"The Sound of Liberty"

[jfortier777]

I don't know how many of you out there put aftermarket audio equipment in your Libertys.
However; if you are at all interested...

This thread is going to be dedicated to my new project for a Jeep friendly, local competition quality, quick disconnect, subwoofer box.
Here are the photos so far.

Day 1

You must be registered for see images attach

Temp setup, amp and bass processor removed already.

You must be registered for see images attach

Wire bundle.

You must be registered for see images attach

Amp and bass processor.

You must be registered for see images attach

Project wood.

You must be registered for see images attach

Mutilated temp box

You must be registered for see images attach

First two cuts after 4 hours of design and number crunching.
Two more cuts, not yet pictured due to the sunset, which came sooner than I thought. (Mosquitoes are not friendly after dark)


Coming in day two:

-Finish cutting
-Drill
-Countersink
-Screw
-Glue
-Caulk
-Jerry rig some temporary mounting brackets
-Sand
-Possibly even mount subwoofer

Coming soon:
-Quick disconnect power cable
-Amp/Bass processor - slideout drawer
-Factory carpeting
-Ratchet mounts
-Hot-swappable enclosure vent
-Box carrying handles

Stay tuned if you care... and more so if you don't

 

[jfortier777]

Quick Disconnects are on their way.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[eddiev9]

I'll stay tuned to your work. O
By the way, what are the specs of your equipment? So far I only recognize the Kicker Solo Baric woofer...is it a 12"?

 

[jfortier777]

My humblest apologies to any of you who were/are interested in this project, I didn't even give you any specs.

1-Kicker S15L7 15" square driver
'06 model
1000 Watts RMS / 2000 Watts Peak

1- JBL BP1200.1 Mono Block Amplifier
1200-1400 Watts of pure RMS Continuous Rated power
(12 volts with battery, 14.4 volts with alternator)
Peak value not listed as it is not a "burp friendly" amp.
Although if I had to guess I would say slightly over 2KW on a burp.

1- Soundstream BX-10 Digital bass processor
Variable Amplifier input boost from 3-10 volts
Current setting 10V (Matched to amplifier input sensitivity)"Gain"

1-Pioneer DEH-P7500MP HU
23 Watts RMS x4 (factory infinitys)
Brute force Ipod harness (Used CD changer input)

2-Anderson SB175 power quick disconnects
175A rated

1-Ammeter with remote shunt
0-200A range
Blue Leds

1-Custom Subwoofer Enclosure (In progress)
6.2 cu/ft
58 sq/in vent cross section 14" length
Tuned to as close as I can get to 38.4Hz
Unconventional dual purpose box w/ bolt on vent cover for sealed box conversion.
Sealed box tuned to 42-44Hz
Will have a green 12" cathode tube mounted inside to glow out of port

I may have forgotten some stuff but Ill add if I did.
More pictures will come when I am done today.
I still have a good 3 hours of light left before the mosquitoes attack me.


Keep your eyes open for this coming weekend when I install my new underbody lights and interior lights.

 

[eddiev9]

Nice specs. Sounds like you'll be able to set off a few car alarms as you thump on by. O

I'll also look forward to your underbody lighting kit. I thought of doing that, too, but I don't think it'll look good...there's no neon color combination for a light khaki KJ.

 

[jfortier777]

Nice specs. Sounds like you'll be able to set off a few car alarms as you thump on by. O

I'll also look forward to your underbody lighting kit. I thought of doing that, too, but I don't think it'll look good...there's no neon color combination for a light khaki KJ.

I disagree, I think white would look pretty bad ass under a light khaki.

Oh and also, if you do decide to do something like that, don't get neons, get led tubes.

They are cheaper, use less power, are more offroad friendly, and still function if they get cracked.

I beat the **** out of my blue set and just decided to take them off and mount them under my bed.

You must be registered for see images attach

...and yes, I've gotten a LOT of weird looks as a result.

Oh and also, they have a wireless remote! LMAO.

Anyway, the days progress on my project will be up about 45 minutes after this post.

 

[eddiev9]

Hmm...white LED's? I've never seen them before. I'll have to think about that one. But noticing your picture (of your bed), maybe it won't be so bad with any color. It'll be dark at night, after all.

 

[jfortier777]

Day 2

It will suffice to say that there was a lot of planning and debating as to how I was actually going to pull off this weird concept I have of how this box will turn out, and I spent a good 2 hours just sitting down next to it and thinking about it.
I have a plan now, and you will see it over the next couple days.
I expect big things.

You must be registered for see images attach

Finishing up a few more panels

You must be registered for see images attach

Rabbit decides to sit in my yard....

You must be registered for see images attach

All 7 pieces cut!

