my boots been a mess for months, so i thought id pull my finger out and start from scratch this afternoon and complete it to how i had originally thought it out...
the plan was: use the alpine amp and sub i picked up off winston, the boot carpet i got off maz and the MDF i had lying round in my garage. I wanted it out of the way so i still had a fully usable boot as an end result.
started off by stripping the boot out
i left the green foam in the that is usually under the spare wheel, to stop any rattling on the base of the wheel well...
also, the well isnt flat, the bottom left corner is raised compared to the other 3 corners... i cut a couple of pieces of mdf so everything will sit level...
next, i got a piece of paper and cut it to the size of the well, then i put this onto the mdf and made a suitable shape for the base of the box that will sit in there. it had to have straight edges and 45 degree angles as this is all my jigsaw could cut (to do the corner joints).
i then came up with the shape, made the sides and used 'no-nails' to initially set it together, then used screws to pull it all square. after it set, i sealed all the inside joints with no nails.
after this had set, i attached blocks of wood to each side, using no-nails and screws again, then drilled down through them and put some nuts into the wood, so i could bolt down the first level of the false floor when it was ready to go on.
last thing was to cut out a hole in the side and glue in a speaker terminal, so the sub could be connected up.
once everything had completely set, i went about measuring where the bolt was (that the spare wheel used to attach to). once i was certain of the location, i drilled through the bottom of the box.
i firstly got a large washer, then a smaller one to go over the top of it, then a nut with the correct thread. I tightened everything down and it was solid as a rock.
so the box was complete, but i realised the mdf was pretty close to the ouside of the wheel well, and might start vibrating it once the sub went in, so i decided some DIY sound proofing was in order. I found some old carpet underlay in the garage, its pretty think and i managed to cram loads in round the box, and also put a layer over all the bare bits of the boot floor.
the next thing to do was to create the bottom level of the false floor that would bolt down to the box, with a hole for the sub to sit in.
i got the original renault boot carpet, put it on top of the mdf and drew around it... i then cut it out with a jigsaw and put it in the boot to test the fit. it was a good fit so i measured the location of the box in relation to the boot, so i could calculate where the holes where for the bolts were going to go down into the box.
after i had calculated where the bolt holes were, i drilled the holes in the mdf.
then i put it into the boot and tightened all the bolts down to test its strength.
i tightened down the bolts as tight as i could do them, and it was completely solid, no movement whatsoever.
i then took it out for a drive... there was rattling, so i got back and realised the mdf was directly resting on the two black metal rings at the back of the boot, so i wrapped some of the underlay round these and put the bottom of the floor back on, and bolted it down again.
went round the block a few times and there was no rattling at all, problem solved :approve:
lengths of wood needed to go down next, as these would support the top level of the false floor, to create the cavity imbetween for the amp.
i decided to arrange the lengths in a certain way so i had two sections to put things... as i needed somewhere to store my legal plates (i have german ones on at the moment using velcro, so i can easily swap) and somewhere to store a can of tyre foam as i no longer have a spare wheel (obviously lol).
i couldnt just put the plates and can onto the mdf as they would rattle all over the place when driving, so i cut the foam insulation off the back of the boot carpet that i got from maz, and used it round the wood so there would be no vibration.
next, the amp needed to go in (the power, phono and remote cables where already installed from a previous setup i had). ive had this running with a bit of a ghetto setup for a few months and its been great with the sub, cheers for them both winston :approve:.
secured the amp down with 4 screws...
put a bit of door seal/rubber strip round the rim of the sub to seal it, and screwed it down...
then put the top level of the false floor down, cut the carpet to the right size and the end result:
the top level isnt secured down yet, im hoping to get some quick release clips from somewhere so it can just be snapped down into placed, and released when i need access to the amp, sub, tyre foam or plates.
comments please :approve:
edit: forgot to say i was suprised with the performance with the sub in such a small box, very punchy and a great sound...
the plan was: use the alpine amp and sub i picked up off winston, the boot carpet i got off maz and the MDF i had lying round in my garage. I wanted it out of the way so i still had a fully usable boot as an end result.
started off by stripping the boot out
i left the green foam in the that is usually under the spare wheel, to stop any rattling on the base of the wheel well...
also, the well isnt flat, the bottom left corner is raised compared to the other 3 corners... i cut a couple of pieces of mdf so everything will sit level...
next, i got a piece of paper and cut it to the size of the well, then i put this onto the mdf and made a suitable shape for the base of the box that will sit in there. it had to have straight edges and 45 degree angles as this is all my jigsaw could cut (to do the corner joints).
i then came up with the shape, made the sides and used 'no-nails' to initially set it together, then used screws to pull it all square. after it set, i sealed all the inside joints with no nails.
after this had set, i attached blocks of wood to each side, using no-nails and screws again, then drilled down through them and put some nuts into the wood, so i could bolt down the first level of the false floor when it was ready to go on.
last thing was to cut out a hole in the side and glue in a speaker terminal, so the sub could be connected up.
once everything had completely set, i went about measuring where the bolt was (that the spare wheel used to attach to). once i was certain of the location, i drilled through the bottom of the box.
i firstly got a large washer, then a smaller one to go over the top of it, then a nut with the correct thread. I tightened everything down and it was solid as a rock.
so the box was complete, but i realised the mdf was pretty close to the ouside of the wheel well, and might start vibrating it once the sub went in, so i decided some DIY sound proofing was in order. I found some old carpet underlay in the garage, its pretty think and i managed to cram loads in round the box, and also put a layer over all the bare bits of the boot floor.
the next thing to do was to create the bottom level of the false floor that would bolt down to the box, with a hole for the sub to sit in.
i got the original renault boot carpet, put it on top of the mdf and drew around it... i then cut it out with a jigsaw and put it in the boot to test the fit. it was a good fit so i measured the location of the box in relation to the boot, so i could calculate where the holes where for the bolts were going to go down into the box.
after i had calculated where the bolt holes were, i drilled the holes in the mdf.
then i put it into the boot and tightened all the bolts down to test its strength.
i tightened down the bolts as tight as i could do them, and it was completely solid, no movement whatsoever.
i then took it out for a drive... there was rattling, so i got back and realised the mdf was directly resting on the two black metal rings at the back of the boot, so i wrapped some of the underlay round these and put the bottom of the floor back on, and bolted it down again.
went round the block a few times and there was no rattling at all, problem solved :approve:
lengths of wood needed to go down next, as these would support the top level of the false floor, to create the cavity imbetween for the amp.
i decided to arrange the lengths in a certain way so i had two sections to put things... as i needed somewhere to store my legal plates (i have german ones on at the moment using velcro, so i can easily swap) and somewhere to store a can of tyre foam as i no longer have a spare wheel (obviously lol).
i couldnt just put the plates and can onto the mdf as they would rattle all over the place when driving, so i cut the foam insulation off the back of the boot carpet that i got from maz, and used it round the wood so there would be no vibration.
next, the amp needed to go in (the power, phono and remote cables where already installed from a previous setup i had). ive had this running with a bit of a ghetto setup for a few months and its been great with the sub, cheers for them both winston :approve:.
secured the amp down with 4 screws...
put a bit of door seal/rubber strip round the rim of the sub to seal it, and screwed it down...
then put the top level of the false floor down, cut the carpet to the right size and the end result:
the top level isnt secured down yet, im hoping to get some quick release clips from somewhere so it can just be snapped down into placed, and released when i need access to the amp, sub, tyre foam or plates.
comments please :approve:
edit: forgot to say i was suprised with the performance with the sub in such a small box, very punchy and a great sound...
