the start of my new amp rack.

I decided to start on my new amp rack for my civic.

right now its just a frame for the fiberglass.
Ill post more pics as i get it done.

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/amps.jpg

I plan on puting six 3" fans on the top (all fiberglassed in) to cool it. and then build it out so it the glass fills all the sides.

BTW thats a Fosgate punch 250x2 and a punch 800x2 with the link.

Ok got more done on this and though i would post the pics.

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/flece.jpg
Here is the flece i used to stretch over the amp rack i made out of MDF.

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/resincan.jpg
Here is the can of resin.

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/pre-resin.jpg
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/pre-resin-back.jpg
Here is the flece stretched over MDF and all ready for the coating of resin. Those are high strengh magnets holding it in place.


http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/resin1.jpg
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/resinback.jpg
And here is the first coat of resin aplyed and drying.

More pics to come as i get the second layer of flece coated and layed.
and as i add some fiberglass on top to strengthen it.

I would try to figure out a way to put the fans at the bottom. It probably would be a more effective cooling system. The fans would suck the cooler air from the bottom and force the already rising heat up ,and away from the amplifiers. It probably wouldnt make much of a difference, but it sounds logical doesn't it?

Ok finihed with resining the flece, now you can tell where the amps are going to go.

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/resin2.jpg

now i have a ton of sanding and painting to do.

Originally posted by colechaney
I would try to figure out a way to put the fans at the bottom. It probably would be a more effective cooling system. The fans would suck the cooler air from the bottom and force the already rising heat up ,and away from the amplifiers. It probably wouldnt make much of a difference, but it sounds logical doesn't it?

Yeah that totaly makes sence, problem is that I have a great lip to mount them on the top, but nowhere to put them on the bottom.
Hrm i may look further into that. just have to figure out how.

Done. here it is pulled out, still needs some drying time.
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/pulledout1.jpg

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/pulledout2.jpg

What kind of fleece did u use (sweatshirt or blanket)?

I'm gonna make a custom speaker box & amp rack & i've seen a lot of people use fleece 4 the outer area cause it's strong & smooth, but they never say what type of fleece.

Did u attach both layers first & then resin each separate?

Originally posted by dfarres
What kind of fleece did u use (sweatshirt or blanket)?

I'm gonna make a custom speaker box & amp rack & i've seen a lot of people use fleece 4 the outer area cause it's strong & smooth, but they never say what type of fleece.

Did u attach both layers first & then resin each separate?

I used sweatshirt flece that i got at joannes. it was 7.99 a yard.

What i did is resin one layer and let it dry then reresin it again and do both sides of the second layer. this way it has pleanty of resin to strenghen it.

Good luck and post pics.

don't worry about fans on the top, just install them so that they pull air out of the box ........ you will get the same effect as putting them on the bottom and having them blow up.

could you use sweatshirt fleece for the bottom of a box in you spare tire well also?

Originally posted by OisinT
could you use sweatshirt fleece for the bottom of a box in you spare tire well also? Why yes... yes you sure can. Be sure to tape off the area though so you dont just resin the fleece to the bottom of the car :bloated:

so... I go out to my car... duct tape off the area I'll be puring resin over... put up wooden walls on the side put down the fleece.. pour on resin... wait till it dries.. put out box... then do more coats of resin...
put back in... put in subs... done?
all for like $150 max?

Ok got it cut to sise and started on the bondo.
the bondo is sandable so i can make it smooth and get it ready to paint.

I plan on geting this thing as smoooth as posible and then painting with 3 or 4 coats of black with a couple of clear coats. should look prity cool when i finish.





http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/amprack/cutalone.jpg

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/amprack/cutoutwithamp.jpg

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/amprack/cutwithamps.jpg

Originally posted by sparq
Why yes... yes you sure can. Be sure to tape off the area though so you dont just resin the fleece to the bottom of the car :bloated:

Actually you probably don’t even need to mask off.
Resin doesn’t stick to metal. All you have to do to get it off it wait for it to dry and hit it with a dead blow hammer. The resin/box will pop right out.


Originally posted by PaulD don't worry about fans on the top, just install them so that they pull air out of the box ........ You will get the same effect as putting them on the bottom and having them blow up.

Yea except that its not a closed box unless the seat is laid back.
I want to have airflow over the fins all the time. So I think I will put them above and just have them blow down on it. Should be fine.

Originally posted by OisinT
so... I go out to my car... duct tape off the area I'll be puring resin over... put up wooden walls on the side put down the fleece.. pour on resin... wait till it dries.. put out box... then do more coats of resin...
put back in... put in subs... done?
all for like $150 max?

Actualy ive spent about 30$ on fabric and about 20$ on resin.

had to buy some other tools but i dont count them cause i get to keep them forever but yeah cheeper then $150 i would think.

you made your custom box the same way?

I Havent made the custom box for this car yet but yes I will make it the same way. though when building a box you want it to be more rigid then just with the fleece, after you get your basic mold made then you use fiberglass to strenghen the inside of the box.
I looked for some links that show others making boxes but couldnt find them on this computer.

