It's been a while since I've updated, I installed the double din in the dash, that's been working good. I figured I'd finish up all the dash work, which really just means installing the XSPower Voltage Control Module.
Pics: I picked up a spare part I didn't mind messing up, I might do things differently if I'm not happy with this Scuffed up I couldn't find smoked plexi anywhere locally, and I really wanted to see what I was buying to be in control of the level of darkness. I used tail light paint to black out 1/8" plexi
I used dowel rods to build up the frame a bit with hot glue, I tested it and it holds extremely well for what it is, I can't get it off without using a razor knife and just cutting it.
I tested the glue on a scrap piece of plexi, it holds great by itself, I couldn't get it to pop off.
And the finished product, I didn't notice the hot-glue string I'll have to clean off the plexi- but other than that it's in place.
I stuck my phone behind it to give an idea of how the display of the module will still be visible when the car is on- just enough to see it without being irritating at night.
I'm still not sure if I may 'glass this thing in place instead, I'm going to fit this in my truck and see how I like the look of it. Any opinions welcome- I'm debating if I like this or not.
I cleaned up the plexi and installed the piece, without the module just to check it.
Thank you. It was extremely easy, I'm just debating if I should paint the cig lighter cover and ash tray to match the dash and make a connection between the two matching dash pieces. My 70 year old mom told me she thought it came factory like it is, but I don't know. I just want it to look clean and factory.
Great build there. I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth but that is quite a bit more translucent than I need. I'd probably need to double it up or add paint, so I'd be where I am now.
Thanks a lot for the offer though- I'll probably buy a piece I saw on one website for like 3 bucks, I just wanted to get this done, and I can always redo it quickly.
I considered the tint, but I'm afraid of cheap tint fading. I was considering paying a local tint shop for a small scrap piece but honestly I like the way this looks so far. If it doesn't work out that is my next choice though.
I was on my way out of state yesterday and happened to get lunch next to a competition. I stopped in for a minute to meter since I wont be buying a t/l for a few weeks.
The guys there were nice enough to let me meter without paying full price to enter the show so that was really cool. I felt like an a5s having to pull beside the lanes and remove my luggage from my port/box. I'm there hauling a trailer with tractor parts and a 4wheeler through this comp lol.
Anyway, I couldn't turn up the volume much at all before the amp went into protect I just couldn't keep my voltage up with the one alternator enough to run the amp as low as I have it. I did 151.6 @ 42hz and 151.0 @ 32hz
There's a lot more left in it, but much below 13v and the amp protects. I metered, went back to eat my lunch, and stopped back and was awarded 1st place. I was only there 15-20 minutes but it was great to go to a show.
Lol, So you happen apon a show, stay for 15-20 minutes, compete with a half finished system, take 1st and leave. Way to make friends and impress ppl. Good job. PPl must have been like "whos this hick with the trailer and tractor stuff?" Then watch thier jaws drop as you walk away with 1st. lol.
Thanks! It's not a great score but like you mentioned I think I'll gain the 1.5db I'm looking for in the electrical upgrades, then I can work on the box since it's just mdf slapped together.
Marc, it was a bit awkward and I wish I could have stayed to talk to folks lol. There were some nice looking cars, ranging from bagged s10s to restored classics, but I just got a glimpse.
If I hosted a competition in Myrtle Beach, no official organization but maybe like a grill-out + free termlab runs for forum members would anyone be near the area any time this summer? Maybe a month from now I'll have the means to do something like this if I could get enough people to go.
I was thinking about small awards/trophies with classes set up by vehicle type and cone area/power.
i would love to come and maybe talk to you and glasswolf in person. maybe get some pointers after you see my set up i am about to redo ~60% of my set up.
I did some alt work 2 days ago and I'm just now putting up some pics. I bolted in the bracket and it fits good other than 3 spacers needing trimmed some. Then the 127.25" belt was too short so I bought a 136.5 I'm going to try tomorrow.
