So, I started on the Jetta

Post by **Jacampb2** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:36 am

Misfire wrote:Jason, awesome work on the Box. I once miss judged mine in front of the old man. He laughed his ass off, helped me move the box, then cleanly removed the extra 3 inches with his chainsaw. Felt like I was filing those edges for ever to get them smooth. Was very funny though. Keep the pictures coming!

What year is that Bronco? I have a 1996 XLT. That's what I will be installing here as soon as I have a little extra cash!

Haha, a chain saw, that is priceless. The BKO is a 1988 but it is on a '94 1 ton truck frame, it has a '94 dash and front clip. There is a thread a ways back in the automotive section with the details on it.

ttocs wrote:so what kind of friend was this? The kind that once he told you it would not fit was trying to find a way to help, or was he like me and taking pics, texting the pics and story to other freinds while laughing and pointing at you?

Yeah, he is a little of both, but he is more help then not. I am actually fortunate he was here, I probably would have just rebuilt the whole box, it was his idea to cut it in half. I never thought it would fit back together so well, but you can hardly see the seam in the thing.

Later,
Jason

Post by **ttocs** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:32 am

I would have loved to do it do one of my boxes as it would have given me the perfect opportunity to use my biscuit joiner which is rare.

I have seem more then a few boxes "clearanced" so they can fit in the trunk.

Post by **Jacampb2** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:50 am

Making progress today! I may even get it far enough to listen to it this afternoon. First I have to get it far enough together so that I can run out and buy fuses...

Here are some pics:

Later,
Jason

Post by **smgreen20** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:40 pm

Damn Jason! You're flying right along. I didn't expect to see wha I did as far as progress. Looks good, as most of your things have.

That battery looks like it's seen better days.

Post by **Jacampb2** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:23 pm

The battery came straight out of my off road buggy... I will swap it out when I get the time and money.

I have it almost far enough along to test it. I have to call it a night for now though. Subs are in, ZX475 is mounted, preliminary amp rack started. I am using the Autotek 3000.1 for now for the subs, but I intend to use the tarantula when it's done. I know the wiring is a mess. I will tidy it up as best I can tomorrow, but I am not cutting anything yet since my amp layout is going to change eventually.

Here are the pics:

Later,
Jason

Pedi · Post by **Pedi** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:45 pm

Jacampb2 wrote:

WOW!!!

Now you did surprise me. I was certain that something else (read: other subs) would show up...

Stroker, my favorite subs..

Thanks, keep up the nice work as always..

Post by **ttocs** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:47 pm

not afraid the zx450 will get too hot with the vent covered?

How are you going to finish this? Paint, carpet, somehow inside the trunk not that you can't remove the box?

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:13 pm

I love the look of those old strokers... something about them just catches my attention!

dwnrodeo · Post by **dwnrodeo** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:16 pm

fuzzysnuggleduck wrote:I love the look of those old strokers... something about them just catches my attention!

The dust caps look like nipples.

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:54 pm

dwnrodeo wrote:
fuzzysnuggleduck wrote:I love the look of those old strokers... something about them just catches my attention!
The dust caps look like nipples.

Well, I always have had a thing for three nipples...

hehehe

Post by **Jacampb2** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 4:23 pm

Pedi wrote: WOW!!!

Now you did surprise me. I was certain that something else (read: other subs) would show up...

Stroker, my favorite subs..

Thanks, keep up the nice work as always..

Yeah, I LOVE Strokers too. I am eventually going to find a third RSDc12 and run those instead. The Strokers are slated for my Bronco eventually.

ttocs wrote:not afraid the zx450 will get too hot with the vent covered?

How are you going to finish this? Paint, carpet, somehow inside the trunk not that you can't remove the box?

Nope, the vent is not covered. There is a good three inches between the top of the amp and the bottom of the box. The reason it looks so close is that I raised the box 3" and put a MDF lip under the front and side edges. The idea was to keep the spare tire, but it wasn't going to happen, and besides, I wouldn't have had room for all my crap.

