05 F350 Build log (some fiberglass work, computer, and system) Many pictures!!

[jeeper07 5,000+ posts]

ok so im confused. you have 2 correct any reason as to running only 1? just a temporary setup for now or what

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

ok so im confused. you have 2 correct any reason as to running only 1? just a temporary setup for now or what

Yup, by the looks of it

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

Sweet!

Thanks man //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

ok so im confused. you have 2 correct any reason as to running only 1? just a temporary setup for now or what

Yea mostly just temporary. Benefit I see to running just 1 is less impact on the seating area and all, essentially doesn't change any of the legroom in the back and I like having my tranny tunnel open for sliding accross the seats and what not. I guess I am just old fashioned and like bench seating in my trucks. I can most likely still do it with 2 subs, but I will need to lower the internal volume a bit, use some fiberglass and most likely extend a bit into the rear leg room. I guess I just want to avoid building a full console from the lower dash to the back of the center seats. It would probably looks sweet and add some cupholders and other stuff to the top of it as well as hack up a junkyard console and keep the upper cubby and arm rest but for now I am trying to avoid it.

I guess I am just experimenting and looking to see what really feels and sounds good and finding a common ground between audio and form/function.

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

Thanks man //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif


Yea mostly just temporary. Benefit I see to running just 1 is less impact on the seating area and all, essentially doesn't change any of the legroom in the back and I like having my tranny tunnel open for sliding accross the seats and what not. I guess I am just old fashioned and like bench seating in my trucks. I can most likely still do it with 2 subs, but I will need to lower the internal volume a bit, use some fiberglass and most likely extend a bit into the rear leg room. I guess I just want to avoid building a full console from the lower dash to the back of the center seats. It would probably looks sweet and add some cupholders and other stuff to the top of it as well as hack up a junkyard console and keep the upper cubby and arm rest but for now I am trying to avoid it.

I guess I am just experimenting and looking to see what really feels and sounds good and finding a common ground between audio and form/function.

Arent we all... lol:laugh:

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

Arent we all... lol:laugh:

seems to be the hardest part of it all //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif Hopefully ya can get that 3-way setup all completed. Would be a shame to scrap that purty work.

 

[jeeper07 5,000+ posts]

how r u liking those subs btw?

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

how r u liking those subs btw?

They are great so far. Nothing like any other subs I have every heard. What is always coming to my mind is, there is bass but there are not subs. The music is just there, no matter how loud I turn it up it never distorts. There is no audible sound of subs, only way to really know it when listening is the vibrations in the seat backs. Plenty of bass the few times I have listened to rap. Even a song that is normally unlistenable on most systems I have heard was reasonably ok with this, Slipknot - Duality.

If ya got any songs you can recommend to listen to let me know. One thing I am finding is that stuff is sounding better off the computer than it is off CD for some reason. Thinking I may sell/trade the 9887 for another similar SQ deck like a 880or 800PRS and see if that does anything for me.

 

[Ray21 10+ year member]

Build looks great so far... what lift do you have on your truck?

About your brakes, I had a '90 F-150 that did the same thing on both fronts. I thought they were just warped rotors at first (pulsating brake pedal), but when we changed them out I was surprised.... cheap metal is right.

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

Build looks great so far... what lift do you have on your truck?
About your brakes, I had a '90 F-150 that did the same thing on both fronts. I thought they were just warped rotors at first (pulsating brake pedal), but when we changed them out I was surprised.... cheap metal is right.

Thanks man //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Its and RCD 4" lift. I love the look and function and all but honestly it didn't go up much at all lol. I had the truck next to another one that had a 4.5" Icon lift with stock tires and his truck was actually about 0.5" taller than mine with the 4" lift and oversized tires, but at the same time I can get in and out of my bed without much more trouble than stock so its nice in those regards.

Well I guess that totally narrows it down. I will see how much it is gonna be to put some wagnar rotors on all 4 corners and get it all cleaned up. Gonna be rough unless I can get some garage space, was 28° this morning, and that steel gets extra cold lol. I guess as long as I can get it done before the snow and slush comes I will be happy.

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

seems to be the hardest part of it all //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif Hopefully ya can get that 3-way setup all completed. Would be a shame to scrap that purty work.

Word. ^

I think I finally figured it out.

