BILTD

Making up panels for the front wall Mocking up lower panel Making an outer frame to dress the wall Little more work on the lower section Rounded and smoothed off All done, cept need some lighting SMD LED tape. Should provide a nice glow.

Wired up the amps.. Got some lighting going too.. More or less completed here, just the panels left to install/trim. Moving back to the wall. Piece of large acrylic for the front face Using template from the front wall Test fitted. Time to paint the port, first up 2 coats of MDF primer Followed by 2 coats of black gloss. Thin skim of instant grab adhesive.. before applying the panel ontop... And on the front face.. Few screws to help it which are removed following day.. masked up ready for panel work next..

Working on getting the batteries in... Using 8mm thick copper bar (60mm wide) Earth bar installed, with 2 runs of 1/0 earth. Lower part of the box is screwed down, but for extra safety using some 45s to anchor it down some more.. Same on the top and other side. Finishing off the panel for the battery cover.. Almost there with the panel. +12v bus bar installed. Next up installing a Bosch 180A Alternator. Engine had to dropped about 15mm for me to remove the lower bolt, so undone the engine mount bolts on the top side of the engine lowering the block slowly till I could extract the offending bolt. Once removed you can see the old alt is quite a bit smaller, its a 70A unit. Installed the new unit which was extremely tight getting inside the bay but got in there albiet with a couple of grazed knuckles! Inline fuse installed and secured safely out of harms reach.

Adding some initial pieces to help form the shape Few more Starting with this then applying bridge filler Right about now camera has gone tits up. Its an old Ixus 75 which spent most of its life in a pile of dust or next to a dozen subs, so it was no suprised it went grey eyes lol Fine filler Couple of skils at a time over the bridge then sanded Repeated till the panel was close to how we need Like so Next to work on something to hide the wires on the floating ICE-150.4 Camera flash not working, sorry!! couple of pics time I use my other Ixus 90IS... Starting with this.. 3 End up with this.. Adding some dowel pieces to make things flow End caps and other accent pieces on the install getting painted 2 pack gloss black as you'll see later on.

Making the battery box which is ever so tight. Secured to back of the wall with some 1" thick 45s, also on the sides in the same manner onto the floor piece which is 2" thick to avoid the weight of the batteries bowing the wood, around 100 kilos for just the 3 batteries! M24 stud bar.. Cut Test fitted... don't worry there are square washers inside and out coming as you will see later and slightly recessed lower nut to clear back of the battery case.. As you can tell theres no luxury when it comes to room. Sourced M24 dome nuts for the front.. not easy to come by! OK, so now to face the amps... After alot of head scratching and messing about with ideas.. figured best way to mount all three amps. 1st of the ICE-3500Ds to be mounted on a baffle mounted off the top of the back wall 2nd to of the ICE-3500Ds to be mounted on a bracket made from MDF The ICE-150.4 mounted off a bracket suspending it over the 2 amps.. Using M6 thread insets and machine button head screws Like so Everything getting a coat of black paint along the way.. Starting the panels for the battery cover Routed out hole Cut Quick round over Checked for position Amps installed Mock up for panels top and bottom And we leave it there. The panel will be removeable with the floating amp still in place, which can be removed in less than 5 seconds to access any fusing later on.

2 sets of AA Havoc Components (Active) Since Lupos don't have A pillar trim as such, chose the mirror covers as next best place for them. Not on axis but about 20 degrees off. They have a very balanced response and work well both on or off axis, but for this application feel this will give us best of both worlds when open door playing. Using my Resin mixing sticks are reinforcements with mitre bond Few holes in the plastic and keyed surface Bridge filled Fine filler before starting on the other side. Not easy to get them bang on perfect but with mitre bond you can offer rings up, measure measure measure.. before you commit to final position Same procedure, using the mixing sticks (much like jumbo sized lolly pop sticks) Still utilising all OEM fixing points. More or less complete, needing final 240 grit rub down. After offering them up the tweeters ended up being deep and thus not clearing the doors body work, so another 5mm ring added and moulded. This is at 120 grit before finishing till there 240 grit. Sorry not got every pic on this build, my camera goes dulally as you'll see later! Next up the mids. Came across these door builds whilst looking at another build in the SQ section. Didn't feel like cutting corners but they had the look and position I wanted so went ahead and ordered them. Took 2 weeks to come from Germany. Made entirely of fibreglass with gel coat outer layer. Took few goes to make them fit till I was happy. So with our Lupo having electric windows there no need for the indentation for the window winder Couple of holes for better bite Bridge filler Before finishing with body filler. To remove some of the brittleness and add mass/weight for better midbass/midrange response the back side will have 2mm deadening mat, foam pad much like SS rattle pad.

Time for some seam reinforcements. 400gsm cut to desired lengths. Double layer on main seams And over arch moulds The little bubble is old seat bracket which I didn't chop out, incase wall is removed.. though doubtful! 2 coats of resin. 2 hour break between coats. No glass on any other seams other than joining ones. Bolts, washers and nuts for terminals 1 side done. Other side. Just see the expandy to the left in this shot. As a side note, only used 2 cans for the entire build. Rear side labelled Both sides done. Next up PU glue brushed on edges for front baffle to go on. First baffle already on at this stage, preparing second baffle. Marked... Holes drilled.. Glued to keep my bond tite Before penertrating screws there pilot holed then screwed in like so Other side. Done.

