Wayback: 2002 Impala SQ simple install

A local enthusiast approached me to do an install for his car, sound quality being the ultimate goal.
He had actually been in possession of some pretty high-caliber equipment for a fairly long time (everything except for subwoofers), and simply had never pulled the trigger to get this stuff installed.

He already had in his possession a Kenwood music keg storage system and complimentary head unit, a Viper 1200.1 mono amp, and monsterous Viper 800.4 four channel amp, as well as a three-way Focal Utopia component set, which would be replacing a two way Focal set that had been serving him interim duty off the single amp as he planned this install.
I managed to track down for him a set of Mass 2012 subwoofers (built by now-defunct Audiomobile), a well cared for set from someone that I knew, and we were ready to get started!

What wasn't expected was a deadline that snuck up... more than 2/3 of this installation (nearly all the pictures shown here) was completed in a 24+ hour long marathon installation, without sleep, shower, or even breaks - just barely completing the install at the deadline!

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin13.JPG I started by building two sealed enclosures to tuck behind each strut tower.

Then, I templated the trunk to create a baffle board for each, which also house the two amp racks.

Final details involved templating back from the baffle board, to create the top panel that contours back to
the strut towers.

The trunk had already been layered with a thick damping material, that often made this a gooey affair.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin06.JPG https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin03.JPG

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin08.JPG The above two pictures show the preparations made for fiberglassing the kickpanels -
First, plastic sheet was taped in place to line the footwells, extending out the doorsills, to prevent possible
damage to carpeting or paint from spills or drips.
The area to be fiberglassed was lined with aluminum foil.

I needed to make a mold of this area, since I didn't have a convenient stock panel to build a kickpanel off of.

At left we have the first layer of fiberglass applied to make this mold (polyester resin was used for this stage),
which will later be trimmed to a useful shape.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin09.JPG Once the fiberglass had cured, I suspended the baffle at an angle that had previously been settled on
through a lengthy listening session.

I first made a disk out of 1/4" hardboard, and taped that to the back of the magnet, as these Focal Utopia 4"
midranges had pole vents, and I wished to ensure adequate spacing for it to breathe.

I then used polyurethane glue to secure the baffle to the cured fiberglass along the bottom, and glued a
small stand-off using MDF to hold the baffle at the proper angle at the top.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin12.JPG I then removed the kickpanels from the car, and trimmed the rear fiberglass mold to a useful shape.

Following this, I peeled away the aluminum foil, and wrapped the kickpanel in box carpeting, securing it in place with
contact adhesive - this carpeting forming the contours that were desired for the shape of the end product, following the
cuts that were made.

Once in place, the carpeting was heavily saturated with fiberglass resin (epoxy resin) and allowed to cure solid.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin14.JPG Here we are test fitting the initially cured kickpanels into place - and they fit nicely, having taken the shape that we desired.

Following this initial test fitting, the pods were removed, coated with body filler, and sanded until smooth, to provide a good
surface to which we would later upholster to, and to smooth out any oddities.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin15.JPG https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin16.JPG

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin17.JPG The enclosures and amp racks were then upholstered in black carpeting, and test fit into the car. The wiring in the pictures
was existing wiring from the old system.

After installing the enclosures/amp racks, a hinged floor was built to allow access to the spare tire, which would be retained.
The floor was also upholstered in black carpeting, as was the rear sill of the trunk entry.

Note below each sub, a tiny bit of floor attached to each enclosure, to allow the hinged portion of the floor to rise without
striking either sub.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin18.JPG A low-angle shot of the passenger side of the trunk, to show the relocation of the Kenwood Music Keg, hidden below the
rear deck, slightly angled for convenient access.

The Viper 800.4 takes up the entire amp rack recess on this side, while the drivers side houses both the physically-smaller
Viper 1200.1, and the power distribution.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin22.JPG One interesting feature was that we needed to retain the factory head unit with this car.

The aftermarket wiring harness adapter for the aftermarket head unit contained a lengthy harness to allow for relocation
to the trunk, to allow certain features of the car to still work, that are inexplicably housed in the factory head unit, when an
aftermarket head unit is installed.

