02 Jeep Grand Cherokee Build (AKA Project Silent Night)

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

looks good, not sure how much i like welded grounds vs dedicated grounds because welded material may be strong, but low resistance? doubt it.

either way i like what you're doing and thanks for the updates

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

I see 4 azzez!

Just can't see all 6 from that angle.

looks good, not sure how much i like welded grounds vs dedicated grounds because welded material may be strong, but low resistance? doubt it.
either way i like what you're doing and thanks for the updates

The material its welded to isn't really strong enough to drill and tap and there was no way to get nuts on the back side. I think they will suffice how the two types compare I don't know.

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Well I'm still working on the doors I can only do so much sanding before I get sick of it, I did get my VC1 holder done I think it turned out great. Tried to capture a picture of it lit up but it was so bright or something my phone wouldn't pick up the numbers. I also did some more sanding and finished the beauty panels they will look better installed but they're done.

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Alright so my door panels are installed and everything in them is wired up. Overall I'm happy with how the doors came out for this being a first try at ever making any. I'll try and explain the pictures as well as I can.

First I made the panel to hold everything and cut out all the holes, which was a tight fit. Then I made a trim ring and used a 30 degree chamfer to get a nice edge.







Wrapped panels in fabric, lots of staples later.





Fiberglass and resin naturally.

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

After everything was good and hard it was time for filler and sanding...lots of sanding.





After all that it was time to prime/paint/bedliner.





Afterwards I cut out the backs using a jigsaw and a cutoff wheel.



Made some grills using the insides of my cutouts, they'd have turned out better if the metal hadn't got all bent/dented in shipping but it is what it is. I basically just used tinsnips and my hands to make them.



Oh also I switched my choice of midshipmen's, I ditched the PWX 8's and went with some Eminence Neo 8's that Quentin at DSS was selling. Definitely saved me a lot of weight per door. Hoping they sound great.

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

I used carriage bolts in place of the plastic clips to hold the bottom of the panel to the door. I wanted to do threaded rod but most of the places I could go through theres a void or something behind the door skin.



Alright drumroll please.... Finished and installed.I also put more deadener on the doors before installing as I felt they were going to need it.







Tight fit



Oh also I got the interior put back in. Couldn't call this build project silent night without a little ECD Customs Galaxy Wrap. If it doesn't look familiar it's from the same company the did the Galaxy Max Duramax. I put a couple wrinkles in it when installing but for the most part they're hid by the passenger seat thankfully.

Trim panels and vinyl on.



Seats and everything else in place



Galaxy Max because it's awesome and I can't not share it.



So essentially I'm in the home stretch. I need to install all of my fuses, clean all the dust and such up and I need to tune my amps. I think that's it, I think the roof may need more vibraflex but we will see. There is a show this weekend so I'm definitely going to try and go.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Tremendous work on those doors. How many have you done in the past?

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Tremendous work on those doors. How many have you done in the past?

Thanks I've never done doors before ever. This is my first build doing any fiberglass work at all.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Thanks I've never done doors before ever. This is my first build doing any fiberglass work at all.

Wow. You must be extreme OCD or something to do work that clean right out of the gate.

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Wow. You must be extreme OCD or something to do work that clean right out of the gate.

That and I'd rather do it once than twice considering how time consuming it was.

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

Alright so I kind of finished the Jeep enough to go to a show this weekend. I got everything fused and my voltage would not charge where it needed to be. I think it's because I'm trying to run two alts off of one regulator. So for the show I elected to run down an alt, last night I ordered another regulator I will have to install it by the 15th. At the show I had a couple issues out of the gate, first of all it wasn't loud enough. So we bumped up the gains and re-gain matched them all. Secondly the*electric fan under the hood wouldn't turn on. So I ended up wiring it straight to the battery and disconnecting it when the Jeep wasn't running. I plan to put it on a switch. Overall I think the show was a success I had a lot of fun and the Jeep got a good amount of compliments.*

Oh also someone was kind enough to meter it for me. I did a 58 legal on the dash at 42 Hz and a 54 drivers door open on the dash at 28 Hz. I think it has great range it might not be a subsonic machine but it will definitely choke you up. I got a demo in my own passenger seat and it definitely hurts. It will be interesting to see if I can gain anything with the second alt up and running.







So goals for the next two weeks include finding space for the second*external regulator under the hood, wiring it up, wiring the fan to the toggle switch, and welding up a brace for the roof/windshield (I need to get the steel tubing for it).

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

That looks fun. I don't expect you'll gain a whole lot from having both alternators going. With the current those amps will want to draw you'd probably gain more on the meter from a few cap banks. For sitting around playing actual music the extra alt should help a lot keeping system voltage up.

I sure hope you're happy, you really put some effort into this build.

 

[nkrell11 10+ year member]

That looks fun. I don't expect you'll gain a whole lot from having both alternators going. With the current those amps will want to draw you'd probably gain more on the meter from a few cap banks. For sitting around playing actual music the extra alt should help a lot keeping system voltage up.
I sure hope you're happy, you really put some effort into this build.

I certainly am happy the compliments I got about how clean it was made me just as happy as peoples reactions to how loud it was. I'm not the least bit disappointed, some off season tweaks could bring about some improvement.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

I certainly am happy the compliments I got about how clean it was made me just as happy as peoples reactions to how loud it was. I'm not the least bit disappointed, some off season tweaks could bring about some improvement.

Nice. IMO it's a shame you never followed through with those home-made neo subs, and this project took on a life of its own compared to your original plan all around. IIRC it was going to be 4 15s on 7K... things escalated quickly.

 

[Lbetts818]

I'm just down the road in midland andnwould love to get one of the first demos of that Picasso //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif