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Can I cut this out?

T

topperge

Full Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2003
Messages
534
Location
Ashburn, VA
Can I cut the bar with the red dot? It sits about an inch above the hump in my 2003 and I need that inch to make my amp rack fit. Any suggestions?

Pic 1 (Close Up)
P1010011-s.JPG


Heres where it is in the line
P1010012-s.JPG


They look pretty, now I just have to figure out how they can fit
P1010013-s.JPG


Thanks in advance guys, as always you rock

img width/height tags added by brmiller
 
I was kinda hoping to get rid of the bolts on the bar on that left hand side, it gives me a couple more inches in depth. Anyone think a dremel with the metal cutting discs could take care of this or do I need something else?
 
I think that would be a pain in the ass to use to cut that bar out. If you got a sawzall, use that with a metal cutting blade. And if you dont have one buy one, cause its a handy tool to have around.

Edit-I just read that you want to remove the bolts, try an angle grinder to make quick work of it.

BTW how much did all those JL Amps set you back?
 
This time the JLs only set me back $350. I only bought the 300/2. I bought the 300/4 last year for $450 and the 500/1 was $500. I'm hoping that I like the balance running 150 watts to each door and my 10W7 sub ported on the 500/1. When I had 75 to the doors the bass was over powering.

The bolts I want to cut are the 2 that hold the bar to the bracket in the front. Hopefully one of my family members has a sawzall because I probably should buy a drill and circular saw before that. Being a new home owner I don't have the luxury of having all my dads tools on hand (yet).
 
I would not cut the barf for structural reasons......They do not have much steel and what they have they need for accidents......

If you cut and then get in wreck and someone is sitting back there and gets hurt...you are liable...also when you sell it you will be liable for ever.......

HTH
 
ygmn said:
I would not cut the barf for structural reasons......They do not have much steel and what they have they need for accidents......

If you cut and then get in wreck and someone is sitting back there and gets hurt...you are liable...also when you sell it you will be liable for ever.......

HTH
Click to expand...
ygmn.....barfing this morning?
 
NO! Do not cut that bar. That is a major structural component of the whole rear seat. Try turning the amps lenghtwise under the seats, or, as we are doing in our demo, stack one on top of another. It is rather easy actually. Simply get yourself some .25" welding steel @ the hm depot and cut off 4 sections roughly 4-5" long and use them as spacers to mount the second amp on top of the first.
 
i would not cut the bar either. seems to me that this bar holds/ stabilizes the rear seat in the center. since the rear seats are in two separate sections this is what holds that side of the seat upright and secure to the floor.
 
seems to me that if you putting all those amps under the seat you are obviously putting the subs somewhere else. you are mounting subs, right? here is what i would do.
there is plenty of room under the seats for you to build a custom rack/ enclosure that would lay on the floor and cover the braces for the seat. this would lay on top of the braces, and allow you to sit the amps inside or on top of it. this would eliminate you from having to cut anything. not sure how to make it clearer. but, it would be like building an enclosure for the amps rather than a subwoofer.
when you let the seats down you wil still have plenty of room between then and the seats themselves. this would allow for proper cooling.
since you have so many amps is it safe to say you are putting the speakers in the bed, or in the mid-gate area? if so, you may even be able to put the amps on the mid-gate depending on the size/ number of subs being used. if they are going in the bed you have the whole mid-gate area to play with. i have seen some cool mods as far as this goes right here on the site. you will have to do a search of course. if you are interested in this i can probably assist you in the search. hope this helps.
 
My plan is to make the amp rack under the seats and line them up there like in the pictures with a vinyl covered box surrounding them with a long "window" to allow them to cool (open no plexi or anything covering it) Thank build a JL 10W7 into the midgate much like the box Kodiakz has done so I can retain full functionality. I already have the second midgate so that I can return my truck back to stock. I had wanted to line them up all in a row for the look that it gives, however it looks like I'm gonna have to turn them sideways in order to get around that bar. I am worried that if I take of the bottoms of the rear seats that I will run the risk of scratching the top of my amps which would really not make me happy and is the reason I was looking to cut that bar because it gives me the extra inch of clearance I was looking for. Hopefully I can figure something else out.
 
i think i follow you. you want to mount the amps directly to the seat bottom? the top of the amp aiming at the floor?
good idea to put the subs in the mid-gate. how many are you planning on using?
 
