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My Fathers Day present included a copy of Dave Matthews Band new album Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King. I put it to good use today with kick panels for the 412.

1. Prep panels with some clearancing




2. Tape off


3. Fiberglass base layer


4. Remove base layer


5. Add second layer on bench and trim


6. Hot glue dowels supporting speaker ring


7. Wrap with speaker cloth




8. Coat with fiberglass


9. Trim and prep for speakers




10. Mount speakers




11. Rock on




Not bad for first fiberglass. It sounds great with the 12" sub in the luggage compartment. Carpet later...

Cheers to all you VW Dads,
Bill

That's what I'm talkin' about!! Super nice job and great set of pics. Thanks for posting. This ought to be an inspiration for many of us. The commercially available units I'm aware of are so-so, at best.

doc

Thanks Doc. I have the standard units in my Bug and they are adequate. They won't work in the 411/412 so I had to make a pair. It took 2 days, but it was pretty straightforward.

Making custom one's also allows for better sound imaging. I used a long stick with a square end registered against the speaker grill to point each speaker at the driver headrest. Then, the dowels were cut to length to set the speaker rings at this orientation.

Ready for another road trip. This time to San Francisco with all three kids. Gotta love an adventure

Replaced 7 year old battery, changed trans oil, adjusted rear brakes, replaced steering column cardboard bezel.

Very nice job Bill!
Your are so much more of a perfectionist than I am..
and I always love your work! The replacemaent of the fake wood on the dash is very nice for example...hmmmm