Easy-to-build custom project that won't break the bank for our project Honda Element.
We're taking a break from our Project Tundra this month to finish up another installation, our Honda Element. This vehicle recently went to the East Coast to do events on that side of the country, so you East Coast guys keep an eye out for it at car shows. We showed the building of the pillar-mounted speaker enclosures a few months back and now we'll focus on the subwoofer/amplifier area in the rear hatch. This is a good example of a nice-looking, easy-to-build custom project that won't break the bank. If you haven't worked with fiberglass very much, a simple project like this is a good way to get some experience. As always, send any questions about this project to sbrown@alpine-usa.com and check out SteveBrownUniversity.com.
The first step was to make a 3/4" MDF border around the edge of the spare tire area. | 
This box was bolted through the floor of the spare tire well to keep it in place. | 
We welded 3/4" square steel tubing together to form mounting frames for each amp. |
Next, we placed the steel amp frames where we wanted them and temporarily held them in place using MDF strips and CA glue. | 
The amps are mounted on the amprack and an MDF rectangle was made to fit around each amp. | 
The front view shows how each amp is framed and how the ribs connect these frames with the border around the edge. |
Polyester grille cloth is now tightly stretched and stapled over the frame, followed by five layers of fiberglass mat to build strength. | 
A grinder is used to roughly finish the surface, before adding a layer of body filler. | 
To hide the six trim panel bolts, an insert was made on each side of the trim panel. |
More fiberglass mat is added over the insert area. | 
One additional detail we added was a skeleton housing to hold two 6.5-inch video monitors. | 
The final product shows a nicely integrated, custom subwoofer/amp/video display. |