Trunk Audio Project

[GTSpeeder]

Here are teh finished product pics of my subwoofer face plate. It took about 15 hour of total labor before it was fully finished. The neon on top pulses to the beat of music. What do ya guys think?

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0054.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0056.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0057.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0060.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0064.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0065.jpg

And this wouldn't be labeled under trunk audio but I thought I'd point it out. The plastic spacer between the two tailights was removed and painted red and silver and there is a silver GT decal on the front of the piece.
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0051.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0053.jpg

[car audio dave]

looks pretty good. the pontiac darts are not totally straight, but the idea is original. keep up the good work.

[Refuse Winst]

I think it looks pretty sweet when lit up, and is a cool idea. From the angles, it's hard to tell if they're straight to me, but even if they're turned a bit, no biggie, IMO.

Only thing I would say is that the paint job needs to be done better... the black is really uneven, and the red is too light (could just be the pic though) a couple more coats of each couldn't hurt... definitely with the black anyways. I would also consider cutting out or painting in the little star part on the inside of the arrow.

Just some suggestions, but I think it's a good start and a great idea.

[Vhrus]

Thats an awsome idea and it looks like you did a decent job on it too!

My suggestions (I just cant post without putting in my ideas on everything lol) would be to either use black(or grey) and red carpet, fiberglass it and repaint, or a mixture of both.

Also are you going to cover up the top of that red light? in the picture it looks like the light escaping from the top overpowers the backglow effect your going for (can be hard to tell in pictures though).
That trunk peice you painted red/silver also looks nice, keep up the good work!

[XoticGA]

:bigok: very cool

[levey]

Looks good man. Very creative. However. I do notice some bad cuts. Maybe you should have practiced a bit... before you did the actual cutting.
BTW. That thing must be very heavy?

[ga5speed02]

great idea man. looks good. touch it up a bit and youll be set. hers an i dea i had looking at it. what of you cut out the center of the darts. so it would just be a border. like the silver part seen here

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/ga5speed02/My%20Grand%20Am/pontiac165.jpg

and just have the center open and that will also let the subs be less restricted :D

[Bouchie11982]

that's pretty damn cool :)

[TA^Guy]

Originally posted by GTSpeeder
Here are teh finished product pics of my subwoofer face plate. It took about 15 hour of total labor before it was fully finished. The neon on top pulses to the beat of music. What do ya guys think?

Not bad at all, the only thing I would do differently is cover the top of the neon lights so it only backlights the Arrowheads.
Originally posted by car audio dave
looks pretty good. the pontiac darts are not totally straight, but the idea is original. keep up the good work.
Dart? lmao - Newbie.
Originally posted by ga5speed02
great idea man. looks good. touch it up a bit and youll be set. hers an i dea i had looking at it. what of you cut out the center of the darts. so it would just be a border.
And your the member of a Pontiac club... you should be ashamed of yourself...

[ManktheTank19]

I like :)

[JoeyK]

Oh, c'mon now John! ... It's a well known fact that cheif Pontiac & the rest of the Ottawa tribesmen would gather for a nightly 'round of beer & darts!:lol:

[ga5speed02]

Originally posted by TA^Guy
Not bad at all, the only thing I would do differently is cover the top of the neon lights so it only backlights the Arrowheads.

Dart? lmao - Newbie.

And your the member of a Pontiac club... you should be ashamed of yourself...


i was just going with the flow, i know that you know that , i know what it is

[GTSpeeder]

Yeah i know the paint isn't the best. The black is some no-name brand that my bro said was spoken well-of. I DISAGREE! All those r great ideas but i talked to my buddy at a car show up here and he has laser cut arrows over his subwoofers. By next summer I'll prolly have that placed over my woofers and maybe give the face to one of my friends who has a Pontiac.

Btw thanks for the feedback guys! And while at the car show i was offered chrome GT wheels from a 99+ GA. They are the more rigid ones and i will be getting those by the Tues or Wed after Labor Day for $400. Tires are included.

