Squeezing a sealed box behind the factory door panel: Cquenze 8" midbass in 99' Astro
Here's what I've done with most of my free time for the last couple of months.
As is usual for me, I didn't take step by step build up pics, but I got a few here and there.
Here's a borrowed pic of the stock door panel
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Panel removed: This is after I cut a gaping hole into the sheet metal to make room for the enclosure. Looks like a lot of space to work with until you let the window down. Notice that I stayed clear of the plastic anchors that the door panel retainer clips mount to. I also added my own anchors for the 1/4 bolts that would hold the enclosure to the door.
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No pics of the work, but the enclosure was started as two seperate pieces and them joined to form a sealed box. The back was extremely difficult. Most of my time was spent getting the back of the enclosure to clear the power window mechanism while still providing adequate air space. You can tell from the shaping on the back of the enclosure that it was a big pain in the butt.
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the semi-circles at the bottom and the pvc pipe towards the front are to allow the door panel mounts to reach their anchors in the sheet metal.
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The front was a lot easier, I simply taped off the back of the door panel and used it as my mold. The joining of the front and back was much harder than I expected. I had to get them properly aligned so that the enclosure sat flat against the sheet metal and the door panel lay flat over the enclosure. This took forever, and I didn't get it perfect. I ended up having to modify the shape a little to compensate for my misalignment. In the end it all worked out.
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I used three 1/4" bolts to mount the enclosure to the door. Plastic anchors were put earlier remember. I used both metal and rubber washers to prevent the mounting holes from leaking. I would have liked to used more bolts to minimize any chance for vibration, but I new that every hole meant another possible leak in the enclosure.
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Next I cut a big hole where the factory grille used to be (sorry no pics)
I made the the new grille using 1/4" mdf, 1/4" aluminum bars, and bondo-glass. It was molded directly over the stock door panel with the enclosure and speaker in place. Crisco (lol) was used as a mold release on the door panel AND SPEAKER. It did a great job preventing the bondo from adhering to the woofer cone/surround. This method also allowed the grille to snap into place and stay without any other mechanical support. No need for screws!
![]()
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Here's what I've done with most of my free time for the last couple of months.
As is usual for me, I didn't take step by step build up pics, but I got a few here and there.
Here's a borrowed pic of the stock door panel
Panel removed: This is after I cut a gaping hole into the sheet metal to make room for the enclosure. Looks like a lot of space to work with until you let the window down. Notice that I stayed clear of the plastic anchors that the door panel retainer clips mount to. I also added my own anchors for the 1/4 bolts that would hold the enclosure to the door.
No pics of the work, but the enclosure was started as two seperate pieces and them joined to form a sealed box. The back was extremely difficult. Most of my time was spent getting the back of the enclosure to clear the power window mechanism while still providing adequate air space. You can tell from the shaping on the back of the enclosure that it was a big pain in the butt.
the semi-circles at the bottom and the pvc pipe towards the front are to allow the door panel mounts to reach their anchors in the sheet metal.
The front was a lot easier, I simply taped off the back of the door panel and used it as my mold. The joining of the front and back was much harder than I expected. I had to get them properly aligned so that the enclosure sat flat against the sheet metal and the door panel lay flat over the enclosure. This took forever, and I didn't get it perfect. I ended up having to modify the shape a little to compensate for my misalignment. In the end it all worked out.
I used three 1/4" bolts to mount the enclosure to the door. Plastic anchors were put earlier remember. I used both metal and rubber washers to prevent the mounting holes from leaking. I would have liked to used more bolts to minimize any chance for vibration, but I new that every hole meant another possible leak in the enclosure.
Next I cut a big hole where the factory grille used to be (sorry no pics)
I made the the new grille using 1/4" mdf, 1/4" aluminum bars, and bondo-glass. It was molded directly over the stock door panel with the enclosure and speaker in place. Crisco (lol) was used as a mold release on the door panel AND SPEAKER. It did a great job preventing the bondo from adhering to the woofer cone/surround. This method also allowed the grille to snap into place and stay without any other mechanical support. No need for screws!
