Hi All, time for an update!
Had some time this weekend to work on the car a bit. Was hoping to get a bit more done but progress is progress!
I was able to get the passenger side front door completely done (as in won't have to open it back up again for a looooong time.....I hope!)......
First step after removing the door panel is removing the factory speaker by drilling out the three rivets that hold it in place:
Next, I traced out the large openings in the door onto the rain shield. This will be used to cut out the ABS plastic shapes to cover the large holes:
Then I cleaned the inner and outer door skins with simple green and a micro fiber towel to remove as much dirt and grime as possible to allow the material to adhere to the metal securely:
Next, I shoved some butyl rope in between the door brackets and bars attached to the outer door skin:
Next, I applied CLD tiles to the outer door skin:
Next, I decided to run new speaker wire through the factory rubber door loom. First I pulled the kick panel and unplugged the wires going into the door. This allowed me to pull the entire rubber loom out so it is easier to work with:
I then worked the new wire backward through the rubber loom from the door side. Conveniently, there is a small hole in the factory rubber loom that the wire slides nicely through so the factory tape doesn't have to be removed:
Next, simply reinstall the rubber loom into the door and body making sure to line up the arrows to point upward:
Now its time to cut the ABS plastic to fill the large holes in the door. First, I cut pieces of cardboard using the rain shield pieces I cut earlier. This acts as a more accurate representation of how the ABS will fit and allows for easy trimming:
Once the ABS pieces are cut, I stuck butyl rope around the back edge and used sheet metal screws to secure them in place. Any gaps that weren't covered by the plastic due to the contour of the door I stuffed with additional butyl tape:
Next was making the speaker mount. Luckily, the person I bought the speakers from sent MDF speaker rings with them so I decided to use those. To make the MDF more resistant to moisture I first applied several coats of MINWAX Wood Hardener to strengthen and stiffen the wood. Use a lot because the MDF is VERY absorbent.....I nearly used the entire can on just the two rings:
FYI, don't use plastic Solo cups to hold the wood hardener lol......
I then put several coats of black plasti-dip on the rings to further protect them. I then drilled 4 counter sunk holes to mount the ring to the door:
Mounted to the door with butyl rope.....
I then mounted the speaker to the ring using foam tape. I also put two layers of foam tape on the top of the speaker to direct the sound out of the door rather than have it bleed into the inner door panel:
Next, I cut up 2 more CLD tiles and stuck them in various places on the inner door skin:
Next, I took the rain shield and used it as a template to cut out the MLV sound barrier to cover the door similar to where the rain shield would have gone. Slits must be cut for wires and such to run through as well. I attached the MLV to the inner door skin using double sided sticky velcro:
Next, I used the door panel itself as a template to cut out the CCF to decouple the door panel from the door itself. I trimmed the CCF to fit inside the door and around the door panel clips and various wires and such:
All that's left now is to reinstall the door panel. Everything went smoothly EXCEPT, now with the added layers of sound deadening, MLV and CCF the right side of the door panel was not quite going all the way flush and the clips were not strong enough to hold it onto the door. So, I had to add a screw to hold the door panel flush to the door:
And that's it! Lots of time spent on just one door but I am confident it will make a difference in sound quality and mid bass output. I will of course follow the same process on the drivers side door the next available weekend