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#1447870 - 07/26/08 07:17 PM Stealthbox for a Lancer?
IamMurph Moderator
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JL audio makes some of the best vehicle specific sub woofer enclosures on the planet. Their boxes are not mass produced. Each box is a one off made by hand from custom molds.

I found a box made for the VW Golf that would be perfect in my car.


This box is a perfect fit for the VW. Too bad it won't fit my Lancer. So what can I do? I can make my own box.

I have a little bit of experience with fiberglass. I have made several boxes, amp racks and kick panels. I decided to put this build here on Sound Domain so other can learn with me.

I started off with a gallon of Polyester resin and three packages of fiberglass cloth. The cloth I bought at Wal Mart and the resin came from US composites and West Marine.

Supplies needed:
Latex Gloves
Brushes
Mixing bowls
Acetone for cleaning
MEK
Cooking Oil (Pam)
Painters tape
Aluminum foil

I started off with a nice clean spare tire. This tire has never seen the ground.


Then I started to tape off the tire to create a barrier between the tire and mold area.



After the tape was applies I used spray glue and foil to make another layer of protection for the tire.
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#1447874 - 07/26/08 07:28 PM Re: Stealthbox for a Lancer? [Re: IamMurph]
IamMurph Moderator
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Once the tire was foiled I added more tape to protect the sides of the tire. The last thing you want is resin on any surface other than the mold area.


A table would be the best choice for a work area. I used an old Best Buy sign I had in my garage. If you use a table cover it in wax paper. This will protect the table because the resin will not soak through the wax paper.


Add in the MEK per the instructions. Too little MEK will cause a slow curing time. Too much MEK will cause the resin to heat up and dry too fast. The mold can crack and warp.

Mix the resin throughly. It will change color when it's properly mixed.

Spray the surface with the cooking spray. A mold release will work as well. If a release is not used it will be impossible to remove the mold from the tire.


Paint the resin on the mold area and then lay the fiberglass cloth.
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#1447881 - 07/26/08 07:38 PM Re: Stealthbox for a Lancer? [Re: IamMurph]
IamMurph Moderator
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48oz of resin was used with two packages of mat.


I then cut a piece of 3/4 mdf the size of the inner tire. This will be where the mounting bolt is added to hold the tire down.



The disc and mold had resin applied to glue the two together.

Then mat was applied over the mdf ring. When the resin dries it will make the MDF and fiberglass
mat into one very solid surface.
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#1447885 - 07/26/08 07:52 PM Re: Stealthbox for a Lancer? [Re: IamMurph]
IamMurph Moderator
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The mold needs to dry for 24 hours to set 100%. If you remove it too soon the mold may warp.


If you use more cooking spray then I did you won't have as much foil left in the mold.

The next step in the box building process is the wood frame.

I used a cardboard box to made a template. It's easier to use cardboard then wood. If you cut too much you can alway tape some back on. try doing that with wood.


From there I cut a piece of 5/8 MDF for the bottom of the box.


I did the same process for the top of the box.


The 5/8 MDF was again used for the top.


I used two 1/4 x 3" wood to raise the top and bottom pieces of wood.
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#1447893 - 07/26/08 08:02 PM Re: Stealthbox for a Lancer? [Re: IamMurph]
IamMurph Moderator
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I placed the mold on top of the wood box for test fitting.

The tire was laid in place for fitting.

The mold needed to be trimmed to lower the height of the tire.

I used a jigsaw to trim down the edges. Be careful cutting fiberglass. It's sharp and the dust can get glass fibers in your skin. If you get it in your skin take a cold shower to close your pores. Hot water will open the pores and cause the glass fibers to go deeper in your skin.

The next step is to cut the frame down to make room for woofer and rasie it away from the floor.

Bottom

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I trimmed the mold down and it's ready to be attached to the wood frame.
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#1447997 - 07/26/08 10:21 PM Re: Stealthbox for a Lancer? [Re: IamMurph]
erbgottie
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WoW, that's pretty amazing and the unique-ness(<--if a word) is crazy!! Can't wait to see more pics!!
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#1448180 - 07/27/08 03:32 PM Re: Stealthbox for a Lancer? [Re: erbgottie]
IamMurph Moderator
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Small update today. It's 100 degrees outside today my working time is very short.

The first thing to do is join the fiberglass mold to the wood. People will argue all day on the best way to do this. More resin, bondo, liquid nail or some other glue. I chose an adhesive that bonds to plastic, wood, ceramic and general construction materials.




I first applied a generous layer of adhesive around the opening of the wood frame.


The inside lip of the mold was filled with more adhesive.

A heavy container was placed on top of the mold to press it in place as the adhesive dried.

The inside panel that was removed earlier was cut for the 10 inch sub woofer. A 3/4 MDF ring was also cut and glues to the back side of the 5/8 MDF. This will make the speaker mounting surface stronger. Two pieces of 3/4 wood were used as mounting brackets to reattach the panel to the wood frame.
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#1448190 - 07/27/08 03:46 PM Re: Stealthbox for a Lancer? [Re: IamMurph]
Thumper26
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looking good man. are you going to add some more fiberglass to help bond the tub to the mdf better?
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#1448197 - 07/27/08 03:59 PM Re: Stealthbox for a Lancer? [Re: Thumper26]
IamMurph Moderator
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Yes I will add more fiberglass to not only the mold but the sides will be glasses as well.
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#1448224 - 07/27/08 05:46 PM Re: Stealthbox for a Lancer? [Re: IamMurph]
keep_hope_alive Moderator
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how much trunk depth will you lose due to this setup?
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