putting in a sub this weekend

Well, this weekend looks like it'll be the time for my first mod to the new car. While i'm waiting on my EV switch, shark fin, and for VAIS to go '06 compatible, i'm going to build a fiberglass stealth box for the passenger side trunk and outfit it with a Alpine Type-E SWE-1042 10" 4-ohm sub. The compartment just barely meets the minimum requirements for the sub.

Here are the expenditures so far:
$90 - Sub
$110 - Amp
$100 - Glassing supplies

Still to buy:
Wiring supplies

For the sub, crutchfield rocks. cheaper than anything i could get locally.
For the Amp, Anderson's General store rocks. It's a small local chain, that tries to sell everything. in somethings, like home and garden they rip you off, but in other things, like car audio, they really don't know what they have! Direct from the manufacture it's $188, and at other stores around here it's as high as $250!
For the Glassing supplies, it would have been cheaper if i had done glassing on my own before. part of the $100 is for a $30 filter mask, which i'll probably keep and use for the next 5+ years.

The wiring supplies won't be too expensive, i just need to figure out where i'm going to wire it too so i can get proper length wire. i would say they'll cost under 50 bucks.

I'll be taking tons of pictures of the entire process and i'll work up a writeup/tutorial on it and post a pdf of it here until i get my web server back up and running (looking at a may/june timeframe for that).

Just one question. for those of you who have done this sort of thing in the prius, where did you hook your amp up for power? I need to work out the power requirements, but i'd like to avoid having to run it too far.

 

I don't have too much experience either. The only real experience i have is helping out on a carbon fiber bike made at school as part of a contest. Didn't do much, but i learned a lot, and the process is pretty much the same with the two materials.

 

definately messy. the fumes aren't just smelly, they can cause lung damage as well. for that reason, you need to use a filtered mask (not just a particle mask).

And yes, it can be messy if you aren't extremely careful. But to be on the safe side, you always want to completely cover the entire area. One of the nice things about it, though, is that you can take it out after one layer to finish layering it. That helps to reduce the risk of ruining your carpet.

*edit*
i hadn't realized the 12V battery was in the back. Here i would have been out there looking under the hood for an hour before going to the user manual!

thanks!

 

Part 1: finished

I cut a piece of 1/4'' MDF to fit in the rear hidden compartment and mounted the amp to that. i've hooked the amp into the battery system, and ran the wires out for the speaker.

Part 2: Finished

I taped up the back of my Prius and applied the first layer of fiberglass. That dried, i removed it from the prius, and cleaned up the sourounding plastic i layed down to catch any spills. no damage to the carpeting!

Part 3: In progress

I'm waiting for the next layer to dry on the fiberglass hull i now have. I'll probably end up with 3-5 layers overall for a nice, sturdy box.

Part 4: Not started

I haven't run the wires up to the front yet to plug in the amp.

Part 5: Not started

I haven't cut a piece of MDF yet for the front of the box to hold the speaker. When i do, this piece will be attached to the box with more fiberglass (fiberglass bonds well to wood)


Does anyone have any specs (or know where i can find them) for the JBL amp that sits under the front seat? (for the Nav w/ JBL sound upgrade package)