If things fit good I'll be getting this bracket made asap, if not I'll be redesigning or buying smaller pulleys.
I'm sorry maybe I wasn't clear, I wanted to put the logo on the bracket itself. There's a huge flat area that will look sort of empty without something I think, that was just an idea.
That's really awesome how you took first place in the competition. Your system is going to be beast once you get the bracket made and installed. Those 4 alts look sexy.
Troy, I've got a 21" warden coming. should be here anyday. If I may, how big is your box, and tuning on it? I'm just going to do 1 in my tahoe for now with a rf3000.1bd and if I like the results I'll probably order another one. Thanks for any info on the warden.
The box is 15 feet net with 36 hz tuning. If you have the space for it I wouldn't hesitate to do bigger with that power, I was thinking about giving them more box and port area. I believe I have about 200 square inches, though it may be more I can't remember right now.
Okay, it may not seem like much but this is another 2-3 hours of work today. End result is I'm ready to have this bracket machined! I'm in bunches
Figured out the location of the pulleys to get good tension.
That line represents a 90 degree bend in the metal on the real bracket.
Thanks everyone. I'll probably clean the template up today, then run it down to the shop tomorrow to get them to start working it up.
Damn Paul, I thought I was getting by because people had low expectations ;)
perfectcircle, thanks, but I really don't have that much skill. Most people could do this, it's just intimidating at first and time consuming. Btw, do you like the band perfectcircle, or was it just a random name?
LOVE perfect circle. Huge Tool fan also. I wouldn't even begin to tackle those alts. looks fantastic though. I would have my tahoe on the back of a flat bed headed to my mechanic, cause there is no way I could get it to run after I started tearing it up.
Troy, amazing work as always. The dash looks great and it does look very clean, like that setup was a factory option or something. And i can't wait to see that alternator bracket finished and some TL scores.
Thanks everyone. My wife is in the hospital being induced tonight, so I wont be doing crap for a while. Baby # 2 should be born before noon tomorrow. Thanks again for all the positive feedback everyone!
Thanks! The baby's great, looks a lot like the first which has turned out cute (I really don't like babies, but kids are cool).
Updates, pics taken yesterday, sorry they're cell phone. I have like 100 to take off my camera:
About to leave the hospital:
And the older one. The work I was doing outside made the window look dirty as fawk, but she's licking clean glass inside I swear lol.
Monday I'll be talking to a shop about making the bracket. Hopefully they can start soon. Till then I'll just say trying to do anything with two little kids is amazingly difficult. It took 20 minutes to take the alts and pulleys off the bracket because my daughter kept stealing my wrenches when I'd set them down lol.
deathoob, you will look at my children! (I feel so wrong for posting that)
Really thanks though lol. We're getting crap sleep right now. The newborn is having some stomach issues and we've been trying different formulas. Unfortunately just switching formula causes stomach problems so it's going to be bad for a while. living on <4 hours a night since Friday sucks!
Well I got a new table saw, so I'll be building another box soon. This saw is much nicer than my last one. I actually have a huge stationary saw, but the fence sucked on it and this one is AWESOME. This saw, Ridgid R4510: http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/R4510-Table-Saw/EN/index.htm
Thanks Paul, she has her moments. BTW I realized a lot of people start a build log with a bunch of mdf piled up, that plywood is for some flooring I'm doing, not a box lol.
Thanks man, my wife has brown eyes, I have lighter blue eyes, so I guess she got a mix, both kids seem to have very dark blue/hazel eyes. When I was little I was a pedophiles dream, blonde hair blue eyes lol. Now that I'm older my hair is much darker and I'm ugly as sin.
The saw ended up being just over 500 after tax, which was 150 less than the bosch saw I was considering, and 150 more than the Dewalt I also liked. After using the Dewalt with it's rack and pinion rail system (which was nice) I liked the Ridgid better. The Dewalt was a bit more accurate (1/32") for small cuts, but when you brought it out to it's full width the rail just didn't line up straight from front to back. The Ridgid has 8 inches more cutting width (like 26 compared to 18 I think) and stays very straight even with the table extended all the way out. For me being able to rip a full sheet of mdf of plywood in half is a big plus.
