Build Thread Want To Blow 5 Years And $50k On A Foxbody? Step By Step Instructions Inside!

[CarMichael Angelo]

Damn, that is really thin. I didn't even know subwoofers came that thin. This one caught my eye:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130SWX251/Pioneer-TS-SWX251.html?tp=112

They're going for around $120 on ebay. Good reviews on Amazon too.

This thing is exactly the same thing, and can come in a loaded enclosure as well. I just figured that since you are trying to fit it into a round hole, the "square peg" might be a problem. I'd try my hand at building a custom box to fit the well instead.
Funny that you're moving the battery back, I just moved mine forward. All because the conventional sub/amp enclosure I have behind the seat will have to go when I start putting the rear mount A/C system back there. AND like you, I've become so accustomed to having the bass now, I don't want to lose it.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

I'd try my hand at building a custom box to fit the well instead.

That is what I'm trying to avoid. I have enough stuff to fabricate on this car, build a sub encloser is not something I have any interest in doing. The loaded enclosure Power Acoustik sells is real nice, it's just too long. The pioneer enclosure is slightly smaller in width and length that the one I have now ( its much thinner though).

13" is a moster of a subwoofer. It would be cool if I could find a small enough enclosure for that PA woofer.

And yes, once you have bass, it's very hard to live without it.

 

[rangerboy101]

I really like that battery "tray/box". Looks so much better than a normal battery box.

 

[Rick 91GT]

Scott I have a Taylor tray and hold down setup at the shop....you can have it if it works for you.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

I may take you up on that Rick. Something like that will probably be the best way to tie down the battery.

 

[Adams91LX]

Honestly, in the small space of this car, a 10" is plenty of woofer. I might think about doing a custom fiberglass spare tire-well enclosure... up to you.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Oh yea, my 10" Alpine that I had in there previously would shake the interior screws out of the car. I think I'm going to pull the trigger on that loaded pioneer unit. It will make my life easier and all I'll need to do it fab up some brackets to mount it to.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Made some progress on the false floor today. Framed it all out of 1/2" square steel stock. I decided to elevate the level of the floor frame 2" above the hatch floor. This will give me plenty of room for the subwoofer as well as clearance for a battary as tall as an Optima Red, if I decide to get one down the road.

Here's some of the outer frame for the back half of the hatch:

I had to leave the top end open so I can fit it around the roll bar. The front brace had to be welded in the car.

Tacked the front brace in and welded in all the 2" spacers:

After addng the front pieces. This will cover all the electronics under the rear seat area.

I didn't weld in all the supports, so there is still more to do. The welding fumes started getting to me due to the lack of ventilation in my garage! I will also be welding together another frame that will fit inside the outer frame around the rear seat area. It will hinge on a pair of gas struts so I can access the electronics below.

This whole false floor will serve at the mounting point for the carpeted MDF floor that I'll be making when the time comes.

My turbo will finally be here this week, so I hope to be able to finish up the exhaust work next weekend.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Made some progress on the false floor today. Framed it all out of 1/2" square steel stock. I decided to elevate the level of the floor frame 2" above the hatch floor. This will give me plenty of room for the subwoofer as well as clearance for a battary as tall as an Optima Red, if I decide to get one down the road.

Here's some of the outer frame for the back half of the hatch:

I had to leave the top end open so I can fit it around the roll bar. The front brace had to be welded in the car.

Tacked the front brace in and welded in all the 2" spacers:

After addng the front pieces. This will cover all the electronics under the rear seat area.

I didn't weld in all the supports, so there is still more to do. The welding fumes started getting to me due to the lack of ventilation in my garage! I will also be welding together another frame that will fit inside the outer frame around the rear seat area. It will hinge on a pair of gas struts so I can access the electronics below.

This whole false floor will serve at the mounting point for the carpeted MDF floor that I'll be making when the time comes.

My turbo will finally be here this week, so I hope to be able to finish up the exhaust work next weekend.

Coolness, just freakin' coolness. If I'd only waited until you started this build,.....The ideas I could've stole

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Haha. Thanks Mike. Imitation is the finest form of flattery, right?

Here is the plan for the hinged lid that will cover the electronics area. Try not to be too jealous of my MS Paint skills!

The red is the welded frame, the yellow is the piano hinge, and the blue are the gas struts. If it is not strong enough, I may weld in two more cross supports to create two x's. We will see.