[red98grandamse]

99+ GA wheels will not fit on your car:( sorry to say, but we have 5x100, the 99+ is 5x115, not even close unless you attempt to redrill the rims (which has to be done by a shop).

[GTSpeeder]

Seriously? How much does that usually cost and do the centers look any different afterwards?

[RisingX2004]

Uh oh dude....now your sound waves fromthe subs will be v-shaped, which is not good, not good at all.....
















HaHa, I crack myself up.....

like others I say block the light on the top to give a better back-lit effect and make some straighter cuts. Oh, and I think it would look better with carpet but thats my opinion

['96GAGT]

Looks good.

[MantaGreen97]

Looks quite nice! :) For some reason I would have painted the back of the "plate" white or silver or something more reflective so the lighting was more accented at night, but I guess white wouldn't look so hot in the day. But considering you have silver there already, that would probably work. And I'd also "seal" the top so the light tube itself is not visible.

Oh and I would paint the screws that hold the plate to the box! If they were black it would look much nicer, IMO.

Cool that you can fit that toolbox in there nicely as well! :) Where are your amp(s)?

Originally posted by GTSpeeder
And while at the car show i was offered chrome GT wheels from a 99+ GA. They are the more rigid ones and i will be getting those by the Tues or Wed after Labor Day for $400. Tires are included.
You do realise 99+ wheels will not fit on your year GA though, right? Edit: Oops, looks like someone already mentioned this. As for having the car modded to use another bolt pattern wheel, I'd say you're better off just using aftermarket wheels that will fit your car.

[red98grandamse]

Originally posted by GTSpeeder
Seriously? How much does that usually cost and do the centers look any different afterwards?

I don't know, ive never done it. I would never trust the integrity of the redrill to ever put something like it on my car. I've never heard of a problem with weakness after a redrill, but i just don't trust that type of thing. All it is, AFAIK, is filling the old holes in, and drilling it to fit your bolt pattern. If I had to guess, maybe 50-100 per rim?

[GTSpeeder]

Crap, there go my $400 set of summer wheels! I don't want to save up $800 or more on new wheels and tires so i'll just start working on the engine and finishing up the subbox.

[GTSpeeder]

Does anyone have any suggestions on affordable wheels that look good with a 97 Grand Am GT without looking too ricey?

[jditch1979]

Here is my sub covers that were sim. to matts. http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k155/jditch1979/Trunk%20setup/021_21.jpg

[GTSpeeder]

WTF jditch, ur dominating MY thread with UR pics!!!

Lol, jk dude. So when can u hook me up with a set of those arrowheads, and about how much will they cost me?

P.S. Sorry about the wheels. I'm sad that I can't get them too :cry:

[jditch1979]

I will call the guy this week and get a quote from him. Do you want me to paint them or are you going to paint them. You should measure your subs from outside to the outside so I can tell him what diameter to make them!!

[GTSpeeder]

The diameter of each is 12". But my concern now is how to attach the covers. My rings around the woofers r the kind that curve in on the ends so liquid nails may not work.
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSC02251.jpg

And yes, I would prefer it if you painted them. You should remember how mine turned out, lol.

[jditch1979]

The liquid nails should still work. You may need to use more to form it to your subs. My subs are rounded too. what colors do you want?

[GTSpeeder]

Could i get the same color scheme? I was thinking about mixing it up and go with a black trim but it just wouldn't look right. Plus the silver should help spread the red neon after i relocate it.

[Vhrus]

Originally posted by jditch1979
I will call the guy this week and get a quote from him. Do you want me to paint them or are you going to paint them. You should measure your subs from outside to the outside so I can tell him what diameter to make them!!

So your selling these on the open market now? cause those are pretty sweet and if so I might need to find out how much ;)

Are those water cut or laser cut aluminum or something else?

[jditch1979]

Yes I'm going to start selling these sub covers. I can make the covers to fit any size subs. The covers are made with steel and they are laser cut. I'm going to sell the covers with and without paint. Just measure the outside diameter of the subs. If someone would like these pm me. I will only take paypal payments.

