Our previous client from Gainesville recently contacted us about building a Chevrolet truck center console enclosure for him. At Pinnacle Autosound, we have a small staff consisting of Brian and Joey. Having only two people is often an asset because we can always ensure our quality of work will be top-notch. Our time, however, is often limited which, can be a downside. Custom work for products not purchased from us is one of the things that sometimes suffers. We build our pricing schedules such that they include profit from gear sales. So, many times, we have to say “no” to requests for custom work for gear we didn’t sell. This client was an exception because we had previously done quite a bit of work for him.
Center Console Enclosure
When speaking with the client about the console, we learned that he didn’t want anything overly fancy, just a simple console to hold the subwoofer and maybe some cupholders. Using his input as a guide, we began designing the enclosure. We used our Term-Pro enclosure software to calculate the airspace and port tuning for the enclosure. The subwoofer the client brought us to install in the center console enclosure was massive. It had a thick metal basket and a heavy motor assembly. Our design had to consider the weight of the subwoofer, so we made sure it could be securely mounted.
The first plan to accommodate the subwoofer weight was to use a double thickness front baffle. The double baffle would give us 1.5″ of mounting surface to bolt the subwoofer to. Our second accommodation for the weight was a custom brace for the magnet assembly. The brace is needed to support the speaker but not limit the airspace and flow in the enclosure. To create a brace that would handle our needs, we used our CNC router to create a brace that fit the circumference of the magnets and had numerous openings for airflow.
Construction for the enclosure proceeded, as usual, gluing and nailing all the pieces together. To further strengthen the joints, we did add 45-degree corner braces on the inside panels.
Enclosure Upholstery and Mounting
After we assembled the enclosure and allowed the glue to dry, it was time for upholstery. The majority of the enclosure would be a grey, automotive-grade carpet that matched the interior color of the truck. We made a vinyl-covered top plate because the carpet can be uncomfortable to rest your arm on. The top plate had two pockets, one specifically to hold the client’s cell phone and one for general storage.
Making sure the enclosure stayed in place was a priority for us. To ensure the safe mounting of the console, we used heavy-gauge metal to form a bracket to secure the console to the floor. The metal bracket is bolted to the OEM mounting points for the factory console.
After a day’s work it was time to hand the truck back over to the client. He loved how we added the top plate to the enclosure and how we were able to integrate cupholders into the design. Call us, contact us, or stop by if you want to discuss having us fabricate something for you.
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