Caddy bass van

[XmaxxCaddy]

Hello from finland!

This is almost a full years worth of progress
So last year i bought a 2012 Caddy life 1,2 tsi with a idea of a dedicated bass van.

Drove it like this for a few months and then got straight into business:
Interior got completely stripped and ready for reinforcements.

Link to the picture album: https://postimg.cc/gallery/QWrDhXg

Subwoofer baffle in the making, my cheap router is begging for mercy


8x 15 inch subwoofers in a 6th order, almost ready. Adding some bracing to avoid any weak spots.


Subs are in. Ground Zero Plutonium xmaxx, heavy bastards.


Big subs need big power, soundigital amps and lithium batteries are in. Summer is getting closer so no fancy installations.


What is bass if you can't hear the music, fiberglass door pods in the making, also my passat says hi.
I still want the doors to be usable so i didn't go too crazy with them, every function is still in and they don't block any vision.
Ran out of time so first show doors only had a base coat, got some signatures and kept collecting them through the summer.


Almost ready


This was pretty much how it was left through the summer, visited lot of car shows and competitions, mainly propper droppers. Now is time to fix all the damage bass made during summer and make this thing look good. Also some minor upgrades to cabin and electrical are needed. Here is my top score measured in the headrest.


Caddy is currently getting a new color, should be ready sometime in december
Something different but hope you enjoyed

[Jase14]

Now that’s a sound system upgrade

[Cgiorgi]

Mate I think I heard that all the way down here in Australia haha

[myounus]

Blimey I can’t hear myself lol!

[Elenciu]

Would you like to share more information about the elettrical system ?
Can be useful for the one planning to wire up the caddy, also with different equipments, like a microwave own

[Sabbunsingh]

Awesome build dude. Would love to hear this.
I am a uk propperdroppers judge and uk importer of sundown audio. We also build high output alternators.

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[XmaxxCaddy]

Hello again!

Would you like to share more information about the elettrical system ?
Can be useful for the one planning to wire up the caddy, also with different equipments, like a microwave own

Ok the electrical system is a work in progress, but currently i have 4x 75ah panasonic lithium banks. They are made from old vw ev batteries. Those have higher voltage but mine are modified so they have 3 cells in parallel and 4 in series. Currently they are @14v but when i upgrade my alternator then they will be @15,2-15,6. Front battery is deleted with a copper block. 4 runs of 70mm2 ofc from batteries to distribution block. Well that is how it used to be but upgrades are on their way, just bought another 24 meters of 70mm2 cable.
Here is so me picture of the battery i found on my phone:

Awesome build dude. Would love to hear this.
I am a uk propperdroppers judge and uk importer of sundown audio. We also build high output alternators.

Sent from my SM-S911B using Tapatalk

Awesome! I'm currently looking for a Hi-Output alternator with external voltage regulator, if i can't get it from finland then i'll contact you.
Would love to give you a demo. Also waiting for this season to start, no scheduled events in finland yet.

It's been a long winter but Caddy got a new color: BMW Twilight Purple.

Really like the color and how much it changes in sunlight and different angles.

I haven't assembled rest of the car yet but here is some progress pics.
Also i'm reinforcing windshields lower part, upper part is strong enough that there is no flexing. Lower part was moving like crazy, hopefully 30mm birch is enough.
Dash out, shape the birch to match windshield and glue it in place with 2 component elastic glue. Tomorrow we will see if (how much) I have to modify the dash to fit it back in


Lot's of progress incoming, painting took almost 4 months longer that i planned but now it should be smooth sailing. Most of the parts are already on their way, mostly missing electrical, like lighting controller, alternator and even more lithium.

[XmaxxCaddy]

Some progress:

Dash is back in, thankfully no modifications needed. Cutting away some of the foam liner under the dash made enough room for the reinforcements.

Made some box bracing, or more accurately painted the old ones. These are M20 nuts welded to a steel plate and there is a threaded rod between 2 of them so it can be tensioned with a 30mm wrench. Even a small tension make a huge difference.

Some port modifications. Trying to move the front port 2 inches forward so it transitions from the box to cabin way more smoothly. Basically I cut a piece of plywood at 60° on both sides, screw that in and then smooth it out with filler.

Visible door frames and other visible parts are painted black with a brush. Still needs another coat.

Still waiting for bumpers and rear doors from painting. My painter sure likes to take his sweet time :DD. Well there is no hurry yet because i can do other things in the meantime.

[Basshead6400]

Hello fellow basshead

Looks really good

What have you done to the roof ? Does not look like you installed a stripper pole, so I guess you have done some other modifications for reinforcements ?

/Mike


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[XmaxxCaddy]

Yes, you are correct, no stripper pole. So the metal cage extends to cabin and it is welded in 4 spots, both sides and 2 spots in the center.

Pretty much my only picture where you can see how it is done. It is quite bad quality but if you zoom hopefully you can see the metal frame.
Then there is a 30mm birch bolted and glued to the cage. Each side is also glued to cars frame so no pressure can go on top of the plywood

It is surprisingly strong so I decided not to install a stripper pole. Actually quite happy because my cabin is already so crowded .

[Basshead6400]

Sadly not able to see that on picture from my end :/

I’m very interested in your solution because I had an idea somewhat like this

I had a stripper pole in my old touran wich was very strong and did the job - but it’s very often in the way and very easily gets the wrong kind of attention from police !
Therefore I’m looking to possibly just fully weld the roof in my caddy or IF POSSIBLE just bond and stack many layers of birch wood to the roof and finally reinforce with the metal cage.

Let me know if you by chance should find a better picture


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[XmaxxCaddy]

Update time

Sadly not able to see that on picture from my end :/

I couldn't find any better pictures of the roof but ill try to explain how it's made.

This is a mini recreation how the roof is made, steel bar is welded to the roof bracing where interior lights normal mount to. The plywood extends over that and meets the point where windshield starts. Then there is another piece of plywood that meets the roof. Because that part of the roof isn't straight, the plywood is thicker in the middle. Then any air gaps are filled with glue.


Caddy is back in one piece, dusty but almost ready for yearly inspection. After that ill start working on the system.
Plastics are painted black, doesn't look like much but for the paint to last i started with plastic bonding primer, then regular primer and finally 2 coats of acrylic paint. Not 100% happy with the result but it does the job. Plastic texture is way more noticeable after the the paint.
Inside door frames are painted with a brush, not my best work but it is mostly hidden so is't good for now.
Door pods are in progress, almost ready for paint.