Leroy's 2004 Tacoma stereo build log

Test fit of subwoofer. Will be mounted on bottom of baffle.


I looked at time and money to learn how to fiberglass. I've seen some of the amazing things people are doing with CNC machines and stacked boxes, along with my new contour tool, made me decide to just do a stepped hump over the transmission housing.

 

Using T-nuts for mounting. Will do loctite when permanently putting them in.

 

Passthrough for seatbelt clips. These will be under a removable access bit that is closed off from the box. It will be foam lined and under the foam will be the rear mounting bolt.


Terminal cup


The baffle, back and sides assembly. No screws, just glue and Brad nails.

The pic above shows the bottom and really details how contoured all the cuts are. To get them all correct and have the top come out level and good was some interesting stuff. I feel like I've done some of my best work here.


Test fit install is just about perfect

 

Now I have to do the top, front, and a front removable panel.

Top - it will match the contour of the sides and go past the edge of the box. I made the sides 1/8" higher and will do dados in the top for added strength. I'm also going to do a brace down the middle.

I want a durable non-slick top that I dont have to worry about. It's still up in the air, but I found a rubberized rear floor cover from an old jeep at the junk yard that might just work.

 

Front - I'm not doing a window. Too showy and too much time and $ for no real benefit.

Front panel - im going to do a 1/4" panel that is in the same vinyl as the amp rack cover or carpet. It will be held in by neodymium magnets and also matches contour of side panels in truck. It will have some metal mesh on the bottom to keep detritus away from the subs.

I actually end up having sneaky storage on the driver side and under the box on the driver side, accessed by just pulling away the front panel.

LEDs - I'm doing LEDs under the box that the light will come out through the mesh. Also going to do behind the fans in the amprack.


After all that, then it's just a matter of finalizing and redoing the entire DSP and sound analysis.

 

Oh yeah, one other thing that came out in the design process.

I really wanted to keep the seatbelts and ability for people to ride back there. That hardly ever happens though so it is not primary but nice to have.

The sub box depth is much deeper, but, as my wife pointed out, is MUCH better! Before, you couldn't put something like a cooler back there cuz it would fall off cuz the depth was too shallow. So now its gonna be great for camping, throwing tools back there, etc etc.

 

I'm wondering... would it be bad to go a little larger than .88? Would the driver perform poorly? I mean, I know that eventually, itd be like free air if you went way too big, but if it was .88 recommended and you did .97 per woofer... its above the manufacturer recommended air space.. so probs not a great idea.

 

Again, manufacturers generally make recommendations to the small side so I wouldn't sweat it. Or - use that extra space to add vent area and lower the tuning frequency a bit. You're around 10% though so I would not be concerned either way. You may compromise a pinch of cone control but gain a pinch in F3.

 

Dannnnnnnnnnnnnnnga!!! Looks awesome!! Keep it up.

What tool did you use to trade the profile with,the tile tool ?

 

2 Pieces Metal Contour Gauge with Angle Connector, Profile Gauge, Shape Duplicator, Precisely Fast Copy Irregular Shapes For Perfect Fit and Easy Cutting (7.9 inch)

Junsh 2 Pieces Metal Contour Gauge with Angle Connector, Profile Gauge, Shape Duplicator, Precisely Fast Copy Irregular Shapes For Perfect Fit and Easy Cutting (7.9")

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QVBMNFH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've gotten really lucky at a few points here, but we make our own luck. My motto has always been measure thrice, cut twice, but this build has been measure 50 times, go to cut, measure again a couple times to make sure, think about it, drink a beer, oh yeah... go back and design, measure some, then cut.

Also, I figured out what I'm going to do for bracing.
The baffle where the speakers are mounted doesn't have a lot of wood left in that little bit. I'm going to do one brace in the middle from front to back. Then I'll have two braces going at 45 degrees. The one over the speakers should really help to solidify the baffle. I may even do some more on the bottom but we'll see. The braces will have appropriate circular shaped holes with roundovers.

 

Small update.

 

Getting closer. I still have to do some bracing, but the general stuff is there.

 

Bracing done. Accidentally rounded over one side that I didnt mean to. Not a problem though.

 

Decided to make it angled like the other one and rounded off both edges. Should be better this way as it's only 6" deep and shouldn't have any flex in the sides.

 

Top is good for beauty panel later.


Flush trim bits are the bomb.



I picked up a grill from home depot. It's a gutter cover. $3.45

 

Man that box is awesome.

So please excuse my ignorance...
How come you have both speakers on one side? Wont the waves interfere with each other? Dose your bracing attach to 4 sides? How much do you think it weighs?
Keep up the good work. Not enough first gen stereo builds

 

They are both on one side cuz that is literally the only way to get them both to fit whole keeping the size and shape of the box manageable.

The bracing only ties in the top and bottom. The sides are only 6" high so I think it will be fine.

No idea on how much it weighs. Not too much but dont have it all together and no drivers yet.

Just ordered the LEDs finally. Got the OPT7 stuff which will not be attached to box at all.