New member from the UK. My first Audio Build. Vauxhall Vivaro (PICTURE HEAVY)

[tomlester27]

Hi, I'm from the UK and i'm new to the forum. This is my first ever audio upgrade. Even though i'm a noob i'm trying to do everything as professionally as I can based off all the youtube videos i've been trying to learn from.

The project is in my 2014 Vauxhall Vivaro work van. The plan is to sound deaden the entire front cab, install component speakers and i'll be building a custom sub enclosure for a 10" sub. nothing over the top. Trying to keep it simple for my first go.

I'll be posting progress here as I go. I'd appreciate feedback so if i'm doing anything wrong i can put it right with your help

I started off cleaning and sound deadening the doors (very time consuming!)

 

[tomlester27]

The speaker adaptors i bought were pretty flimsy So i covered both sides with sound deadening. I used the speaker gaskets that came with the speakers and I also used foam tape to seal the adaptors to the door. Doing all this has made them a hell of a lot more solid.

 

[tomlester27]

Next job was to run all the wiring into the doors. I learned this really nice trick on youtube to get the cables nice and neat through this plug by drilling out the unused pins.

 

[tomlester27]

I was going to put the new tweeters under the grills in the dash where the original ones were but there wasn't really enough room so I decided to mount them to the A pillar trim. I quite like how they look.

 

[tomlester27]

Next I wired up the crossovers. I found this really nice indent in the door panel which was a perfect size to fit them. I bought a rivnut gun so I can properly mount them the door with bolts. I also added some foam speaker rings and wrapped all the wiring up neatly with tesa tape.

 

[tomlester27]

I made a start on on making the plastic panels to fill all the holes in the door to help increase the mid bass. (work in progress)

I used textured ABS plastic and threaded rivets to secure the panel.

Very pleased with how this looks. Just need to do the smaller holes then I can add a layer of mass loaded vinyl and the doors are finished.

 

[tomlester27]

This is slightly off topic but to make the plastic panels I needed a router table, but I didn't have one so I decided to make one out of ply that fits onto my table saw.

 

[hispls]

This is coming along very nicely. Thanks for sharing pics.

 

[tomlester27]

Thanks. It's all taking a hell of a lot longer than expected. I've been doing it for a whole week and I still haven't even finished 1 door yet lol. I'm having great fun doing it though.

 

[tomlester27]

I finished making all the panels today. I ran out of bolts though. Should look nice when all the bolts are in then I can add the mass loaded vinyl.

 

[tomlester27]

Today I got all the new bolts for the panels in. Sound deadened the back of the panels. I put speaker gasket tape under all the cables to prevent rattle and I added a layer of mass loaded vinyl.

I fixed the vinyl with strong velcro but I'm not too happy with it. When you pull the vinyl it just rips the foam from the back of it before the velcro comes apart! Any ideas how to secure it better but also make it easy to remove? I've tried to get everything as neat as possible but i'm not very happy with this finish. I know it wont be seen but I am a perfectionist!

I feel i'm going a bit over the top with the install. I hope all this work actually makes a difference to sound quality.