Boot installs. If you are going to do it, do it right.
Jun 15 '01
The Bottom Line You will be amazed what a sheet of MDF, some vinyl and a staple gun can make!
Those of you who have read my opinions will probably notice i am keen in the field of boats and cars, if i am not with boats i am modifying cars. I presently own 2 cars, a Vauxhall Nova 1.4, which i have customised to my own unique design, and a Vauxhall Calibra 2.0 16v which i have only recently taken under my wing to start work on. Now i know, and i am sure alot of you out there feel the same, but there is nothing better than getting in your car on a nice day, dropping the windows, and turning up your favorite cd or tape. But it doesnt always have to just sound nice. If you have spent all this time and money on buying some top gear to play your tunes, why not make it look like the business too? Show of your hard earned cash. Boot installs are the way to do this. By boot i mean the Non US way of saying trunk. You will be amazed what you can do with a sheet of MDF, some Evostick and a roll of vinyl. Flick through any good car magazine, such as MaxPower and you will see pictures of stereo installs that look the bees knees. Alot of people look at this, then think uh oh, money, and thats it. However that is not the case. If you have the money then you can take your car along to an audio shop and tell them what you want and they will build you a quality install, but if you think you are pretty handy with the old jig saw and drill, then you can knock up a quality and unique set up that will transform your car and make your ICE something to look at.
As each car is different and size and layout is different in each case, there is no point in me telling you how to build an install as it just wouldnt be practical and its much better to design and build it yourself, but i can give you some helpful tips and hints to make the job easier, and better looking.
1. The products. If you dont have any ICE in your car yet and want to go all out and sort out your system, then select your products carefully. As in this game, appearence is just as important as quality. A good tip is try and keep to the same brand. Mixing brands often ruins it as each brand has its own designs and it can end up looking like a patch work quilt. I prefer Longmill personally, but there are alot of nice looking products there which are good buys. Decide what you want. How many amps? how many speakers? do you want a sub? 2 subs? a bass box? do you need crossovers? which wires will best match the appearence? all these things you should concider when choosing your setup. Another thing that helps is try and get it all before you start building, and i know often this can be expensive and not pratical for alot of people, but if you slowly build up your install and then when you have everything you can start to do it right. I say that as often if you add as you go along, you will find once for instance a panel is covered with vinyl, if you then go and cut another hole in it, you will end up having to replace all the vinyl on that panel to get a neat finish.
2. Use Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF). This is perfect for this as it is very easy to work with and shape and is fairly cheap. You can sand it easy and shape it to match contours of your trunk/boot.
3. Design. Before you go all out with the saw, design your layout carefully. Measure the space you have, measure your equipment, think about how much space you want to take up. Remember amps need air! so avoid designing them into small boxes etc unless you plan on fitting a cooling system for them. (i used the fans out of a computer power source). When you have all your measurements and a good design as to how you want it, make a cardboard version first so you can check it all fits together. This will make a useful template for cutting your MDF later too. And dont forget, if your spare wheel is located inside your trunk/boot, remember to design it in a way that still gives you access to the spare wheel, and dont make the mistake i did and block of the access to your rear lights, as if a bulb blows, it becomes a real pain to replace it. (lucky for me a bulb hasnt blown yet :o) )
4. Colour cordinate. when choosing the vinyl, or felt or what ever material you want to finish it all off in, make sure it will match the cars colour and its interior, and the equipment you using will match too. And make sure you have a plentyful supply. You can work out roughly how much you will need to finish it all off, but get more than you need as you WILL make mistakes, and there is nothing worse than to find you cant get the material in the same colour agian.
5. wiring. A good idea is to lay your wires first. Lay all power leads, RCA cables, Speaker cables etc before you start fitting it all together, this makes it easier to wire up and means all your wires will be hidden away and tidy when it is finished. But plan where the wires need to go. A good thing to do is draw up a wiring diagram before hand and then you will have a reference as to what wires need to go where, as it is easy to forget what does what when you have all these wires going all over the place. Also wires can be used to make a feature of the install. For instance speaker wire is available in all sorts of colours, and sometimes showing the wires is a neat touch. If you fix them neatly and straight. Fuses too can make a nice feature. Buy good fuse holders, and have them on show, this not only looks better, but also makes it easy to replace them should you happen to blow one.
6. Finsishing touches. Think about nice features you can incorporate that will set it aside from everyone else. One thing that often works well is the brand name incorporated into the design. A tip for this is, in the false floor, if you build one, cut into the mdf the word you want, eg. LONGMILL then fix a sheet of perspex over it. Then you can mount a light under this and when your amps come on the light comes on too and illuminates the word. There is no limit to what you can do really, i have seen smoke machines, and laser light displays incorporated into them and hydrolic systems that expand the whole system when the boot lid is opened. You can really go to town with a little time and money.
7. Dont be afraid to seek advice. If you are new to the scene or your not sure what would work best with what, then ask someone. Go along to an audio store and ask someone what amps would work best with this headunit and these speakers. Or ask a mate which design he/she prefers. If you know of a place that will build installs, go along with your designs and ask them what they think, they may be able to make suggestions or tell you what you need to do to make something work.
8. Remember it is only 12V. Although i said there is no limit, obviously you are restricted to 12volts (depending on the car and country) so wide screen TV and Sky is probably not going to work. You can get alot of things that will work on 12V for instance Playstation 1 can be converted to 12V and you can buy tv's and videos that will run on 12V but dont overload your alternator and battery. Remember they are not designed to feed a large amount of auxillary equipment and often a second alternator or battery is needed. This is not as bad as it sounds as kits are available and are fairly easy to fit.
And finally. Have fun doing it. There is nothing better than standing back after you have finished and looking at your finished master piece. Keep it looking nice and it would have been worth the time and money.
Hope this has helped those of you who want to make something more than just a stereo. Remember there are lots of magazines and on-line places where u can look at different installs. www.maxpower.co.uk is one to name but a few
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Epinions.com ID:
uncle_bob
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Location: Kingsport, TN, USA
Reviews written: 31
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About Me:
Boats and cars and computers are my game
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