Components currently selected:
Kenwood DNX-7100 head unit with iPod controller
JL Audio 300/4 special edition (black) amp
JL Audio 500/1 special edition (black) amp
Pioneer TS-SW3041D 12" low-profile sub
Custom ported enclosure behind the rear seat (http://www.spl2k.com/superduty112.html)
Monster cable 200-series LN interconnects
Monster cable MPC P300 BAP1000 amplifierpower kit
Monster Cable 4-conductor speaker wire
To be selected (will be subject of separate posts):
Front soundstage speakers
Rear fill speakers
Some of the gear:
Head unit, install kit (Metra), and wiring completed:
Using the factory wiring to run to the speakers (molex plugs at the doors). Installed molex plugs at the head unit to connect wires from amps to installation harness (to allow for future removal):
Wiring harnesses connected at the dash, molex plugs for speakers at the center:
Pioneer low-profile 12" subwoofer. Not being much of a fabricator, I struggled with subwoofer selection for this truck. Clearance behind the rear seat is very limited. This subwoofer and the custom enclosure have received a lot of acclaim at Ford truck enthusiast websites, so I was willing to give it a shot:
Subwoofer in enclosure:
Carpeted panel on truck's back wall needs to be trimmed to fit this enclosure (still trying to decide what to do with vent removed from this location, hence the temporary masking tape):
Wiring begins. 4-gauge to the far left, ready to run through the firewall. speaker and amp turn-on lead on the left, interconnects (one 2 channel, one 4 channel) on the right:
The firewall run. Covered the "visible" portion of the wire with flex loom:
Some fabrication required at the firewall on the engine side. Used penetration designed for clutch master cylinder. In 2007, Ford must have cut a few cents by leaving the grommet out of this hole and covering it with a big piece of adhesive heat shield. Installed (bolted and siliconed) a 3x5" piece of polypropylene on the engine side of the firewall, in to which the firewall bushing was installed:
Where I'm at today... designing a rack for underneath the rear seat for the amps. 1/2" MDF cut to mimic the shape of the fold-out tray installed in the truck from the factory. This panel will replace the fold-out tray:
Testing the layout:
Drilled out for the wiring:
I would love to find these (bushings? grommets?) to install in all of the MDF wiring penetrations, but I can't find them anywhere:
nice start. Home depot has those grommets in various sizes
I will check Home Depot. I looked in the small parts/fastener bins and could not find them. I will also search the web for snap-fit bushings, although these seem to be better suited to sheet metal applications. I'm sure they could be modified to fit.
Just a suggestion on the front stage. I hated my door locations. I could never get them to sound right.
I have a set of 6.5 inch Q Forms that I could let go of cheap. I never mounted them, just cut the 6.5 inch holes and reinforced them with liquid nails.
I went with 8's in the floors. If you don't want to cut, this is another option.
Found the bushings. Like was posted, http://www.fastenal.com has them. Here's where I ended up getting them.
The manufacturer is http://www.heyco.com and they're called "snap bushings", designed to snap in to sheet metal of 1/8 - 1/4" thickness. I had one of the same bushings from the Monster cableamp wiring kit and tried it in the MDF panel and they hold well. They're made from nylon and available for hole sizes from 1/4" to 6".
I purchased them from a site called Mouser Electronics (http://www.mouser.com) at a cost of 10 - 15 cents a piece. Needless to say, shipping was more than the cost of the bushings, but sometimes you gotta just bite the bullet.
I ordered a number of sizes, including 3/16, 9/32, 5/16, 5/8, and 7/8 inner diameter.
Coated it with flat black Rustoleum during the week (in preparation to be sprayed with textured bedliner coating per the instructions in the Tutorial forum). Here is is sanded down today (bored the holes bigger for the new snap bushings). The sanding was required because the initial coat of Rustoleum lifted the fibers of the MDF a bit. The Rustoleum was used to prime/seal the board and allow the bedliner a better surface to adhere to:
Sprayed some flat black enamel in the holes and on bare spots revealed after the sanding:
Selected the Plasti-Kote spray-on bedliner, available at Walmart for like $7 a can:
Sprayed three light coats a side. One side took one can. I suggest testing out the spray first, the greater the distance from the object being sprayed does produce the most even, textured results.
I will probably grab an additional can and dust each side one more time.
I was very disappointed with the original amp rack, so I decided to give it another go. I'm not much of a woodworker, but so far I'm much more pleased with the new design. Spent much of the day building this.
After wasting way too much time playing with these amp racks and not really being satisfied with the fit, I scrapped the plans. This weekend, I decided that the amps will be mounted right to the floor of the truck.
Preparing the wiring for a floor mount. The 300/4 ended up under the driver's side of the rear seat. The 500/1 ended up under the passenger's side. The fit on the passenger's side is real tight, especially when you bring the wires in to the mix. I wanted to ensure that the wires were routed neatly, signal and power would not cross, and that the seat rails would not crush the wires once installed. Took a number of hours just to lay it all out:
View from the other side:
Carpet back down, wires fed through:
Fused distribution block installed (last-minute purchase, and the only item I got from Radio Shack). I did not feel comfortable with the un-fused block that came with the Monster amp wiring kit:
Now with the amps installed. 1/4" MDF was inserted between the carpet and the floor such that the amps could be screwed to the MDF and not the floor of the truck. With the seats bolted back down, there is no movement of the amps whatsoever:
2007 Ford F-350 crew cab build
Linear Mode
