My sound system install (pics!)

[paul430c]

Hello all.

I just wanted to share my recent sound system install project. I fabricated and installed a system made up of a nice Kenwood head unit and Rockford Fosgate speakers. Two 5.25" coaxials (kicks), two 6.5" tri-axials, and a 10" shallow subwoofer. I made all speaker enclosures from combination of 3/4" MDF, fiberglass and body filler. I walled-off (isolated) the speaker cavities with MDF and lined everything with hushmat. I did a lot of research from this great website as I developed my ideas. It sound very good but the final thing I need to do is install some sound deadening inside the vehicle such as the roof, inside wheel wells, etc. I have some reflecting sound (tin can effect) that needs to be controlled.

Also notice the whole LED lighting scheme involving door plunger switches, etc. My Bronco had no lights that came on when doors were opened.

Having a lot of fun with my Bronco after only having it for 2-months now.

 

[Blue Bastard]

Nice work, gotta have tunes!

 

[ObscureMachine]

Nice Work!!!

 

[AaronWelch]

Could you post pics of the door plungers? Looks good I plan on something similar.

 

[mritchy1]

Looks good.

 

[paul430c]

AaronWelch, I'll take and share plunger switches tomorrow evening. Per what I learned from this forum, they came from a 1980's F150 and many other models as well, I believe. More info tomorrow.

 

[sprdv1]

Great work man.. Luv it

 

[xcntrk]

Good job, way to make them fit!

 

[RacinJason]

Nice! Welcome to the madness of owning an early bronco.

 

[67EB_in_619]

turn it into a kit so I can buy one!

 

[bigpitbull]

Looking great!!

 

[paul430c]

Could you post pics of the door plungers? Looks good I plan on something similar.

Sorry for the slow reply on this. Busy time.

Below are some photos per your request. I really like the plunger switch but there are a few tricky things that I'll list below:

1) the switch is made to receive a molded male plug. It's assumed the car already has this plug. Since our Broncos wont have these plugs, I had to solder my wires into this delicate connection. You could probably just push them in as long as you generate enough friction in the female part of the connector.
2) When you drill the hole in the door jam you'll find out that there is a cavity such that you will have to drill through a second wall before you will see daylight. The existence of this cavity leads to two issues: a) the depth of the cavity is about the same as the length of the switch so you need to make sure you protect the electrical connections from potentially shorting on the door frame (e.g. use shrink tubing). b) You can't access the inside of this cavity to put a nut on the back of the threaded switch so you need to drill the switch hole small enough that you can thread it with a tap to receive the switch.

The photos below show the switch, how I routed the wire into the driver/passenger compartment (using a grommet), and the adhesive led lights I put under the dash.

 

[broncoitis]

Nice job and it looks really good! Nothing like some music and the Bronco! Good Times for sure. ;D

 

[matt w]

That looks great! I have been wanting to install speakers just like you have at the kicker areas. I like those. That is way cool! I bet you could sell those enclosures! heh heh

 

[sicaz66]

turn it into a kit so I can buy one!

Same here. Real nice work!

 

[hammer]

I agree, nice work. I like the idea of walling off the compartments and then essentially creating a "lid" to complete the system. How is the mdf attached to the truck in this pic? Also how do you think that hushmat would adhere to a tub that is lined?

 

[lonesouth]

did you calculate the volume of the sub enclosure, how much? What is the min cubic feet for the sub?

 

[paul430c]

Attachment technique and cubic feet

Thanks for the compliments and questions.

To attach the MDF in place I used a combination of silicone caulk, fiberglass and metal angle brackets. Every element used the first two and some allowed me to use angle brackets but not all. Some angle brackets cannot be seen in the photos. I used cardboard templates to iterate the complex quarterpanel shape of the dividers shown in some photos. I let that one piece of MDF 'run long' to give me a screw surface in the middle of the long panel. I applied peel and stick foam rubber door/window insulation (roll from Home Depot) on all the edges of every cavity such that when I 'drew up' the black panel with screws, it would seal neatly and isolate the cavities.

With regard to cubic feet, I did the calculation but it became clear that I couldn't generate enough cubic feet with this situation so I settled for 'as much as I can get'. It's close. Some might want to vent the subwoofer compartment to get a different sound profile. I went unvented. There are acoustical pros and cons to both.

More interim installation photos below:

 

[paul430c]

And yes I think Hushmat or its competitor products will stick to bed lined surfaces. That stuff has really good adhesive/tacky properties.

 

[hammer]

hmmm thanks for the response. Although I like your end product your install method is a little more permanent then I would like in my rig.