Well, we've shown you many installments on my 2004 Toyota Tundra truck and now it's time for the last project. No custom sound system is complete without some powerful, high-quality amplifiers and Alpine's efficient and tiny PDX series amps fit the bill. Of course, I wanted to make a nice trim panel to integrate it perfectly into the truck. The technique shown here to make that trim panel can be used to finish off a variety of different projects, making it a must-try. We'll do this one in two steps, focusing on the fabrication this month. Next month, we'll mount it, finish the sanding and show you some neat paint techniques. Read the detailed process at www.caraudiomag.com
The factory amplifier is located behind the back seat of the Tundra, easily accessed by removing the rear trim panel. | 
A 1/4" aluminum plate was fabricated to hold the new amplifiers. | 
Now the Alpine PDX amps can be mounted to the plate. |
The amps are wired up, then the rear trim panel was cut with a jigsaw to allow the amps to fit. | 
We could leave the amp install like this and most people would never see it since it's behind the seat. We want to take it a step further. | 
Take care to cleanly tape off the entire area, making sure to minimize wrinkles. |
We always use aluminum foil on top of the tape to add a leak-proof barrier layer between the fiberglass and the vehicle. | 
Again, it's important to make sure the foil is tightly formed to the shape of the vehicle and the amplifiers so that the panel fits correctly. | 
Use resin to stick down the fiberglass mat with a paintbrush. |
Apply Duraglas with a spreader, making sure to evenly spread it across the entire fiberglass surface. | 
Let the panel cure for at least eight hours and then remove the panel from the car. | 
The real beauty of the foil technique is now apparent. |
An air or electric drum sander or Dremel tool can now be used to open up the holes to the exact size of the amp screw covers. | 
Now, a jigsaw with a metal blade can be used to cut the rest of the amp holes, again following the line shown by the foil. | 
The outside of the panel must also be cut, and again we can see where it needs to be trimmed based on the impression left on the panel by the vehicle. |
We can remove the foil now. | 
Next, the surface is ground down to form the shape, using the edges that we ground down first as a guide. | 
A quick pass with some 120-grit sandpaper will smooth out the edges. |
Now we can test-fit the panel back into the truck. | | |