PGPandy

I am now in the process of trying to locate parts for the MPS amp. Its not easy but I got a lead today that is looking very hopeful so I might get the original ends for it and all the bits to restore it (looks wise) back to brand new So 'cos I cant fit the amps yet I decided to start on the wiring, which I knew wasnt going to be easy 'in there'. It's very crampt, but, offers the best opportunity to do a install where you wont even see one stray wire.. Like the rest it has to be done in a special order so it doesn't get muddled. The purple and black wires you see hanging are going into the amps, and they'll be @ the back of the amps completely hidden from view along with all the other wires. (as I mentioned before I scraped off some paint when trimming the edges of the carpet.. I knew this was going to happen and don't want to fix it now incase I scratch it again. I'll do it right before the install goes in the motor ) Oh, and the paint needs to be done again (not inside the amp part 'cos you dont see that) but under flash it looks pretty patchy, so I will fix that. And I decided to go back to the idea of hammered rustoleum for the bits you see. Its also alot harder to mark than flat. And the back. It all routes out of 2 1" holes. Check this for tidy tho. That's the side you don't even see.

"Now that's what I call a clean enclosure, Vol 1" Team PG or team bad ass?

Definitely VERY happy with that. And very happy I took a couple of days to think it over. Looks much better, cleaner and more professional.

Not happy with that at all.. I wanted some time to mull it over and the more I thought about it the more I dont like it.. Was a good idea in theory but looks like ass. Im going for something alot more OEM or stock looking. So into the trash it goes, plan B into operation... Better

Panel done.. Time to fiddle about a bit

Nearly there with that thing, just two small pieces to cut paint and glue in.. There is another window there now, my kameleon Tiburon logo will be going in there The woofer arrived today and its seriously meaty and really gorgeously built So I cut the woofer hole into the sealed chamber, carpetted it around and fitted it.

O.K. That was going to be all for the day because my mate had his bird over and they (between them) have 4 kids. So I couldnt do much more cos I couldnt concentrate and I was rather merry. Anyhoo, they left earlier than I thought they would so I had a few coffees to wake me up a bit and then got to work Now the pic you see up there is just a scrolled living dead girl minus the mouth and a couple of other tiny detail bits thatll take me about 20 mins to cut out and shape. Now it's time to explain what it does, how Im working it in and where it'll go. This is going to be one of the main focal points of the entire installation and so will probably get as much time and effort as the rest of the install combined. I didnt want it as just a scrolled cut out with plex behind it, I wanted it to be different, sculptured even. So to do that I had to cut out a 1/4" piece of birch that I bought, then get a piece of 1/4" lexan (freebie from mate's work) and together they will be 1/2", perfect But. Once I added the 1/2" piece onto the top of the 1/4" the lexan would then be 1/4" back. No good. I want it to support the scrolled parts of the cut out. So, in order to make the sculpture, and make it strong I had to then cut a hole out of the plex with it over the wood, remove the hole piece and then slot it into the 1/4", snug up behind the 1/2" living dead girl area. Yeah, it's pretty confusing, so here is a pic that might explain it. (rear view, here you can see the plex circle inserted into the 1/4" snug up against the backside of the 1/2" girl part. And from the front. Note the fact that it sticks out? keep watching, I have a few tricks up my sleeve Right. Now it was time to knock up some bondo and first do some repairs where I got a bit zealous with the saw. Lovely jubbly. And then it was time to start bevelling the edges of the girl part with bondo, to blend it into the front part. ^ 3 lots of bondo and carving with a sharp knife. I reakon one more and I can sand it.. Once sanded it'll be sprayed black (flat) and then carpetted. At that point I can cut out the carpet from all the openings in the girl, put in the plex circle with epoxy and then add the mouth and other small features onto that. And then, add the 1/4" plex panel that is the same overall size that will sandwich it all together and make it strong as fudge. Oh, I have 2 green neons on order (coming within a couple of days) one will go @ the top inside the amp box @ the front, and the other @ the bottom. I then have another green neon that will be fitted behind the port duct area of the opening for the sub Got 4 80mm green LED fans coming too with grilles to vent the amp box.