I've been searching out gas struts online. Seems like many of them are meant to lift some serious loads. They all have huge opening forces (20-100lbs each!). I'm lucky if the whole lid will weight 20lbs even with the MDF and carpet. I found a set of 12" long struts with a stroke length of 8". This will give me a 20" extended length, which I think it what I will need to raise the lid high enough for it not to be in my way to access the area below. They are also only 10lb struts, so I think they will do the job without launching the lid into the air like a catapult. Statics are not my speciality, so this may wind up being a trial and error type of deal. I think those struts will work though.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Haha. Thanks Mike. Imitation is the finest form of flattery, right?

Here is the plan for the hinged lid that will cover the electronics area. Try not to be too jealous of my MS Paint skills!

The red is the welded frame, the yellow is the piano hinge, and the blue are the gas struts. If it is not strong enough, I may weld in two more cross supports to create two x's. We will see.

I've been searching out gas struts online. Seems like many of them are meant to lift some serious loads. They all have huge opening forces (20-100lbs each!). I'm lucky if the whole lid will weight 20lbs even with the MDF and carpet.

I found a set of 12" long struts with a stroke length of 8". This will give me a 20" extended length, which I think it what I will need to raise the lid high enough for it not to be in my way to access the area below. They are also only 10lb struts, so I think they will do the job without launching the lid into the air like a catapult. Statics are not my speciality, so this may wind up being a trial and error type of deal. I think those struts will work though.

You give away the ending. with your posts there's nothing left to imagine.
It was the same for me on the trunk. After adding that 18 ga spoiler on the tail and getting rid of the factory torsion bar, it was pretty heavy. I had to b itch out an O'Reilly's guy because he didn't want to open the catalog to let me see extended/collasped, and weight ratings for the different struts they had access to. I got to take each one back (starting w/ 27 lbs,) then 39, finally 47 lbs) It now lifts on it's own after it gets 1/2 way up. But, I've already weathered that storm. ( I was rushing to your aid w/ my vast knowledge on the subject, but read on to see you solved your own problem)

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Do you think two 10lbers will be enough to lift that lid based on the areas where they will be attached to? I'm not sure how their attachment points change the physics regarding their lifting leverage or lack thereof.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Do you think two 10lbers will be enough to lift that lid based on the areas where they will be attached to? I'm not sure how their attachment points change the physics regarding their lifting leverage or lack thereof.

well unfortunately, I don't have the math figures to figure the intersect angle either. Besides I was regulated by the mount points for the things while collapsed vs how high I wanted the trunk to get when open, so being able to move that mount point was minimal for me. It took me three times to get it right, the first time the shock didn't lift the trunk at all and would only hold it open. Going up 10 lbs would still not lift it, but would hold it open over a broader range. The final version ended up doing the trick, basically they take the trunk away from me after it gets half way open. The only other byproduct of having to deal w/ a progressively heavier lift force was the tendency to push my trunk alignment out of whack.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

I think I'll buy a pair of 10 lb struts as well as a pair of 20 lb struts online and see what works. They are a whopping $10 each, and being that Auto Zone wanted around $25 each for struts of unknown force, I'll just use whatever doesn't work to open the toilet seats in the house or something . The guy at auto zone was at least nice enough to let me go to town pushing all their struts against the floor to see which ones would compress easily. They didn't have much to choose from, unfortunately.

 

[Rick 91GT]

You ever look at the set-up Scott Rod carries for the rear seat/area delete...very clean.

You want the battery tray?

 

[RacEoHolic330]

I do really like the Scott Rod setup. Doesn't work for what I'm trying to accomplish, but it does look awesome.

I'll pass on the battery tray for now. I don't think an actual tray will work for me. It will raise the battery too high. I will probably just do the threaded studs with a strap between to hold it to the floor. Thanks for the offer tho!

 

[Ozz]

Very impressive, Scott. I like the heater tubes idea, that came out pretty slick!

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Thanks Dave. Much appreciated. I wish I could take all the credit for the heater tubes. Found a thread on the corral with a guy that did the setup and he had a nice parts list of how he did it. I made some tweaks and made it work for me. It should get the job done!

 

[Ozz]

You're welcome, it's highly deserved. Part of me would love to do a project like this but I think a bigger part of me knows better :lmao:

I saw you mention how you got the idea but it's still neat to see. Plus you put your own tweaks on it, which is good enough to garner some praise I'd say. If I didn't just chrome plate mine (I'll have pics in my winter projects thread soon enough), after seeing yours I probably would've thought up doing something similar and putting my own spin on it too.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Well, if you have money to blow on AN fittings, let me know and I'll tell you the fittings I used. I have a good amount of 1/2" tubing left too that you can have also.