RX8Club.com - Fiberglassed my trunk for cheap.

I was looking at my trunk one day and thought I could do something better. I had 2 10s behind the back seat and a battery relocated by the quarterpanel. I should be able to do better than that. Could I do better than the 4080 boxes? How about a rotor theme? (like that hasn't been done before) Nevertheless, I figured I could do something cool on the cheap.

First I cut out a MPF base panel and routed out a rotor-shaped speaker surround and flushmounted the sub. Built a frame and stretch polyester over it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...icstretch2.jpg

Throw some fiberglass resin on it....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ricstretch.jpg

Alright! This is going to be cool! Fits right into the quarterpanel. Only thing is that I need to move the battery and amp now. Well, I've got all this spare tire well room, so why not use it?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8/Image007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8/Image008.jpg

Now I just need to make one for the other side. But why should I get rid of that box? I just happen to have an extra set of 10s in the garage....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8/Image010.jpg

Oh yeah! Built a lightweight baffle!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8/Image009.jpg

You can see where the amp and the battery are going.

Throw some body filler on...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ata/Filled.jpg

...Little bit of highbuild primer and wetsand...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...primedbox1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...imeredbox2.jpg

This started out as on-the-cheap, so when I found out that VR paint would cost me $300/pint, I knew I had to find a better option. Maybe I'll have more money/time to mess with stuff later, but for now I'll settle for $2.99 worth of spraypaint.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...a/Image014.jpg

Its not show quality, but "holy F" this thing drops! Should have been a factory option from the start. So, what did I learn? I can do a much better job stretching fabric and I need to learn how to spray highbuild better. Rattle cans will never match base/clear coats. But so what? I think its sweet, and plan to spray it again to match the grain on the factory plastic. Maybe a couple LEDs pointing down from the trunk.

So how much? Considering I already had the amp and speakers...
$40 1g resin
$20 4x8 MDF (good enough for 4 similar projects)
$10 4x8 hardboard
$40 10sqft fiberglass mat (enough for 8-10 of these enclosures)
$6 3sqft polyester fabric from Walmart
$20 quart slick sand (primer, used 1 pint)
$40 1g Rage Gold body filler (MUCH easier/lighter than Bondo, used >quart)
$2 wood glue

So a little under $200. Thats enough material for my car and my wife's truck (now in process). A few buddies/club members are already asking for help. This stuff isn't tough guys! Let's see some cool stuff. I'm definitely a fiberglass junkie now!