Project Ute

[Granby]

Thought i'd start a thread for those that might be interested, all the major stuff has already been done to the ute (supercharger, brakes, suspension etc) so this will be just bits & pieces changed to make it my own

As some of you may know i do like decent sounds in my cars so that's going to be my first change, my plan is to keep the standard headunit for now but change the speakers and add a amp

Doors covered in silent coat 2mm sound deadening sheet, i've managed to cover the whole of the door skin





I then cover that in a layer of silent coat insulator 10 which is a closed cell foam sound barrier



For speakers i've gone for Infinity Kappa 60.11cs



Tweeters i've already installed in the stock location each at the end of the dash using the standard brackets

[Granby]

Things to do include cover the rest of the inner door skin with dodo dead mat black, make up some speaker brackets to fit the 6.5" midrange speakers in the stock location

I'm also going to rip out the rest of the interior and cover the floor with more silent coat to help stop any other vibrations and fit a JBL 3 channel amp which will power the fronts with 75w and 400w for the subwoofer which i haven't quite decided on yet but think i'll be getting a JL audio 10W3 which works in a small space as i can just fit a subwoofer box behind the drivers (or passengers) seat

[C. J.]

That sound deadening is good stuff, made a world of difference in the type R

[Granby]

The start of the speaker brackets, these are made out of HDPE plastic sheet, they are the bases which are 8mm thick, on top with be another 15mm piece of HDPE which will hold the speaker and that piece will be glued & screwed to the base

[Rdlangy1]

Amazing progress Ian

Couldn't believe the difference when u were showing me parts of the ute done with the sound deadening compared to the bits without.

You certainly know your stuff when it comes to tunes - can't wait to hear the results

[Granby]

A bit more stuff done but it's been a bit slow due to work & a wrist injury (keep it clean please )

Inner door skin covered in dodo dead mat black and speaker pods made, all fitted and speakers installed but not wired up yet, it's not pretty but it's difficult to get it all neat and at the end of the day it's all covered with the door trim

[BIG"E"]

Looks good to me.

[Rdlangy1]

Looks great ian

[NL03Scooby]

Really coming along, love it, good stuff Ian. Hope it's still clean...

[Granby]

Originally Posted by NL03Scooby

Really coming along, love it, good stuff Ian. Hope it's still clean...

Hmmm it might not be , but nothing a quick wash won't sort

[Hongkongfooi]

what does it sound like now?

[Granby]

Originally Posted by Hongkongfooi

what does it sound like now?

Glad you asked, spent today putting the door trims back on and wiring up the speakers via the passive crossovers, got to say it does sound very smooth which is what i wanted, the top end is smooth with no harshness coming from the tweeters, good strong midrange and was quite surprised at the amount of bass coming from the small 6.5" woofers, it still needs a subwoofer as i do like my bass so that & the amp will be the next stage but not sure when as it means gutting the interior

One annoying thing though is i have a very slight rattle coming from the passenger side door which i can't work out exactly where from yet so the trim may have to come off again, in theory nothing should rattle after putting all that sound deadening in it but there you go

Also fitted a dashcam, I've used a Mobius action cam which records in full 1080p and can be configured to work as a dashcam so it only records when the ignition is on, it doesn't have a screen or gps but that doesn't bother me, and at only around £55 it's a bit of a bargain

Crossovers fitted behind the kick panels using double sided number plate tape


Mobius camera fixed using a GoPro mount so can be swapped out for a GoPro at any time

[Ginola]

Nice stuff I like!

[Rdlangy1]

Great progress mate

[Granby]

Not much as happened lately, had the exhaust repaired and now the system is on the quiet setting until i get a couple of valves, Wortec want a silly £400 for them but i've ordered a cheap pair from China for the grand total of £48

Had arch enemy around today to have the rear arch's rolled once he managed to get the wheels off as i think they had been super glued on , they were slightly rubbing and if i get pilot super sports fitted they would be worse as they are wider tyres for the same size (245's)

[Rdlangy1]

Awesome!!!