You must be registered for see images attach

Sketching the driver cutout

You must be registered for see images attach

Very pleased with the excellent cutting I did here.

You must be registered for see images attach

Test fit.

You must be registered for see images attach

Mounting holes drilled.

You must be registered for see images attach

Vent cutout.

You must be registered for see images attach

Slot panel test fit. (Probably could have been a little more accurate here.)

You must be registered for see images attach

Finally the assembly begins!

You must be registered for see images attach

They aren't kidding; this glue alone will hold my entire box together. I only use the screws as reassurance, and as an easy way to hold the panels until the glue sets up.

You must be registered for see images attach

Tedious Alignment...

You must be registered for see images attach

All four sides are screwed and glued!


Well The agenda for Day3 is:

-Attach bottom panel to the 4 assembled sides.
-begin/finish fabrication of custom, inset mounting brackets for driver and vent cover.(Coutesy of my brother who has access to better tools at his shop then I do at mine)
-*maybe* wire cathode for vent lighting effect
-deffinetly Caulk everything except top panel
-drill and sink all top panel drilling locations
-mount vent panel


Of course I do have to work tomorrow so I can't expect more than 4 hours of work time will be available.

Stay tuned!

 

[jfortier777]

Well The agenda for Day3 is:

-Attach bottom panel to the 4 assembled sides.
-begin/finish fabrication of custom, inset mounting brackets for driver and vent cover.(Coutesy of my brother who has access to better tools at his shop then I do at mine)
-*maybe* wire cathode for vent lighting effect
-deffinetly Caulk everything except top panel
-drill and sink all top panel drilling locations
-mount vent panel

-Mounting brackets wont be ready until tomorrow.
-Cant wire the cathode until I spray paint the port interior
-WANTED TO CAULK, but all three fo my caulk guns seem to be missing!
-Decided not to drill the top panel until the mounts arrive.
-Cant mount vent panel until I paint the port interior


Day 3

You must be registered for see images attach

Drilled and sinked bottom panel

You must be registered for see images attach

I nice healthy bead of the strongest glue in the world around the surface.

You must be registered for see images attach

Screwed and glued

You must be registered for see images attach

Test fit of top panel, seems well within limits. AND ME!

You must be registered for see images attach

Sanded the inside edge of the vent panel to a smooth rounded edge.


Day 4 Agenda

-Glue Driver mounts to top panel
-CAULK!
-Paint Vent interior
-Drill, sink screw, glue top panel and caulk in place. Hopefully.

Ja ne!

 

[eddiev9]

Nice work, man! =D> Looks like things are coming along great. Can't wait to see the end result. This would've made a great "HOW TO".

Sure wish I could have done something like this, but no place to work, no tools, and need the cargo space... :-({|= But I have faith my chance will come some day! O

 

[sqliberty]

very nice work, I too love car audio, check out my setup on my carstereo.com link in my sig and keep up the great work.

 

[jfortier777]

very nice work, I too love car audio, check out my setup on my carstereo.com link in my sig and keep up the great work.

Oh believe me, I've seen it. LOL

 

[jfortier777]

So anyway, its a safe bet that I am losing my mind.
I was not able to complete as much as I would have liked to. But of course this is really better suited to a weekend project and not a right-after-your-8-5 project. Anyway here is the progress.

Day 4
Psychological Status: Slightly below acceptable levels

You must be registered for see images attach

Here are the driver mounts in rough fitting form. As you can see in the picture there is a number of minor, irritating problems.
-there is one stud that is 1.5" while the rest are 2"
-after being welded and cooled slowly the weld points have begun to warp slightly which makes fitting the Driver over top next to impossible and not up to par with the quick swap theme.
--------Potential fixes for this would be to either bend the studs to fit properly, or to remake the mounting plates.
-the last problem is the welds on the bottom of the mounts. Two of the mounts will be sandwiched between the top panel and the side panels, which is going to require some irrevocable clearancing. Because of all that I am not glueing the plates yet.

You must be registered for see images attach

This is the bottom of the top panel with mounting plates test fitted.

You must be registered for see images attach

To the right of the hole for the driver are the vent plug mounts. These will be used to fasten a plug securely over the vent hole in order to convert the box into a sealed enclosure.
The holes are not drilled for these yet, for the same reasons as the driver mounts.

You must be registered for see images attach

So I decided to caulk! Finally.

You must be registered for see images attach

As I am sure you can see my caulking skills are questionable; however, I can always make it airtight. I just cant make it look nice while I'm at it.

You must be registered for see images attach

Time to chizel off the glue that has setup from yesterday.
20 minutes later its ready to sand, but I'm not... Its quittin time.

