Custom Dodge Dakota

I am going to be doing a huge project in my Dodge Dakota, customizing the whole interior.  I think I've already spent about $400 on supplies including the tools.  I'm a rookie and maybe I could have saved money in some places, but I want to do this right and not be sorry.  I plan to glass the dash and maybe have it professionally painted since I've never painted before.  I also want to do the door panels and then make a huge amp rack/ housing for my JL12W7 sub in the back.  I'm dynamatting the whole inside with Dynamat Extreme and I want to make a suade (how do you spell that?) ceiling and get new custom carpet for the floor.  I'll also probably make a custom center console for the middle that will hopefully be home to a large monitor, and my PS2.  I also have purchased red and black vinyl racing seats from Tuned by Matrix and will have those installed soon.  (Will require welding or custom brackets by Wedge Engineering in Long Beach, CA)  I have read most of the posts on here and here is what I plan to do:

1.  Make plan and design project in my head and also draw it

2.  Purchase fiberglass resin with hardener, polyester fleece, fiberglass mat, particle board, glue, paint brushes, jig saw, dremel, tray to hold resin, gloves, plastic mat, staple gun and staples, bondo or Evercoat Rage Gold body filler, Maraglass or Duraglass (part bondo, part resin and mat mixed together), electric sander and pads

3.  Build frame of project in 3/4" MDF board and glue/bracket it together

4.  Install it in the truck, stretch fleece over the whole thing and staple it on the frame

5.  Resin the fleece and wait to dry

6.  Apply extra layers of fiberglass mat with resin to strengthen the shape and wait to dry

7.  Sand dried fiberglass as best I can and then apply layer of Maraglass for added strength

8.  Sand dried Maraglass and then apply Evercoat Rage Gold body filler and sand that when dry

9.  Repeat #8 until perfect, then spray with high build primer (you can also cover with carpet, vinyl, leather, etc.

10.  If painting, after spraying with primer, sand that and then paint, clear coat, and buff

Hopefully I've learned a lot from these posts.  If anyone thinks I missed anything, or has any input at all, let me know. 

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}:) Plan, Research, Do

Sounds prettty good dude. Just remember not to get eny resin on anything you dont want it because it won't come off. Also, be patient. That is the most nescesarry yet hardest thing to do in a project like this. Hope to see some pics. Good luck.

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If quiters never win, and winners never quit, who the heck came up with the idea that you should quit while your ahead?

The project is coming along very slowly because I work full time and take two night classes.  I'm also buying what I need as I get paid every two weeks.  I'm using top quality gear, so it's going to be pretty pricey.  I'm using a JL Audio 12W7 sub and two PPI amps and the MB Quart QSD 216 speakers.  I have the PS2 and a nice Alpine head unit but I'll need the monitor too.  I have most of the supplies I'll need to do the glassing and the other "construction" work.  I need to get my racing seats installed and then I'll be off and running.  For anyone in the L.A. area that can't install their racing seats, contact Wedge Engineering in Long Beach.

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Plan, Research, Do

I have some work to do this weekend for my college classes but I'm going to start building the amp rack for the back seat I think.  I plan to glue MDF in certain places onto the metal of the truck so it holds in place.  Then I can stretch the fleece over it and staple it in place.  Then I can resin the fleece and let it dry overnight.  Then tomorrow I can apply the extra layers of mat and resin.  I guess I'll do about 3 layers only since I'll have MDF under most of the structure and I'm going to coat the whole thing with Maraglass before I grind that down and then apply Rage Gold and sand that.  Then I'll have it painted and clear coated and hopefully it will be done.  When my amps come in I'll screw them onto the amp rack so the screws go through the fiberglass and attach to the MDF underneath.  I'm not a car audio installer so I guess the tricky part will be to leave holes so the wiring for the amps can come out near their connections so it doesn't look ugly and have wiring hanging out everywhere.  I'll also have to leave holes in the bottom so the wires can comes out and go under the carpet up to the kick panels where the MB Quart speakers will be housed.  AHHH!   Hope I don't screw up.  I'll try to take pictures this weekend with my digital camera.

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Plan, Research, Do

Sounds like a hefty project, if you want perfect MDF rings I suggest buying a plunge router with a circle jig. I am in the process of fiberglassing my door panels and I did a custom speaker pod, i'm waiting for the JL Audio 3 1/2s to get here, but I should have pics up in my project post if you want to see how its going. I don't know how your going to do your truck, but I ended up ripping off all of my vinyl and resined the wood of the panel with a couple layers of FG and then bondo'd the hell out of it. I'm still trying to get it perfect. Good luck.

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Well I didn't do too much this weekend since I had schoolwork to do and it was about 100 degrees here in sunny Southern California.  I watched the Lakers choke and did my homework.  I went to the barrio in L.A. county and had the brother of a guy who works at Tuned by Matrix (the maker of my new racing seats) install my seats for me.  We had to take the brackets from the OEM seats and weld the new seats on top of them.  So my seat project is done.  Now I'm going to finish the back wall of my truck this week and next weekend if it's not too hot.  I'm mostly using Bondo to make the two side walls in the extended cab smooth and then I will either sand them and have a body shop paint and clear them for me so they look like a professional fiberglass enclosure does, or I'll take them to a car stereo installer or upholstry person and have them covered with vinyl or the carpet that you make a subwoofer box with.  My seats are red and black vinyl and the truck is red, so I'd like everything inside to be painted red to match the outside of the truck I guess.  Hopefully I'll have the headliner upholstered in swade like they do on Pimp My Ride on MTV.  Maybe I'll have that done in black swade or vinyl so it matches my seats and the rest of the truck which I'll hopefully have painted red to match the outside of the truck.  Anyway, I'm kind of deciding things as I go and since I only have one job and I don't make a ton of money, I have to buy things slowly as I can afford them.  I still have to buy my two amps and the sub.

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Plan, Research, Do