Completely frustrated, install going nowhere!

[BigJohnny]

You can get something a little lighter like 1/2" or 1/4" to lighten things up. Cutting a hole in the middle of the tray will remove a lot of weight. Get it all setup and just stretch and staple some fabric over it set it in place and see how it looks. If you dont like it just pull the staples out and make some changes.

On my last project I used some super stretchy rayon/spandex blend material that would stretch over any shape. Used a lot less resin to soak thru for setting the shape. I personally dont like fleece, lots of resin to soak thru and not as stretchy.

Seriously, just stop worrying and thinking and just jump in....Its fun after you get your feet wet.

Money is one concern, The materials will be a costly inital investment, which I don't have at the moment.

I also need to figure out how to blend the FG in with the car, but without making it permenant. I don't just want a "box" that slides in, I want to have edges that will fit in with the shape of the trunk so it all looks like one piece so to speak.

I think from here my next step is going to have to be cleaning out the rubber junk and yellow hard foam crap that is sprayed all in the trunk.... otherwise things are going to be off measurement wise.

also for the above mentioned "rabbiting" I have no idea what exactly this is, or how to go about doing it... I'm very visual are there any pics around?

I'm gonna sign up on the fiberglassforums tonight, and poke around there.

[dsoccer]

Money is one concern, The materials will be a costly inital investment, which I don't have at the moment.

I also need to figure out how to blend the FG in with the car, but without making it permenant. I don't just want a "box" that slides in, I want to have edges that will fit in with the shape of the trunk so it all looks like one piece so to speak.

I think from here my next step is going to have to be cleaning out the rubber junk and yellow hard foam crap that is sprayed all in the trunk.... otherwise things are going to be off measurement wise.

also for the above mentioned "rabbiting" I have no idea what exactly this is, or how to go about doing it... I'm very visual are there any pics around?

I'm gonna sign up on the fiberglassforums tonight, and poke around there.

Its a fantastic site...great info, great builds, and people are always willing to help. ...just great stuff

[BigJohnny]

I've signed up there, been poking around a bit as time has allowed since my reg. But I still can't find anything about amp racks, or amp racks on the sidewalls. I don't wanna dig through everyones build to try and find stuff.

Is there an articles section there or anything?

Here's what I'm really needing to know right now, and what I've been looking for.

How to secure the fabric so the staples are hidden, I'm not sure about this rabbiting thing, need to learn more, but I can't picture in my head how it's done according to what was said about it above.

How do I secure the fabric to the car so the amp racks will look like they are a part of the trunk, and will still let me take them out?

[-Hobby-]

Look at the installs of the sub enclosures in the trunks. Thats where you will see most of the examples of this kind of setup.

First make a base mold of the area where your floating the rack. That will be the base you work off of so you wont be needing the wood base you have now but that base can be incorporated into the mold your making if you wish. A few layers of fiberglass should do since you arent using it for a sub. Then make the trays like I mentioned before and float them using supports like you did on your mock-up. As for the rabbit you will see threads on there using them for speaker rings. Just picture a round over on a piece of wood but the router bit was dropped down too far so there is a depression from the top edge to where the radius starts. You staple in the depression and then trim away the excess material. You use CA glue to attach the fabric to the fiberglass base mold all around the edges, no staples needed. Soak the cloth with resin, let it harden then add some chop matt or fiberglass cloth to strengthen.

[cracker]

also what i think ray was sayin is on the rear/opposite of the frame ya make a vertical back wall by where your tail light rires are. you could then from ther make a smaller mold of the tire well and attach it to the amp rack then. then stretch material over it and do the lil arangng/rearanging needed to get it to look and fit right. it is some trial and error but i think you are on the right track, just have to come to terms even though money is tight it is a learning thin and will cost a lil, but not nearly as much as payin somebody and whats the fun in that anyways right like stated before try testfittin some material, a nylon sock or something strechy and big enoght will work fine for that. glass the inside up all good when its all fittin and lookin the way ya want it. i learned A pilars a bit by just tryin, turned out ok but back to start sandin today to get all the inperfections out. keep it posted on how its goin

[BigJohnny]

Look at the installs of the sub enclosures in the trunks. Thats where you will see most of the examples of this kind of setup.

First make a base mold of the area where your floating the rack. That will be the base you work off of so you wont be needing the wood base you have now but that base can be incorporated into the mold your making if you wish. A few layers of fiberglass should do since you arent using it for a sub. Then make the trays like I mentioned before and float them using supports like you did on your mock-up. As for the rabbit you will see threads on there using them for speaker rings. Just picture a round over on a piece of wood but the router bit was dropped down too far so there is a depression from the top edge to where the radius starts. You staple in the depression and then trim away the excess material. You use CA glue to attach the fabric to the fiberglass base mold all around the edges, no staples needed. Soak the cloth with resin, let it harden then add some chop matt or fiberglass cloth to strengthen.

OMG, I understand now, I can see it

I'm not so sure what you mean about making a mold of the base, but have a rough idea, anyway, I think I want to keep the wood base, because what I want to do is actually sit that base up a little bit, and leave a space so I can install some fans and have some ventilation pulling air from under the amp.