Agenda for day 5

-possibly prime/seal the entire box
-come up with a soution for the mounting hardware flaws
-if a solution is reached...glue mounting brackets
-if brackets get glued...clearance the side panels for top panel fitting
-I'll be hoenst with myself and say that if I get that far it will be a miracle.

 

[grogiefrog]

Thanks for the photos. Nice work!

 

[Se7enLC]

Looking good!

A couple questions/suggestions, I don't know if they will help:

The driver mounts - are those bolts welded to metal strips? If so, why not just use bolts directly? It would save a lot of welding hassle and probably come out closer to what you want. You might be able to use carriage bolts if you don't want to deal with how to hold a nut on the other side while you close it. Or even just glue the bolts in place, since you only need to make sure they don't fall in, right?

What made you decide to sandwich two of the driver mount plates on the sides? It's going to be really tough to fit a metal plate with bolts between two pieces of wood and make it look good as well as be airtight. Maybe re-tool the box to allow that top wood panel sit between the sides?

 

[jfortier777]

The driver mounts - are those bolts welded to metal strips? If so, why not just use bolts directly? It would save a lot of welding hassle and probably come out closer to what you want.

Yes, they are welded to 1/8" metal strips, roughly 3/4" wide. My only option was to use the strips and weld the studs to it. This was necessary because I am not willing to compromise the mounting area on the top panel.
The concept of my box is for everythign to be quickly removable or reconfigurable.
Ex: My box is made with bias towards being ported, and having the driver reverse mounted. However; I want it to be easily swappable to any of the following configurations.
-Sealed, Inverted Mount
-Sealed, Standard Mount
-Ported, Inverted Mount
-Ported, Standard Mount

By using the metal plates I give myself a VERY durable, reusable mounting structure. Just glueing the bolts would put unneccesary pressure on the wood and would eventually fail. I would be left with much the same result as if I had just used screws and installed/uninstalled the driver a few times.

So to sum it up my reasoning for mounting in the way I chose, Is:
#1 - keep the bolt from spinning while tightening
#2 - evenly distribute the bolt tension over a larger surface area that would be much less likely to damage the mounting panel.

I wanted to make sure I got it done right the first time...and that it would last for a couple hundred.

What made you decide to sandwich two of the driver mount plates on the sides? It's going to be really tough to fit a metal plate with bolts between two pieces of wood and make it look good as well as be airtight. Maybe re-tool the box to allow that top wood panel sit between the sides?

I have an incredibly simple answer to that question...
I don't have enough space.
I could only manage to make the top panel 16" wide. (Back of the seat to gate) So I had to consider a way to mount a 15" speaker on a 3/4" thick box that was only 16" wide. Hence, sandwitch the mounting plate between the top panel and the side panels.

As far as sealing it and making it cosmetically acceptable and sealing it, thats simple.
I will sand down the side 1/8" where the mounting plate will sit and then gorilla glue it. (Gorilla glue expands as it dries, so it will fill in any gaps and keep things tight and about 95% airtight.) As for the other 5%, I will be caulking behind it also and the caulk will keep any air from leaking. Obviously seeing a metal plate on the side of the box will be a little gaudy, but the box will be covered in factory fabric in about two weeks. So imperfections on the outside of the box are really not to important.

I am currently at work (working very hard (whistle) ), and I just left the back of our shop with my reworked mounting plates. God bless my brother for being awesome at what he does, but he didn't have the same thing in mind as I did; so I reworked them myself to my original concept. I expect to complete more tonight than I intended, so there should be some very near complete photos for the Day 5 update.

 

[Se7enLC]

The concept of my box is for everythign to be quickly removable or reconfigurable.
Ex: My box is made with bias towards being ported, and having the driver reverse mounted. However; I want it to be easily swappable to any of the following configurations.
-Sealed, Inverted Mount
-Sealed, Standard Mount
-Ported, Inverted Mount
-Ported, Standard Mount

By using the metal plates I give myself a VERY durable, reusable mounting structure. Just glueing the bolts would put unneccesary pressure on the wood and would eventually fail. I would be left with much the same result as if I had just used screws and installed/uninstalled the driver a few times.

I would think that to get reusable durable and easily-reconfigurable, you would want to have bolts mounting through holes in the box instead of glued into the wood. I agree that screws go in and out a few times and eventually eat up the wood, but a bolt should be able to be unbolted and rebolted as many times as you want to without any damage, especially if you are able to use washers to protect the edge of the wood. Also, with bolts you can easily replace the hardware if the threads get stripped or damaged, or if you just want to do something different, wheras once you get those welded bolt brackets in there, you'd have to rip the lid off that box to get em out.