No just the opposite, I'm mounting the amps in a line to a piece of mdf that will lay across the hump with the top of the subs facing the sky. I'm building a box around that for looks and covering it in vinyl so you can't see all the wires coming out of the amps yet letting them breath. I'm building a single 10W7 ported into the midgate, if I go with a second one I'll have to do major electrical upgrades to the system which I can't afford to do right now. I'll try and mock something up tonight in photochop to show you what I'm talking about
 
Sorry it took so long, its been a busy night, here is a really bad photochop of what I'm talking about trying to do.

P1010012-s.png


Has anyone had experience removing the bottom of the seats (the black plastic pieces) What is its purpose? To hold the seats together and keep everything tucked or are they pretty safe to remove. Thanks again guys
 
i see what it is you are trying to do now. i have a sub under my rear seat on the drivers side. it fires down toward the floor. i have noticed that the closer i inch it toward that brace on the floor you are referring to i lose precious space needed to fold the seat down.
looking at your enclosure you should not have that problem since it is not as tall. however, this is a pic that could be very misconceiving on my end. how about this. rather than modify the brace why not mod the box so the brace will slip right into a perfectly cut groove. every place there is an obstruction on the floor make a path for it on the bottom of the box. this will save your seat brace, and give you the room you need to lower the seat to the latched position. :0:
as far as the seat bottoms go i have seen numerous members remove them with no ill-affects. as a matter of fact i had my box built exactly the way my friend did. he has a DuraMax. i thought the box sounded awesome. i went back to the place and told them to build the same box. so he did exactly what i told him to do. the only thing is that the DuraMax has the soft bottemed seats. this allows for the seat to take the contour of the box into the cushion as you force it to the latched position. as we all know the AV has the hard bottomed seat for loading things that might pass through the mid-gate. moral to the story is... you can remove the panels if need be. checkout the Audio/Video threads. i am sure you will find what you are looking for. good luck! :B:
 
oh yeah!! in case you run out of ideas here is another that might work for you. i am very much against cutting/ drilling as much as necessary. here is what i did to get that little extra space i needed to get my seat latched.
i completely removed the rea seat on the driverside. i installed 2-3 thick washers (can't remember exact number) under the seat bolsters. they lay between the floor and the seat. bolted the seat back down. that was it. just enough room to get the seat latched. and i can still lower the mid-gate with no problems.
now that i think about it this may not work for you as the bar will raise up as well. :8: mine does not go that far across the floor. okay maybe the first idea was better. :7:
 
okay i just found Kodiak's box. nice. how about if you do the opposite. you could put the amps on the mid-gate, and put the subs on the floor. i have a Coustic 10" sub in my box. i am sure you can get the right dimensions to accomodate the speaker/ speakers you would rather use to fit under the seats.
i have even seen custom boxes ready for speakers that would fit in three as well. all you have to do is provide the speakers and the wire. you can either mount the amps right ontothe mid-gate, or recess them to give you more of a flat "fold-down" of the mid-gate. just an idea. :0: man where were you when i was trying to do this install. i did not even think of half this stuff. well, you live and learn i guess. i can always do it over. right? >:D
 
Instead of making a box to cover the wires, I had a panel built, and ran the wires under the panel to clean up the install a little. Maybe these pics will help you out, just my 2 cents.
 

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I have pretty much the same idea as you going, except I'm gonna build the box on top of it to give it some protection and stop my friends from playing with the settings (They think they know something and end up blowing speakers, don't worry my friend still hasn't healed from that one >:D) I like the enclosed finished look.

I ended up cutting the boards for it all last night and defnitely need to get the seat bottoms off since the amps and board they rest on are too tall without the top board covering them. Anyone have any suggestions to get the bolts loose on the bottom. It seems like GM employed the Hulk to tighten them down. I'll keep you guys updated through the install process
 
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