'78 Harley Davidson Edition

[bobwires]

I'm Nelson, and I'm a stereo guy. This customer is an old buddy, and another friend of mine did the paint, some other guys did the engine work, and I did most of the interior assembly, all the wiring, custom fiberglass and woodwork, part of the upholstery (the seats are aftermarket and came this way)

I'm a regular on fiberglassforums.com - so I'll just take parts of what I posted over there that might interest you guys on this forum. I've learned lots by lurking over here, including info on where to get the gauges for this truck.

As of today, 4.2.10, I'm in the middle of moving my shop, and the truck is on hold yet again. We're right down to the home stretch though.





Infinity reference 6" in kicks, 6x9" in rear. I'll have to figure out how I want them back there... Not my idea...

2 JL 10w0v2's, Eclipse XA5000 5 channel amp.



Trim pile - painter did them.






kicks started today.

Drilled out the ridiculously thick steel in the kick panel/a pillar to make some room. I had to clear the parking brake.

[bobwires]

I got the standoffs all cut and everything positioned on 1 side. I've been out of the shop for the whole weekend. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon for some fleecing - actually I'll use felt again. I like that stuff.

As most of you probably know - I hate the typical 'cut some dowels and eyeball it' crap. I like to use MDF scraps cut into various shapes I can control from 1 side to the other. I always make sure everything is symmetrical before I proceed. I got the passenger side done on this box, and I have the pile of parts to make the other side the exact same way. I always cut 2 at once. at least as soon as I know the first part is what I want.


check for clearance - had to pop off the hot glue and redo it till it fit.













I made the speakers on the corners just inside the weather stripping - so I can slide this whole box out in one piece

made a little more progress. I'm going to glass up the box, then put some foam on it to get the final shape I want. I'm not digging the dips and crap that I'm stuck with, but I had to divide up the sub box and I'm trying to keep it simple. I've got a rough shape, i'll strengthen it, then foam it to get the final shape. should be all set then.






I filled in most of the gap with hot glue to save a little duraglass

[bobwires]

you can see the glass line where the weather stripping stops. I'll grind to that.









the box pops out of the truck real easy -






and now I've got 6oz of glass on there around the subs. nice and sturdy for weak little 10's.








I used some canned foam and cheap sheetrock mud to build up to the shape I wanted, and I used duraglass to get the shape are the speaker trim.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...espeakers1.jpg

[bobwires]

kick panels up front -

[bobwires]

2 layers of 1.5oz






kicks blocked out up to vinyl level in about 30 mins with 80 grit and 9" block and little soft block.







almost done with the box

[bobwires]

careful blocking on the most visible parts






final spot filling




pretty self explanatory

[bobwires]

6 layers of glass to get the thickness up to the wood level - I want to be able to grind it down to 1/4". I figured 6 layers of very wet 1.5 oz would be plenty over and the low spots would be at least 1/4"










I threw a quick guide coat to see how close i was - how thick to lay on the filler

[bobwires]

first coat of epoxy primer






Many of you have probably used carpet or something up here since there is no stock trim, but I didn't want that shape up there.

[bobwires]

magnets hold this thing on real tight. and the slight warp across the piece is all held back nice and snug.



gapped for some thick carpet with a painted insert










floral foam and MDF to get the shape I want for the upper trim


[IMG][/IMG]









having fun with some 'electrical flames'

[bobwires]

I've got to paint the insert, wrap the upper trim piece with an embossed harley logo, anchor the kick panels and mount the speakers, paint the speaker trim pieces and click them in.






I'll be done here real soon

[54Caddy]

looks good man i want to learn how to mess around with some fiberglass so i can make my own boxes. looks good man. I just ordered up some kick panels for my truck. What supplies did you use and about how much it cost?

[Stitch]

you did all that nice work just to cover it with carpet...it's a shame to cover that up...

[thirdstreettito]

Nice work!

[cochino12]

Originally Posted by Fat Hoe

you did all that nice work just to cover it with carpet...it's a shame to cover that up...

I was thinking the same thing.

Looks awesome!

[bitchin85]

Originally Posted by cochino12

I was thinking the same thing.

Looks awesome!

same here.. you should have layed a real nice paint job on it

[spinem]

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[Restrorob]

Nice job but a shame covering with carpet, My question is; How many labor hours do you have in these three pieces ?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by Fat Hoe

you did all that nice work just to cover it with carpet...it's a shame to cover that up...