Can't wait to see this and hear it

[Granby]

Originally Posted by Rdlangy1

Awesome!!!

Can't wait to see this and hear it

Not sure you will hear it as the quiet setting is quiet

[BIG"E"]

So you havnt got tired of it yet then mate??

I know a piece of tarmac that needs re marking

[Granby]

Originally Posted by BIG"E"

So you havnt got tired of it yet then mate??

I know a piece of tarmac that needs re marking

haha, found out yesterday that the rear of the ute IS light , as long as your slightly moving then boot it, it will spin up nicely

[Granby]

Spent Monday morning having a few photos taken of the car, i'm more than pleased with these

Big thanks to Darren & Ryan at FAST Photography https://www.facebook.com/FASTPhotography/















And my favorite shot

[Banstead Stig]

Those are great photos.

[Steve_PPP]

As i said on facebook, awesome. The photographer clearly knows what he's doing.

[Rdlangy1]

Amazing buddy - that last shot really shows the presence it has on the road

[dazzlers82]

Thanks granby, it was a good fun to photograph

[NL03Scooby]

What a machine! Looks amazing in those pics, which as people have said are very well done indeed, brings the Ute to life.

Am I the only one who's looks at the pictures whilst making up a V8 soundtrack in my head...

[Rdlangy1]

Nope - I did the whole BRUUUUUM BRUUUUUUM BRUUUUUM growl too Pmsl!

[Bolesroor]

Cracking pictures Ian

[Granby]

Originally Posted by Rdlangy1

Nope - I did the whole BRUUUUUM BRUUUUUUM BRUUUUUM growl too Pmsl!

[Scott.T]

Great pictures.
Were they done on the move or at walking speed with the camera on an arm attached to the car (then photoshopped out).

[Granby]

Originally Posted by Scott.T

Great pictures.
Were they done on the move or at walking speed with the camera on an arm attached to the car (then photoshopped out).

At crawling speed, good clutch control is needed as it's hard work driving at 1 mph

[Rdlangy1]

Originally Posted by Granby

At crawling speed, good clutch control is needed as it's hard work driving at 1 mph

Is for u Ian - I reckon I'd be a master at that! Ha ha

[Granby]

Just a very little mod done today, on start up the dash had always shown Vauxhall as it had been replaced when it was imported but now it's all been corrected

[Rdlangy1]

Smart little mod there mate

Can u PM me details of the guy who did ur photo shoot and an idea of what they charged?

Kind regards

Ryan

[Ginola]

Nice!! loving the Ute Ian

[NL03Scooby]

All the little details count, especially when they bug you enough every time you use the Ute. Was it just a software thing?

[Granby]

Originally Posted by NL03Scooby

All the little details count, especially when they bug you enough every time you use the Ute. Was it just a software thing?

Yeah just software, takes all of 5 minutes to change but didn't do it myself, friend on the HSV & Monaro forum did this a few years back for lots of cars including my old Monaro so paid him a visit today

[scotty]

Coming along nicely .

[Granby]

Bit of progress this week as i'm off, interior gutted as much as i can, i would of liked to get the carpet out completely but without removing the dash there is no way it's coming out, so just have to work around it

Silent coat dampening sheets added to the floor although it already had some dampening (a second layer won't do any harm), rear bulkhead was just bare metal and rattled like a tin can so one layer gone on but i may put another layer as the subwoofer box will be up against the bulkhead (boom boom boom )

[Rdlangy1]

Great work mate looks really good...


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[BIG"E"]

Looking spot on..

[NL03Scooby]

Some serious effort has gone in to that, good job. It will be Mercedes silent in there now, until you put your foot down.

[Steve_PPP]

Nice work Ian, looks a real tidy job. Not a lot of space in the cab for a sub, plenty of room in the back though

[Lucky]

Looking amazing. Some real attention to detail there too

[alfa male]

Great job. What's that little penguin thingy?

