At the '07 SEMA show in Las Vegas, Digital Designs unveiled their latest rolling audio masterpiece, an '07 Civic Si. Built by Jason Carson and Brad Firgard at Performance Audio in Enid, Okla., the Si was used to showcase DD's latest audio components, such as its new 1508 8-inch subs. Though the installation only took a few weeks, the results are impressive. Using some old-school techniques with some modern materials, Carson and Firgard created a unique showpiece that proves you don't have to go over-the-top to be different.
For the first two installments of this series, we looked at the process of building the trunk lid cover and the sub enclosure. Firgard and Carson spent several weeks working hard to get the look they wanted. They envisioned a classic design with both modern and retro elements. To accomplish that, fiberglass, acrylic, Ultrasuede, and bent-metal tubing were used throughout the build.
To add some excitement to the otherwise stock door panels, they trimmed out some acrylic grilles with the DD logo and backlit with red LEDs. While a relatively simple task, this does require special tools. To make the grilles identical, a router with a flush-trim bit was used to copy the first grille's shape to the second piece. The first piece is called a master and should be kept in a safe place. It shouldn't be used on the car so that more can made be later, if needed. The master was made using a scroll saw (some call it a jigsaw, but it's table mounted) to cut out the center sections. A scroll saw uses a thin blade held tightly between two clamps and moves in an up-and-down motion. If you don't have a scroll saw, you can also use a coping saw, which is the same thing, only hand operated.
Moving on to the trunk, the stock floor just wouldn't cut it for the install. The spare tire was removed and an MDF skeleton laid out to form the basis of the fiberglass tub. By building a tub, the new floor of the trunk is raised to allow the wires to run underneath, keeping them from view.
The amps weren't mounted in your typical fashion. For the DD Civic, Carson and Firgard decided to float them in a similar fashion as the sub enclosure on metal tubing. The tubing is essentially pipe used for making exhausts, bent at the muffler shop. They even used exhaust flanges to mount the pipe to floor.
With all the effort that went it to the Civic, the results show in spades. Being different isn't always about build difficulty, big budgets, and exotic materials; sometimes it just takes a little ingenuity and some brainstorming. Now, go get thinking.