started on my doors this week

Post by **ttocs** » Sun Feb 26, 2012 11:03 pm

The nice weather and time I spent dreaming of how this will look and sound finally motivated me to start on my doors to mount my Ti9's in them. I started off by finding a door panel that someone was willing to give me for the price of shipping because he painted them and the paint relaxed the vinyl and the glue that held it so it was comming off. Didn't matter to me so I got them to shipped via greyhound for $35. I am not going to make any perminant modifications to my doors so I am keeping my stock panels so I can put them on again if I want too.

Here is the stock panel that I have not yet touched.

I used the speaker grilles to make these rings that will be glassed into the enclosure to hold the woofers solid. Here it is just held up to show where I want it to end up and get an idea of how it will flow.

Here I made the basic frame of the enclosure, 3 sides anyway. The back portion(where you read dynamat now) will be glassed to make fit the panel perfectly and also give a maximum depth for the enclosure while keeping it light. You can see some of the L-brackets that I used to hold it as well as the factory bolt that holds the window track to the door, and the door to the hinge. The bolt at the bottom-front will be used to give a nice solid mounting. Here in the L-brackets you can see I am just using stadard self-taping screws that came with the brackets but they were swapped out for machined fasteners for a better hold.

Here you might notice a difference towards the front of the enclosure. I decided to add the old baffle/enclosures I was using on my 6.5" speakers in the previous stereo so that I could get a little more airspace out of the enclosure. I have also now cut out the portion of the door panel that the enclosure will take up and put it in place to get an idea of how it fits.

Here the speaker and the ring are just held in place to get an idea of how far I need it to be out.

With the L-brackets and the factory bolt/nut to mount it with I just didn't feel it was solid enough and decided to make my own backets to help it out. These brackets will mount to the top of the enclosure and hold onto holes in the doors that were made originally to hold the door panel in place. With the addition of these it was now solid enough to move forward after mounting it. You can also see to the right that the self-tapping screws have been swapped out for machined fasteners so that I can have a more solid mounting fastener that can be removed as many times as needed. The holes in the doors were drilled/tapped and T-nuts were pressed into place in the enclosure to allow for this.

Its hard to see the bracket aginst the dynamat but if you look just to the right of the hrns hanging down you will see it mounted in place. Now with this taken care of it was time to mask everything off I didn't want resin on and time to start throwin fiberglass resin. Aluminum foil was taped onto the door panel to allow me to easily seperate the enclosure from the door. Here the resin is dry, yes its messy, doesn't matter....

Tomorrow I will build the glass up till its thick/stong enough to resist flexing and cut the tops and try to mount the speaker ringin them. STand by, more to come and more pics/info here:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2395420/1 ... 3954204147

Post by **Bfowler** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:28 pm

shit...you are brave. can't wait to see how this progresses

Post by **joerg** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:55 pm

Started out quite nice! Is this a TI9?

Post by **ttocs** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 11:56 pm

what is to be brave about? Like I said I am $35 into the door panels and will not need to modify the door itself. The idea is that if I ever wanted too that I would be able to put the stock panels back on, they are tucked away safe.

Yes joerg this will be the final spot for my Ti9's. I can't wait to hear a system with a woofer this size up front. Biggest I have heard was an 8 years ago matched with some horns and well that was a totaly different beast but it seemed like the bass was much closer then the trunk.

Today I put another layer of glass on the back panel and cut the tops out. Waited 6 hrs and finally pulled them off of the doors. Thankfully my masking was good enough and the only damage so far is a little resin in my old pair of jeans. Next step will be to mount the tops, figure out where/how the mounting rings will meet up with it and then put the enclosure, the ring and the top all together. I will need to do some trimming to the wood at the top of the enclosure by the speaker where the door handle goes back from the enclosure. I will have to add some glass there to smooth out the transition as well as at the front of the enclosure from the ring to the old speaker baffle to complete the enclosure. 3 maybe 4 more rounds of glass on the enclosure and then the hard part will come in building the door panel to now fit over all of this. Up to this point its been pretty easy because I have not had to worry about how it will look in the end as nothing I have done so far will show.

thingy · Post by **thingy** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:27 am

Looking good so far, i cant wait to see it finished, hopefully you will build faster than me

Post by **ttocs** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:28 am

I am trying to have it finished up by this summer so I can enjoy it but it will be an rather in-depth install, certainly the craziest I have ever done. Its just hard to dictate innovation so who knows how long it will really take.