The Bosch was really close but I liked this a bit better.
Rovin, I'd rate it at least 9 out of 10. I've used saw horses with a table saw before and this is much better. It feels almost like a solid steel frame, but the adjustable height feet take away from that because they are soft plastic or rubber. They just give it a little play if you know what I mean.
It's the best frame I've used on a portable table saw, and after putting my weight on it (about 175) and it didn't wobble as much as my solid oak kitchen table does when I stand on it -> (My wife burns dinner occasionally and the smoke alarm is above the table lol.)
I dropped the bracket off for auto cad and laser cutting. I'll know prices tomorrow.
If anyone is interested, the more I buy the better price. I buy one, test, and offer group buy or presale pricing on dual, triple, or quad brackets for 01 tahoes. We're talking like 1/2 the price of buying from a huge company, with all of the quality.
Anyone thinking about upgrading speak up as soon as possible, I'll be posting pictures as soon as I have a first run of things in my hands. The more people buy, the cheaper my costs for my personal bracket, so speak up guys.
If anyone was local I could help out, but I don't have access to those vehicles to make something Maybe if I ask around I could borrow one if you guys were serious.
I did some work on my dash, so I figured it would be more appropriate in this thread.
I didn't like the way the last dash bezel turned out- it had a weird texture and the humidity caused it to orange peel when I painted it. I bought a new one and painted it in a vacant house- temp and humidity controlled.
Same stuff, but it was tedious work taping things off so I'm posting it. As soon as the alt bracket is done I'll finish the console to fit the VCM and have pics.
I've considered other colors/smooth but I want things to look factory.
man i cant wait till i get older and have a steady income because the stuff you guys all do is just completely sick man some of the best work ive seen in a car that wasnt done by professionals
Thank you! Man, honestly this whole dash swap thing was very affordable. The scrap plexi was waste, but you can get a piece for like 10 dollars. 10 more for the paint, and 30 more for a junk-yard console so you don't have to alter yours and you only have 50 bucks in parts.
The dash was 40 dollars, the cage was another 10-20, the spacers were 5, and the paint/tape was 20. All together I didn't spend more than 150 on the whole deal. Now the double din itself I don't count because you need a h/u anyway, right?
I appreciate the compliments though, I try to make things look good when I can. My wife never has anything good to say about my work so the compliments I get online are all that keeps me going
my girl was reading the forums with me when she read this last post she got this look on her face like she wanted to hug you then bitched that i only have 1 seat in my car atm, then said she supports my bad habits.
but you are a total "roll model" for me any way. i would love to be able to cut a strait line one day.
lol, thanks. My wife actually complimented the pics I'm about to post! It took me off guard The final product: I got industrial strength velcro. This stuff is no joke, a 1 foot piece of it held over 100 pounds! I'm using large pieces so I have wiggle room to make it look good.
The module
Mounting surface
Velcro in place, ready to adhere
A little offset to appear centered
Wiring ran
And soldering a wire from the steering column.
The console before powered up.
Final product
There is a way to brighten the display, I might do that in the future because in direct sunlight it's a bit dark. At night it's perfect though, so I'm not sure. When cold my voltage is 15.3, but hot it's 14.8. I'm going to see how it goes and probably increase the voltage to 14.9 or 15 when hot.
lol, thats why I just used spectrum. I still have overspray I haven't had time and been to lazy to clean off. It wipes off paint with a rag, though I wish I had some more secondskin for this truck.
Thanks! I turned up the brightness on the module a bit, it's not that different but enough to be more visible during bright sun light with the windows down. It's so dark with the 5 + 20% tint I have it's really only an issue with the windows down, and when giving demos and doing hair tricks that's the fun part