Today was spent mostly in adding on Bondo and sanding it back off till most of the surfaces are flat and smooth, and thus ready for a primer/paint. This is the part that allot of people don’t like to spend much time, but this is also the part that will make the biggest difference in if it looks professional or rushed.


http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/amprack/bondofull.jpg
This is the whole thing and its first Bondo layer.

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/amprack/bondoside.jpg
This is a close up before I sand it down flat.

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/amprack/bondosand1.jpg
This is a close up after the sanding and before the second layer of Bondo. You can see the divots that still need to be filled, but its mostly flat.

Are you sanding that by hand, or using some kind of electric sander?

so... I go out to my car... duct tape off the area I'll be puring resin over...

Actually, I heard a really good idea recently, supposedly works really well for making molds like that. What you do is coat the surface you are molding with Vaseline. Then, you lay plastic-wrap on top of the vaseline so that it kindof sticks to the surface. Then, just fiberglass over it, and you don't even need to use fleece. The only drawback I can forsee is that cleaning up all that vaseling might be a little frustrating.

I was going to have someone build me a totally custom setup for my hatch area, and they wanted 2 grand to do it. So I decided that for less than $500, I can buy all the tools and materials and do it myself. I've just been experimenting with different ideas for making molds, but I plan to build my box soon...

One method I tried was using hardening expanding foam insulation to make molds of some of my interior panels. Spray the foam on the mold area, let it harden, pop it out and fiberglass the other side of it, then dissolve the foam with acetone. Good idea, but doesn't work. When the foam is popped out of the mold area, it doesn't hold its shape too well.

Originally posted by ci5ic
Are you sanding that by hand, or using some kind of electric sander?

By hand and its killing me.
well i do have a scotch pad that conects to a drill for mass removal but after that its all hand work.

Hey man, what happened? I was looking forward to some more pics? hehehe :)

last few days are all adding bondo and sanding off, ill take a pic soon but at this point it still looks alot the same.
till i finaly get exatly the shape i want and get it nice and smooth its kinda boring stuff.

Originally posted by -=BOOMER=-
kinda boring stuff.

I suppose it beats going out and getting into trouble ..... and you will have something to show for it, an accomplishment to be proud of

Originally posted by ci5ic
Actually, I heard a really good idea recently, supposedly works really well for making molds like that. What you do is coat the surface you are molding with Vaseline. Then, you lay plastic-wrap on top of the vaseline so that it kindof sticks to the surface. Then, just fiberglass over it, and you don't even need to use fleece. The only drawback I can forsee is that cleaning up all that vaseling might be a little frustrating.Uhhhh, have fun cleaning all that crap up. Why dont you just do what any NORMAL person would do and tape up the area you are working in to make sure nothing gets where it shouldnt be? :bloated:

Just an idea man... don't take everything so seriously...

P.S. That's why I said:
"The only drawback I can forsee is that cleaning up all that vaseling might be a little frustrating."

don't use vaseline, go buy a can of bees wax, rub 3 layers on the area you want to fibreglass (spare tire area), once the wax dries, fibre glass the first few layers, let it dry, when it's done dryin, tap it with a rubber mallet, the wax will spereate from the metal and you'll be able to pull the box out. That's what i did for mine, worked amazingly

Ok well after 2 weeks of bondoing and sanding i think i finaly got it to the shape i want it to be.
I have painted it with one coat of sandable primer and sanded it down to smothness. Now i will be doing 2 coats of real primer and then on to the real paint.

Here are some pics at this stage.
the brown is the sandable primer.

When im done it will be panted black with a clearcoat.
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/sanded-preped.jpg
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/sanded-preped2.jpg
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/sanded-preped3.jpg

Oh and here are some of it in the car.
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/incarprepaint1.jpg
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/incarprepaint2jpg.jpg

Ok I just got done with the prepaint fitment. I had to trim a few factory parts to make it fit good and look good too.
I do this before paint so that i dont scratch the paint after its done.
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/prepaintfit1.jpg
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/prepaintfit2.jpg

r u leavin your back seat in?

Im still trying to decide, thats alot of weight to be rid of.
I took this pic with the seat in.
http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/prepaintwithseat.jpg

I may build something that covers the amps but then folds down and holds my pair of Audiocontrol EQTs along with my epicenter and crossover. Still up in the air at this time.
But for now yes the seat will go in, to t least cover the amps so they dont get stolen.

u should sell those over ebay....you could probably make some decent money...but i imagine they are a pain in the ass to make though...

Damn, that's looking really really tight!

Gets me all excited about my project. I started working on my fiberglass sub pod this weekend, just cutting all the wood frame pieces... I'll definitely be posting some pics when I get 'em.

My back seat is gone. That's where my subs are going. Sucks though, cuz all this MDF weighs so much! :mad:

Ahh well its about done, While installing it I scratched the paint in a couple of places and it needs to be repainted. But I was sick of not having a sound in my car so i went ahead and just got it all installed. I will pull it out later and finish with the paint and clear coating. Next comes the sub boxes for 2 10" Rockford XLCs and a 12"DVC HX2. I got it all wired in series/paralel so the amp sees 2ohms so it sounds pleanty loud.
anyway heres the pic.

http://www.defaultcrush.com/tcpics/amprack/mostlyfinished.jpg

damn thats awesome man

Word. You did a killer job on that. Hope my project turns out as nice as that.

Tight.