Installing speakers in the front doors of a VAZ 2107

Required materials and tools

The acoustic shelf for the VAZ 2107 is made with your own hands directly from composite materials on a wood base. To make a shelf with your own hands, you will need the following list of materials:

plywood 16 mm and 12 mm thick;
decorative materials for lining shelves. These can be: leatherette, dermantin or carpet;
two-component epoxy resin;
polyurethane foam;
several self-tapping screws and bolts with nuts for fastening.

Of course, the new shelf will require appropriate speakers, usually oval or round. To carry out the work you will also need a screwdriver, a jigsaw, screwdrivers and a furniture stapler. In this case, not a collective farm version of the shelf will be produced, but a real acoustic system, which will have not only a beautiful design, but also decent sound parameters.

Construction of speaker podiums and seat belt boxes

The next step is to make the base for the podiums using a jigsaw. To give the structure rigidity, it is reinforced with 40x20 mm wooden blocks, which are connected to each other by ovals using self-tapping screws. To circulate air between the passenger compartment and the trunk, several holes must be cut in the shelf.

The voids between the podium bars must be filled with polyurethane foam. To prevent the foam from falling out during drying, the voids to be filled must be covered with thick cardboard. When the foam has dried, it is simply formed along the edges and, to smooth out unevenness, treated with sandpaper. The structure of the podiums is reinforced using cardboard impregnated with epoxy glue.

When making boxes, it should be taken into account that the seat belts must go into them from the side. Boxes, as well as podiums, are made of timber, which enhances the rigidity of the structure. After installing the boxes, the rear shelf of the VAZ 2107 takes on a look similar to the factory one. To give it an aesthetic appearance, it should be covered with carpet.

Tip: you can additionally make a bass reflex for an acoustic shelf. To do this, you need to make a hole in the middle of the shelf and cover it with a decorative grille (mesh).

Carpet trim

Fixing the material on the shelf is carried out with small furniture nails or using a construction stapler. The last method is simpler and faster.

When covering a seat belt box with carpet, the easiest way to fix the material is with clothespins. After pasting the boxes can be mounted, secured with self-tapping screws. After covering, the finished shelf is ready for installation on the car.

Tips for working with carpet

Carpet is an excellent material for decorative trim of the rear shelf of a VAZ 2107. When working with it, you need to take into account some unique features:

Carpet pieces cannot be glued together.
To give the carpet a certain shape, you need to wet it, stretch it, and then dry it with a hairdryer.
The easiest way is to glue the carpet to the shelf with spray adhesive.
In order for the carpet to adhere well, the glue must be applied in a thin layer.

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There are other ways to independently manufacture a VAZ 2107 acoustic shelf. They differ in design, manufacturing technology and materials used. For example, you can make a multi-level shelf that consists of several layers of chipboard or plywood.

Advantages of an acoustic shelf

Acoustic shelves VAZ 2107 ready-made version

About 30 years ago, music in the car was considered a luxury and rarely did anyone have it in their car. Music, however, with a lot of distortion, wheezing and interference flowed from the antediluvian radio, but in those days it was fashionable. Today, car audio is a real culture and a special field in which art, beauty and high technology are amazingly combined. One of the most popular and cheapest methods of improving car audio is installing an acoustic trunk shelf. In the factory configuration, instead of a real shelf, there is a decorative, standard one. It is not capable of providing the required performance and the speakers that can be placed here are very small to reproduce powerful musical chords. In addition, a weak acoustic shelf cannot provide stability, improve sound quality, enhance interior aesthetics, etc.

Rear shelf for 2107 podiums: video

Although the VAZ 2107 is an excellent car, it still requires some improvements. For example, in most cases acoustics are not installed in the “seven” from the factory. And living in the modern world, any driver can no longer imagine a car that would lack at least some music. The first level of car audio is the installation of two “pancakes” in the rear parcel shelf of the VAZ 2107, which is located under the rear window, which is the optimal place for installing large speakers. These speakers can be installed in a special plastic shelf, but you won’t be able to get high-quality sound.

In order for the sound to truly satisfy the driver's needs, it is necessary to prepare an acoustic podium made of wood. Making such a shelf out of wood for a VAZ is not difficult; even an ordinary driver without carpentry skills can handle it. Let’s find out in more detail how to make such a structure with your own hands. There are many options for manufacturing rear acoustic shelves on a VAZ 2107, but we will look at the two most common ones, which will allow you to choose the most appropriate method.

Option No. 1: installing a shelf

The finished product is mounted in place of the standard shelf using bolt and nut connections. The corresponding holes should be drilled at the fastening points, and then the shelf should be secured.

After installing the shelf, you need to connect it. For connection, it is recommended to use special acoustic wiring with a cross-section of at least 1.5 mm. Thinner wires will not be able to reveal the full musical potential of the installed acoustics, especially when playing low-frequency components. As a result, we get the following product:

Option No. 2: features of manufacturing an acoustic shelf

The rear acoustic shelf in the VAZ 2107 can be made with your own hands and using another option. The second method is simpler and involves repeating the first method, but without making podium stands for the speakers. The shelf is cut out using a standard stencil and adjusted to size. Then we mark it and cut out holes for the speakers, at the same time we think through and prepare places for attaching the shelf itself to the car body. We also saw holes for the speakers in the iron body panel. It is important that they coincide with the holes in the shelf. We recommend that you carefully glue the metal panel on which the entire structure will be attached with Shumka.

When everything is prepared, you can cover the new product with the material you like and fasten it in place. For even greater lovers of good sound, you can carefully foam the resulting gap between the shelf and the metal with foam. This will make the structure even more monolithic and improve the sound of low frequencies.

