Kickin' Cruiser v.2 - Project is dead, thanks to thieves....

[Purplehaze]

How did you tackle the plastic welds? I hate those things.

Heat gun, flat head, and some patients!

Yeah those definitely suck!

Glad to see you back at it buddy!

Pleasant surprise to see you back doing work. I know it will be top notch. Keep it coming!

Thanks guys! Yeah I feel a lot better now to be back on it again!

[Purplehaze]

So next up is to figure out a way to mount them to the doors, and make it so they can be easily attached, and detached. Here is what I came up with.

Notice the small blocks on the door. They are only there to allow the JB Weld to set up. Check it out!



First I drilled holes in the proper places, making sure the panels line up correctly. Then I added the groves to allow the t-nuts to go thru.



Then insert the t-nuts from the backside, with some jb weld to keep them in place.



And the block is just temp to allow the nut to be held into place while the jb weld sets up.



An in side view...



Okay, so now that is done, time to figure out the outer panel!

[Purplehaze]

A little layout to see what's ahead...







So next, I used the old panel again as a template, after cutting it first. And this time it's for the outer panel.



Came up with these





Then after hitting the edge with a 3/4" roundover, time for a test fit!





Ahaha, finally starting to show what I had in mind...



So next I cutout the holes for the sealed chambers for the subs.





And that's where I called it a day! So now I just need to make the sealed chambers, then frame up the rest of them, and get them glassed.
This is where the fun stuff begins!

Stay tuned, I'll update soon as I can! And thanks for looking!

[Purplehaze]

Okay well I got a little bit done the past few days, not what I had hoped to accomplish, but still it's getting there.

Started assembling the sealed chambers for the 8" subs.









Before gluing them together I drilled the holes for sub mounting, and glued in tnuts from the back side.







Now that they are together, time to wrap them in fleece, and glass em up! Remember, this is only to seal them off separately from the other woofers.



Got the fleece "resined up", and the 1st layer on the outside



Then I sanded them to prep for a second layer on the outside, and one inside as well



So here goes the inside



Inside is all glassed up now





Now for another layer on the outside



Then after sanding them again, I cut out the inner panel and started assembly.






And that is where I called it a night. So today I just gotta finish cutting dowel rods, cut out the new arm rests, finish assembling the panels, get them wrapped in fleece, and start glassing away! It's getting there, slowly but surely...

Also I'm thinking about a plexi window possibly...

Stay tuned!

[Purplehaze]

Well I got a little more done yesterday, until my girl came outside around 6:00 and asked me to hang with her. She never asks, so of course I did! Work can wait, I was getting really aggravated anyway. So today we are going to Columbus to check out a show, taking the day off from work on the car, or at least part of it... I should be back on it by tomorrow.

Anyway here are the pics from yesterday of what I got done.

First I cut the holes in the mounting panel for the subs.



The subs came with these plates for extra clearance, so I used them...



Then I started cutting out for the plexi windows






Got them cut



And then a little round-over







Then I started trying to cut the dowel rods to mount the speaker rings, but that's where I got aggravated. I couldn't cut 2 pieces alike to save my life! Ended up with a bunch of different sized and angled pieces that I'm not even gonna try to use. So I decided to wait and go cut them at my dads, using the table saw.
I also realized I need to cut another hole in the mounting panel for the 5.25" to sit the way I want. And I need to cut out 1/4" inserts for the window, to use as fill. As well as some other small corrections.

So hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back on it, and things will go smoother. Thanks for checking it out, stay tuned for more!

[Purplehaze]

Okay so how about an update? I got some stuff done yesterday, and borrowed a camera until I get a new one. So here we go!

First, I started with my headliner. It had been setting in the living room since I pulled it to install Second Skin. Well, my girl finally asked me if I could do something with it, so I said sure! I figure I'll go ahead and cut and dye it now, and put it back in, so it will be out of the way. I may need to cut it a little more once the wall is in, but that should be no problem. So here is where I started.



I laid it upside down to mark it for the cut, used my 4ft level to make a straight line.



And bam!



Then some dark grey dye. This is just to get by until I can afford to re-wrap it in suede. But it don't look bad at all!



Then I got back to the doors. I got the dowel rods all cut at my dad's the day before, so I just had to assemble it all with glue, nails, and screws. Also, I needed to join the sealed chambers to the outer panels, so I screwed them into place, and glassed them up. Check it out...

Assembly



One door down, one to go



And both doors together



Now to permanently join the sealed chamber with the outer panel



1 layer of cloth, followed by 2 layers of chop mat





Also got a little help

This is Caysen, my step son. He will be 3 in September, he is super sharp for his age, and he wants to help me every time I do work.
He LOVES to work on things, and he has natural skills for sure!
So I figured he may as well get an early start! If he is doing this at the age of 2, imagine what he will be doing 15 or 20 years from now!



So now they are ready to be wrapped with fleece, and glassed up. I hope to get at least 3 layers of glass on them today, 2 outside and one inside.
I'll update later tonight. Thanks for looking!