[Granby]

Originally Posted by alfa male

Great job. What's that little penguin thingy?

It's a Punky, most Indian restaurants have it as a desert filled with ice cream, it's been to Germany a few times

[Granby]

A bit more progress today, covered the passenger side floor and surrounding areas and gave the rear bulkhead a second coat although i ran out of silent coat so used dodo dead mat that i had used on the doors

Got a bit of a deal on my subwoofer (JL Audio 10W3V3) today from ebay as it was 25% off and i had a ebay £15 voucher to use

Should get around to making the sub box next week which will be fitted behind the passenger seat, you can see a stud sticking up on a platform which was used to hold down the jack & wheel brace which i'll now use to bolt down the sub box (jack & brace can go in the back), any passengers now will get a nice bum & back massage

[Ginola]

Top Job dude


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[Steve_PPP]

Nice, didn't think you'd have the space for a sub box in behind the seat looking at the pics, but result Still haven't seen this in the flesh yet!

[Granby]

Originally Posted by Steve_PPP

Nice, didn't think you'd have the space for a sub box in behind the seat looking at the pics, but result Still haven't seen this in the flesh yet!

The sub i've ordered only needs a small box otherwise there would not be enough room, haven't been to a meet lately as they have always been on when i'm working, i've been off most of this month and the meet is on the only weekend i'm working again lol

[Granby]

Got a few more things done today even though the weather wasn't playing ball, just glad i've put up a new shed in the last couple weeks so i can work in there

Had the door trims off and noticed the speakers were getting wet so looks like the weather seal at the top of the door is leaking (should be fun trying to get hold of a pair of them ), in the meantime I've modified the speaker pods to include a top cover for the speaker so water doesn't drip straight on them

Got the subwoofer box made yesterday just in time for the subwoofer to arrive today , still got to finish it off and cover it with cloth but I'm getting there

[Rdlangy1]

Looks great mate


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[Granby]

Well 99% of the install is done now, still got a couple of things to tidy up but they can be done at a later date

First off i've got to say i'm over the moon with the sound quality of this install, even with compressed mp3 files it really did blow me away the first time i played a tune, i eventually went for a Pioneer single din headunit which is a older unit but was built for sound quality, it also has plenty of inputs (2 usb, 2 auxiliary's, 1 SD card slot, CD player and RDS tuner)

Apart from sound deadening the floor & rear bulkhead i also put sound deadening on every trim piece i removed which i think made a difference as when everything was put back together i had no little rattles or squeaks which can happen or it could of bean the great Holden build quality (maybe not lol)

There are a couple of things i'm not 100% happy with though, the amp install doesn't look very tidy to me and i'm already thinking ways of changing it although it can't be seen as it's behind the drivers seat but i know it's there so will be changed at some stage, also the single din trim panel isn't a 100% match for the rest of the dash but that seems normal as the double din panel also doesn't match

[Rdlangy1]

Looks amazing Ian - a real credit to you!
I bet it's a real struggle to choose between listening to tunes and listening to that mighty engine noise!

[Ginola]

Noisy bastrd (said in Australian accent)


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[Granby]

Think the cat has a death wish

[Rdlangy1]

I agree! crazy !

[Bolesroor]

I think you need to inform paws it will have catastrophic consequences if this continues. .........

[Red Baron]

Obviously not enough wax on it if it can get a grip like that.

[Granby]

February is looking like a good month

[Rdlangy1]

Very smart

[Granby]

Originally Posted by Rdlangy1

Very smart

Thanks

[BIG"E"]

Originally Posted by Granby

February is looking like a good month

Would look even better on the autobahns.

[BIG"E"]

Originally Posted by Granby

February is looking like a good month

Would look even better on the autobahns.

[Granby]

Line lock fitted yesterday along with anti-hop driveshafts with uprated CV joints

[Steve_PPP]

Hooligan

[Ginola]

😆


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[scotty]

Coming along nicely .

