bigrank916 MLI-65 project

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Excellent work!

[bigrank916 72]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate all the comments. This is my first try but like I said, I like to take my time to produce a nice product. I dont want to whip out pods my first time within a day or two just to get them in my truck. But...I really didnt think they would be turning out like this.

The sun is shining here for a moment so it seems like a good time to apply some resin. More updates to come soon.

[jcarter1885 995]

keep up the good work, looks good. I need some of your motivation, been wanting to do some fiberglass for a minute but still a little weary on doing it.

[bigrank916 72]

Here is the first layer on the fabric just to stiffen the mold enough to lay the mat.

I had epic failure on the pass pod as the tweeter mount buckled and I had to tear the fabric off an start over again.

It worked out cause all the practice made the last one look excellent imo. No cutting, just stretching, the way it should be. I even wrapped it once before this last one and I didnt like that one either. Like I said, Im not a perfectionist but I dont like crap either. It looked like crap.

You can see the difference in the corner by the tweeters where one was overlapped and the other was stretched properly. Practice pays off I guess.

Next will be the mat. Stay tuned...mli65 link

[Mac N Cheese 90]

those are coming out clean! nice work

[bigrank916 72]

I added a couple of layers of mat today and trimmed out one of the pods.

The top is not nearly as thick as the bottom is. Im sure its thick enough to produce a good sound though.

I got a dremmel tool with all the accessories tonight and its a breeze to trim these up now. I love this thing.

After the other pod is trimmed and sanded, they both will have a fixed run of speaker wire out of the back. I havent decided how to seal the hole back up though. I was thinking of chopping and shredding some mat into tiny pieces and filling it in the hole with resin from both sides. Just like you might do with sawdust and glue in the joints of an enclosure. Just a thought but not sure if it will work. Any methods or suggestions you guys would like to share?

Im going to skip the bondo step and just carpet the pods when they are finished. Tack the carpet down with hot glue then affix it with the 3M 77 super adhesive. Or something like that. Hopefully I'll be able to blend the seams of the carpet. Havent had too much practice with detailed carpet applications. We'll see how that goes...mli65 link

[Mac N Cheese 90]

those keep looking better and better

[bigrank916 72]

I got the second pod trimmed and sanded up around the edges.

I decided to try the aforementioned method and it seemed to have worked ok. I poured it over the chopped glass and wire, then stabbed it with a toothpick to ensure the resin settled all the way down. It dried well enough but still wasnt airtight like I was looking for. There was tiny spots between and around the wire that would allow air to escape.

I decided to add some silicone on top of the fg to make sure there is a good seal. I used the silicone on the back of the panel also. There isnt any fg on the back because I wanted to keep the same form without getting thicker. Really needed to have maximum flexibility not knowing how the wire will be folded if at all. While at the same time keeping the enclosure airtight.

Now on to the carpet. Stay tuned...mli65 link

[bigrank916 72]

I got to carpeting one of the pods tonight and cut out the holes as well.

I only had a couple of pieces of carpet to work with so wrapping them the way I wanted to was out. I had to form two seams in the carpet which came out well. It might be hard to see in the pics though but one is angled down the tweeter and the other is angled on the top.

I think it came out good but Id really like to have it seamless if possible. Is it?

Hopefully the other one will match well. After the other pod is carpeted, the speakers can be mounted in the pods. Then comes how I will attach these pods to my door panel. I dont want to use an adhesive because Id like to be able to remove them fairly easily. Then I can change pods in the future if need be.

Ive put by far, the most time in this project, out of any car audio project Ive ever done. So far the friends Ive shown it to around the house seem to think it looks decent...What do you dudes think so far? mli65 link

[bigrank916 72]

Came home from work today and installed the speakers in the one pod that is carpeted. Its not as heavy as I anticipated. Im hoping to be able to attach it to the panel with velcro strips. Who knows. I figure it out when the other pod is finished. Any ideas guys? mli65 link

[bigrank916 72]

I am done building these pods!!!

I cant believe its true! I never would have thought I would be able to make these. Its a whole new world now with all the possibilities!

The last step is attaching them to the door panel. Before I go ahead and try out the velcro strips, does anyone have any ideas on how I could attach them?

I want to be able to take them off if need be, so a super adhesive is probably out. They arent that heavy. Id say no more than ten pounds.

pods are done!

[///M5 2,833]

Screws. Take out the speaker and screw them on.

[bigrank916 72]

Lets try it this way instead.

[bigrank916 72]

[bigrank916 72]

Sucks it took this long for me to figure out how to post the pics. Oh well. Thanks to Old School 08 for a little help.

[jcarter1885 995]

It feels like I just went through Fiberglassing Tutorial 1 on 1, thanks for the step by step pictures. I will have to save this and bookmark this so when I try I have a something to look at and go off of.

[Duran 387]

It feels like I just went through Fiberglassing Tutorial 1 on 1, thanks for the step by step pictures. I will have to save this and bookmark this so when I try I have a something to look at and go off of.

