primer and paint.

 

looks good man...I know I am late in this thread and all, but I just made a mold in my trunk for my sub box.....building a false floor. I tell you, my crazy buddy of mine and I had a fricken BLAST working with fiberglass this weekend, we never used it before, and I can't wait to work on it tomorrow some more. Now by no means am I a FG genious, but it was easy to work with, esp. since my glass won't be visible at all, just the bottom of the 'box'

 

Looks great man, I can't wait to see finished pictures. I will be doing a custom fiberglass box in my trunk this winter, using that same diy you posted, I've read that thing over a dozen times. Glad to see you stuck with it and made an awesome box, I bet it pounds too, like eldude said. Post more pics

 

BTW, I got my glass stuff here:

http://www.uscomposites.com/

Make sure you buy a respirator, I ordered 10 sq. yards of glass...and that is plenty, and 2 gallons of resin, but I think I will only use 1, but at least I have extra. They ship fast. rollers are also nice, I like mine.

 

A gallon of resin at Home Depot is $32 and a yard of matt or resin is $6-7. FYI

 

im in the process of doing this now....but i have a much larger shell than that i ended up taping up and molding shell of the the whole rear portion and side up the truk up to the compartments on the sides.....of course the box will be cut down from that but it does leave some extra glass shell for some screens or tweeters.....this is also my first time working with glass and i must say its not too difficult just very time consuming...i'll post pics of my mold a little later....

 

glass - 10 to 24 Yards $1.85/yard
resin - 1 Gallon $27.50

 

I'm toying with the idea of fiberglassing on my car as well....I've always made MDF enclosures because I think it's easier to guarantee strength, and volume. Now that's my biggest question....how are you guys sizing the boxes properly for your speakers? Are you oversing it, letting it dry, filling with the proper volume of water and cutting it down...or what? I didn't see anything in this thread that indicates how you all decided on the size of the box...sorry if I missed it.

You guys are doing an awesome job for never working with FG. It's rather encouraging for me!

 

I don't think anyone is doing it all that precisely. I know I didn't. I took a box of the target volume and filled it with styrofoam packing peanuts, put them in a garbage bag and brought it to my trunk to get an idea of where I should glass and the external shape of the box. Not all that exacting and I'm sure almost everyone has a different method, but I doubt you can get much more than a rough idea. Sure, after the enclosure is complete you can get a definitive volume, but beforehand, I doubt it. Also, I have yet to see on car audio forums a ported fiberglass box. MDF boxes with fiberglass facades, yeah, but not a completely fiberglass box. I'm sure it's been done, but I'll bet there is a reason all I see are sealed boxes - exact volumes are a bitch to build for.

 

It's way hard t get the exact amount of airspace when you're building a fiberglass enclosure with a bunch of contours. Try the styrofoam peanut suggestion made by spoon and add your sub in the mix with it sou you get a good idea of the size of the enclosure.

 

I did the peanut trashbag method, worked pretty well IMHO.

Here are some secrets I have figured out over the past 2 weeks, and have worked very well.

* After you feel you have glassed enough, fill your enclosure with water, and check for leaks. If for some reason, you can't figure out where water is leaking from, if at all, start making your milkshake. A milkshake is mixing a cup of resin (I say cup, but really 3-4 cups) with the hardner. Add bondo, or bondo glass (no red hardner) and keep adding bondo untill you get the consistancy of a milkshake. Pour that all on the inside of your box, making sure you get in the nooks and crannies. I found 2 spots where it leaked out, but sealed it up nice and good.

* If you built a fiberglass box in your spare tire well, and you find that the box does not fit snug in the well, spary the bottom of your box with automotive undercoating. Not only is black cool, it is thick, and rubbery, so that it will fill that space between the well and the glass....where your multiple layers of foil were in the beginning.

* To secure your sub nicely, use T-Nuts and nice screws to hold it in place...partsexpress.com is your friend