I just purchased % 1/2 inch sony Xplode speakers for the front. There are 6x9 speakers for the rear of the convertible. Has anyone put the speakers on the door or in the kickpanels. Any suggestions? Any pictures? Thanks

That should read 5 1/2 inch

I have a '69 convertible and it has factory 4 x 6 in the kick panels. I also installed Blaupunkt Overdrive 5 x 7s in the convertible well covers; these were the only speakers that would fit the space and allow the power top to operate.

I've seen 5 1/2 in the doors, but just watch your rear clearance with the glass down. I don't think you can get them in the kicks without serious cutting.

Didn't the convertibles(at least 67-68) have 6X9 in the rear? That is what the Year one catalog shows. I just ordered new speakers and mounts from them. It appears that they attach to the metal right behind the rear seat. My car originally only had AM and the dash speaker.

Sure, 6x9 will fit in the rear on all of them. '69 'verts used a cardboard dish that screws to the trunk floor/seatback area. The repro cardboard pieces are too shallow for high performance speakers as they were made for the vintage speakers.

I put the subwoofer in the trunk and the 5 x 7s in the well covers, and have unobstructed sound with the top down and the boot on. You can't do that with the factory mount points.

What do you mean by the well covers? Do you have any pix?
Thanks

here are a few photos:
Before:


After:



I ordered the Sony Xplod first, but they wouldn't clear the top hardware. The Blaupunkts are much, much thinner.

Man youn are quick!!! Thanks. What do you think about the 6x9 in the rear. Do you know if you can hear them with the top down?

I live in Michigan, so the car is in the garage with the top down and the boot on all summer. If the weather isn't good, the car stays in the garage.

I mounted a set of 6 x 9s with the cardboard shells, and they sounded as you would expect...muddy. The sound had to travel through an inch and a half of canvas and vinyl first. These speakers are a much more listenable solution. The subwoofer is fine in the trunk. I'm going to add the divider board behind the rear seat to help dampen resonance, and I've already added a piece of good plush carpet to deaden the trunk space.

I put Infinity Reference 4 x 6s in the kicks...you can hardly hear them. You definitely hear the Blaupunkts loud and clear even doing 80, top down.

Thanks for your suggestions. I have a 2002 Trans am with the 500W Monsoon stereo. It is also a convertible. It would be hard to duplicate that sound in the 67.

it's funny...all that trouble and money on the Pioneer head unit and matching and installing the speakers...and I'd rather listen to the engine.

I "hear" Ya

Why do you think the factory mounts were flimsy cardboard? Were they supposed to be flexible? Would they move when the top was put down?

No, they don't move. They are screwed to the back of the seat brace and the trunk floor. They were just supposed to function like a small speaker enclosure in the cavity of the trunk, since the sound chamber of the package shelf, glass, and roof of a coupe is not present to give dimension to the sound.

The original design was to cut through the bottom layer of vinyl that appears when the top is raised, and the speaker grills installed through that. It works okay if the top is up, but that's not how I drive my convertible. It's also not good for the speakers if you put your top down wet.

Quality in the '60s meant you had FM...not today's standards. The cars don't have much sound deadening to start with, the big engines contribute more to the "ambience" and the shape of the cars pushing through the air contributed to environmental noise. Trying to get new car audio quality without redesigning the car is futile. So enjoy what you can get for a reasonable expenditure, or go rustic and keep the original audio.

Mine still has the original AM/FM stereo installed, and a hidden speaker under the dash gives the "classic" sound when I feel in the mood, like in the judging lane at a local show.

I picked up an extra set of well covers to help with this problem as to not butcher my originals and have yet to install. As far as speakers/subs in the trunk with the top down, i did not like what they sounded like,maybe i just have too much bass if there is such a thing.I'm planning on removing my "ventilation" ducts and putting a speaker in each hole,maybe just concealing them inside the ducts somehow(hi's) pair in the well covers and pair in the extra kick panels i have and one center up top and possibly two concealed underneath the dash area.Door panels are another alternative but will pick up an extra set to play with before i do that.I used to run with a box the size of my back seat but is no longer feasibly with the two kids now.Just need to solve my sub dilemna and all will be fine.I like loud,clean sound not muffled.When i was younger i even considered putting some subs in the seatbacks but refrained from going through with it. lol

David

Hi David,
My car is a 67 . It looks exactly like yours!