Post by **ttocs** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 12:59 am

got some more work done. Got the top cut to fit and temporarily held in place with dowels so I can do some fitting on it prior to glassing it to the rest of the box. Cut the area out of it for the speakers mounting ring and got the ring in place so that it will leave a little room behind the speaker so it can still cool itself through the vented pole piece.

From this angle it looks like easy going from here huh? The holes drilled in the top are for 3/8" dowel rods that I will glass between the top and back to help make it all nice and stiff for no flexing.

Now you can start to get an idea where it gets interesting. I know it looks like its rubbing the seat but I actually have just over an inch left now. The top of the enclosure at this point is only 1/8" further out then the bottom of the stock door panel so it isn't as bad as it might seem.

now you can see the next spot it will get interesting... I certainly can't leave that boxy edge under the door handle so I will be trimming back all of the wood on the top that you can see(the darker part already glassed closest to the handle), some of the wood in the newly made front, as well as the portion of the mounting ring on the very top. I think with all these done that I will have enough space to make a small curve from the enclosure to the panel around the handle so that it will flow better. At this point I am going to be concentrating on finishing the drivers side, then I will go back to the passenger....

Never actually did anything like this before and also never spent so much time looking at my own pics to figure out what to do next..... Makin it up as I go along and hoping I am planning ahead enough to get it done and sounding good, no great....

ludeboost98 · Post by **ludeboost98** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 3:53 am

Great job ! If I can offer one piece of advice . Do the passenger side first . I always do the driver side first too but I find all the little problems and issues are worked out on that side and then done correctly the first time on the opposite side . The driver side is the one you see everyday and for me all the little flaws stick out like a sore thumb . Everyone else doesnt see them but I do . Just my .02... can't wait to check it out when its done !

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 4:13 pm

did alot of work in the past week although it really will not show. Now I am getting into the fine detail area of the project where it just takes alot of sanding/trimming/fitting over and over again to get everything to fit correctly. At this point the enclosure is completed and it could play if I wanted to wire it up and mount the woofer but there is still alot of work to do. I need to measure the volume to see what it ended up with and if I need to make adjustments but its nice to be to this point

The dark spots on the front face are the down rods that I glassed in place to make it ridged and keep it from flexing. The box was glassed inside and out so that I can stand on it if I need too while still keeping it as thin/light as I can. I will weigh it as well as measure the volume a little later to find out where I stand on both but its not as heavy as it looks.

In almost any custom work like this while you have an idea in your head and think you can make it work there is always that voice on the side of my head saying that I messed it up and it will not work out in the end.... Hopefully at some point in the project you get to stand back and look at it and realize that hell yea it will work! Today was that day for me. While its exciting unfortunatly I know it means that the work will start to slow down from this point on. Up till now NOTHING I have done will actually show. The only part of what I have done to this point that will be visable when I am finished is the actual speaker itself and even then the mounting ring an fasteners will be covered. From here on all the litle details start to add up and take their toll on the time schedule.... There will be an oval shaped plexi window that will have a logo lit up through it with electro-luminescent sheets to match the scuff panels that light up now. I will also have some areas of the plexi etched that will light up with RGB led strips. Stay tuned more to come.....

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:30 pm

one question that I would love the input from the people on this place about, what logos to put up on the doors? I am considering the Ti Elite logo or possibly just the Ti9 but would be open to input if anyone else had ideas.

paintguy · Post by **paintguy** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:32 am

Nice work!

Kinda remind me of mine (as yet unfinished)

Mr. Wild · Post by **Mr. Wild** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 4:20 am

I have always wanted to make proper door enclosures like that which are just fixed to the doors. Using the doors themselves as enclosures just never works out properly. There's always some flex and rattle.

Who in their right mind would build a thin sheet metal speaker enclosure split with a window and full of holes? And then try to fix it..

Post by **ttocs** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:23 am

I was actually running sealed enclosures on my old diamond audio set up by using some dampened tupper ware containers mounted to the back of the baffle that I used, You can actually see them used on the front of these inclosures. The show up as the black section with the dynomat extreme inside of it that was glassed into the enclosure.

Now I can't wait to hear such a large woofer up front in an enclosure though....

