Speakers in the package tray.

[bb1970]

I know most of you all are "all original" car owners. I have a '65 low optioned car. It is a fantastic driving car. Even after I lowered it. Anyhow I hate the mono speaker set up in these cars. We are in the car nearly every weekend driving to cruise nights. Or just to get a burger. I'm thinking of putting 6x9's in the package tray. And 6" round speakers in the doors. I don't want booming bass. Just a good sounding stereo. The car already had a cd player in it when I bought it (in the original radio spot). Anyone have a better solution to the problem before I install these speakers? Please include pics of any aftermarket ideas. Thanks, Bill

[steelman]

I have been considering the same thing for the exact reasons you stated above. Not sure if I want to go with door speakers or kick panel speakers. The door speaker enclosure pictured below was discussed here a while ago. That link is below, also. I think this is the right link.

http://forums.aaca.org/f177/suggestions-tunes-my-64-a-225356.html

Edited May 2, 2011 by steelman
new link (see edit history)

[RivNut]

I'm in the same situation with my '64. I've been thinking of putting 6x9's or some 6" rounds in the rear armrests. Any thoughts on what that might sound like. I know that on the newer cars I have, the speakers are in all four doors and they sound fine to me. Like Bill states, I'm not interested in competing with the tuner boys for the biggest bass sound, just separation of the highs and lows.

I'm also considering some tweeters in the dash. Anyone done anything like that?

Ed

[CTX-SLPR]

I've put a pair of 4in speakers in the original 4x10 location so I get true stereo from there though it's pretty hard to get a true left and right feeling off of it. The doors are going to be a problem unless you get forward of the window track and dodge the motor for the vents if you have power ones. Also you'd need to keep from cutting the reinforcement for the lower hinge. You should be able to at least put a 4in one there if you're willing to take a holesaw to the doors.

There is a cut out on the drivers side of the metal structure under the parcel shelf for the optional defroster that would be perfect for a 6x9, however there is no matching one on the passengers side so again, get out the hole saw. The rear arm rests I think are a good option as they are replaceable (even easily reweldable then recovered) and completely hollow. Being metal you'd need to put some good damping material on the insides and probably of the quarters to keep them from rattling and distorting. I'm actually considering putting retractable seatbelts in there myself as well.

[bb1970]

I have taken the arm rests out and looked at that option. They won't accomodate a 6" speaker and not be below the seat line. You'll end up with a small speaker in that space. But that was my first thought it is a great spot. Kick panels would be a great spot too. But then you loose the vent.

Edited May 2, 2011 by bb1970 (see edit history)

[abandg]

I have put 5 inch speakers in the rear arm rests and put them on the same wire. I also put the front and rear center on the other wire which gave me stereo all over the car. It was a great sound in the car and no matter where you sat you could hear the stereo sound. It is easier to replace the rear arm rests as opposed to the rear package tray. Just some thoughts. Gene

[Guest REX STALLION]

I like the arm rest option and the "pod" on the door.I think of adding options rather than taking them away,I wouldn`t want to lose the defroster or the vents.

[Guest Roostriz]

I just went through this on mine. The front dash speaker was missing so I made a plate and mounted two 4 inch Infinity speakers in there. The previous owner mounted cheap 4x10's in the rear armrest. I replaced them with a higher quality set.

I have a pioneer headunit mounted in the dash ( I bought a second dash section and kept the other with my original).

The setup sounds real good when I am cruising but I imagine the sound quality would diminish once some butts are in the rear seats blocking those speakers. Truthfully the fronts provide the best sound quality anyway. I considered building a sub-woofer enclosure for behind the original rear speaker grill if I needed more bass but I found my current set-up suits me fine.

[RivNut]

Some more ideas are pouring into my feeble brain.

1) Steve. Do you know anything more about the kick panel speaker surrounds in the one picture you posted?

2) I put some new Polk speakers in my old Jeep Cherokee and they sounded really great compared to the OE Infinity speakers that were in it. They were 5" round speakers. One in each front door, one in each rear door. There were a couple of tweeters in the dash.