I bought the Infinity sub http://www.infinitysystems.com/caraudio/category.aspx?Ser=BSL
with the remote subwoofer volume, plus the head unit has subwoofer volume controls and auto level (when you pull up to a light, the volume level automatically adjusts down, then back up depending on ambient noise). I can get just the right amount of deep bass this way. The sub is screwed to the floor with a piece of thick carpet underneath it, which deadens the trunk space, and all objects in the trunk are confined to prevent rattles.

Oh, yeah...the sub takes up less space than the collapsed space saver spare

I also tried the speaker behind the seat, not a worthwhile option. Custom auto sound has some options, under seat component set, or replacement kick panels with speakers. I am leaning toward under seat, maybe move the tweeter up higher. I did not like the idea of cutting anything. Yellowbird has a nice setup, I did not think that speakers would fit there easily. http://www.custom-autosound.com/prodFam.php?CatID=3

I don't know about the "easily"...I made a cardboard template and taped it in place to check clearances before cutting. The space is very shallow, and most 5 x 7 speakers won't fit.

There's an article in this month's Muscle Car Enthusiast about a California '67 ragtop owned by a Nissan NVH engineer. He found a way to put large speakers under the front seats. He also made a number of other interesting mods to the car, but there is unfortunately a dearth of detailed information in the article.

John

Wow this was a topic I hadn't thought of. I was planning on trying to find the largest free air 6X9 I could put in my convertable and stuff a amp in the space behind the seat. I didn't think about the boot and top coving it all up. I'm glad I got the kenwood front speaker even though its small.
Yellow bird you have a nice clean setup. Looks great. I'm with Kybird about not wanting to cut any thing up. Hard to have your Cake and eat it to.

You can buy old well covers and the material to recover them, or you can buy the whole piece repro. I bought the material, and if I ever want to reverse the process I could tack a steel patch back over the cutouts and recover the panels. If my car was nice enough to show at a bigger show, I could swap out the panels easily if needed and just leave the wires tucked down inside. The head unit is installed between the console and the ashtray, and just a couple of connectors need to be disconnected to remove the whole "modern" stereo setup and swap it back to the stock setup.

Yellowbird and everyone else- I love the speaker in the well cover trick! This might be totally stupid but what do you think about this idea? Instead of using the speaker grill, do you think I could get decent sound by cutting many holes in the well cover? Actually, I would use my laser instead of drilling or cutting, so the layout and size of holes would be uniform and symetrical and look really trick. But do you think that would muffle the sound too much?

Steven

The factory well covers are upholstered with kapok (cattail fuzz) and vinyl, so sound quality may be muffled. If you repro without the kapok backing, sound quality MAY be acceptable. Again, you'll be going through structural material. Although visible, I have good sound.

The sound probally won't be acceptable. The only sound waves that you can punch through obstructions is bass. Midrange and higher are absorbed rather easilly. The upper range is so fragile that air absorbs the sound so much that tweeters must be directional, meaning aligned with the ear, to get quality sound, the reason I selected the top of the panels for the tweeters. (Before I did the chop, I mocked assembled to experment with sound quality as to where the tweeter were placed. I thought about trying to wedge then into the inside garnish mouldings on the posts, but I couldn't get the sound to hit dead between the ears, without mounting them at different angles, and it would have looke like hell.)

I agree that it would look nice, but you'll be compromising the quality of sound.

Sounds good, I am glad I asked before attempting all the laser work. Maybe I could find some grills that look more old fashioned than the ones that come with the speakers? Amero, did you install speakers in the same place as Yellowbird, and if so, how do you like them?

Yellowbird, do you have the model # of the speaker?

I think I have cattail fuzz in my pillows. That might explain the sneezing at night...

Thanks all,

Steven

http://www.blaupunktusa.com/BlaupunktUSA/Products/Speakers/Overdrive/Coaxial/ODx573.htm

I used the ODx573, the total depth is less than 1 3/4" for a three way speaker. This leaves enough room for the power top piston to swing through with clearance.

Any 5x7 grille should fit as long as it clears the midrange and tweeter elements, or a can of matte black would conceal the silver trim on the factory grille.