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

Well its been forever and a day since I have updated much of anything. I have been working on it slowly here and there where I get time and waiting to see if things work out before I post anything. Well I am happy to say they have worked out and much better than expected. I still got a lot of learning to do, and more patience to find but I am enjoying the new stuff and making it myself.

Here is my own version of a JL audio Stealthbox for the 08 Super Duty center console. The box is 0.93ft^3 before speaker displacement, has 7" of mounting depth, and fully retains about 4" of storage depth at the top, enough to hold the factory coin tray/divider.

Oh I am still not 100% finished got to finish up the little details that will really make it complete but it works 100% and fits 100% and I am pretty happy with it. Oh and the biggest shock to me, no rattles or anything just some nice solid bass.

Ok, onto the pics...

Nothing out of the ordinary except maybe a little tall (perfect height for an arm rest IMO)

Sadly the amazing amount of storage these consoles have had to be given up, but still enough. The back wall was carpeted but I had to remove it, will be carpeted again (one of those little details to yet finish)

Ok, now onto the construction...

The console actually disassembles quite easily which I was shocked by

I don't have too many pictures of the work on the top storage portion. But what I found was that the bulk of the console (storage container) is in 2 pieces, so I took the top portion and ended up cutting it down by about 2 inches on the sides. From there I cut some 1/4" MDF to make a new floor and used fiberglass to join the two. This gave me about 4" of storage inside and maintained the latch for the cover and mounting points and such.

Now here is the remaining space I was left to work with. I did a bit of trimming to the sides and such to get rid of some excess.

Now for the actually box itself. I figured I needed about 3 levels inside (top, middle/brace and a bottom) The middle piece is mostly for shaping the fiberglass to conform as tightly as possible to the inside of the enclosure and adds some bracing to stiffen it all up.

Here is the final frame work with some extra cleats and blocks to space things out properly before getting wrapped in cloth.

fits nicely into the console

Now where things start to get ugly

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

Much of this entire project is about experimenting and seeing what I can do. Since I didn't want the enclosure to sound hollow or just get beat up by the pounding of the sub I wanted it to be extra strong and have as much mass as I could possible get (much of the reason MDF is used normally) So I took the suggestion of another guy of adding some lead shot into the layers of fiberglass. I don't know how much it improved but I added a solid 5-7lbs to the enclosure and only increased the wall thickness but about an 1/8"

Here is the finished product against the temporary box it was replacing

I think I did pretty good since the fiberglass box weighted within 3 pounds of the larger MDF box, fiberglass box came out to be 24lbs.

Here is a view from the backside to see how it all stacks up inside the console.

This little factor opening is going to get filled nicely with this speaker terminal and some carpet

And thats it, in the truck and sounding good

Also I finally filled the hole I had in the dash for the longest time. Again with some fiberglass (my new favorite material lol)

Started by taping it all off and making a mold for some resin and 2 layers of matt

I guess I don't have any construction pictures but I cut in the switch panel (wires got extended with some CAT 5) and cut in the USB 4-port hub. Little bondo, little paint and lots of sanding later and here is what I got

Its not quite perfect but that gives me something to work on in the future (maybe ditching the wood grain) it sure beats a hole in the dash with wires and a hub falling out, and having to pull down to back seat to turn the computer on.

So there is my update and most recent progress. I still have more plans for the truck but gonna have to wait a while, its nice to get it in a semi presentable condition once again.

 

[jeeper07 5,000+ posts]

lookin great bud, glad to see progress now only if i could have some progress on mine!

 

[DB-Audio 10+ year member]

the dash looks awesome great work i love that 10" screen i've been considering getting a pcu in my truck but not sure if its worth it

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

lookin great bud, glad to see progress now only if i could have some progress on mine!

Thanks Joe, feels good to get something done again even if it is a little bit. Thats the biggest problem is when they get nearly finish, least finished enough to operate (system or vehicle) then the desire to continue working on them fades quickly. Plus for you when you start working on everybody elses stuff gets a little harder to do your own stuff.

the dash looks awesome great work i love that 10" screen i've been considering getting a pcu in my truck but not sure if its worth it

thanks man it works great too, just the right size to make it easy to use. If ya do go ahead with it and have some questions don't hesitate to ask, I would be happy to help ya out. It is definitely a bit involved and doesn't stop after everything is installed since you still have to configure all the software and such.