My build thread: 2004 Cobra Vert #871.

Iamchris

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Looks great man, fine work and attention to detail. I was thinking that the texture on the IRS may be more likely to pickup/hold dirt, but it looks fantastic.
 

olympic

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Installed some Metco double bearing idlers today. I had some BPS single bearing idlers already but didn't like the way they would move around under load. Amazing build quality and craftsmanship on the Metcos!

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olympic

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Finished up the HID projector retrofit with LED DRL's.
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Osram bulbs for the HID's and Diode Dynamic amber LED's for the side markers.
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Morimoto 35w ballasts.
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4sdvenom

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Damn that turned great and looks killer!
Is there an actual kit to do the retrofit or is it something you put together yourself?

Thanks
Ken
 

olympic

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Damn that turned great and looks killer!
Is there an actual kit to do the retrofit or is it something you put together yourself?

Thanks
Ken

It's custom. The headlights I bought on Amazon and they come with the LED DRLs. The D2S projectors are from Morimoto. If you use the smaller H1 mini projectors its a much easier install into the headlight housing with little to no modding. Hardest part is getting the headlight housing apart without melting it or breaking something.
 

olympic

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Had to replace the power steering cooler because one of the metal lines cracked and leaked. Likely weakened from when I twisted the factory cooler 90 degrees to fit a Gord's heat exchanger. Left a nice trail of ATF all through my shop and driveway...lol!

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I did some shopping around and purchased a Derale 13220 frame rail mounted trans cooler as a suitable replacement for the stock cooler.

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Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the pics of the install but here is the aftermath. The cooler is attached to the lower rad support with 2 stainless steel rivet nuts and matching bolts. The hose included in the kit looks to be high quality and was just long enough to attach the cooler to the stock lines. Fitment was perfect with plenty of room left on all sides.

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olympic

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Time to tidy up the trunk! First up, an SVT Terminator trunk lid panel. Unfortunately the person that made it no longer makes them.

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The audio system pictured above was just something temporary I threw together years ago. Time to put in some work and make something worthy of a Terminator! I knew I wanted Sundown Audio for this build due to their good reputation among enthusiasts and the classic good looks of their amps and subs. I had two guiding principles for the build: 1) use the wasted space of the spare tire well as the sub enclosure and keep the install simple, clean and as light weight as possible.

The hardware:

Sundown Audio SAE-50.4 class A/B 4 channel amp for the front stage.
Sundown Audio SAE-1500D class D monoblock amp for the sub.

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Check out the brushed finish. These amps are simply stunning!

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The sub: Sundown Audio U-12. 30mm Xmax one-way and weighs 45lb!

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Again Sundown does an amazing job with the the styling and finish of their subs.
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Some other miscellaneous hardware for the build:

KnuKonceptz power distribution block. I will be running one 0 AWG cable into it from the battery and 3 cables out. 0 AWG to the 1500D, 8 AWG to the 50.4 and another 8 AWG to my fuel pumps.
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These are the passive crossovers for the JL Audio front stage. I made a bracket that would allow them to be mounted to the back of the rear seat.

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olympic

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I installed the front stage components years ago and unfortunately don't have pictures. They are JL Audio C3-570 component set with 5x7" mids and 1" tweeters, both mounted in the stock locations in the front doors. I also installed sound deadener in the doors at the same time.

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The beginning! This is pretty much how the trunk looked when I bought the car with missing carpet and panels.

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The first step is to determine the volume of the spare tire well. The easiest/least messy way to do that with reasonable accuracy is to fill it with packing peanuts and then measure the volume.

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I measured the volume of the cardboard box and then used it to measure how many box-fulls it took to empty the spare tire well. It came out the 2.1 cubic feet which is perfect for the U-12!
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Time to re-enforce and deaden the sheet metal. I made some braces out of MDF that would re-enforce the spare tire well and and connect it to the baffle to reduce vibrations and flex.

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Here they are installed along with a layer of sound deadener. The braces are held in place with construction adhesive (no screws). THe holes in the braces are to allow air to circulate so the entire spare tire well acts as 1 chamber.
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Next I began fabricating the wood baffle that would attach to the trunk floor and seal the chamber. I chose 10 layer birch plywood for it's light weight and excellent sound qualities. First step was to make a cardboard template of the shape needed:

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Then transfer the template to the birch plywood.

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I cut the edges at a 45 degree angle and later rounded them off some more by sanding so there wouldn't be sharp lines under the trunk carpeting once installed.
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olympic

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Hole for the sub and port cut out. The port will measure 32 square inches x 30" long which tunes the enclosure for approximately 34Hz.
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I drilled/glued threaded nut inserts into the wood to mount the sub with 1/4" bolts.

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This is the completed bottom side of the baffle with a slot routed out for the fuel pump wiring.
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A closer look at the port with rounded edges and corners to reduce turbulence and port noise.

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Completed top side with the port. Everything was screwed and glued for strength and reliability.

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Carpeting installed on the port.

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Fully carpeted.

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I attached to baffle to the trunk floor with 6 bolts and construction adhesive. 4 stainless rivet-nuts were installed in the trunk floor and I repurposed 2 of the factory amp mounting studs at the front.

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olympic

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And finally the finished product! Most of the wiring is tucked between the rear seat and the trunk liner. I weighed everything that went into the build and it totaled 80lb which I think I can live with.

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Turkey_Lurker03

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Very nice, sun down makes some tough looking equipment!

Happy with the Jl components?? Was looking at the 5x7s as well.

Also have a vert and appreciate you sharing your airspace measurements. I have diff plans for my trunk so was thinking of using components up front like u & the stock rear 5.25 speaker enclosures for some extra bass.

Would you happen to know the volume of those stock enclosures by chance?

Wanted to customize the factory enclosure and add a 6.5 or even 8 inch sub in there but don't know what air space I really have. Not going to fill it with water or sand so might try the packing Pnuts...

Like how you reverse mounted the speaker and made the port so those wouldn't subtract from your airspace...really cool!

Sent from my SM-G988U using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 

olympic

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Very nice, sun down makes some tough looking equipment!

Happy with the Jl components?? Was looking at the 5x7s as well.

Also have a vert and appreciate you sharing your airspace measurements. I have diff plans for my trunk so was thinking of using components up front like u & the stock rear 5.25 speaker enclosures for some extra bass.

Would you happen to know the volume of those stock enclosures by chance?

Wanted to customize the factory enclosure and add a 6.5 or even 8 inch sub in there but don't know what air space I really have. Not going to fill it with water or sand so might try the packing Pnuts...

Like how you reverse mounted the speaker and made the port so those wouldn't subtract from your airspace...really cool!

Sent from my SM-G988U using the svtperformance.com mobile app

Thank you! I'm very happy with the JL components for sound quality and volume. They've been in there for at least 5 years with no issues. I never messed with the rear speakers so they're still stock but disconnected. IIRC the enclosures are very small and plastic so may not be appropriate for a sub.
 

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