Right so yesterday most of the day was spent running around cutting the noose from my fat lesbo ex. So all I managed to get done was the paint up there ^ and 2 shattered (literally) attempts at scroll cutting the amp display cover. I wanted to do it out of 1/4" wood with 1/4" lexan sandwiched behind it but I have accepted that it's impossible w/o a rotozip and I dont have *another* $60 to dump into something Ill never use again, it's just not worth it.. So, I went back to the drawing board and decided to do it with 1/2" Still lots of sanding and shaping to do, and of course cut the mouth and bits, but it's getting there. This will be the singlemost time consuming and artistic piece of the build. Slowly. One wrong move and you snap out an eye. I already have a couple of tiny areas to repair with bondo, but It's really starting to shape up now Oh, here's where it came from

Right. Glued the split amp stand and got to painting. I still have to do bondo work, but I figured this was the chittest, suckiest part of the build and so whilst Im waiting for matierials (lexan, lighting, woofer, wiring, and all the other nice toys I have ordered) to arrive I would get on with what I could. Course Im going to need to do some touch ups after the bondo work, but at least Ive got it all covered.. I chose flat in the end, the hammered was alot more money and I didnt want it shiny when I thought about it.. Would rather it be flat Alot of it is still wet, it's 3:40 AM and it took me 3 and a half hours to paint. The amp area was a complete bastard. Getting the paint in all those nooks and crannys was completely pucking horrible and my hands are totally smothered in paint and I have wrecked a good pair of cargos lol

O.K... Last night I knew where my amps and stuff were going to go and how much room I had to work in. I could have just screwed them in there but I wanted to do something different. It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Rob Zombie, and I remember reading that as a child he was part of a travelling freak show (owned by his parents) hence in the movie of Living Dead Girl it's a freak show with his wife (drool) dressed as a Zombie and he is putting on a show. So, I figured I would do the amps real differently in a 'magic box' kind of configuration and set about coming up with some ideas last night on how to achieve this. And I nailed it First I had to do alot of marking, this was done last night with my ass firmly planted in front of the AC nursing the 38 mosquito bites I got last night working out there (the puckers !) Markout began like this - But the amps were'nt gonna be flat, theyre gonna tilt up at the back in toward one another. So for that I needed platforms. So, in went the first set. Test fit the amp (and this is what kills the most ruddy time) And then the second set Test fit the ZX And then put them in together so I can do stage 3. Stage 3 was making a rack mount thing for the cap, which 'floats' in between both amps. So measuring the space I had between the amps, the distance it would need to come out of the magic box and so on took more time and alot of bloody measuring. I then designed the holders like thus - Cut one out and alot of belt sanding later had this - Then I cut the other one, belt sanded it to chit and fitted them to the cap Side on And fitted the support bar Then I dropped it in place to mark it Removed the ZX And then glued, predrillled, countersunk and screwed it into place. Removing the cap for fitting later. Then tidied up, brought the box back in the house and slotted everything back together loosely so I dont lose anything, and so the kids dont play with any bits More coming tomorrow !