Good thread to learn from, he did an excellent job

[bigrank916 72]

It feels like I just went through Fiberglassing Tutorial 1 on 1, thanks for the step by step pictures. I will have to save this and bookmark this so when I try I have a something to look at and go off of.

Good thread to learn from, he did an excellent job

Thats what I was aiming for jay-cee! Glad to know Im helping out dude. Thanks. Btw, its a lot EASIER than I thought it would be. Just do it in the summertime when its warm!

I appreciate the compliment Denim. I put a lot of hours into those babies!

[Duran 387]

It feels like I just went through Fiberglassing Tutorial 1 on 1, thanks for the step by step pictures. I will have to save this and bookmark this so when I try I have a something to look at and go off of.

Good thread to learn from, he did an excellent job

Thats what I was aiming for jay-cee! Glad to know Im helping out dude. Thanks. Btw, its a lot EASIER than I thought it would be. Just do it in the summertime when its warm!

I appreciate the compliment Denim. I put a lot of hours into those babies!

I'm Duran actually

[bigrank916 72]

It feels like I just went through Fiberglassing Tutorial 1 on 1, thanks for the step by step pictures. I will have to save this and bookmark this so when I try I have a something to look at and go off of.

Good thread to learn from, he did an excellent job

Thats what I was aiming for jay-cee! Glad to know Im helping out dude. Thanks. Btw, its a lot EASIER than I thought it would be. Just do it in the summertime when its warm!

I appreciate the compliment Denim. I put a lot of hours into those babies!

I'm Duran actually

LOL! I knew I would do it to one of you guys eventually. Your names are so similar and Im such a douche. I almost did it the other day and caught myself. I even had the thought before I opened this post again because I thought, did I do it? Yup. I did. Sorry dude.

[Duran 387]

It feels like I just went through Fiberglassing Tutorial 1 on 1, thanks for the step by step pictures. I will have to save this and bookmark this so when I try I have a something to look at and go off of.

Good thread to learn from, he did an excellent job

Thats what I was aiming for jay-cee! Glad to know Im helping out dude. Thanks. Btw, its a lot EASIER than I thought it would be. Just do it in the summertime when its warm!

I appreciate the compliment Denim. I put a lot of hours into those babies!

I'm Duran actually

LOL! I knew I would do it to one of you guys eventually. Your names are so similar and Im such a douche. I almost did it the other day and caught myself. I even had the thought before I opened this post again because I thought, did I do it? Yup. I did. Sorry dude.

It happens

[SQLMonte 0]

Major props to ya, I don't have the balls to even attempt to do a project like that.

[jcarter1885 995]

It feels like I just went through Fiberglassing Tutorial 1 on 1, thanks for the step by step pictures. I will have to save this and bookmark this so when I try I have a something to look at and go off of.

Good thread to learn from, he did an excellent job

Thats what I was aiming for jay-cee! Glad to know Im helping out dude. Thanks. Btw, its a lot EASIER than I thought it would be. Just do it in the summertime when its warm!

I appreciate the compliment Denim. I put a lot of hours into those babies!

Yeah so far the back doors and all pillars (A, B, C) will be glassed to fix some speaker holes and screw holes from previous installs, so glassing is my next step in this game. Good luck on the build, whats next?

[bigrank916 72]

It feels like I just went through Fiberglassing Tutorial 1 on 1, thanks for the step by step pictures. I will have to save this and bookmark this so when I try I have a something to look at and go off of.

Good thread to learn from, he did an excellent job

Thats what I was aiming for jay-cee! Glad to know Im helping out dude. Thanks. Btw, its a lot EASIER than I thought it would be. Just do it in the summertime when its warm!

I appreciate the compliment Denim. I put a lot of hours into those babies!

Yeah so far the back doors and all pillars (A, B, C) will be glassed to fix some speaker holes and screw holes from previous installs, so glassing is my next step in this game. Good luck on the build, whats next?

Sounds like a good way to dip your feet in. It wont take but a few sessions and your confidence about the whole process will begin to grow exponentially.

Whats next? Im thinking about two things right off the batt:

1) Build a new enclosure for the BTL. Toying with the idea of around 10ft3 after all displacements at about 32hz. 45 all the inside corners for air exitement and glass the inside of the box as well.

2) Build a new enclosure for the Z15. Staying with the same size or maybe a .25ft3 less and tuned around 32hz. Glass one side of the enclosure to make room for an amp rack on other side with the SAE1200D. Or glass both sides so I can custom mount the amp on the face, so when you open the hatch, its lookin right at you.

I wanted to do door pods for the geo like jblcamry has done but I need actual product for that. I havent any more speakers. Making sub enclosures are just buying supplies. A little less money. This will likely be third.

Im going to do all, just not sure which one will be first. Which one sounds better?

[jcarter1885 995]

Im really loving the sound of that BTL in that 10ft^3 after displacements to be honest with you, that is what I would do next and flex that Silverado to pieces. You have a few projects ahead of you but for the second one I would decide what speakers you want to do with the geo and do that one second.