If I were to do something similar with 5" speakers in the kick panels, and rear arm rests, then put a couple of tweeters on a 4" by 10" panel and mounted that panel in the OE front speaker location, what kind of sound do you think I might get from that set up.

All four speakers in the Jeep were the same, but after running through an amplifier, the rears carried most of the bass, the treble came from the front doors, and the highs came from the tweeters. What kind of amp or ??? do I need to accomplish basically the same thing with what I've mentioned.

As you can probably tell, anything other than OE audio is new territory to me.

Thanks for any help / suggestions,

Ed

[CTX-SLPR]

To make component speakers work you need a "crossover box" which usually comes with the speakers if they are components or even sometimes with a high quality composite unit with a physically distint drivers like the Infinitys I tend to use. What the box does is apply some form of filter to the signal for each channel so the speaker connected to that channel only recieves the optimal frequency range.

I can only theorize that your setup with the components mounted low and high in the dash would work decently unless the directionality for the sound is all in the tweeters. I'm not a car audio dude but have messed with an upgraded system in all of my Buicks.

[bb1970]

Hey Chris,

Would you mind posting a pic of how the 4x10's look in the rear armrests.

Thanks, Bill

[steelman]

Some more ideas are pouring into my feeble brain.

1) Steve. Do you know anything more about the kick panel speaker surrounds in the one picture you posted?

Ed

I don't know anything more about this. It was a picture of a Riviera for sale not long ago on ebay. Like most of the responders to this post, my AM Wonderbar doesn't work. I have been thinking of upgrading, but don't want to cut holes in the doors for speakers. Even I have scruples. This looked like an interesting solution, so I copied the picture. Is it a big deal to loose the vents in a car with AC?

[RivNut]

With the quantity of air that those vents pass, you'll be surprised at how much cool air you can pass through your car with them open. Wind chill is a result of air flow. Even hot air passing across your skin at 60 - 70 mph hour can feel cool. Remember, this air is not being routed through the vents using a fan; it's direct from the street and the speed of the air is directly proportional to the weight of your right foot.

I'd never close off the vents; that's why I was asking about the speaker pods. I was hoping that they made provisisons for retaining the vents.

Ed

[bb1970]

My car has working A/C. And I use the fresh air vents all the time.

[CTX-SLPR]

My car has working A/C. And I use the fresh air vents all the time.

While my AC wasn't working, I don't use the AC unless I'm feeling sweaty if I can avoid it. With the vents in the kick panels open and the vent windows cracked, it's very nice even in the rain.

[TexRiv_63]

I added a modern system to my 63, I think it was a Pioneer in-dash CD unit. I did have to cut the bezel. I also cut the package tray and added Polk 6 by 9's, that is not an easy job due to the rear window angle. Cutting the doors was never an option due to their construction, I used Polk 4 by 6 modular plate units and made custom kick panel boxes from MDF. These bolted to the floor and kick panel and did not affect the vents. I'll try to find some photos.

[Guest nickdaytona]

I added a modern system to my 63, I think it was a Pioneer in-dash CD unit. I did have to cut the bezel. I also cut the package tray and added Polk 6 by 9's, that is not an easy job due to the rear window angle. Cutting the doors was never an option due to their construction, I used Polk 4 by 6 modular plate units and made custom kick panel boxes from MDF. These bolted to the floor and kick panel and did not affect the vents. I'll try to find some photos.

Yes, please do , Don !!

[TexRiv_63]

Here are some photos:

[bb1970]

I went ahead and put 4x10 speakers in the rear arm rests. Sounds great. I two 4" speakers in the dash kind of rigged with plumbers strap. They point to each side ever so slightly. Not a pro mounting style but works. You can't see them anyhow. Here's a pic of the rear speakers.

[Guest Roostriz]

I went ahead and put 4x10 speakers in the rear arm rests. Sounds great. I two 4" speakers in the dash kind of rigged with plumbers strap. They point to each side ever so slightly. Not a pro mounting style but works. You can't see them anyhow. Here's a pic of the rear speakers.

Bill I just realized that you had asked for some pics. Sorry bout that. Yours look just about the same as mine except that my speaker grills are a little smaller than yours. Nice work.