VolvoFan Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Howdy Volvospeed folks! Long time, no post. I haven't been on much for the past couple of yrs because the new job and new house have kept me quite busy. I was sad to sell the C70 but it was too big a project compared to the amount of free time I have to commit to stuff like that these days... much better to cut my losses and pass it along to someone who can enjoy it! RusheR and RSI motorsports are reportedly doing a great job with it The S90 has given me a clean slate to work with at a more leisurely pace, taking on smaller projects over a longer period of time. Anyways, enough pining. The first major project (other than some good solid "stage zero" work and other preventative maintenance) was the AV system. I replaced the stock head unit with a JVC KW-NT3NDT double-DIN head unit, GPS nav, backup camera, bluetooth, etc. all-in-one. I left the speakers stock (except for the dash tweeters that lost their magnets and had their paper cones disintegrate). The final piece of the puzzle for this project was to install a single 12" sub in the trunk. I'm a stickler for keeping things neat and tidy back there, so I decided to construct a 3-piece unit that would bolt in place and hold my emergency kit and knicknacks (left hand side), fire extinguisher (center), and the sub. Because I didn't want to have to take out one gigantic unit if I ever wanted to use the pass-thru for skis or other long objects, I designed it such that the left and right sides bolted in place with two sliding latches, then the middle piece slid in on drawer slides to cinch everything together, but that middle could be easily removed in just a minute or so if I need thru-access. I purchased the exact trunk bottom and seat back carpeting from an online junkyard because I wanted to units to fit exactly over all the peculiar dips and bumps in the area underneath the hat shelf. This leaves the spare tire accessible and takes up only the most inconvenient and unusable space in the trunk. I used 1/4" MDF to flesh out the sides, tops, and faces of each unit, then stapled everything together to hold it in place before putting a layer of fiberglass cloth over the outside of each. A cut 2x4 frame inside the sub box and surrounding the sonotube I used for the fire extinguisher holder helped to fill everything out. The 2x4 frame inside the sub also helped me get the optimum interior volume for the sub I used (1-1.5 cu ft sealed box, 1.25 cu ft optimal, I was at 1.22 according to calculations and backed up by the "packing peanuts" measurement method... yay!). I used some fiberglass chop mat to further reinforce the sonotube (it's cardboard, after all), then a BUNCH of layers inside the sub box to stiffen up the carpeted back/bottom and the rest of the 1/4" MDF until they were hard as a rock. The sub box ended up weighing about 25 lbs (without the 15 lb sub), and the others wound up clocking in at about 10-15 lbs each. I carpeted the faces and exposed interiors with OEM volvo trunk liner carpeting (at $70 per square meter for 2m... yikes!). Whole project was my first fiberglass job and cost probably $500 for all materials and took maybe 50 hrs from pencil-to-paper to final installation. Pictures are below... I welcome your comments/feedback! -Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolvoFan Posted January 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 More pictures from partway through construction after fiberglass. I used some "bondo" fiber-reinforced putty on the inside of the sub to smooth the corners so that the fiberglass would transition more smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacrifice Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 looks great, but why the fire extinguisher? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolvoFan Posted January 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 The final installation! looks great, but why the fire extinguisher? Because it's always better to have and not need, than to need and not have :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorse Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 looks great, but why the fire extinguisher? For fires. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusheR Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 looks good Jon. Factory style good.and wow you've put a lot of hours in that thing.I guess with those 2x4s and amount of fiberglass ,bondo it's gonna outlive the car i need to wrap that box you made for a coupe too.where did you get that trunk carpeting? how do you like your sound system now? So you are done with this lil project. what's next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolvoFan Posted March 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 looks good Jon. Factory style good.and wow you've put a lot of hours in that thing.I guess with those 2x4s and amount of fiberglass ,bondo it's gonna outlive the car i need to wrap that box you made for a coupe too.where did you get that trunk carpeting? how do you like your sound system now? So you are done with this lil project. what's next? Thanks, Taras! I'm still very happy with the fit/finish of the job and with the additional "punch" that the 12" sub adds to the sound system (although it's still no Dynaudio Pro Logic!). The carpet is OEM volvo... there is a part number. I bought it through FCP Groton but it was obscenely expensive. Also, I ordered two meters, and they gave me two one-meter pieces... retarded. If you end up ordering some for any reason, and you need more than one meter, ask them to give it to you in a SINGLE piece! I would not bother carpeting that utility box... they did a crappy job on it. Take it out of the trunk and measure it, it's not even square! That's what I get for paying retards to do work for me while I'm in the field. What's next? Probably lighting, followed by interior, then suspension, brakes, and body. I'll get all that done in about 3 years if I'm lucky, then it's on to the V8 swap Hope all is well w/ the C70. -Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdizzle Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Wow, long time no see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolvoFan Posted March 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Wow, long time no see! Yah... 75 hr/wk job = almost no time for car and FML in general. Miss u guys! -Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jippi 855 GLT Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 very nice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HPTDoh Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Thanks, Taras! I'm still very happy with the fit/finish of the job and with the additional "punch" that the 12" sub adds to the sound system (although it's still no Dynaudio Pro Logic!). The carpet is OEM volvo... there is a part number. I bought it through FCP Groton but it was obscenely expensive. Also, I ordered two meters, and they gave me two one-meter pieces... retarded. If you end up ordering some for any reason, and you need more than one meter, ask them to give it to you in a SINGLE piece! I would not bother carpeting that utility box... they did a crappy job on it. Take it out of the trunk and measure it, it's not even square! That's what I get for paying retards to do work for me while I'm in the field. What's next? Probably lighting, followed by interior, then suspension, brakes, and body. I'll get all that done in about 3 years if I'm lucky, then it's on to the V8 swap Hope all is well w/ the C70. -Jon Baller! The install looks great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matchbox22 Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 great job, but is the fire ext. just jumping around back there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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