*NB* there is some colorful language in here. The forum I frequent is very mature and pretty small, so we're all friends. However, this forum I believe should blank it out Hey chaps (and their better halves) This will be the thread where I finally get to demonstrate why it was I used to be employed building installs back in the 90's. I accept that my last 'install' which is what it was in the barest forms (for sound only not aesthetics) wasn't very tidy. However, mitigating factors were at play. The install never began like that, it began something like this - Which was plain, basic yet clean. Sadly I then realised I did not like Kicker products at all so the sub and amp had to go. I bought the prebuilt kicker box in the pic up there for a few of reasons. #1 I was still with my wife, so time was important. #2 I lived in an apartment that I actually cared about. #3 I was working 50 hours a week at the busiest time of year. So I wasnt bothered about having a totally custom install, I just wanted a system in my car (and pucking hell I have seen ALOT worse than the above). Sadly when I started swapping chit out nothing fit anymore. So I had to make it fit. In a perfect world I would own a 4-5 bedroom house and have a woodshop with every tool I needed in it (like back @ the store in the 90's) but sadly I didnt, so I just added gear not really giving a fudge about what it looked like. Now, however, I do have the chance to display what I can do, and how complex I can make installs given the time, money and location to do so. So, starting afresh I am going to start posting pics of my trunk build as I go, explaining what I have been up to. Stage one was building the sealed internal chamber for the 10 to reside in. This needed to be completely sealed (hence the masking tape covering over the oodles of liquid nails around the weakest joins) and a really oddball shape. Pic here It also needed the 4 port 'plane' thing constructed too, thats also in the picture (tho it isnt all one piece..yet ) That alone took me about two days of on and off. I like to take my time when I can, so this time around (as I am putting my balls on the chopping block with the critics) I am not going to rush. All of the internal structure needs to be done first, so obviously my two days of work didn't look like much up there. However this is a very complex design and it can't be hurried. Cuts need to be 100% accurate and I dont have a circular saw. All I have is a 'bag' of tools that cost me $42 from Lowes for a Jigsaw, drill and sander I don't even need. Tho I will use that at the end to make everything bum smooth So today I got up and started on the external structure of the build. Where the amps go, how they mount and all other kinds of things are my secret for the minute, my game plan is set but I do want to have an element of suprise for you guys, so Im remaining tight lipped. One piece of the next step is going to take me at least a day or two for one panel of wood however In this pic you can see the bottom of the build, bottom of the reflex and the cross chamber. And a different angle on that. Here is the internal sealed unit in place. It's not fixed there yet because I need to cut the woofer out before it goes in, or I wont be able to because the sides will stop me getting the saw in there This pic gives a good idea how the folded horn design manages to work, it's basically like a large tuba that throws out the bass once it's been pressured inside. Most of the day was cutting, very little (sadly) is actual assembly ATM, because this thing has to be done in stages so that I can get it all together in the right order. Fitting the wrong piece in now would stop me getting one in later. So alot of brain hurting thought needs to go into this. Here is a test fit pic, with the chamber in, top of the install on, and a 1.5" trim piece on the left side to cover what will need to be liquid nails to seal the front of the reflex (the part where there is the most pressure buildup) You can also see now where the amps will reside, but Im not telling how theyll reside there or any of my theme plans And here is the test fitted end. This will need to be removable so I can change the woofer or get to it for any reason Thats why there is a small gap, to allow for carpet. It'll sit on a 1x1" birch baton that's sealed all the way round with draught excluder. Obviously the pressure wont be as great as the sealed part, but still I dont want any board rattles. Please also be advised I have used 1/2" and 3/4" birch here to seriously reduce overall install weight. BUT any structural parts of the box are all 3/4 (sealed unit, back, top and bottom) and the only parts that are 1/2 are the top and bottom of the whole install, but one part is double walled (Against the sealed 3/4 thick sealed enclosure side) and the other is only where the air comes out, there wont be any pressure there really) I have some more fab work to do today, but nothing worth showing. So, I'll be back (no doubt) at some point tomorrow with more pics of the install