Yellowbird says: "it's funny...all that trouble and money on the Pioneer head unit and matching and installing the speakers...and I'd rather listen to the engine."

THANK YOU for confirming that I'm not alone. I have functional tunes but they are far from good looking or good sounding. On a 400 mile drive a couple weekends ago, all I listened to was the engine (and those pesky voices in my head.)

400 miles one-way in an FGF? THAT'S RIGHT! heheheh I did it before and I'm gonna do it again! The odometer is not my enemy!

CRUISE SEASON is coming!!

You`re not alone....I have an old radio /cassette player in mine w somewhat upgraded speakers, but really nothing for a radio buff...I only hear the radio/tapes while going thru the neighborhoods anyway, once the top is down = 99 % of the time ,and on a freeway , (doing 90) you cant hear the radio anyway , no matter what you paid for it....but that nice exhaust rumble makes you smile!

Wait a second - Smitty, what do you mean cruise season is coming? I've been driving my bird without heat all winter! At least once a week. :p Unfortunately, besides the trips to Walmart and Home Depot (all of 1 mile from my house), there aren't any good places to cruise around here. I do take the car to work (9 miles), and it's an enjoyable drive, for about half of the drive at least.

Need to find a nice route to drive around when I have some free time.


Now back onto the speakers. The original post was about front speakers btw.

I have the am/fm radio, and a set of enclosed plastic "boxes" with 3 speakers in each on the back shelf (behind the rear seat, yeah, no convertible here). The speakers are held in place by a rod/bolt that screws into the "box" and goes into the trunk and is secured by a wingnut. They are well blown however, and sound bad if you turn the radio up to hearing level with 1 window partially down.

Now I like audio, and while listening to the engine is great (I do need a new exhuast that sounds like there is something under the hood), I enjoy my tunes also. I do want to keep a stock look though, so I was thinking about putting a stereo head unit in my console (storage box area). I'm doubting it will fit, but if it does, I'm there! That way I could close the door, and hide the system, retaining a stock look (old radio would stay in the dash). I'd like to put some 8" speakers in the back deck, with a black material to cover the speakers up, and have them blend in better.

Oh - another idea was to build some speaker enclosures custom out of wood, put 2 speakers in each box, and cover the sides of the boxes with the same type of material that's on the back deck. On the front, I'd cover them with a household type of speaker grill - black linen basically. I was thinking to make the boxes triangular, and have them point toward the dome light (well, straight ahead, but focus them to point midway up the headliner). I could probably get some 6" in there for bass. A summer project!

All interesting ideas...reminds me of when I was upgrading the sound in my old cruisers, scrounging for stuff that works and ways to make them fit (supertweeters in the A/C ducts, amps under the dash). Using component speakers will give more installation options.

I can listen to my stereo with good sound quality while cruising at 85, top down. And when parked or cruising, it sounds great. I can't ask for more than that! But when I'm "showing off", I turn the stereo off and let the engine make the music.

I've been wondering where I could mount rear speakers in my convertible, and I really REALLY like where you've mounted your rear speakers Vikki -- so thanks for the idea, and the great photo's.

I'm going to have to wait a few years to do it though; my kids are just 3 and 1 years old, and I KNOW they'd be poking/pushing on the speakers non-stop , especially when they're vibrating.

Tinindian6702-
I see your original post was in Dec. Have you completed the speaker install yet, and if so, how'd it turn out? I am guessing you have a '67-so do I-and I want to mount my rear speakers in the way Vikki has advised, but I'm wondering if there is any differences between the '67's and '69's that would have to be addressed. Did you-or do you plan to-go this route?

Dave, those speaker grills are nearly indestructible. I have two kids in the back seat, sometimes hockey bags and sticks, sometimes two big dogs. Not even a scratch on the speaker grilles. It's metal mesh and molded plastic.

In case you want to mount speakers there, be advised that on a '69 convertible there is less than 2" of clearance in that location as the top raises/lowers. If your top NEVER moves, you have more room

Whitestripe,
I haven't done anything yet. It took longer at the body shop than I expected. I am hoping to get it back next week.. No rush as it is supposed to snow again tonight. Happy Spring!!!