03' Explorer- 15" DC Audio Lvl 3-Audioque AQ1200D

[sebringR/T]

Ok so it's been a while since I've done a BL for anything. Last BL was for my Sebring that I dropped 2 SA8s in with the help of Trent(tctdh11) and a little help from Jeff(corona_jeff) although he was completely against me due to the Sundowns. That same setup went into my new '03 Explorer that I've had since January of this year. After continuous modding to the truck itself I finally decided that a change was needed in the audio dept.

Here's the truck, btw...(sorry for it being a Instagram photo, its the most recent one I have.)

First thing I decided to do was in the Limited 3rd Gen Explorers, they came with a stock sub and amplifier hidden in the passenger side rear quarter panel. In the trim panel there is a separate panel that is heat welded into the trim and I decided that it would be cool to take that panel out, make a fiberglass mold of that panel and then hide my Audioque AQ1200D where the stealth box was and make a window in the fiberglass mold so you could see the amp.

(Forgive me for the poor quality photos.)

Making the fiberglass mold of the panel itself was nothing, but the trick was to figure out how to mount it in the original postion.

This was before any filler work and trimming.

Panel fit pretty well here. This is where I had to figure out how to mount it.

Mounting the amp was really nothing. Really kinda expected it to be a little bit more of a bitch, but after working with Trent and watching how it was done, I had a pretty good idea how I was gonna get it done.

So after trying to figure out how to mount my panel I decided to take the entire quarter panel trim out and make a fiberglass mold of the tray the original panel sat in and then resin that tray to the fiberglass panel I made. Worked really well, but I made a rookie mistake and didn't accommodate for the thickness of the fiberglass panel when I resined the two together and it stuck out a bit in a few places. This was after resining the two together and spraying the panel with filler primer and sanding it down, getting it ready for paint.

And here it is after paint.

The original plan was to take a piece of Lexan and mount it to the panel and cut slits in it for cooling. After I got the Lexan window cut and mounted I didn't think anything about the stress of it bending and in the corners of the slits it started stress cracking so I ended up taking the window out all together. When I mounted the panel and got everything put in though I took a couple blue 5050 SMD L.E.Ds from Oznium.com and put them on the back side of the panel to light the amp up at night.

I know the color isn't perfect, but it was pretty close. The panel is actually back out and some changes are being made to it. Once I mounted it I realized that without anything blocking you from looking back into the trim panel from either side you could see all the wiring and what not so I chose to take the panel out and make a lip/ledge that will sit almost flush with the amp to hide all the wiring. I'm still in the process of getting that finished. I've been really slacking on it lately. Soon enough I will get it finished.

Next thing to change was my sub(s). Ever since I met Trent and Jeff they have been on my ass to make to switch to DC. I bounced around a few ideas with Trent and when it came down to it, I didn't have the money to do the setup I wanted so I had to look at something a little cheaper. After going to an audio comp at Asylum Autowerks in Indianapolis, I decided it was time to upgrade to bigger and better things. I had been set on 2 12" DC Audio Lvl 2s, but then I found someone with some 15" Lvl 3s with Lvl 4 coils. I decided to go that route due to it being cheaper. Trent and Jeff ended up picking it up for me since they knew the guy. They made sure she was all safe and sound.

I ran over to Trent's house a few days later and took a few pictures of the sub itself just to have before it got installed.

And thanks to Trent, he got my box designed out and built. The screenshots I have here aren't actually right, but it didn't change much from them. Baffle hadn't been down yet because he was still bouncing around ideas in his head on how he wanted to do it. He knew he wanted to do a double baffle, but I threw the idea of flush mounting the sub and he didn't quite know how he wanted to do it.

The port will actually be painted white and a blue LED or two will be placed into the port to light it up. Trent actually got to work on the box Thursday afternoon. Here's the shell. Not everything had gotten glued and screwed/nailed down yet.

Then Friday I actually got a chance to go over and help him finish it up. Here's some of the process pictures. This is actually the bottom side of the baffle. I was a dumby and didn't get a picture of the top.

Glue Trent, glue!

I didn't even get a picture of the box sitting in the back of the truck, but I do have a demo video for you.

Video was shot from a Sony Bloggie and for some reason you can only take video holding it up and down. If you take it long ways, your video is sideways. You guys will get the point though.

Comments, concerns, complaints....

[tctdh11]

Bout damn time... kk here's the pics I've got thru the build. Not a whole lot due to my lack of picture taking when I get started working.

baffle being laminated together with a little bit of weight..

shell

port in

dowels in

sub in

pic of it in the vehicle

bye bye sundown...

hello DC =D

that's all I have folks

[corona_jeff]

finally, now get the aq amp out and put a dc 2k in.

[sebringR/T]

finally, now get the aq amp out and put a dc 2k in.

Would do it in a heartbeat if I had the money Jeff, really would.

[Wildbillpb]

Looks good.