Strip Down, Damp Out And Amp Up - How To

Here's the complete bottom metal/MDF base framework for the substructure construction.

The amplifiers' mounting shelves, which are individually removable, were bolted into place with 10/24 by 1.5" bolts..

Triangles were cut from 11/42" MDF and superglued into place to reinforce and support the upper amprack.

When mounting the amplifier, I checked the heatsink clearance as well as the speaker terminals and RCA connector spacing.

I bolted all six amplifiers into place. Three Class D digital amps (XM-SD61X) will go on top so that they are physically closer to the position in the car where the subwoofers will be mounted. I always try to keep the speaker leads as short as possible.

I put in the factory side panels to check substructure proportions to factory tolerances. I wanted to keep my custom interior design in relation to the interior sizes provided by the factory engineers. I constructed a 11/42" MDF plate to support the six 7-inch Sony LCDs.

The factory rear tire mount was chosen to be the main structure point of the rear-hatch-mouted battery.

I affixed a 31/416" cross-drilled aluminum plate to the spare mount with a 14mm bolt. The threaded rods on the ends served as mounting points for the custom brackets I made to be battery tie-downs.

I riveted standard thread 8/32 nuts to the sheetmetal to firmly hold the base into place.

Two custom brackets were cut and bent into the precise shape to hold the battery down.

The brackets were painted semi-flat black Krylon enamel to prevent rusting.

The Optima D34 battery was chosen due to its excellent cold cranking amps and current delivery. This deep-cycle battery will be the first of two in the system.