[TA^Guy]

Originally posted by JoeyK
Oh, c'mon now John! ... It's a well known fact that cheif Pontiac & the rest of the Ottawa tribesmen would gather for a nightly 'round of beer & darts!:lol:
Ok, in the bad mood I've been in lately you actually got me to crack a smile... bastard! lol

[Vhrus]

Originally posted by jditch1979
Yes I'm going to start selling these sub covers. I can make the covers to fit any size subs. The covers are made with steel and they are laser cut. I'm going to sell the covers with and without paint. Just measure the outside diameter of the subs. If someone would like these pm me. I will only take paypal payments.

What kind of price tag would you put on something like that?

[JoeyK]

Originally posted by TA^Guy
... bastard! lol

-"And then some!":lol:
-Bruce Willis; The Last Boyscout.:D

[96GreenGaGT]

lol that's an awesome movie. bruce willis is one of my fav actors.

also on a note about the neon light tube. just relocate it to the bottom and point it towards the subs. if it doesn't put out enough light like that.. get two more short ones and mount them on the sides pointed towards the subs. that should keep the light inside the box and have the glow effect you're looking for without the noticeability of the tubes.

as for the rims.. there are alternatives to redrilling rims. you can get adapters for your rims. but the difference is you have to measure the backspacing of the rim compaired to your new rim and old rim. because if the backspacing is more you will need thicker spacers.

i have a set of 5x115's sitting in the house being worked on and repainted and polished and everything. i got mine for much much less than you are though so it's not so much a big deal for me to drop 200 bucks on adapters. they go for about 50 bucks a piece depending on thickness. 2" adapters are 50 bucks a piece 1" adaprters are like 25 bucks each or something like that.

the backspacing on my new rims is 1 inch more then the stock rims. which means they will hit the shock mounts because there isn't a lot of room in there.. the stock rims come pretty close to hitting them. but it could be because i need to replace mine......

[GTSpeeder]

I would be willing to buy the adapters because still the price is cheaper than buying 4 sets of aftermarket wheels. But I'm concerned about how far out thw tires will protrude past my fenders.

There was a blue neon @ the Farmington car show this past weekend (jditch, u should remember that) and the tires stuck out about 2 inches and it looked ridiculous. How far do most spaces push your tire out??

[jditch1979]

matt check your e-mail!!

[GTSpeeder]

Maybe this will teach me to read all emails from a user before replying to one. :bash:

[96GreenGaGT]

^ :lol:

you have to measure the backspacing. what you do is measure from the area where the mounting plate is to the back of the rim. that is your backspacing. now measure the new rims. if there is a difference that difference is what you will need for your rim and that is how far it will push it out.

my new rims are 1 inch wider... and they have a 1 inch bigger backspace. so therefore i need a 1 inch adapter for my new rims.

if it pushes it out 2 inches.. and it looked terrible it's prob because he didn't have fender flares on the car. i'm putting fender flares on my car so if it sticks out 2 inchs i don't care cuz the flares will help mold it to the car better. and give it an agressive look. now if the tire sticks out past the fender flare then it'll look stupid.

i used to know the website where it tells you how to measure the rims and stuff.. i had it bookmarked but lost all my bookmarks recently.

[GTSpeeder]

I know what fender flares r but I can't picture them on a Grand Am. Do you have a picture u could hook me up with?

And do you remember the backspacing for the tri-bar stock wheels off hand??

[GTSpeeder]

The old sub cover has been removed and replaced with Jditch's laser cut ones. I just picked them up from him @ the Pontiac car show here in MN and installed them same day.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0142.jpg
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GTspeedr/DSCF0141.jpg

[jditch1979]

hey man they look great!! You don't waste time putting them on lol!! Did they go on ok?

[GTSpeeder]

Sure did, only we didnt use liquid nails incase i ever decided to sell my subs and the buyer didn't own a Pontiac. So far the covers are adhering fine but if they come loose we're going with the liquid nail approach. (btw i haven't had my bass on yet)