That's exactly what I was thinking. All along I thought you were going to paint the enclosure and vinyl wrap the cover.

I thought man this guy has really gone the extra mile to get this thing looking good. I have to say that the carpet was a let down. You clearly do work at a level that doesn't need carpet to hide behind.

Regardless, I appreciate the pics and info. Keep the progress reports coming.

[joe231]

Originally Posted by Fat Hoe

you did all that nice work just to cover it with carpet...it's a shame to cover that up...

Originally Posted by cochino12

I was thinking the same thing.

Looks awesome!

Originally Posted by *****in85

same here.. you should have layed a real nice paint job on it

Originally Posted by Restrorob

Nice job but a shame covering with carpet, My question is; How many labor hours do you have in these three pieces ?

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

That's exactly what I was thinking. All along I thought you were going to paint the enclosure and vinyl wrap the cover.

I thought man this guy has really gone the extra mile to get this thing looking good. I have to say that the carpet was a let down. You clearly do work at a level that doesn't need carpet to hide behind.

Regardless, I appreciate the pics and info. Keep the progress reports coming.

nice work none the less....

[Stitch]

looks like I started something...lol...I just want to say that you do excellent work...

[West Texas Z]

Carpet? Why?! jk jk

[KungPowMinchow]

it is a shame that you did cover it with carpet but the box does look sick regaurdless you do some awesome work that is for sure

[Kalashnikov46]

awesome work.

[bobwires]

Originally Posted by 54Caddy

looks good man i want to learn how to mess around with some fiberglass so i can make my own boxes. looks good man. I just ordered up some kick panels for my truck. What supplies did you use and about how much it cost?

Originally Posted by Fat Hoe

you did all that nice work just to cover it with carpet...it's a shame to cover that up...

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

Nice work!

Originally Posted by cochino12

I was thinking the same thing.

Looks awesome!

Originally Posted by *****in85

same here.. you should have layed a real nice paint job on it

Originally Posted by spinem

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If you need any further assistance with that please contact any Admin for help.

Originally Posted by Restrorob

Nice job but a shame covering with carpet, My question is; How many labor hours do you have in these three pieces ?

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

That's exactly what I was thinking. All along I thought you were going to paint the enclosure and vinyl wrap the cover.

I thought man this guy has really gone the extra mile to get this thing looking good. I have to say that the carpet was a let down. You clearly do work at a level that doesn't need carpet to hide behind.

Regardless, I appreciate the pics and info. Keep the progress reports coming.

Originally Posted by Fat Hoe

looks like I started something...lol...I just want to say that you do excellent work...

Originally Posted by West Texas Z

Carpet? Why?! jk jk

Originally Posted by KungPowMinchow

it is a shame that you did cover it with carpet but the box does look sick regaurdless you do some awesome work that is for sure

Originally Posted by Kalashnikov46

awesome work.

well thanks fellas

I don't know how much material I actually used, since I stock the stuff anyway. I imagine a gallon or so of polyester resin, a couple yards of felt, a little mini tub of drywall mud from walmart, 2 cans of 'great stuff', a couple yards of 1.5oz chopped fiberglass mat, a pint or so of polyester primer for the trim pieces, the MDF necessary for the box and speaker rings, several feet of ABS strips I cut out of 24" sheets, a few yards of carpet and vinyl for the box and trim, and all the wire. I'm going to guess that if I had the time all at once this job would have been about a week and a half. that includes a couple days of assembling the interior and dash.

regarding the paint thing, I don't like the gaudy flashy look. I see lots of street trucks and whatnot with painted consoles and glossy trim and I hate it. This truck will have the speaker rings and trim for the sub box gloss black, and only a couple inches of carpet around the edges. I think it will be much classier than painted around the edges.



the speaker rings will be painted, including the 6x9's in the back





and the insert will be gloss black

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by bobwires

....
regarding the paint thing, I don't like the gaudy flashy look. I see lots of street trucks and whatnot with painted consoles and glossy trim and I hate it....

I agree with you totally about the glossy look. I learned a long time ago that interiors are not the place for high gloss. I prefer a satin finish that has enough sheen to prevent it from looking dry and not be pourous.



What did you do the headliner in? That looks like a Lincoln/Mercury perf material.