My latest project. It's actually a very big one, but it's extremely unusual. Alot of these posts are cross posted from my 'other' sound forum, but they should make sense My new install comprises of the following.. Sony HU (high end one, tho I dont like it very much) NESA DVD player, 10" overhead screen Fusion FX 45 multi function unit, parametric EQ, 8v line driver and active XO. Phoenix Gold MPS2220 to run entire stage Phoenix Gold ZX200 bridged into 2ohm mono into sub. Front stage. pair of 3.5" 2 way Clif designs. Pair of 6.5" 2 way clif designs. Pair of alpine tweeters. Rear stage. Fujitsu Ten Eclipse 6x9 point reference series component mid/tweets. Subwoofer. JBL GTO10 (the new dual VC one..) Build proceeds below Check out the way this is designed, and the enclosure it uses.. Very unusual. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi guys.. I have been working away feverishly on my car to make it seriously custom.. And its nearly there.. couple of minor touch ups needed from where there were small runs, but you can probably see how far its come from the pics I have painted it with Holographic Micro pearl flake, which shifts from orange to green or not at all depending on the light angle. Here is the car looking neutral and shiny.. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i174/tim.../DCP_0043-2.jpg Some green... Some orange.. In this pic you can see the shift.. follow up the rear pillar from left to right, the orange is shifting into the green I have removed the Lexarse esque tails and replaced them with Kspec tinted ones.. Also ran a full debadge on the car and smoothed off the tail so theres no lock anymore. And here they are at night with the custom made bulbs in use.. Evil Nike swooshes of doom ! And the new shooz, Tenzo Passion 5R These are Ford Escort Cosworth vents.. They are vented properly and do their job very well Custom mesh mouth I made, with the plate frame from a 1969 Cadillac Deville.. I replaced the OEM fogs with halogen spots because I grounded the tib on a high curb some time back and broke the focus adjustors from the OEM ones.. The OEM ones have been tinted black and now have red strobes in them, and the mesh is getting a 24" red streetglo (got all the stuff need to put them on next week ) Mirrors done.. Only accent part to do now is the door handles, they will also be black.. The interior cabin is now pretty much complete. Mods include - Grant GT race wheel anodised blue and carbon pedals House of kolor kameleon dash accents. Sony HU with the DVD moved into what used to be the glove Race seats Harnesses Tiburon RD2 black back seat. Heater vents from doors capped off and clif designs 3.5" mids went in, custom grilles. 6.5" clifs in the stock locations (I need a multiple driver front stage to cover the bass from the MJ 18 lmao) And some of my house of kolor handywork And my painting, Im pretty darn good at this now Hope you like... I dont know how many of you remember when I got this car, maybe none.. I paid $900 for it in November 05 and it was pretty battered and bruised.. Yeah its undergone some pretty savage changes

Well sadly it seems I missed the boat on this one.. Bummer. However, being the photoshop expert that I am I figured I could invent a group name and design for the woofers themselves. So I present Mach V Marlin series.. Because afterall, anything this good comes from the deep. (frequency range that is) Enjoy ! I wont waste time sticking symbols on woofers, but from my experience in design a white sillouette of a marlin would look stunning.. Simple yet effective and I even came up with the "from the deep" line too, which adds the element of cool to them.

Thanks guys. I have a spare 20 mins so I thought I would update on the latest. For the past 15-18 months I have been building a custom car. It began with the Audio and once that was somewhat finished it carried onto the rest.. I made a custom grille for the car, and put in 2 foglights as my OEM ones were crappy. The grille is black and inside it will be black.. (this was fabricated during bodywork) The I repaired and basecoated the front end, aswell as painting the insides of the headlights black and adding clear corners with black insides. I got a nice head unit.. Shame it's Sony but its a good one.. Got it free from my ex girlfriend (I have had 5 since my wife left last October lol) So the DVD player had to be moved. I removed the glove door and painted it to match the rest of my interior paint. The new setup with my Fusion FX-45 Bought these, Tenzo Passion 5R rims. 17x7. Getting them next saturday.. This is one of the coolest things going on the car. Its a plate frame from a 1969 Dadillac Deville. I fabricated a mesh backing to fix it to on the front bumper. Grant GT racing wheel. And the body following weeks of repairs and painting to get the white uniform. Note how I removed the spoiler, shaved the lock and debadged the entire car. Here is some of the work on the front end. LOADS of small dents removed and some Escort RS cosworth vents installed aswell as some hood pins. It's going into paint on wednesday and will be getting Kustom Shop holographic micro flake. Its a green to orange color shift with ice pearl in it that mimics a hologram. However, usually it would go over black like this - But thats a bit too crazy, people would crash into me. So youll note the car is flattened with white? it's going over white and will look a little bit like this. This is a VERY rough sample I made. This shows the green changing to orange. All out orange And the tail lights that will be going on. Kspec. Lots of work left to do, but the end is in sight I also fitted a Clif designs front stage, consisting of 6.5" mids and 3.5" mids. I put the 3.5 in the heater vents in the doors. Ill get some pics of this soon Andy