I have a plan for finish, but the goal right now is to get it together before tomorrow night. I leave for vacation Saturday morning. Basically, the countersunk area of the box is probably going to be gloss black paint. I will carpet the face of the box, carpet the battery recess and then start on all new fiberglass trim to finish it out. I am probably not going to do any finishing at all until I get my amp scenario worked out. I have never ran an Autotek amp before, and am not sure if I am going to like it...

Later,
Jason

Post by **Jacampb2** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:15 pm

Finally got things tidied up, fuses bought, front fuse holder mounted, amps mounted and wired, BC wired and I test fired it. Holy Mother of Jesus this thing is loud. I can't wait to get more time to play with it, but it will be a while. I still have all the full range speakers to swap out...

Here are today's pics:

Later,
Jason

knightrider358 · Post by **knightrider358** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 2:39 pm

hey man great looking so far, I wish I had ur carpentry skills. Hey Lovin the american screw driver LOL, also cant wait to see ur finishing touches that thing is gotta be jus stupidly loud!!

STROKERS ARE THE SHIZZNIT!!!!

Irongoats · Post by **Irongoats** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 4:08 am

Great looking you're going to make me redo mine...damn it. haha

Post by **joerg** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 4:39 am

I like those strokers as well!

I had one 15 inch back in the days! That´s just amazing. I like the woodwork of the build! I´m a little jealous about your skills and all the machines u have to have at home to do stuff like that! And even more that u find the time to do it!

Found a nice gimmick that would fit your install?!?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cerwin-Vega-Stroker ... 286.c0.m14

bogart · Post by **bogart** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:47 am

So how does the mean machine do on the strokers? I installed one just like that in wakeups truck and it is most definitely a mean machine....lots and lots of power....

great work Jason....I would love to hear it....looks great and I'll bet it sounds even better

Post by **Jacampb2** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:22 am

Hey guys, thanks for the props. I just got back from vacation and hope to be doing some more work today.

Joerg, the CV amps would be tits, and strappable too, that would be bad ass. The goal is going to be PG amps eventually. I may turn the small recess behind the rear seat into install area so I can fit in a lot more amps.

Bogart, I got the mean machine for nearly nothing on a trade. It was really quite badly blown. I rebuilt the PS in this amp twice before I actually got it all sorted out. It is a dual Class D monoblock design. It has two separate power supplies, Rail voltages are +/- 75Vdc on each supply. The power supplies are really quite Beefy, the class D design is pretty much cookie cutter. And the board is obviously off shore, as it does not stand up to rework very well... Anyhow, if the supplies don't sag, and granted I have not done much testing, but that comes out to close to 150V potential output. If hits anywhere near this under load, then it is very close to it's published power specs.

I don't like that none of the amps crossovers or filters are defeatable. Meaning, you can vary the frequency of the lowpass and high pass (subsonic) but they are always on. I would much rather leave them flat and use my HU and Bass Cube for these functions.

Anyhow, I have literally played with it for less than a half hour or so. I have a lot of work left and tuning too do. Also, I have to pull out the DS interior again soon and re-route the 1/0, I don't like where it lies under the carpet. I can feel it every time I hit the clutch. I also want to get the full range stuff installed today if possible. It sounds like I may have a lot of home stuff to settle though, so I may not get to much.

Later,
Jason

Post by **Jacampb2** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 4:55 pm

Well, I made a little progress today. I got the 1/0 wire rerouted better in the DS footwell. I like it a lot better now. I got a good start on the front components. I swapped out the factory DS tweeter w/ a Boston pro piece, I also managed to get two pods built for the doors. The VW speakers are kind of unconventional, they are a ~6.5" mid, but they have a very funky offset basket to bring the speaker close to the door panel. I actually had enough room in the door w/ the window down to install the Boston Pro 6.5 in the conventional manner, right on the door panel, but I decided to take advantage of the room behind the door panel and offset mount the mids and build a small sealed enclosure. I did not do the normal fiberglass pod that a lot of people do, but rather decided to try something novel out of scrap 3/4 mdf and build a little laminated pod. This might be a good option for those who own a router or have a very steady had w/ a jig saw and don't want to do glass work. I will still give these one or two coats of resin on the outside just to make them weather proof. I don't think they will see moisture, but you never know.

