The page is dedicated to my door pod build. Basically the materials used are 3/4" MDF, some ABS plastic and body filler. Since this build will be done on my off time, and I have no real off time, its gonna be awhile before it gets completed. However, I am going to try and make this tutorial as complete as possible, so that others can follow my footsteps easily enough. Enjoy!

Materials used (so far):
3/4" MDF
Posterboard
Jigsaw with high tooth count specific for laminate woods
Plunge router
straight cut router bit
roundover router bit
rabbeting router bit
Palm sander
2 1/8" hole saw
Sand paper (60, 150, 220, 400)
Tape measure
Adjustable T-square
E-Z LOK "knife-thread" inserts
Machine screws
Steel Washers
CA glue
Evercoat Lite-Weight body filler
DAP Contact Cement
Automotive grade vinyl
SEM Color Coat vinyl paint
SEM Vinyl Prep cleaner

Step #1:
Using some poster board that I had lying around, I traced the outline of the stock speaker location to create my template. Using scissors, I cut the template out. I then test-fitted the template and made any minor adjustments that needed to be done.

Step #2:
Then using the template, I traced the outline onto a piece of 3/4" MDF. Using the jigsaw (with appropriate blade) I proceeded to cut the baffle.

Then after cleaning up the edges a bit with the palm sander, I used the roundover bit with the router to create a curved texture on the outside edge of the baffle. Here you can see in the pics below how I secured the baffle, the router and roundover bit I used, the comparison of the roundover edge to the normal "cut" edge, and what it looks like when finished with nice rounded edges.

Step #3:
I measured the stock speaker opening on the door panel then transfered those measurements to my baffle. Here is what it looked like after getting the center lines correct. Whats important to remember here is that I will mount the driver from behind the baffle, so the opening that I will cut with my router is only big enough for the speaker to fit but without being able to see the metal mounting baffle, you will only see from the surround inwards once completed.

Step #4:
After getting the speaker locations drawn out on the baffle, I test fitted the baffle on the door panel. Here in pic 2 of this series you can see where the gap is along the upper edge. This is the only area you will need to fill in. I will achieve that by using some ABS plastic (from partsexpress.com, and glue it on with CA glue to take up most of the gap and some light filling in with body filler (Evercoat Lite Wieght). This gap is necessary because the bottom edge of the dash will hit the baffle when the door closes. In the last pic of this series, you can see that the baffle is not going to stick out any further than what the stock grilles do, so it will look nice and clean when done.

Step #5:
After getting the final fitment down, I proceeded to install the threaded inserts to the door baffle. These inserts will allow me to mount the baffle to the door, and the driver to the baffle. What nice about these is they allow you to remove the baffle anytime you want. The ones I used are manufactured by E-Z LOK (http://www.ezlok.com/index2.htm) and I ordered them from McMaster Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/). I ended up using 2 different sizes of inserts, which are listed below:

Baffle mount inserts-
Internal thread 1/4-20
McMaster Carr PN 92105A675, $9.46/100 pieces

Driver mount inserts-
Internal thread 8-32
McMaster Carr PN 92105A660, $9.95/100 pieces

Close up shots of the inserts. You can see the "knife" edge these have. They are specific for laminate type wood. They wont tear up the wood and have a heavy duty rating on holding power. The larger inserts on the right are the 1/4-20 size, which is used to hold the baffle on the door. The smaller ones, the 8-32 size inserts are used to mount the driver to the baffle.

These are the installed inserts. The 8-32 size required a drill hole size of 15/64". The 1/4-20 need a drill size of 23/64". I chose to use a NON-flanged insert to have a cleaner look with the insert slightly under the edge surface.

Here you see the driver mounted to the baffle via the 8-32 size inserts. I used the appropriate machine screw (button head hex drive 8-32 in 3/4" in length.) I also used a steel washer for more holding strength.

Then, I proceeded to mount the door pod/baffle to the door panel itself as a test fit. Here you see I used the larger inserts, the 1/4-20 size. They are held on using a button head machine screw (hex drive) in size 1/4-20 in 3/4" in length and 1" in length). Again, here I used washers for more holding power.

Updated 7/12/05

I finished cutting the holes for the tweeter. I used a 2 1/8" hole saw to cut the hole, and then used a 1/4" Rabetting bit in the router to cut the recessed area for flush mounting the tweeter. I then rounded everything over with a roundover bit in the router. Once that was done, I mounted the driver and the tweeter to the baffle. Then I mounted the baffle to the door panel itself for test fitting.

**updated 8/10/05**
Okay, so finally after a nice 2 week hiatus, I actually got a chance to get back on these. Here you see I have already glued the ABS plastic onto the baffle. This will cover up the gap on the top edge of the baffle. I also added some body filler (Evercoat Lite Weight) to help build it up a bit and smooth out the texture on the plastic. This will be the last build up step prior to adding the vinyl. The black bit you see on the second pic below is where I ended up sanding down to the plastic somewhat to help get a better countour to the door panel.

And here you see the second to last step of fit testing the speakers in the baffles, and the baffles on the door. You can see where the gap is now filled in.

To cover the door pods, I chose to use automotive grade vinyl. I got anxious went to the local fabric store, where I could only find the vinyl in egg-white color. But I am going to use SEM Color Coat vinyl paint to get a color match to my truck interior. I used DAP contact cement for the job, which works really well and is easy to use. Just use a brush and slap it on both surfaces (cleaned and prepped surfaces). Allow it to sit for a while to gum up. Once thats done, you can cover the MDF with the vinyl.

The rear of the baffle, with the vinyl stapled. The staples were removed later on, after the contact cement was fully cured (72hrs).

The baffle was painted to match the interior of my truck, using SEM Color Coat vinyl paint, in Graphite color, I painted the baffles and mounted them to the door. In the mounted pic you can see a slight wrinkle, but this came out after the glue fully cured and heat was applied. Enjoy!

Unpainted baffle
Painted baffle
Installed in doors and mounted with DynAudio 240gt comp set