Posted July 13, 200718 yr I'm almost ashamed to post the "before" pic, but I'm more into function than form and the sweet sounds of the poly mids/Vifa tweeter combo made up for it. Aluminum panel is to plug the hole left by my old JBL comps. Not the worst I've ever seen, but pretty unsightly. There's another mid behind the stock grill. I had planned on doing some fiberglass pods, but don't really care for the look of them. Too custom or whatever, just wasn't my thing. Here's what I started with:
July 13, 200718 yr Author I then went to this set up, which lasted all of 2 days. It was better than before, but not unique and didn't do the mids justice.
July 13, 200718 yr Author My car has the simulated wood grain around the stereo/AC controls, etc.. and I actually don't mind it, so that was my inspiration. Baffle is 3/4" baltic birch with Dark Mahagony stain and 2 coats of poly. Has a nice shine and is good enough for a daily driver car as this is NOT a show piece by any means. I'm still in the process of making better angle mounts to get the XT's on-axis, but threw this PVC/carpet one on there for temporary.
July 13, 200718 yr Author I'm really diggin the grain of the wood and color of the stain. Took some serious thinking/fabricating to get the panel to sit flush against the contours of the stock panel. It's screwed on from the back side in about 12 places and solid as a rock.
July 13, 200718 yr Author I this pic it almost looks like a seamless install along the top where the different contours were. I'm pretty happy with how it came out so far. Will be even better when the new angle mounts are done. I HATE waiting for poly to dry
July 13, 200718 yr Author Simple logo made out of 1/4" MDF using a coping saw. Painted Hammertone Gray and siliconed in place.
July 13, 200718 yr Author One more shot of that awesome grain in the BB. Of course I'd have preferred some knots, but being a man made laminate there's usually none to be found.
July 13, 200718 yr Looks awesome. I would love to do this, but I am to afraid of cutting my doors. I like the wood to.
July 14, 200718 yr Man that looks good, very nice work mlstrass that door panel looks sutle enough to be stock, but def with a flair to be custom. I am seriously impressed great work as always!!! B)
July 14, 200718 yr Admin I luv woodgrain, hehedisclaimer: that was a non-sexual remark, stop being sick
July 14, 200718 yr Author Nice work. Where are you located?Near Gurnee, IL, about 45 minutes north of chicago. I pick up all my AA stuff in person and Chad and I shoot the breeze for hours. He demoed a VERY impressive 18" HT sub for me last time I was there. I plan on doing a little tour once they have products ready for sale, take some pics, etc... to help get the word out.
July 14, 200718 yr Author I'm really happy with how it came out considering I had NO real idea on what I was doing, trying to accomplish. Just used some stuff I had in the garage. Total build time for both sides was about 20 hours. Wooden baffle really makes the poly mids stand out in person, better than the pics for sure.
July 18, 200718 yr Author It's a 2000 that I'm "stuck" with for a few more years after all the work I've done to it. LOL