Here are the pics:

Later,
Jason

andy600rr · Post by **andy600rr** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:25 pm

Jason, you may want to punch a hole in the back of those pods if your midbass is lacking. The enclosures seem a little small for a 6" driver.

marko · Post by **marko** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:22 pm

andy600rr wrote:Jason, you may want to punch a hole in the back of those pods if your midbass is lacking. The enclosures seem a little small for a 6" driver.

my thoughts too, why not AP them?

Post by **Jacampb2** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:15 am

Yeah, they are small, .033 ft^3 each. I searched for a while yesterday looking for recommended enclosure volumes, and didn't come up with squat. These drivers are really old, I have had them since 1998 and have long since lost the instructions and all specs... I plan to run them outside the car for a bit this morning and see how they sound. If it really sucks, I will change it up.

Later,
Jason

Post by **stipud** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:32 am

Damn I missed this whole install thread!

Nice work! I am impressed you have been able to do all the other work with that big ass box in the trunk. Seems like it would have interfered a bit (i.e. putting in a false floor, and stuff in the spare tire well).

Post by **Jacampb2** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:15 pm

Yeah, well it did interfere a bit, but if I hadn't left it in, I probably would not be anywhere near where I am right now. I have flaky friends and couldn't have done it alone.

So, I am pretty close to done with phase one, and I go back to work tomorrow night. It turns out that the BP 6.5's did sound like crap in that little enclosure, so I cut the backs off them. The jetta doors are sealed up very well. They use a carrier panel for all the window and lock goodies, instead of bolting straight to the door sheet metal. They plug all the holes with grommets and in the end, I figured the door was a better enclosure than what I built. I only took a pic of the back door because I only had my phone handy, the front doors are built the same way, only bigger.

The fronts got the Boston Pros and their matching tweets. The rear doors got Boston Ralley 6.5's and the stock tweets as I found one of my BP tweets blown, so I am down to three. Anyhow, I have some BP 5.25's I am going to put in the kicks when I get time. After that it is time to start finishing work.

I played and did some tuning, and it is sounding really good. I backed way off on the strokers as they are ridiculously loud, but right now, it sounds good and mellow with some kick. I will do more tuning later.

I got the back seats and all the trim back in and am going to call it a night. Here is a pic of the rear door. These only got one MDF ring as I decided it was all that was necessary.

Here is the pic:

Later,
Jason

chitownsq · Post by **chitownsq** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:55 am

Gutting cars is always fun! Keep up the good work!

Post by **Jacampb2** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:13 am

I finally got a 3rd RSDc12, and I swapped out the strokers for the RSDc's. Preliminary listening test by myself says that they aren't quite the end all in subwoofers that I have heard... The strokers were much cleaner, tighter and smoother sounding IMO. The box was actually built w/ RSDc's in mind. I'm not unhappy, after all, we're comparing a ~$400 sub to ones that retailed for over $1k. I just expected a lot better after all the rave reviews on here.

To be fair, the only safe load for the MX3000.1 I could get from 3 4ohm dual coil subs was 2.66 ohms, and the amp was running at 1.66 ohms with the strokers. It could simply be tuning and power issues. I'm probably going to drop the trantula in there if I ever get a bay cleaned out in my shop, otherwise, the system will be on hold until warm weather hits again.

Here is a pic of the RSDc's in place-- and BTW, the home depot peal and seal is still firmly in place and still hasn't made the car smelly, gone all summer now here, don't think it's going to be an issue.

Later,
Jason