[Purplehaze]

I didn't get much done on Friday, cause I was just having a really bad day. I was trying to figure out how to fix my mistake from the day before. When gluing the doors, I wasn't thinking for a min, and glued the passenger side inner and outer panels together. This was a mistake because I had planned on wrapping them first, so it would be easier. So after almost effin up the panel trying to separate them, I finally decided to just wrap it like it was. I had an idea, but needed a second set of hands to try it. So I waited until yesterday, and got my girl to help since the kids are both at other places.

My idea was to wrap the entire panel, stapling to the back side. Then, with some help, I forced the factory panel down into place, then stapled around the edge. Then I cut the surround, and removed the back side staples. This worked like a charm! Then I finished with plugs for the speaker holes and window. The other panel, the one that I didn't glue, was easy. Really easy after the first one! Anyway, here are the pics, check it out!

First me and my girl wrapped up all the plugs with foil and masking tape, so I can get them out when needed.



Then we started on the hardest one first: the one I glued like an idiot. First we wrapped the entire thing, then we forced the factory outer piece down to make it take shape. Here we are stapling to the right one.



That left me with this



Then I trimmed the outside and removed those staples, and started inserting plugs



Then, after all three plugs were installed, I had to figure out something for the window. I cut out a piece of wood the shape of the hole, and used a 2x4 on the backside with screws to draw it down. Worked like a charm!





So then I just trimmed the edge a little better, and there is that one! On to the next!
Which I did by myself in about 45 mins, compared to 2 hours on the first on, with help!

Here is the only pic I have of the second one being built, it was done so quick I sorta forgot!



So here they are together, ready for some resin!



After 2 coats











Thanks for looking, hopefully more updates soon!

[Purplehaze]

I didn't get near as much done yesterday as I'd like, for one because I keep underestimating how long each step takes. And also, it's been super humid the last few days, and it's been messing with me, and the curing of the resin.

So the first thing I did was to remove the plugs





And clean up the edges with the dremel



Then, on the other panel, I had to remove the staples and cut away the extra cloth





Then once that was done, time to remove the plugs and clean the edges on it too



All done, ready for the first layer of fiberglass.



First layer done. I had all kinds of problems with this layer. For some reason the resin was setting up SUPER fast, didn't matter how much hardener I used. I wasted at least 20oz of resin. But I got it on there, I'll just sand between each layer to make sure we keep those sexy curves!



One door






The other door





And that's where I'm at today. The plan is to sand down both panels, and try to stretch what resin I have left to do a layer of glass inside. Then I will be pretty much stuck on the doors until I get paid on Thursday, then I can get more supplies. Need another gallon of resin, bunch of sand paper, and some good body filler. Think I'm gonna buy some Rage extreme this time. I'll probably finish up the headliner, and start wiring this week also. Hopefully.

So anyway thanks for lookin', check back later for more!

[Purplehaze]

Okay, so the last week I didn't get to work on the doors like I wanted to, between work, and rain. But I had a 4 day weekend including today, and the weather has been nice, so I got a little done. Mostly sanding, but I also separated the 5.25" chambers from the 6.5" with great stuff and fiberglass, finished the inside glassing, and finished glassing the outside too! Today I have to clean it up, do another test fit, and after some wiring, the first test run! Then, if all goes well, it will be time to make them pretty! First will be Kitty Hair, followed by multiple coats of Rage Gold. And after getting them as smooth as possible, I am either gonna take them somewhere to be wrapped in vinyl, or try it myself, if I can get someone with experience to help. Or, possibly a professional paint job, with some sick air brushing.... Hmm decisions decisions.... I seriously can't wait!!!!

So now for the pics. These are not the most exciting pictures in the world, but it's part of the door build, so I gotta show them. Plus it gives an idea of just how much time these things are actually taking.

First thing was to sand down the first layer of glass, and clean up the edges. But I needed some supplies, so I made a trip to Lows, and Car Quest, and got what all I needed.



Got some great stuff, to seal off the 5 1/4" chamber



More resin...



More sandpaper..



No more bondo for this guy... Got the good stuff this time around



Also I picked up a new Dremel tool. My Trio still works fine, but they don't make near as many accessories for it as they do a regular Dremel. And I wanted it for detailed sanding, so I grabbed one up, along with a 75 piece accessory kit.



So first thing I did then was to clean up the bottom of the drivers side panel, the one that was still separated.





Then I started on the outside of both, sanding and prepping for the next layer.





So then I put the foam in to separate the chambers. That stuff really expands! These pics were taken right after I sprayed it in.

[Purplehaze]

Then I let that set overnight to cure, and trimmed it up the next day.







Then I cleaned up the panels for the drivers side and joined them together permanently. Now both panels are 1 piece...





Then after that dried, I started glassing up the insides. It's hard to see, but there is chop mat all over the foamed parts, and everywhere else I could reach. And for the places I couldn't reach, I just poured resin into the panel and let it run every way it could.







Then outside layer #2





Then layer #3







Also, I had a little help again! He even shared his fruit snacks!



So that's where I am now, time to clean them up and do a test run! Then, on to making them pretty!

Thanks for checkin' it out, and please, feel free to let me know what you guys think!