Read, it may be useful: Repair of armrests of the VAZ-2107

The second option for making a shelf is more practical, since there is more free space for arranging some things. It’s up to you to decide which version of the shelf you choose for your car, just remember that you should approach the manufacture of the shelf responsibly, which will affect the final result of the sound of the music.

Along with the manufacture of the shelf, we also recommend making the door trims, installing podiums for the speakers and soundproofing the car; this will have a very positive effect on the sound quality of the music and driving pleasure.

Installing a homemade acoustic shelf in a VAZ 2107

As you know, it is quite difficult to achieve good sound in the interior of the Seven. The fact is that in addition to the noise of a moving car, there are many obstacles that prevent the sound from fully reaching the listener. Typically, this problem is solved in two ways:

Installation of speakers for the car radio, which are directly sent to the listener. Since passengers are in different parts of the cabin, or, in other words, in different corners of the car, the speakers should be directed to the center of the cabin so as not to deprive any of the vehicle passengers of sound. In this case, the sound from the speakers must be directed so that it passes all obstacles.

Rear acoustic shelf for VAZ 2107

Installing speakers under the ceiling is a way to solve a problem called spot sound. In this case, you will have to make acoustic podiums, which is very difficult and will require the implementation of durable fasteners and all this will lead to a lack of bass.
The second method involves reflected sound and is much easier to implement. The speakers are directed to the rear window, and the sound is thereby reflected. The sound becomes much more spacious, because the stereo effect is enhanced. In this case, you will need to make an acoustic shelf.

Note. As you know, there are ready-made store shelves, but they are made in such a way that the speakers placed on them are directed towards the ceiling. Thus, part of the sound is damped by the pile of the car’s ceiling, and if there are also obstacles, such as seat headrests, you can forget about high-quality sound altogether. Therefore, it is advisable to make a shelf with your own hands, especially since it is not at all difficult.

The first way to make an acoustic shelf with your own hands

Let us present to the reader a way to make a shelf in the cabin for coaxial speakers measuring 6x9:

First you need to prepare everything, remove the excess from the back and the standard shelf, as well as the insulation.
The standard shelf now needs to be marked on a piece of chipboard.

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Homemade shelf for coaxial speakers

Note. The markings must be carried out in such a way that the future acoustic shelf is 50 mm shorter on each side than the factory one. Otherwise, it simply won't fit into place.

We cut out the future shelf.
We carry out fitting into the car and if all sizes are suitable, we move on to the next stage.
We mark the markings for the speaker holes.

Note. We make the holes so that the speakers fit into them freely, without force. The holes should not be too large either. The edges of the holes must be made smooth to avoid any mechanical damage.

Now we need to start making the second level shelf. This is done so that the speakers are tilted towards the rear window.
Trace the template and cut it out.
The second level must be glued to the first main shelf with good construction adhesive and secured with self-tapping screws. This is what should happen.

DIY rear acoustic shelf for VAZ 2107

Let's try everything on again.
Using some sharp object, such as a nail, we make notches on the frame of the car, where our homemade shelf is placed.

Note. Holes in the iron shelf must be cut with a grinder, preferably small in size. We make holes no smaller than in a homemade chipboard shelf.

We clean the trunk of all kinds of unnecessary debris. The cleaner it is, the better the quality of the sound in the cabin.
We make the third level of the shelf, just like the second.
We put it on top and also fasten it with screws and glue.
We make one more level and attach the fourth one.
We trim everything, where there is excess, grind it and sand it completely.

Note. The shelf should be such that its front part, which faces the driver, is lower than the side of the trunk. This provides the desired design to allow the speakers to project sound directly into the rear window.

We cover the shelf with carpet, preferably black.
We screw on the speakers.
We put the shelf in the car.

The second way to make an acoustic shelf with your own hands

To begin with, I prepared the following set of tools:

We remove the standard stock shelf.
We put it on a sheet of chipboard and trace it.
We cut out with a jigsaw according to the markings.
We draw an oval frame on the chipboard that will cover the speaker.

Note. Ovals can be cut out using an oval-shaped metal object that will act as a layout.

Two holes are cut on the shelf. In order for them to turn out to be a mirror reflection of each other, and this, as is known, gives an additional acoustic effect, you need to find the center on a homemade shelf and glue a sheet of paper. We outline and cut out the right hole, then turn the shelf to the other side and carry out the same operation with the left hole.

Note. This method differs from the first in that there is no need to cut out several levels of shelves. It is enough to cut plates from ordinary tin or beams, and then nail them to the shelf with small nails. Two homemade ovals and parallel bars form a real podium, as in the photo below.

Homemade podium for speakers

Now we take the foam and fix the homemade podiums to the shelf. Pieces of thick cardboard are placed inside the podiums to prevent foam from penetrating inside.
We wait until everything dries.
We take a utility knife and cut out the excess parts of the frozen foam.
We first cover the podiums with carpet.
Then we take a layer of carpet and put it on the shelf. We grab one end with a stapler and spray it with water. After this, we quietly pull out the material and secure it with a stapler. Thus, there will be two layers of carpet on the podiums, but they will look beautiful and the speakers will fit perfectly in them.

Some important tips when working with carpet:

We remember that carpet does not stick to carpet.
Carpet can take on any shape if you spray it a little with water and dry it after stretching and creating the shape with a hairdryer.
Carpet is best glued with aerosol glue.
Glue on the carpet cannot be spread in a thick layer.

The two methods presented above will provide the opportunity to obtain the necessary information for those who want to make and install a homemade shelf in their car with their own hands. You can also use additional step-by-step instructions, which can be found on the Internet today without any difficulty. During the work process, it is advisable to view photos and video materials. The price of such an operation will not be high, since you will only have to spend money on glue, a piece of chipboard and carpet and a few screws.