Mr. Wild · Post by **Mr. Wild** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:50 am

Maybe its time to ask the wife to arrange a tupperware party

Post by **ttocs** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:19 am

you get some funny looks from the ladies when your in walmart in the tupperware section holding your speaker and seeing which one if fits best it. Only part funnier then that was as I walked out the greeter asked me if I brought the speaker in with me. I don't think she got the humor in me pointing out that walmart has never and will never sell diamond hex series speakers, I hope.......

You can also just use it as a form and fiberglass the inside of it to the baffle and then pull the tupperware off if you want something stiffer. Last time I used them there was a factory spacer that pulled the baffle out about 2" and allowed it to fit. When I removed that spacer the back of the tupperware was hitting the window. All I did was put a piece of tape around it to mark my line and cut around the tape. Then I ran straight strips of tape across the bottom and then just layed my fiberglass inside of it to make a new bottom that would fit.

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 1:36 pm

Got alot more work done although the pics will not really show it. Now I am just taking care of little details to prep for the next round of resin.

the part you see now temporarily taped in place is the framework I will glass into the new lowe door panel portion. The only portion of this piece that you will really see when its finished is the inside lip that will a removable grill will set inside of. There will be a 1/8" thick aluminum trim piece that will be just inside of that shape, a 1/4" in and cut at a 45 degree angle. The aluminum trim will continue up towards the speaker and then transition from trim to a grill/gaurd. You can see it infront of the speaker, as well as in the seat of the 2nd pic. I am going to get a billet aluminum door handle so I shaped the grill/guard to look like the door handle since it will be directly underneath it. There are some holes trimmed into the handle I am getting so I will mimic those in the grill. Inside of the oval area on the left will be a plexi window that I will be using a combination of electroluminescent sheets to light up some kind of logo and 7 color leds to edge-light the plexi and light up some areas of the plexi I will etch. Not sure what yet, too far away... You can also see that I have drilled a bunch of little holes in the door panel around the enclosure to get it ready for the next round of resin.

let me know if you have any question.

Post by **ttocs** » Mon May 14, 2012 6:13 pm

door project got delayed when I ordered my kinetik batteries and decided to install them. I was waiting on the router bit I needed and though it would be a quick/easy thing while I waited... I decided to pull the interior while I ran the cables, which led me to finish the sound damping I had not done yet and replace the carpet. Just about ready to put the interior back in now and get it back together. Half way down shows where I am with the sound damping, should be a quieter ride now until the stereo is playin....

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2395420/1 ... 3954204191

SilverGT · Post by **SilverGT** » Mon May 14, 2012 7:18 pm

very nice man. I could use your services in making some door panles for my car. I jsut dont have the skills yet.

Post by **ttocs** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 6:28 pm

Work got delayed for a little more then a week as my stomach flaired up again and almost put me in the hospital again 2x. Made it through it and was anxious to get back to work. Finished installing the dual battery system and was just a little suprised to see that the little kinetik 600 would crank it over a few times if needed. I had to modify some bigger battery terminals to fit the little battery so I could use the nice PG terminals. I could have just slapped a ring terminal on it and called it a day but that just would not look right. Now the 600 looks even smaller with those two big terminals mounted on it and to mount it on its side the way I want too safely I am going to need to raise it up a little to keep the + terminal from rubbing the floor. Still worth it, those terminals are just tits.... Got the isolating relay mounted and everything to it finished as well as the damplifier and luxery liner and finally new black carpet. Rather then buying a kit made for my floor-pan I went with a moldable/unbacked carpet that worked wonderfully all for $40 from the trim shop. All the wiring will be covered with tech-flex to protect it and after sorting through the old wiring to figure out what I was keeping, it will all also be labeled. Rather then using duct tape to hold the cables in place I have discovered the beauty of cable clips with machined fasteners so that I can reliably remove them for years if needed. Its a PIA to drill/tap the hole rather then throwing some duct tape or a self-tapping in there but they look much nice, are more secure and still removable. Never been this complete in my mounting/wiring/labelling and it takes alot longer but will make it easier to diagnose things years from now.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2395420/1 ... 2d/page-10

more pics of the new carpet is on the gauge install page.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2395420/1 ... -2d/page-8

Drock · Post by **Drock** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:58 pm

I need to do new carpet in my truck. Where did you get the moulding carpet from? Or what's the brand?

