Jones formed the rear portion of the box after applying several sheets of fiberglass and resin. A front baffle was built from 3/4-inch MDF and attached to the rear section using a piece of Sonotube (cardboard tubing) and fiberglass. Once the rest of the enclosure was finished, Jones contoured and shaped the front side of the box with Bondo. He was able to make the enclosure contour perfectly with the adjoining factory panels. The final steps were to treat the inside of the box with five cans of Dynashield and upholster the box in matching vinyl.
Retaining cargo space was again an issue when it came to the placement of the system's amplifiers. There was just enough room under the rear seats for two Rockford Fosgate amps. A Power Series class D mono amp drives the subwoofers, and a second four-channel Power Series amp powers the front and rear speakers. Since the amps are underneath the seats in a cramped space, airflow is restricted and overheating was a definite concern. To remedy this problem, two cross flow fans were set up in a "push-pull" configuration to push the warm air out and pull cool, fresh air in across the amps.
With such a large-sized vehicle, a substantial amount of sound damping material was needed to eliminate unwanted sound resonance and vibration. "Dynamat Premium was applied to all of the doors, and Dynamat Super was used on the floors and firewalls," explains Paddleford. "In the hard to reach areas, a combination of Dynashield and expanding foam was sprayed. By the time they were done, the team at CSW used more than 100 square feet of material."
A custom fiberglass enclosure...
A custom fiberglass enclosure was created to accommodate two Boston Acoustics 10-inch woofers.
The Paddleford family is very pleased with the results. Now the only future plan for the Suburban's system is to add an Alpine processor. "We will tackle that project as soon as my wife is willing to part with the vehicle for a few days," jokes Paddleford. "Right now, we plan to enjoy it as much as possible, taking it to USC football games, church, concerts, and our vacation home." Wherever they go, they will get there in style.
Name: Douglas Paddleford
Vehicle: 2000 Chevrolet Suburban
Team or Shop: Competition Soundworks
Cerritos, CA