The Equipment
Entry 1 - 11/24/08
Today we took delivery of the truck. We began evaluating the build. We have formed a check list for the project in order to keep everyone involved up to date. The seats, carpet, door panels, and speakers have been removed. We have started laying the sound deadening from Hushmat.
Pictures added: Exterior, Interior, Dashboard, Door, Underhood
Entry 2 - 11/25/08
We have layed down a layer of Hushmat on the floor and back wall. The planning for wire routing has begun. The first layer of fibergass for the filler plugs has been layed on the driver side door. Fiberglass plugs help to make a more solid enlosure for the door speakers. They help to create a better environment for the speaker to perform and increase midbass output.
Pictures Added: Door, Interior
Entry 3 - 11/26/08
Today we layed Hushmat on the roof panels and contined fiberglassing the four doors. We have many of the plugs ready to be cut and mounted. The alternator was removed in preperation for the new 245 amp high output alternator.
Pictures Added: Underhood, Door, Interior
Entry 4 - 11/28/08
Some prep work to the wiring has been started. The wiring for Alpine's PXA-H701 processor has been ran to the rear of the truck. We are waiting patiently for the rest of the fiberglass on the doors to dry. Speaker wire was ran down the left side of the truck for the left front stage. The dual Optima Red Top batteries arrived today. Wiring was prepped under the hood for the batteries.
Pictures Added: Interior
Entry 5 - 12/1/08
The sound deadening has been completed on all panels except for the rear doors where the fiberglass has not been completed yet. The interior carpet pad and carped is now back in place. Today we continue to work on the fiberglass plugs for the doors and will begin the power and ground wiring inside the truck. It will consist of two 1/0 gauge power wires and one 1/0 gauge ground running to the main battery. Three holes have been cut out and grommets installed where the wire will be ran under the rear seat.
Pictures Added: Door, Interior
Entry 6 - 12/2/08
The new 245 amp high output alternator from Ohio Generator has arrived. Notice the size difference between the factory and the new alternators. We are working on the underhood wiring today. The dual 1/0 gauge power lines were ran from the main battery to the rear of the truck for the amplifier power. The new 4 gauge wire was ran from the battery to the alternator and all grounds under the hood were upgraded to 4 gauge.
Pictures Added: Underhood
Entry 7 - 12/4/08
The new alternator is installed. The power wire, speaker wire, and processor cables are all ran to the area of the back seat where they will be used. We have taped up the back wall and kick panels in preperation for the fiberglass work that will begin soon. Fiberglass kick panels and subwoofer enclosure will be our next tasks.
Pictures Added: Underhood, Interior, Subwoofer
Entry 8 - 12/5/08
The large fiberglass shipment arrived on Thursday as scheduled. We have began laying down fiberglass on the kick panels and the entire back wall. The entire store smells like fiberglass now, but it sure is going to be cool when its done. Before leaving last night, we completed the back wall. This morining it was dry and we were able to remove moulding. By the afternoon, we are on our third layer of fiberglass and waiting for it to dry to add upto 5 layers, depending on how the fourth layer looks. Also, door most of the remaining fiberglass door plugs have been shaved down and are ready to be installed into the doors.
Pictures added: Interior, Subwoofer, Doors
Entry 9 - 12/6/08
The fourth and fifth layer of fiberglass were applied to the rear wall panel. It is currently drying. If all goes right, this should be our last layer. All four door internals are finished. All plugs are in place and all sound deadening is on. Wiring to each door is finished. We have been working on the dash kit that will mount the Alpine CDA-9886 and the RUX-C701. We are refinishing the kit and sanding it to fit them perfectly.
Pictures added: Dash, Door, Subwoofer
Entry 10 - 12/9/08
The door panel work is in full swing. We are currently building and forming the door panel pods for the dual ZR650-CSi speakers. The dash kit is finished and we were able the mount the Alpine head unit and the processor controller. The subwoofer enclosure is coming along and the bottom frame is being built.
