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Fiberglass and carpet have a very bad relationship, so the floor of the Monte was masked off with masking tape and newspapers to protect the floor. I made sure to keep the masking as close as possible to the floor as to not distrub the shape of the floor. |
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Fiberglass resin and woven mat were applied to the masking to make an exact shape of the floor. This will ensure that the panel will hug the floor perfectly. |
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The edges of the floor mold were sanded smooth and the piece was placed in the car. I screwed it to the threshold and applied fiberglass resin and woven mat to the two pieces to join them solidly. |
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Here are the two floor mold/threshold assemblies. Cute couple huh? |
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Here's a closeup of the assembly as the second coat of fiberglass was curing. The back of the enclosures had to be solid and resonance free. The final result was just shy of 1/2" thick. |
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This is the first test fit of the assemblies. Check out the door panel, it's in for some changes as well! |
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The fours and tweeters were mounted in their MDF baffle, which was secured to the floor mold with aluminum brackets. The baffles were angled for optimum performance at this point. |
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Polyester mold fabric from Select Products was stretched around the assembly, creating the final shape for the kickpanels. |
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Fiberglass resin was brushed into the polyester fabric and was allowed to fully cure before the next step. |
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Auto body filler was used to smooth out the kickpanel and fine tune the shape. The filling/sanding process took around five hours. The panels have to be flawless, as vinyl is almost as unforgiving as paint. |
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This is the final kickpanel, all dressed up in gray vinyl. The kickpanel and threshold are all one piece. |