I picked up some 1/4 MDF today, it should be enough to build me some better bases, as well as amp trays. So this will be the second iteration of the amp rack, hopefully a little better. Now I know how things line up I can make some better measurements and fine tune it a little bit.

also what i think ray was sayin is on the rear/opposite of the frame ya make a vertical back wall by where your tail light rires are. you could then from ther make a smaller mold of the tire well and attach it to the amp rack then. then stretch material over it and do the lil arangng/rearanging needed to get it to look and fit right. it is some trial and error but i think you are on the right track, just have to come to terms even though money is tight it is a learning thin and will cost a lil, but not nearly as much as payin somebody and whats the fun in that anyways right like stated before try testfittin some material, a nylon sock or something strechy and big enoght will work fine for that. glass the inside up all good when its all fittin and lookin the way ya want it. i learned A pilars a bit by just tryin, turned out ok but back to start sandin today to get all the inperfections out. keep it posted on how its goin

So as I understand this, basically what I'm building now is a mold, and not what will be the final product? I've got this in my head as what I'm working on will be the actual rack.

[-Hobby-]

I call it a mold but it basically is the base of your enclosure. Your just laying some alum foil down over the wheel well laying your wooden base down and glassing over the area to create a base to work off of. Once the fiberglass hardens you can pop the base off the floor and wheel well, trim it up to the shape you like and then float the tray over it. Wrap that then glass over the fabric. You can use MDF anywhere you wish and just incorporate it into what your creating as your base. Just glass what you have to, It will save you time and money.

Sorry for the confusion.

[BigJohnny]

The tray is going to be part of it..... or is that not how it's done?

as I understand this, once the resin hardens, I can remove the base and supports from the shell, and the tray is molded into it??

Anyway, I have to redesign the racks a little bit, It turns out that it doesn't fit with my boxes in the trunk.

My boxes need to be cut down a bit, they are of an odd design, or the speakers will be hitting the amp/rack.... I need to angle my amps the other way, and the trays had to be larger. They won't be flush mount so much as they will be sitting in a recess.... I don't know how I would really flush mount it, and still be able to wire it up and get at the gains and such.

Now I want to blend this in with my trunk, so how do I attach the fabric to the car itself? I can't staple it to the car, but can't figure that one out.

It would be nice is there was a fiberglass guru close by I could get some advice and pointers from....but sadly I don't think there is.

[-Hobby-]

This is the only pict I have handy to show you. Its mt sub box that I was working on, changing the port to a larger diameter. The fiberglass portion is where I laid foil on my Silverado floor and glassed over it. You can see the hump on the left where I went up to gain a little space. I made the sides out of MDF and layed it on top of the fiberglass while it was still in the truck. I made the base first and then glassed the base to the sides. When the glass hardened I puled it out and finished it up.

Your not going to attach anything to the car, just to the rack and the edges of the section you of the car you fiberglass over. I dont know how else to explain it.

1. Cover the area your glassing over with alum foil and tape. Actualy cover a larger area so you dont get the resin on anything , its messy. Cover the portion of the wheel well and the side of the trunk you want the enclosure to conform to with fiberglass and resin. Make it a little larger,1" or so, trim away the excess to the dimensions you want when finished.

2. If you want a wooden bottom/ floor in the enclosure dont put and glass on the floor. Just lay the wooden section on the floor and glass that piece to the sides. You now should have a piece of fiberglass that conforms to the side panel of tour trunk and wheel well that is glassed to your base.

3. Once that all sets up and hardens pull it out of your trunk. Make sure you have enough layers of fiberglass laid down so its solid enough to hold its shape when removed.

4. Now you have something to float your tray over. When you have the tray where you want it pull the cloth over it and staple it to the wooden base. Then where you stretch it over the fiberglass edges use CA glue to attach the fabric to it. You can just glue it to the edge, no need to glue it to the back side. The rabbits should go on the wooden sections anywhere you are going to staple the cloth to it. It keeps them recessed and makes it easier to finish later.

5. Brush resin over the cloth and let it harden.

6. Areas where you glued the cloth to the fiberglass sides need to be reinforced from the inside. Just reach inside and add resin and matte to the edges and reinforce them.

7. Add some fiberglass matte to the outside for strength, let it harden, sand it down a little, and use body filler to smooth everything out. Finish it anyway you desire. Painting means more sanding and attention to detail.

[-Hobby-]

This is sort of the same thing. Its my speaker pod on my rear door. The base is a fiberglass section that conforms to my door panel, exact fit of an odd shaped area. I made that piece first, let it harden, popped it off the door and trimmed and sanded it a little to make things nice and even. Then I floated the speaker ring over the base and pulled cloth over it and used CA glue to attach it to the base. Then I glassed over top of that and finished it up. I have way more hours sanding and finishing it than I do making the base and glass work.

Hope this helps.

Its a lot of work but if you take your time you can do it.

The box was my first try fiberglassing anything. That speaker pod was my second attempt.