RAE0694

So I’ve had a 12” sub, 700watt amp, and a monster wiring kit sitting in the corner of my room for almost a year now and last week I finally decided to do something with it. After seeing a really clean install of a custom integrated subwoofer box in a picture of a Supra I figured the time was now.

I’ve installed 6 or 7 subs in my time but always with a clunky box in the back that I would always regret seeing. With my 2006 tC I figured there was no way I was going to sacrifice the rear folding seats or the massive amount of trunk space. Most tC owners haven’t had the trunk interior panels off (usually because they are an absolute pain to get off for the first time) but if they did they would notice that there is a LOT of room hiding behind there.

For anyone who’s interested, I took pictures of the entire process and will explain how I did it for each step. Most of what I did here is the same as you would do for any custom fiberglass box in any car but hopefully seeing it done on your car will build your confidence to take this on.

Difficulty out of 10:
****** 6

Materials (FOR BOX ONLY):
½” 2’ x 4’ MDF - $13.00 (USD)
4^2 yds of Fiberglass Matt - $8.00
2 qts of Fiberglass Resin + Hardener – $38.00
2^2 yds of Stretchable Fleece - $10.00
Masking Tape - $3.00
Spray Glue - $7.00
Misc Nails and Screws – Free

My total cost was around $70.00 which is great considering a decent one of these for only a 10” will run you around $250

Tools:
Drill
Various Size Drill Bits
Jig Saw
Router with Round Over Bit
Orbital Sander (Optional)
Miter Saw (Optional)
Hammer

Lets Get Started

First you’ll want to decide what side you’ll want to put the box on (Both?), I’d recommend the right side only because the left side has a small light that I would prefer no to have to loose.
Removing the side panels can be a pain the first time do to the well known GROCREY HOOKS!! DUN DUN DUUUN!! Ok, so maybe it’s not that bad but it’s still no fun. After you remove the metal tie down (10mm socket) and the philips screw on the top plastic trim the grocery hook will be all that remains. Apparently you are suppose to be able to push a small flat head down the hole in the front to push down the clip to remove the thing but I found that impossible so I ended up putting a small screw driver behind the top of the panel and pushing it down that way. With that done the piece should be free!



I wanted to remove the piece completely but it seemed I would have to remove the backrest completely to do so, so I just folded it back and began the process of masking off the area.



Here’s where you can start to get creative. Basically you’re going to be creating a mold to cover with fiberglass. The tape is there to cover all gaps, make it possible to get out, and keep you from getting sticky crap everywhere that you will NEVER be able to get out so go crazy with it and be sure to leave a couple inches over where you think the piece will end because later you will need to cut off the edges because they can be quite week. Try to make sure that all areas are covered and that no surfaces will be going behind any pieces or you wont be able to pull the box out later.



Also be sure to make room on the sides and back for excess fleece and added sound deadening especially around the wheel well and tail light.

Next we get to the fiberglass. Before we start you NEED to make sure you mask off as much of the car as possible including the outside! This stuff gets EVERYWHERE!!

Be sure to use all proper safety gear when working with fiberglass resin!
- Gloves
- Mask
- Work in a Well Ventilated Area

This stuff is super hard to get off you hands and the fumes are highly toxic and crazy flammable, imagine spray paint but about 1000x worse. Please be safe!!



Start by cutting some pieces of fiberglass matt into some general shapes that will fit nicely into some spots around mold. Place the pieces into the mold so that you can be ready for when you mix the resin. Remember that the bigger the pieces you use the more ridged the final product will be.



To cover the entire mold you’ll need to mix about ¾ of a quart, follow the directions with your resin product to see proportions, just make sure to mix it very thoroughly. I suggest using a scale to be perfectly accurate.



Try to make sure you have at least 2 layers of matt on the flatter areas and at least 3 on the corners or rounded areas to add structural support.

Be sure to make sure that you can’t see anymore white fibers and that all areas have been covered with glass and resin.



The drying time of the piece depends greatly on the brand and the amount of hardener used in the process. If you can touch the surface without it being tacky you should be able to remove the piece.



Once you’ve confirmed its hard enough try to start pulling it up at the sides and see if you can get your hand behind it to push it out. It should free itself pretty easily but be sure not to force anything.



Once you get the piece out you probably took a lot of the tape out with it so remove all of that and then use the last ¼ of your first quart of resin to fill any small pinholes and reinforce any thin areas with more glass.

FYI On my box I had to build the vertical side towards the front of the car out further to bring it to the level of the interior panel.

Once the back of the box is the shape you want AND TEST FITTED, trim the front of the piece so that it will line up with the level of the interior trim panel.



The next step is to create the ring that will hold the sub and then support it in the box.

At this point we will begin to use power tools so please exercise all safety practices and don’t be an idiot.

Mark out on your piece of MDF two rings, one that the sub will rest on and a thinner one to set the sub down onto the piece. Use your subwoofer as a guide to make these rings and remember to account for the thickness of the carpet that will go down into it.

Once the rings are the right size and shaped correctly use your router and round over bit (could be done by hand but it would suck) to round over the top of the inner and outer part of the thinner ring and the outside of the bottom of the fatter ring.