Port divider rounded Both halfs Glued and screwed Internal port rounded Offered up to the top section of the enclosure Glued and screwed. Bridge filler also used on all joins. Not to act as a seal but add ever so slight taper than a cold straight join. All offered up, and needing some tweeks to fit All metal masked up to avoid resin or expanding foam making permanant contact with surfaces. Top section rested into the place with PU glue, and left to set over night. Bridge filler used on seams. Expandy foam used to fill the arch mould, twice and trimmed back and sanded for smooth form then skimmed with bridge filler. Next up another layer off 1" MDF on the rear of the enclosure. Maybe its over kill, but couple of screw holes drilled. Relief cuts to allow bend with the top section of the enclosure Glue spread Screwed in place. Batteries dropped in to check for clearances and room. Fitting the amps in a tiny amount of space is looking more bleak even with me going over dimensions several times. Edges where the box meets the metal was all masked up, and expandy foamed. The top of the box used 2 of the sub cutouts PU glued to the top of the box, then from top of the metal skin to the top of the cutout was expandy foamed. Foamed down the sides, also masked. Physically this could be removed from the car with probably no sign it ever had a wall. But the way its come out I doubt it will ever be anything but a walled Lupo.

Front face offered up Couple of 45s added Quick guide made to run router through for clean opening Run Same with second baffle (2" baffle) Marking up for cutouts. 4 passes. Cutout out Offered up again to check if the subs fire right at the back of your head for the soon to be punishment! Ovolo on inner side cutout 1 side 2nd sides And cos we can on the outside.

Floor section cut and after set level with few supports begin with the rest. Sides cut. Glued and screwed Lower section primered Then matt black incase when the sun shines through the limo tint there is no ugly bare MDF. Top section glued and screwed and dry fitted to check everythings square Piece 1 of the front baffle offered up and checked for square Pencil line drawn then chopped. Lower section moved into the car, not easy! Working on the port for the top section to be added later.

All the wood for the enclosure, cut via CNC machine. There's two of most panels as spares incase of any alterations being required. 25mm MDF. Measure twice, cut once.. Well thats the idea. Everything gets drawn up and tweaked. Idea is make things go little easier when you work on your own.

Next up the roof. After mulling over this excuse for OEM deadning I conceeded that it had to go. Stuck on with a PU Flex or Tiger Seal substrate. Not coming off, so I guess we'll deaden over that one Done. Front area got another layer. No MDF roof. Never done it in any of my builds infront of the B-pillar so we remain Street class Legal. There is some foam to roof action behind the B-pillar as you'll see later on. Few random shots of the cable runs.. RCAs down the center with some REM and +12v / -ve sense wiresfor accesorries and gauges, speaker wires on the outside edges and power wire along passanger side and utilising panel gaps to keep it flat under underlay and carpet.

Totally standard in here. Feeding through Kolossus Flex 1/0 power cable. Hard to spot after being covered in copex. Just see it here. Note, the 1.6 16V GTI models have the battery in the boot, no need to run extra ground off the alt (neg field) as it already has one, though we will to TB3 under here too without the battery link. 1/0 going straight to new alt later with inline fuse. Next up to deaden the doors. Silent Coat Extra. Compared to Second Skin D amp Pro Wires ran for speakers. 1 door done. Both doors done.

Sure we can do a lil something...

Yes, t-shirts at the moment..

You should be able to do 150 with 1 12 let alone 2!! Remember install install install!!!

Nice Sounds like your alternators bust.

Is it Jon with the Pug ? Our Wonkyjon yes

Excellent!! I'm sure theres more in there. One of our competitors is doing 152dB+ strong in Street B with a single BTL 12 (gen2) and 139.9s with ease.

I think there is a shortage of NEO. So maybe your 4th one is still being built.

Port area is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too small. No wonder its moving as much as it is.

Brave saying that. Last time I mentioned the word 'China' and 'RE' I had Greg threaten me with Legal action

Too many funni shit in here. Why does a shrunk down motor and less weight make people think 'less boom boom'? Its yesterdecade thinking, and people lacking any real knowledge.. Not consumers, the INDUSTRY. Fi are doing something trully unique, going back and re-engineering and innovating. Remember how big cellphones were in the 90s? how big is an iphone today? they dont even compare today. Thats called innovation and real knowledge. Everything out there looks cloned and like I could run to china at Manupacker it myself. Fuck that.

I've seen it. The place is nothing to scream about, but the idea of seperate shops for different process's is fantastic. The engineering side means business, no bullshiting in there. Wish I had more time to chill.. Maybe next time. I love how people think how it could be in there. Other people show there production lines, but thats where there shit stops. Fi builds every motor in-house, theres no mass of room and 40ft long roller line, shit is purposeful in the way it needs to be.. Trully unique what they do. But people still seem to think its cool to buy shit from manupackers, not to mention the people who trully have NO engineering background or idea on speaker design altogether. I feel honoured to be part of such an outfit. And the industry should be honoured to have something so RARE, infact one of a kind going strong even with an global economic meltdown.