Well, i briefly tested a brand new speaker and to my surprise it worked.
So I ordered up the correct slim line 4x10 speaker from Auto Electronics and its working beautifully.
I also ordered one of those am boxes that allows you to operate the aux jack through the antenna through RediRad Radio Adapters, Rediscover Your Radio . I mostly listen to podcasts and some music so I think the single speaker sound is kind of cool. Maybe eventually get to installing a more modern stereo but for the time being this should be pretty cool.
Also, removal / install of that speaker is no fun!