Pictures updated: Door, Subwoofer, Dashboard
Entry 11 - 12/11/08
The subwoofer enclosure is taking shape. It turns out that eight 8w3v3 subwoofers is a problem. They will not all fit behind the seats and still allow enought air space for the subs to play and for the seats to raise up into place. We have scaled back to six subwoofers behind the rear seats and it looks like a perfect fit. We have began working on the front side of the subwoofer enclosure. The fleece was applied and the detail trim work around the speaker rings is complete. It is ready for the first layer of fiberglass on the front side.
Pictures Added: Subwoofer
Entry 12 - 12/12/08
The hardener has been applied to the fleece front of the subwoofer enclosure. We are waiting for it to dry. The tweeter pods that will be mounted to the A-pillars are being made. They each house two ZR tweeters. The amp rack under the rear seats is under construction. We are working on the layout of the processor and four amplifiers.
Pictures added: Subwoofer, Dash, Amplifier
Entry 13 - 12/13/08
The speaker pods on the door panels are ready to be covered in vynal. The tweeter pods are taking shape and will be finished soon. We have the base of the amplifier rack complete and carpeted. The amplifiers, alpine processor, crossovers, and XM tuner will mount on this rack. A second layer of fiberglass is being applied to the front of the subwoofer enclosure.
Pictures added: Amplifier, Door, Dash
Entry 14 - 12/15/08
The vynal arrived today. The door speaker pods are now all covered and will soon be ready to mount on the door panels. The tweeter pods are close to being ready. We added the final layer on the subwoofer enclosure today. Once it is sanded, it will be ready to be covered.
Pictures added: Dash, Subwoofer, Door
Entry 15 - 12/18/08
The subwoofers are done and in the truck! The enclosure was carpeted, loaded, and tested on our showroom floor before installing in the truck. It was covered with gray carpet to match the interior of the truck. The embossed JL logo in the center of the enclosure adds a nice touch to the finished product.
Pictures Added: Subwoofer
Entry 16 - 12/19/08
The door panels are back on and the speakers are loaded into their new homes. Each door has a fiberglass moulded speaker pod to house the JL Audio ZR speakers. The amplifiers are being wired right now and should be up and playing by tomorrow. Once they work, the kick panel speakers can be aimed and their enclosures can be built. Also, the tweeter pods are completed and mounted on the pillars.
Pictures added: Dash, Amplifer, Doors
Entry 16 - 12/20/08
It plays! Well, kinda. We have the amps connected and all of the crossovers connected today. It was playing for a while so we could properly aim the kick panel speakers and test equipment. We still have a bunch of tuning to do. The amplifer rack is coming together and the wiring the almost done for that portion of the install.
Pictures Added: Dash, Subwoofers, Amplifers
Entry 17 - 12/23/08
The amplifier rack is being completed today. We are adding the top trim piece and the accent lighting. The kick panels are being aimed and built. The amp rack should be done today.
Picture update: Interior, Amplifier
Entry 18 - 12/23/08
The amp rack was basically completed today. We are still waiting on the plexiglass to arrive from the engraver but, the rest of it is done. The kick panels are going along well. They are about half done and will be close, if not fully done tomorrow. We are getting very close to completing this truck!
Picture update: Interior, Amplifier
Entry 19 - 12/26/08
The kick panels are dry and we have one covered. The second one will be covered today. The grilles are being created to cover the ZR525 speakers. We are mounting the tweeter into the grille for a point source mount.
Pictures added: Interior
Entry 19 - 12/31/08
THE BUILD IS COMPLETE!
We have been waiting on the plexiglass to retern from the engraver. They arrived yesterday. The remaining LED lighting accents were wired yesterday afternoon to show off the new plexiglass. Our local JL Audio representative dropped by yesterday to listen to the vehicle. He was simply blown away with the sound. He has judeged and partictpated in countless car audio events and has been in the business for longer than he's willing to admit. "It made my skin tingle" was his first response after listening to it.