So to sum it up my reasoning for mounting in the way I chose, Is:
#1 - keep the bolt from spinning while tightening
#2 - evenly distribute the bolt tension over a larger surface area that would be much less likely to damage the mounting panel.

I'd be a little worried that instead of the bolt turning when you bolt it down now, it will instead be putting stress on the joint of the box as well as the glue right there. A carriage bolt would give you the same result as the welded bolt-bar if you were to semi-permenantly mount some metal brackets to the wood like so:

Metal bracket has square hole in it, you permenantly counter-sink, screw, glue, whatever that panel to the inside of the lid. The carriage bolts would come up from below and the square hold in the panel would prevent them from turning.

Another option would be a nut-mount into or onto the wood, so that way you can just thread the bolts in the way you would have threaded a screw directly into the wood. Except with a nut embedded in the wood, there's much less wear on the wood compared to a screw.

In either case, I would think it'd be best to use whatever means necessary to keep the speaker-mount and the box-assembly separate from eachother and not have it all coming together in the joint.

What made you decide to sandwich two of the driver mount plates on the sides? It's going to be really tough to fit a metal plate with bolts between two pieces of wood and make it look good as well as be airtight. Maybe re-tool the box to allow that top wood panel sit between the sides?

I have an incredibly simple answer to that question...
I don't have enough space.
I could only manage to make the top panel 16" wide. (Back of the seat to gate) So I had to consider a way to mount a 15" speaker on a 3/4" thick box that was only 16" wide. Hence, sandwitch the mounting plate between the top panel and the side panels.

Aha, that makes much more sense. I was thinking that it made things much more difficult to do it that way.

What about angle-mounting? You could work out the angle needed to add an extra inch or two of width for that top panel, which would give you more room for the mounting hardware. Sure the box would now be some kind of half-trapezoid thing, but it might look cool like that, having the sub coming out at an angle if it's invert-mounted.

As far as sealing it and making it cosmetically acceptable and sealing it, thats simple.
I will sand down the side 1/8" where the mounting plate will sit and then gorilla glue it. (Gorilla glue expands as it dries, so it will fill in any gaps and keep things tight and about 95% airtight.) As for the other 5%, I will be caulking behind it also and the caulk will keep any air from leaking. Obviously seeing a metal plate on the side of the box will be a little gaudy, but the box will be covered in factory fabric in about two weeks. So imperfections on the outside of the box are really not to important.

Ahh, good point, I forgot about the fabric covering. can't wait to see it done!

 

[jfortier777]

Read above ^

Bolting straight through will not work, you would not have any way to keep the bolt from spinning or biting into the wood.

Tightening the studs as they are now will not put any pressure on any joints.

I see what you mean about the welded mount not being removable, I have considered that.
If I should happen to ruin the stud thread I will probably resort to adding a baffle to the top to remount. I do not expect to damage the stud threads though.

As for the rest, the pictures tonight will make my concept much more understandable because I think we may be looking at this from two different views.

Angled mounting was my original intention but the size constraints I placed on the project did not allow for it. Angled mounting towards the back of the vehicle is always the best option if you can manage it, it gives the waves the best chance to spread out before reaching your ears.

I should also note for any prospect builders:
Do not build an enclosure or arrange one with a driver aiming directly at the main listening area. You will lose all hope of sound quality.

 

[jfortier777]

DAY 5

Success
-I painted/sealed the box
-Re-fabricated the mounting brackets to fit nicer
-Glued the brackets
-And began the clearancing for the brackets

You must be registered for see images attach

As you can see here the quality of the driver mounts is significantly higher than the last fab.

You must be registered for see images attach

What can I say, I'm good with a grinder

You must be registered for see images attach

Beginning of the glue process.

You must be registered for see images attach

Nice smooth sanded edges of the box now.

You must be registered for see images attach

Painted balck hooray!

You must be registered for see images attach

nice moon...

You must be registered for see images attach

Final clamp for the evening.

The progess today was better than expected and provided that there are no unforseen problems; I expect that friday morning will be the completion date.

Then 24 hours after completion I should be able to mount the Driver!


Agenda for day 6

-drill, sink, glue, vent plug mounts
-Clearance side panels to flush with mounts
-drill, sink, glue, screw vent panel and then finally
-drill, sink, glue, screw TOP PANEL!!!!!!

If through some supsicious means I make it past all of that I will be able to caulk it the following morning.
So on Saturday morning I should be opperational.
I will be test fitting the box inside the liberty tomorrow, and I will photograph it but I will not be posting those until saturday or whenever its in there for good.

peace, love and SPL

 

[sqliberty]

man, you have a lot of time tied up in this one. But planning it out and doing it right the first time is the best way to go. I will check back on your progress later. awsome work.