VW Bora Custom Fibreglass subwoofer build. (large photo content)

[Hairy_mic]

Hey folks, I have recently completed my sub for my Bora V5.

Basicly the mrs said that i wasnt allowed a sub because there would be no boot space left (lol)
so after a little research i came across somebody else who had done this type of install on a bora.

I followed their guide this is a pictorial story of how i went about it.

What you need :

3sqm fiberglass matting
1sqm fiberglass cloth
3lt fiberglass resin (and hardener)
measuring cup
lots of cheap paint brushes
Lots o|:
f masking tape
+-*P/lastic drop sheets
some 19mm mdf
some "grip bond" adhesive (or similar)
pva glue
some contact adhesive
car carpet

10" (low profile if possible)

Tools used
Stanley knife
Multi cutter (ie renovator)

Ok first thing first. you cannot spend enough time taping up the area to glass, and plastic sheet the boot. Trust me you DONT want to get this **** on your carpet.

Remove the cargo netting thing. (tried to carefully remove without breaking, but in the end proved impossible.)




I found that putting the rear seats down and physicaly getting into the boot was the easiest way to make sure i was getting access to all the hard to reach bits,


Mark roughly the shape of the sub
VERY IMPORTANT STEP Lightly spray some oil onto area you are going to be woring on - i used some low calorie olive oil as i said a VERY light spray. Prep by cutting your fg into strips (2inch x10) this mkes life alot easier when applying the FG

So start building your layers of FG up, use your paintbrush to 'stipple' the resin into the FG, mking sure you remove all the bubbles.

Make sure you bring your FG at least 2-3 inches over the line (find out later why)

Once you have 3 layers or FG mat (with 24 hours of drying between coats) you can pull the mould from the car. This wasnt too easy but after 10 mins or so of freeing off and pulling it came away.

The next thing i did was use a multi tool to clean up the inside, to mke it as neat as poss. I then put 2 layers of FG Cloth as a final coat.
After this it came to the point i was dreading. The cutting of the FG. It became apparent that the lines i had origonaly drawn were a mile out (i was glad i had gone a few inches over the line.)

A nice flat surface helps at this stage.

Mark round the sub then trim to suit
Test fit

decided to fit som 8mm foam to the rear of the enclosure to minimise vibrations

Mark out and cut speaker and port holes. I then pva glued all cut edges.

Got some proper audio speaker filler from jaycar

At this point i ran a thin bead of no nails adhesive round the inside of the enclosure and round the edge of the mdf, sat in place and used a scraper to fill in any gaps. left for 72 hours to dry (it actually to that long to go rock hard)

]

Rough build time 25hours

[Golf-Sam]

good work !!! looks great !!

[stotto]

Looking Good. Does the fibreglass attach to the MDF some how ?

[leighaus]

good job. id like to see this installed.

where will you amp be located? under parcel shelf?

[Hairy_mic]

Looking Good. Does the fibreglass attach to the MDF some how ?

During the fitting process it was held in with 4 screws, Once i was happy with the internals, Used 'no nails' type filler/adhesive

[Hairy_mic]

Yes parcel shelf will be the place. (going to sound deaden it first though )

[dylan8]

Nice!
going to be doing similar on the first aid kit side of the boot as I use the pocket too often to remove it

[Hairy_mic]

Nice!
going to be doing similar on the first aid kit side of the boot as I use the pocket too often to remove it

Considered that], will be doing the other side eventually

[noone]

Looks good.

How big is the enclosure (internal)?

On porting, I prefer not to port a box unless there is a reason. Port sizes, lengths and locations are crucial to making the sub output flat (not a one-note wonder). Not trying to detract from a good build, just didn't see the port / box sizing detailed. You could always block off the port to see how it sounds if the frequency response is a little lumpy.

I'm envious of your fiber-glassing, always wanted to have a go, always new I'd mess it up / make more mess than do good.

[4wheelmotion]

Good job