The head unit was attached to the bottom of the hinged door, and closes perfectly inside the inverted spare tire, allowing
for convenient access if needed.

Not shown in the pictures are the following:

Focal tweeters for Utopia set were mounted utilizing a preexisting hole (from the Polykevlar set that was installed previously, flush mounted), but that aiming offered horrible imaging. The Utopia tweets were installed a bit differently, actually using their surface-mount housing in this location, to cross-fire the tweeters across the windshield, resulting in a decently wide, high soundstage.
Crossovers for Utopia 3 way set are monsters, being 24dB/octave passive units for three drivers. The crossover units were secured to the doors, hidden behind the doorpanels.
Utopia 6.5" midbass drivers were mounted in the doors, on MDF baffles, behind stock door panel grilles.
The original plan was to upholster the kickpanels in a grey matching the vehicles vinyl. Due to time constraints, we ended up carpeting the kickpanels, and may end up reupholstering them at a later date.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin13.JPG	I started by building two sealed enclosures to tuck behind each strut tower. Then, I templated the trunk to create a baffle board for each, which also house the two amp racks. Final details involved templating back from the baffle board, to create the top panel that contours back to the strut towers. The trunk had already been layered with a thick damping material, that often made this a gooey affair.
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin06.JPG	https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin03.JPG
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin08.JPG	The above two pictures show the preparations made for fiberglassing the kickpanels - First, plastic sheet was taped in place to line the footwells, extending out the doorsills, to prevent possible damage to carpeting or paint from spills or drips. The area to be fiberglassed was lined with aluminum foil. I needed to make a mold of this area, since I didn't have a convenient stock panel to build a kickpanel off of. At left we have the first layer of fiberglass applied to make this mold (polyester resin was used for this stage), which will later be trimmed to a useful shape.
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin09.JPG	Once the fiberglass had cured, I suspended the baffle at an angle that had previously been settled on through a lengthy listening session. I first made a disk out of 1/4" hardboard, and taped that to the back of the magnet, as these Focal Utopia 4" midranges had pole vents, and I wished to ensure adequate spacing for it to breathe. I then used polyurethane glue to secure the baffle to the cured fiberglass along the bottom, and glued a small stand-off using MDF to hold the baffle at the proper angle at the top.
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin12.JPG	I then removed the kickpanels from the car, and trimmed the rear fiberglass mold to a useful shape. Following this, I peeled away the aluminum foil, and wrapped the kickpanel in box carpeting, securing it in place with contact adhesive - this carpeting forming the contours that were desired for the shape of the end product, following the cuts that were made. Once in place, the carpeting was heavily saturated with fiberglass resin (epoxy resin) and allowed to cure solid.
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin14.JPG	Here we are test fitting the initially cured kickpanels into place - and they fit nicely, having taken the shape that we desired. Following this initial test fitting, the pods were removed, coated with body filler, and sanded until smooth, to provide a good surface to which we would later upholster to, and to smooth out any oddities.
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin15.JPG	https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin16.JPG
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin17.JPG	The enclosures and amp racks were then upholstered in black carpeting, and test fit into the car. The wiring in the pictures was existing wiring from the old system. After installing the enclosures/amp racks, a hinged floor was built to allow access to the spare tire, which would be retained. The floor was also upholstered in black carpeting, as was the rear sill of the trunk entry. Note below each sub, a tiny bit of floor attached to each enclosure, to allow the hinged portion of the floor to rise without striking either sub.
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin18.JPG	A low-angle shot of the passenger side of the trunk, to show the relocation of the Kenwood Music Keg, hidden below the rear deck, slightly angled for convenient access. The Viper 800.4 takes up the entire amp rack recess on this side, while the drivers side houses both the physically-smaller Viper 1200.1, and the power distribution.
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511...a/Justin22.JPG	One interesting feature was that we needed to retain the factory head unit with this car. The aftermarket wiring harness adapter for the aftermarket head unit contained a lengthy harness to allow for relocation to the trunk, to allow certain features of the car to still work, that are inexplicably housed in the factory head unit, when an aftermarket head unit is installed. The head unit was attached to the bottom of the hinged door, and closes perfectly inside the inverted spare tire, allowing for convenient access if needed.