[Banstead Stig]

You may have seen this already, but I thought it might be of interest.

https://youtu.be/5VesbCl2XNw

[Granby]

Originally Posted by Banstead Stig

You may have seen this already, but I thought it might be of interest.

https://youtu.be/5VesbCl2XNw

Haven't watched it yet but will tonight

[Granby]

The noise is back, fitted some valves in the exhaust today to replace the blanking plates so now i have the best of both worlds, quiet for early or late starts and loud for the rest of the time

[Rdlangy1]

Awesome job Ian

[Granby]

Was bored this afternoon

[scotty]

Nice shiny pipes any reason why you filled your pipes

[Ginola]

Looks very shinny

[Granby]

Originally Posted by scotty

Nice shiny pipes any reason why you filled your pipes

Keep the noise down

[phil1981]

How much difference does the sound deadening make? Is it really expensive ?

[Granby]

Originally Posted by phil1981

How much difference does the sound deadening make? Is it really expensive ?

Yes it does make a nice difference but at the cost of weight, here's the stuff i used

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1511556789...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

think i used about 2 lots of it but i covered the whole of the floor, rear bulkhead & doors

As for the multi coloured microfiber cloths i don't know as they didn't stay in very long

[C. J.]

Originally Posted by Granby

Yes it does make a nice difference but at the cost of weight, here's the stuff i used

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1511556789...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

think i used about 2 lots of it but i covered the whole of the floor, rear bulkhead & doors

As for the multi coloured microfiber cloths i don't know as they didn't stay in very long

I've used the same stuff and their insolation and think it's awesome

[Granby]

Finally got round to getting one

[Ginola]

Good man, get buffing

[Granby]

Gave the old motor a bit of a clean, didn't come up to bad but still quite a few marks on the paint

[Rdlangy1]

Great job mate

[NL03Scooby]

Oooh shiny!

[Granby]

Originally Posted by NL03Scooby

Oooh shiny!

It is but with a layer of dust over it for some reason , maybe that will blow off Saturday

[NL03Scooby]

Originally Posted by Granby

It is but with a layer of dust over it for some reason , maybe that will blow off Saturday

The use of some detailing products mixed with plenty of microfibre action often statically charges the body work, hence the dust gathering.

[Granby]

Originally Posted by NL03Scooby

The use of some detailing products mixed with plenty of microfibre action often statically charges the body work, hence the dust gathering.

OK cheers , i did use 1 or 2 (dozen) microfibre cloths

[NL03Scooby]

Originally Posted by Granby

OK cheers , i did use 1 or 2 (dozen) microfibre cloths

Chemical Guys Speed Wipe is supposedly anti static although I haven't tested it myself.

[phil1981]

Such a lovely motor

[Granby]

Originally Posted by phil1981

Such a lovely motor

Thank you

[phil1981]

Used to be a black one near me and always liked it

[scotty]

Originally Posted by Granby

Gave the old motor a bit of a clean, didn't come up to bad but still quite a few marks on the paint

I think your bush needs a trim

On another note use a soft plush towel as a final wipe over then you wont get the dust issue sticking as no static .

[Granby]

Originally Posted by scotty

I think your bush needs a trim

On another note use a soft plush towel as a final wipe over then you wont get the dust issue sticking as no static .

Got any recommendation's, thats soft plush towel not bush trimming

[scotty]

This is what you need to add to your collection😃😃

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[Granby]

Do i have to get it twice

[Rdlangy1]

Originally Posted by Granby

Do i have to get it twice

Sorted

[scotty]

Originally Posted by Granby

Do i have to get it twice

More the better

[Ginola]

She's looking super shinny Ian

[Granby]

New wheels & pilot sport 4S on the rear , even more black to clean now

[C. J.]

That looks so much nicer

[Steve_PPP]

Now they're nice..... looks way better