center channel

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 3:58 pm

I swear I spent part of a day trying to track down all the dimensions on these so I could measure and they were no where to be found. Now they are all there I am sure its a conspiracy....

dvnt88 · Post by **dvnt88** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 5:23 pm

ttocs wrote:I swear I spent part of a day trying to track down all the dimensions on these so I could measure and they were no where to be found. Now they are all there I am sure its a conspiracy....

It's all good bro

... we've "ALL" had one of those days here and there ...

Bchester6 · Post by **Bchester6** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 6:42 pm

Ya but mine keep getting closer together!!

Whatever though keep rockin!!

Post by **ttocs** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 12:38 pm

well after dealing with my folks for the past few months like I have the good news is sooner or later you can't remember when the last one was even if its still happening. My brother and I have a sick joke my parents are racing each other to Alzhiemers(sp?).

Got to the point today when I looked at the clock pod I had hacked up so many different ways and started to wonder if I can put humpty dumpty back together again. At the same time I started to wonder what a new clock pod would cost

So far I think it will still work. The pod sits down in a small recessed area so after I extended it another 1/2" it no longer rests in that recessed area. So I had the choice of carefully trimming the bottom to match the new contours(and loose some depth for the speaker), or raise it up a little and then carefully add some to the bottom. So here I cut the bottom off and after this pic I epoxied a pocket from my rangers old dash kit in to add 1/4". The plexi is the design element I added. Its separated by a thin piece of stainless that will match the gauge pod I made for the a-pillar

Post by **ttocs** » Mon Nov 16, 2015 6:29 am

so I got out all the epoxy last night and did a lot of trimming/fitting and finally stuck it all back together somehow. I have some spots to touch up as I finish it but the over all shape and function of it I think will work.

I still need to trim/fit the metal strip that I took out of a windshield wiper if anyone is curious.

And now the most important part, how much space do I have for a speaker????

Looks like if I get my shoe horn out and if I get a little lucky that 3.5" should JUST fit. Barely.... HOPEFULLY........

Post by **kg1961** » Mon Nov 16, 2015 11:44 am

good luck sorry you have to do all this next time I will not drive to get you the gear..lol looks great so far scott!

Post by **ttocs** » Mon Nov 16, 2015 1:32 pm

I am not complaining, I don't think

This is a fun little project and something a little different now for a change and looks like its going to work out perfectly. I am not sure I have ever hacked something up like this before and then put it all back together before. Just need to figure out how to mount the speaker now and went ahead and ordered the 3" to make it a little easier. I could just make a flat plate to mount it on but I would like to try and get the speaker as far up into that grill as I can to help the sound as much as I can.

Post by **kg1961** » Mon Nov 16, 2015 3:16 pm

ttocs wrote:I am not complaining, I don't think This is a fun little project and something a little different now for a change and looks like its going to work out perfectly. I am not sure I have ever hacked something up like this before and then put it all back together before. Just need to figure out how to mount the speaker now and went ahead and ordered the 3" to make it a little easier. I could just make a flat plate to mount it on but I would like to try and get the speaker as far up into that grill as I can to help the sound as much as I can.

so what 3" are you going to use?

Post by **ttocs** » Mon Nov 16, 2015 6:16 pm

went with the cdt cf3. Opted for the larger size after all since it should fit.

http://cdtdealer.com/accentfills/cf3.php

Post by **ttocs** » Tue Nov 24, 2015 2:25 pm

am I measuring my speakers wrong or does CDT do it a little differently? Been building all this with the plan of a 3" speaker..

needless to say its a bit bigger then the mounting bracket.

But thankfully it will still just BARELY fit... I will need to make a new mounting bracket but that is not a huge deal.

But like I said I always measured a speaker from the outside of the metal to the other side. Looks like they measure this by the surround....

Post by **ttocs** » Thu Nov 26, 2015 1:09 am

not sure why the speaker is 3/4" bigger then its listed as but idunno. I went back to cutting/bending/fitting a new bracket for the speaker. Took some time to trim and fit it enough times to finally get it where I needed it. From the top now it looks good and there should be enough room between the speaker and the grill.

so now the only concern is if there will be enough space between the radars display and the speaker. I will need to wait till tomorrow to test that.

As well as to how much of the dash I will need to clearance to get the magnet to fit.

Hopefully its not a big deal....