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Post by **ttocs** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:01 pm

I hit a local trim shop. I am not sure of the brand, its just a generic carpet but called an unbacked, moldable carpet. Its really thick so it can stretch into the corners. I put some spray glue down on the tranny hump and on the siderails and glued the sides down first and then slapped/stretech the carpet into the negative space below it. Be sure to mark any holes for seats/seat belts and any hrns's that need to go through or make note of them before you cover them up.

Drock · Post by **Drock** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:26 pm

Cool, thanks. I'm going to look for that.

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Post by **ttocs** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 1:49 pm

I have been working on trying to finish the battery mounting and like everything else I have done so far it took 3x as long as I thought it would. I feel like I have been 2 days away from getting everything done now for over a week but you can't dictate innovation and I am making it up as I go along for the most part. As I finished up on the first battery last night I suddenly really could not think why I didn't just buy some pre-made battery mount, dunno.....

I made the mounts in two pieces. The bottom is simply a tray made from L-shapped aluminum channels and aluminum sheet metal. I do not know how to weld metal nor AL so I use rivits and JB weld on all the joints. I have had good luck with it in the past but damn I wish I could weld.... The bottom tray bolts in with three bolts, again it is just to keep it from sliding. My original design was just to take another strap of AL and go over the top and after doing so, I just didn't like the batteries ability to move from the drivers side to the pass side. It wasn't much but I want to be able to do some donuts, hit some curves and not worry about a 50 lb battery sliding around so the next night I decided to add the halo(O-shaped piece on top) and did so. Once that piece was in it TOTALLY sured up the top so that I know it will not move. The back of the halo rests aginst the back of the metal-tail-light housing, and the front of it bolts to the body support. All holes again were drilled and tapped, now I just need to add some carpeting to the halo portion to keep from shorting the battery while installing it. I am suprised that I didn't short it out while in mach-up honestly as there is not much space and its a bit of a puzzle to put together.... With everything in place now though you can push the car in any direction to the point of seeing the car move and the battery is rock solid. Now on to the starter battery.

Post by **ttocs** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:37 am

spent a little time to get the mount 95% done. I am leaving the strap across the front of the battery raw at the moment(minus a little paint on accident) so that I can see what I want to do with it later. If that piece shows I might polish it and then put the batteries model number across it in vinyl as the regular model number is hard to see in the lower left. If you look at the back of the battery in this pic you can see that I carpeted the rear half of the halo, the top strap and the rear mounting arm. The halo and top strap were done to help get a snug fit on the battery as well as to insulate it so that I will not have to worry about shorting out the terminals while installing it. the rear mounting arm was covered so that it would give more of a contact patch for the mount to rest on the rear of teh car for support. I also put a small square of carpet on the car just behind the battery to keep the posative battery terminal from shorting out.

This shot was done to show the space between the top strap and the battery terminals. I designed it so that they would be about a 1/4" apart although the plastic cover and the carpet make it look much closer. I left a little space around it so that could wrap part of the mount but was a little afraid that I made it too tight. I was happily suprised last night when I slid it on as the carpet while making it tighter, actually makes it slide into place a littler easier. With out the metal/metal(car/mount) rubbing and the metal/plastic on the battery it slides much easier while giving an even tighter grip. Check out the gap between the front strap and the battery any tighter and I would need a mallet to install it. You can also see again that all wires were tech-flexed/tapped/heat shrinked/labelled to last for years and allow for easy diagnosis at a glance.

This blurry little pick shows the area at towards the front of the car, sorry thinkin about a new camera. I painted all the remaining areas of the upper mount not mentioned earlier so that they will just disappear in the background in case they are visable through the plexi in the end. I did leave the bottom tray, as well as the mounting feet of the upper mount still raw aluminum because paint will just rub off there, there isn't enough space for carpet and I want to be able to see them easier then something in black so mounting isn't as hard in low light.

I had previously shown the build pics for the steering wheel gauge pod I made but I had a request from the marketing director from PLX devices to show them again. She is considering a set for her porche, who am I to say no? If you missed them the first time or want to check them out again they are below the regular pics of them on this page http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2395420/1 ... -2d/page-8

paintguy · Post by **paintguy** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:52 am

Nice!

I like those terminals too - just what I was looking for a while back. Are they a current model or still readily available? Any links?