Just thought I might post my build-up of my fiberglass speaker enclosure which is currently under way. Let me know what you think.

I wanted to build a fiberglass enclosure that would be able to handle extreme offroading and would also fit behind my seats in a regular cab pickup. So this is what I've come up with so far.

I started with the bare factory cab. There wasn't very much rust but lots of grime under the carpet. After the carpet was scrapped the entire cab was degreased. I don't have any pics of mine though.


I ground down the factory bench seat brackets and laid Dynamat to cover the entire back of the cab. Then I wire brushed it all to make sure the fiberglass would adhere properly. Unlike most fiberglass enclosures, I laid fiberglass straight to the metal making it irremovable. Sorry no pics... I'm too impatient. :pat:

After planning and test fitting and blah blah blah... I made templates out of cardboard for the MDF sides. (P.S. This saves a lot of time...)

Using a jigsaw, I cut out the sides and began gluing them to the fiberglass. First I used a high-tack adhesive to get the pieces to stay in place, then I used a heavy duty polyurethane construction adhesive to make them tight. Using many levels I tried to get the pieces as level and plumb as possible. After the pieces were in, I slapped on a coat of fiberglass resin over all the fiberglass and the MDF joints. Then painted it black... just to give it color.


Then I made the face out of 3/4" MDF and cut the mounting holes for (4) 6.5" woofers. (More about those woofers later...)

I made sure all the sides were sanded level then I mounted the face using the construction adhesive. I then used fiberglass to reinforce the joints.


Yeah.... it's messy....

It's taking a long time but it's getting there... I'll have an update tomorrow. In the mean time... tell me what you think.

 

I like it! Looks like hard work. How's the entire truck going to be set up?

 

Wow that is sweet. Should look real good when your done.

 

coool I'm in the middle of redoing my interior now got two bucket seats from a 04 prerunner and a preformed carpet. I might as well do the sound while I'm in there .

 

Very Very nice...I admire the hard work. I am curious about the components also.

 

There was two areas of the box that were too difficult to cut MDF pieces because of the peaks and depressions in the cab and a slight angle. So to seal these sections, I stretched t-shirt material over them and hot glued into place. These were then soaked with fiberglass resin, allowed to dry and then I laid a layer of fiberglass mat over them.

Mmm... looks ugly...


A few more layers of fiberglass and I'll start sanding them smooth.

 

Here's some info on the speakers I'm putting in the box. I wouldn't call them much of a component set....

2 Pyramid PW677X
6.5" Woofer 300 Watts each
http://pyramidcaraudio.com/itempage.asp?model=PW677X


2 Pyramid WX65X
6.5" Woofer 250 Watts each
http://pyramidcaraudio.com/itempage.asp?model=WX65X


I know they are cheap. I decided on these because they can be easily replaced in the event of a "mishap". I got them on eBay for about $10 each.

FYI, I would have rather put in two 8" subs but there wasn't enough clearance between the magnet and the back of the cab.

 

ehh arent the two subs that are 300watts going to cancel the two that are 250 out?

 

Hmmmmm. NO they wont cancel. The sensitivity of the woofer is usually a good indicator of how much output you will get with said amount of amplifier power. Power handling is not the real issue here. If the 2 speakers have huge differences in sensitivity, which Im pretty sure they wont. then you may have an issue, but even then it wouldnt really have much effect on the set up. As far as cancellation is concerned. Hope this helps.

Also, how much airspace is in that enclosure?

 

This is with guesstimated dimensions... but should be fairly close.
1250 in. cubed = ~.7 ft. cubed

 

you gonna lose any leg room with the box? I need sound for my reg cab and do not want to sacrifice the leg room. Any suggestions? I was wondering if anyone has heard of the Q-Logic box with 1-10inch woofer made for the reg cab and if it will keep me from loosing room. I cannot find anything on it other than dementions and specs. No testimonials.

 

Yeah, that was a big issue for me too. That's another reason why I used this method... I was able to make the slope of the box the same angle as the back of the seat, which makes the box as big as possible without sacrificing any leg room.

An update on the fiberglass... this is t-shirt material stretched over the openings and then soaked with resin.



This is two layers of fiberglass on the passenger side (one layer on the drivers side so far).

 

Dang...I'm a little late LOL.

If you ever wanted to start all over again, look into the Earthquake SWS line of subwoofers. Pioneer also has slim subwoofers, but I believe they only come in a 12" model.

www.earthquakesound.com

 

I remember seeing the Pioneer slim subs but dang, never saw the SWS line. Oh well I guess... I set mine up the other day and they seem to work well enough for my liking. Thanks though.

 

Blau also has slim ones.

http://www.blaupunkt.com/us/7606200283_main.asp

 

Great post. Thanks for the info. I think these SWS speakers will do the trick for me.

T-BONE