Today's Luxury Class has taken on a new twist. While custom paint, adjustable suspensions and custom wheels still prevail, the vehicles that they're attached to have seemingly become newer. With the newer cars come more advanced desires, such as more expensive wheels, higher cost luxury twists such as designer leather inserts, and, of course, an off-the-hook sound system.
Higher hops, louder bumps and intricate hard-lining are making trunks smaller and smaller. To compensate for this, designers have to be more creative when creating show-winning trunks. One of the biggest concerns for the street rider is having usable room in the trunk for the cooler, the pop-up and the chairs for those long days at the show or local park barbecues. Like the song goes, they want it all.
One of the biggest challenges with newer rides is the prior use of space. Every inch is already packed with electronics, wires and the moving parts for the trunk hinges and suspension. Long gone are the days when everything relating to the rear suspension could be handled under the car alone. Additionally, the hard-hitting sound systems and fluid or air suspensions take up more room than we would often like to admit.
This month's subject is a newer Lincoln with all of the above. The previous trunk was simple with nice accents, but the tank for the airbags took up a lot of space and the execution of the upholstery left a lot to be desired. After making the decision to change the look, a tighter bond between the interior and exterior was decided upon with both paint and designer material as the goal.
To bring paint into the trunk is not as simple as painting your prefabricated box. Just like the outside of your car, the lines of the body will determine how the light plays on the finished surface. Of course, you want the lines to be fluid and provide enough contours to let the light dance.
Our Lincoln has a clean classic feel so we didn't want to leave the trunk feeling too fluid, and with the battery being located in the trunk, additional considerations had to be taken. We opted to provide sectioned panels to allow for ease of serviceability of the suspension, battery and sound system while providing clean lines for the paint to take center stage.
Previously, we've shown how to integrate hydraulics and a sound system molded in an oldie, and how to create space in an already full trunk. Now follow along as we integrate a full sound system with airbags in a tight trunk space and then mold it to perfection.
 Power and sex appeal is the...  Power and sex appeal is the name of the game. An arsenal from Rockford Fosgate will power us up and with a little help from Select Products, our favorite body shop and Louis Vuitton, we should have one sexy trunk. Our molder's tool kit consists of mold fabric, plenty of disposable rubber gloves, disposable 2-inch paint brushes, plastic bucket, upholstery stapler, razor knife, and lots of fiberglass resin and hardener. |  After stripping the previous...  After stripping the previous attempt at a sound system, our initial box framing was set in place to give us an idea of what we have to work with. As you can see, a simple system would fit with no issue, but adding 3,000 watts of monstrous power and a polished-out airbag system will be a challenge. |  First on the agenda is to...  First on the agenda is to stretch and staple the mold fabric. |
 The next step is to cut the...  The next step is to cut the excess material. |  For power and functionality,...  For power and functionality, a single 15-inch subwoofer was chosen. Getting this monster to fit in the available space will require some creative woodwork. The framing was built for the subwoofer support. After triple-checking the fit, we're ready to mount this panel to the rest of the box and stretch our molding material to it. |  Once complete, we're ready...  Once complete, we're ready to lay down the first coat of resin. Be sure to thoroughly soak the material for a solid panel. |