Glue the pieces together making sure it will still fit around your sub. Clamp them for about an hour and then go back in with some small brads to make sure. Then using hand sanding or an orbital sander make the seam in between the rings non existent. Next route the inner and outer sides of the top ring and the outer side of the bottom piece. Finish it off with some sanding and the rings complete.

FYI This is the point where I realized why you never really see 12” integrated sub boxed in the back of tC’s. The ring has around a diameter of 13-14” and the trunk will interfere unless you set the ring far enough outward. It doesn’t make it any harder but is something you should be aware of.



Next your going to want to cut out some more pieces of MDF that you’ll use to support the ring outside of the box. I personally used a miter saw but a hand saw would work just fine.



REMEMBER!! You need to make sure that the box will not interfere with shutting the hatch!



Make sure the ring is positioned perfectly, after the next step you wont be able to change it.



Once you are 100% sure you have every thing exactly where it needs to be we can move on.

Now its time to shape the front of our box. You’ll need to get out you’re piece of fleece and cut it to size so that you have 4-5 inches wrapping around the back of the box.
Start with taking some spray glue and spray it onto your speaker ring to act as a base for rapping the box. Stretch the fleece over the piece tightly so that there are no wrinkles and then glue it down to the back of the box.



Once you’ve got it glued down all the way around and trim the excess so that it won’t interfere when you put it in the car.

Next you’ll want to mix up another half quart of your fiberglass resin and spread it allover the fleece with liberal amounts where the fleece contacts the box and where the fleece contacts the speaker ring.



Make sure you cover all areas and consider also putting some on the inside. Let it harden till it’s no longer tacky and then you can cut out the speaker ring.



At this point I test fit the sub in the sub into the box and learned that I needed to sand away more of the inner speaker ring so that I could make room for the carpet later.



Next I decided to mix up my last half quart of resin and add some fiberglass reinforcement to weaker areas and any holes in the box. Once it’s dry you can remove MDF pieces that you used to hold the speaker ring in place, but I chose to leave them in place due to my sub being much heavier then average. Some people say that this will affect sound quality but I see no change what so ever.

After adding fiberglass around the speaker ring I chose to test fit the sub one more time and also test fit the entire box in the car. I’d probably suck to get beyond this point and find out that something doesn’t fit so whenever you add something you should do a test fit.



Next you’ll want to carpet the box and make it all pretty. FYI At this point you can also choose to bondo the box and have a smooth solid surface rather then carpet but I chose the carpet.



You’ll want to get sub carpet that that has no backing so you can stretch it around the curves of the shape. I picked some up at a local audio shop for around 15 a yard.



Start with gluing it onto the ring and stretch outwards, gluing as you go. The hardest part is hiding your seams, cut the carpet so that it will fold together with no gap whatsoever or the seam will be blatantly obvious.



Now the box is pretty much complete, just add some terminals to the back and it should be all done.

All you need to do now is cut the interior panel so that the piece can stick out threw it. I had to cut away most of the carpeted areas and even some of the plastic piece up top to make sure it was fully seated over the wheel well. Start with cutting away small pieces at a time so that you don’t cut too much off, if you cut off too mush it will be very obvious and you’ll need to go buy a new panel to cut up so be carful.



In ^this^ picture you’ll also notice that I cut down and burned one of the foam pieces. I had to do this to make room for the floor of the trunk and also the trunk floor mat. Was a simple fix and only took a few minutes.

Once the piece sits right over the wheel well and every thing looks good, you’re essentially done. The only other things that I did was add some polyfill in the box and I pulled some of the sound deadening off of the original interior panel and put it on the top of the wheel well, on the box where it could contact the tail light bolts, and on any other surface that could make any vibration noise.



Also you can anchor the box in any way that you like. I personally ran some bolts threw the thin sheet metal behind the box (not the wheel well) and drilled some holes in the box and bolted it all together using rubber washers but you could also just use some industrial strength Velcro to hold it down just fine.

Any questions? I’ll try answering them whenever I can. If anyone plans to take this on be sure to upload picture here when you’re done. I’d love to see them, thanks guys!

RAE0694

Can you guys see the photos? because I cant.

Dat_Tc_Guy

Pics would help a lot in this...

Tshock

iTrader: (2)

Looks like an interesting build but in the words of the great Ray Charles, "I can't see chit."

Tshock

iTrader: (2)

I really want to see this guy's work

AhmedsTC

pics please

that_G_U_Ys_tC

Photos would be awesome for some of us bc it sounds good....

FIREDOG21

Still LMAO!!! Pics are a must!! Please fix ASAP!!!

xdejablu3x

BAHAHAHA!!!!!1!

Tshock

iTrader: (2)

FIREDOG21

^^ I'm crying I'm laughing so hard!! Even my wife had to read the thread to see why i was laughing!!

RoboTuner

Doggy, how many beer have you had? And where are said pictures...oh so I'm not going blind. Word.

Tshock

iTrader: (2)

We want to see your pics.

Tshock

iTrader: (2)

Post the boxxxxxxxxx pics