Hey guys...I got a little bored sitting around the house plus I was a little sick of my car scraping on everything with the enormous speaker box that I had before from being soo heavy (as in over 100lbs) so I decided this past weekend to design and build a fiberglass enclosure for the wasted space at the sides of the trunk and I'm going to put together a little tutorial on how you guys can do it yourself also. But I'm going to do this a little different from the others by just putting up a little at a time so I can gain a little input from the experienced fiberglassers out there since this is my first ever attempt at playing with fiberglass and my progress will be shown here in this post:
First things first, I did a whole lot of research on the net and let me tell you there are many different methods to doing a good fiberglass enclosure and what I will be primarily doing is covering it with carpet so it does not stand out too much from my interior plus I just don't want all the work involved with sanding it down to a piano finish and painting but its always your preference on what you wanna do.
Next, I went ahead and got a shopping list together on all the items that are needed and I only have approximate prices since I get military discounts, benefits, etc. and most items can be purchased at Wal Mart, Home Depot, Lowe's, boating stores, and auto parts stores. Just shop around and get the best price and trust me, go out and buy more than enough supplies as you can always return what you don't use because it really sucks when you have to scrap an entire job because the fiberglass hardened and you ran out of supplies. Plus you will notice that a lot of the same stuff was purchased and thats because they are disposable and the resin once it is hardened is very difficult to clean out.
Also, you will need some tools to do the job properly and if you cannot borrow them then you will have to purchase.
Here is the equipment list:- Tape measure
- Jigsaw or RotoZip/Dremel (which is extremely nice with the circle cutters)
- Dremel Sanding attachments (if you got one)
- Circular or Finishing Sander or at least a sanding block to do it by hand
- Particulate Respirator with cans (please spend the money for this because fiberglass can get in your lungs and will cut it to shreds and I've seen it myself) plus you don't want to be inhaling the resin.
- Caulking gun or Hot melt glue gun
- Safety goggles (not glasses, again you must keep fiberglass from getting in your eyes because it will cut them up)
- Also and this will cost you a fortune...A WHOLE LOT OF PATIENCE!!!
Shopping list:- Fiberglass Resin (with hardener) - 1 gallon - $35 each
- Fiberglass Matt/Cloth - its all preference on which you like to work with better (Matt is a lot messier and cloth is weaker) - 8 packages approx 8-9 sq ft each - $5 each
- 2in Masking tape - 2 rolls - $2 each
- 2in Blue painters tape - 2 rolls - $6 each
- 1 quart mixing cups - 10 - $0.70 each
- Liquid nails or glue sticks for glue gun or clear silicone caulk (preferred) - 1 package - varies and is < $6
- Wooden dowel rods - size and amount varies with location of speaker rings, etc.
- 1 inch disposable brushes - 10 - $0.50 each
- 3M Super 77 spray adhesive - 1 can - < $10
- Nitrile gloves (do not get latex) - at least 10 pairs - < $6
- 60 grit sanding paper - 1 pkg - $2
- 80 grit sanding paper - 1 pkg - $2
- 160 grit sanding paper - 1 pkg - $2
- Stretchable fleece (from Wal Mart or JoAnn fabrics) - 2 yards - $9
- Carpet, Felt, or Vinyl - 2 yards - $9
- Plastic sheeting - 3 packages - $4 each
- Foil - 1 package - $4
- Packing peanuts (to measure volume for specific measurements)
- Evercoat Rage Gold or Bondo - 1 package/gallon
- T-Nuts/Screws (preferably security type to keep stuff from getting stolen)
- Roller or Bondo spreaders
- 1/2" or 3/4" MDF to make rings - (1) 2' x 4' sheet - $8
TOTAL PRICE < $200
The following items are optional but I wanted to do this box right so I went ahead and purchased the following from
Elemental Designs which is probably one of the cheapest companies online to get real good quality stuff for cheap.
This is what the completed project looks like in car:
Day 1(10/23) & 2(10/24):
I started first with the cutting of the rings for my speakers which are Rockford Fosgate P1 10s since they don't require a whole lot of volume and they really don't need a lot of power to supplement my Bose system which is probably the best sounding Bose system I have ever heard in a Nissan (or any other manufacturer no less) but it did need a little more bass which will do just what I need. I typically don't like systems with overpowering bass that pretty much shakes the entire car apart.
I also cut out the rings for my
3" Aero Port and speaker terminals and they were all cut to give the flush mount appearance.
I used the Router/Dremel to recess the cuts into the rings for the port and speaker terminals pictured here:
They do look a little rough and thats okay since it will all be covered up later in the project.
Then I got a little lazy with the router so I did a 2-piece ring for the speaker which consists of a base with the cutout for the speaker and a trim ring to recess the speaker. I did mine about 1 inch additional all around so I have room for the trim ring later:
This is the trim ring I made to match the outside diameter of the first cutout and about a 1/4" ring all around to recess the speaker and this will be attached to the first cutout by glue/silicone caulk:
Here is the completed setup:
This is the setup test-fitted with the speaker then I drilled all the holes for the T-nuts and sealed the ring with Silicone caulk to ensure it is airtight:
Day 3 (10/25):
I got my T-nuts installed and for those of you that don't know what these are:
Time for the painful part...So I started taping my trunk today and let me tell you ouch for my back is killing me after taping for 3 hours lol. I first started with masking tape on both sides of the trunk and then covered it with blue painters tape and from what I've heard this is the easiest/cheapest way lol. The picture below is the passenger side since I already started drawing and laying out the driver side for the setup. I also relocated the jack to sit on top of the spare tire (sprayed expanding foam to keep the jack from shifting around:
If there are any suggestions/comments please feel free to leave them and I will be updating with my progress in the weeks to come. Fire permitting here in SoCal.
Here in SoCal.
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