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Nov 27, 2015 3:12 pm

dash trimming wasn't too bad with my dremel and a grinding stone. Before:

after:

after the magnet could go down all the way the last hurdle to clear was that there was a slight gap at the bottom in some areas where the pot meets the dash from where I added material and the shape grew. To fix this I decided to try a new idea I saw of CA(super glue) and baking powder. I put masking tape down where it was going to lay on the dash and then installed the pod and drew a line around the outside of it to mark where it was. Then I put down a nice thick layer of CA(thick) on the line I traced. After that I then put the baking powder on top of the glue, it wasn't pretty. Finally I put another thick bead of CA on the edge of the pod where it would meet the dash and then slapped the pod in place and then worked the powder down into the pod/dash joint. You need to move kind of quickly up to that point, after that just hurry up and wait but not that long as the CA cures pretty quickly. Once it did I just pulled it up and the ca/powder came up with the pod. After a light sanding I am happy to have a seamless fit around the dash and I tried to pull it off and could not. I did notice at two points that I saw either steam/vapor or smoke come up as it cured to hardness so not sure what that is. Got the idea from a vid on youtube but it works great.

I guess I can add the leds and the stainless strip between the plexi tonight and see how that looks and then start the primer but at this point I am just celebrating the victory that it fits. Right up to the point that it all fell into place tonight I was not sure it would work.

dvnt88 · Post by **dvnt88** » Sat Nov 28, 2015 6:27 am

Looks damn good sir ...

Post by **ttocs** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 2:53 pm

So I got the black basecoat on and curing now before I tape it up to do the green stripe and clear. While I was waiting I took all the brackets to my anodizer to have done. I really only needed the speaker bracket done so that it would not be seen but since I was dropping parts off I just had them all done. I could have gone with paint but the price for this is fair and its just so much more durable and better looking.

I am looking forward to finishing up the dash/pod hopefully tonight to let them start to cure again. Still just buying time till the weather warms up and I can paint the car. Crap now I need another project....

Post by **ttocs** » Sun Dec 06, 2015 8:15 am

waiting for the green/clear to cure and can't wait to slap on the plexi/stainless trim and the smoked front. I am very happy with how these came out.

Also cant wait to slap the deck/screen in and see how these look finished.

Post by **ttocs** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 5:29 pm

Of course when I want to put it all together my stomach acts up and says no... can't complain too much about the look from the front. Smoothing the trim rings into the dash made for a nice transition between the two and also meant the front of the deck/screen locks into the trim rings to hold the front in place.

The mounting brackets I fabbed up ended up working really well. With the front locked into the trim rings epoxied to the dash, the middle locked up with the brackets I made and finally the small ones in the back mean that each piece is mounted with 3 brackets. Its definitely the most solid system I have ever made and having them anodized just gave them one more detail that while no one will see just help for a much more professional look overall. After all the years I did installing I have been in many systems that looked amazing up front only to be very very scary under the cover panels and I am not making one of those systems.

So then the clock pod finally looks tits all finished with the exception of the front plexi. I need to recut it because of moving the radar display and could not find a local source for smoked plexi so I ordered some that should be here in a day or two.

And then to match the a-pillar gauge pod I made, just for shows I added a couple leds. I will defintly add a potentiometer to it to dim it as its bright as hell now. I also want to use this as my alarm led that flashes. No missing this thing on top of the dash.

But, project completed. Comments, questions, and constructive criticism are welcomed.

Post by **ttocs** » Wed Dec 16, 2015 8:43 am

I finally got the lens material and got it cut to fit. With no light on it it is just a solid smoked lens

with the flash you can read the writing through the lens. I decided to included the CDT logo as I had space and thought it would be a nice detail for anyone looking close enough.

Post by **kg1961** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 7:46 am

so nice scott great set up!!!

Post by **ttocs** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 2:59 pm

thanks now I just have to wait to hear how it sounds

amazing how the flash picked up all the dust but I guess on a gloss black piece it stands out. I spent the 30 mins before that with a file doing a couple of strokes here, couple there until it finally fit and just a little dust really makes it look worn already. After I took the pic I looked back at it and after cleaning it off with a towel it looked the same with the static. Need to get my compressor on it....

quickrip · Post by **quickrip** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:27 pm

i know its a little late ttocs, since you already have the 3"ers, but I installed my cdt es-020 rear fill today. I am very pleased with the output of these little guys. They will work perfect in my application of rear fill so that the rear passengers dont have nothing but mid bass and sub freq. However, if someone is planning on using these down to the spec of 100hz there is no way in hell they will be pleased. I'm running roughly 80w to them and the lowest I can see x-ing them is 500hz. I played with them for a bit and ended up very happy with the results here. Let us know how the 3" sounds and how low it goes. setup is looking great. I only wish I had your fab skills.

Ben

Post by **ttocs** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:29 pm

I thought that freq responce was a little too good to be true. Thanks for the info I look forward to powering mine up.

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