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i made a custom fiberglass box back in july with one of my friends. let me tell you, it's a PITA and it takes a long time to get everything all said and done. you have to cut out the crap that holds the spare tire with a sawsall or something, then sand it down a little, then paint the bare metal so it doesn't rust.
this is where it gets tricky. i was designing a box for a 12" aluminum eclipse, and i wanted to hide my amp somewhere in there too. the idea was to be able to still be able to fully use my trunk if i needed to, AND make it look like a stealth installation.
the secret is being able to cut wood very well. i "acqired" a few large sheets of 1/2" fiberboard, the stuff is great. strong, and cuts easily. i decided to split up the spare tire well in half, the back part for the box and the front for the amp. i measured the width and the depth of the well, then guessed on the shape of the wood that i needed for it to stick in there vertically. with some guessing, checking, good skill saw usage, and some irish luck, i had a piece of wood dividing the front and rear half of my former spare tire enclosure. duct tape the thing into place.
now you have to do a one more panel for the box... the rear. more guess and check. so now there are 2 pieces of wood seperating out the rear and the front of the part of the spare tire well that you want to put your sub enclosure in. (BTW, i didn't calculate the cubic foot requirement for ideal resonance or any crap like that, i just basically said "screw it") i put down some gray carpeting (the main structure of the box), and started to pile on the fiberglass. man, that shit stuck to EVERYTHING. hell, i even got some in my hair somehow. took a week to get out. wear disposable latex gloves. and good ventelation is good too so you don't pass out. mixing the crazy hardner (really small packets) and the resin is a bit tricky, if you've never mixed the two before pratice on small quanities first. once you've got the mixture right, start painting it on to the inside of the box. lots of coats is key here, for air-tightness and for it to be strong. just don't forget that when you get the "tomato soup sitting out for 20 mintues" filmy effect on the top of the fiberglass, you've got about a minute before the fiberglass begins to be unworkable. the chemical reaction happens FAST and the fiberglass will become unworkable. it heats up and even smokes a little when it's drying. i screwed it up the first time, and had a batch of fiberglass that i almost wasted so i just dumped the whole chunck of jello-like almost dried fiberglass into the bottom of the sub box. the key here is a lot of layers, but don't go crazy.
once you think you have enough layers of fiberglass, let it dry and the next morning pry it out of the spare tire well. tada! you've got half of a box. it's not a box until you put the top on. measure stuff, guess and check, etc... i nailed my box top (don't forget the hole for the sub!) to the front and rear panels, ran some wire through through a hole in the side, then sealed the whole thing with a LOT of hot glue and this weird "greatstuff" that was yellow and foamy and expanded as it dried. it actually worked pretty well. ok, so you think you have a box after everything's dry? put the sub in and seal it. put your hand on the cone of the sub, and move it up and down. there's a 100% chance you've got a leak somewhere, run your ear around where you put the hot glue and "greatstuff" to listen for leaks while a friend tweaks with the sub. the first time i tested my box for leaks i had about a 2 dozen small leaks.
so, you've got a box now. it's sealed and nice. neat. what do you do with the rest of the space? it's a good place for an amp. i'm not gonna write up how i did mine, because it was really easy. no, i didn't bolt it to the sub box, i'm not interested in cross-modulation.
the cover for the whole thing is also pretty easy too. i took the stock thing that flips up and down to reveal the spare tire and traced a figure on a large piece of 1/2" fiberboard and guessed where to cut the 12" hole for my sub. i got lucky, it looks pretty good, if i was able to host images i would. anyways, i'm done now.
2016 WRX STi Limited (current)
2001 A4 1.8tqms (donated)
1991 GVR4 #1933 (sold)
old.dsmregistry.com/detail.php?carid=218 (dismantled)
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