Convertible Speaker locations

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chewy

chewy

Some old guy...
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I've been toying with the idea of making a drop-in speaker tray for the top-well that I can utilize the bracket across the back seat and just hook them up and lay them in when the top is up. Maybe could possibly build them to also sit up a little higer so they can sit on the top when it is down.

Any have any unique ways that that you mounted 6x9's or other decent speakers in the back of your cars without cutting the fiberglass side panels?
 
I mounted some small box speakers behind the top well area in my son's Dart. You can't hear them with the top down, but that's handled by the split system up front (bass-mid in the kick panels, tweeters in the dash).
 
I have the same question. 65 dart convertible and wondering where to put the speakers.

Kick panels seem like an obvious choice but I can't find any off the shelf for a 65. Looks like I'll have to get creative with some fiberglass.

Did you mount the tweeters in the center, where the stock am speaker normally goes?

I think a subwoofer could go under the seats but I'm afraid the back seat passengers will hear nothing but bass.

I agree that cutting into the fiberglass convertible side panels is not a good option.
 
65DartGTConv said:
I have the same question. 65 dart convertible and wondering where to put the speakers.

Kick panels seem like an obvious choice but I can't find any off the shelf for a 65. Looks like I'll have to get creative with some fiberglass.

Did you mount the tweeters in the center, where the stock am speaker normally goes?

I think a subwoofer could go under the seats but I'm afraid the back seat passengers will hear nothing but bass.

I agree that cutting into the fiberglass convertible side panels is not a good option.
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Did you try Year One?

I know they make after market kick plates w/ speaker cut-out for the 67-69 Barracuda.
 
I put two in the forward part of the doors and two near the rear...works fine. If you put them way back, the only ones who can hear them are people in other cars and in their front yards. I know they wouldn't appreciate my listening tastes, so I don't force them to listen.
 
GaryS said:
I put two in the forward part of the doors and two near the rear...works fine. If you put them way back, the only ones who can hear them are people in other cars and in their front yards. I know they wouldn't appreciate my listening tastes, so I don't force them to listen.
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LOL...I fear your right Gary. However, I'd like to think they'd gather around like I was the Pied Piper.
 
I have two 4x6s in the kick panels, and two 6x9s in boxes on the floor in the back. The 6x9s have a quick disconect so that I can put them in the trunk at shows or when I have someone in the back seat.
 
With my 69 vert, I think I am going small boxes in the rear with the quick disconnects so I can put them in the trunk. For the fronts Im thinking something with clips that can be mounted and removed if needed that mount to the bottom of the dash so the speakers are directly facing me and the passenger.
 
A good number of members here and on other websites have been very surprised and satisfied with the sound produced by installing two of their favorite speakers in the dash location using my dual-speaker brackets. They will accommodate a pair of either 3.5" or 4" speakers. Of course, that doesn't help you with the rear speakers or sub-woofer. I'm very interested in hearing what solutions are offered for those.

If you want info on my brackets, send me a PM. You can also do a search here and see some typical installations on a variety of different cars.
 
The tweeters in my son's Dart are toward the sides. We had the dash out when I cut the holes for them. I don't have any good pics, but I need to take the camera out tomorrow for some parts pics so I'll take a look. I haven
 
I had an idea for how to get some sound in the back seat area. The front is easily solved with some custom kick panels. But the back is the problem.

It occurred to me that I could make some custom speaker boxes that fit the area at the bottom, behind the convertible side panels with the speakers aimed straight up. I'm thinking the sound would come up and out of the area around the convertible top linkage. I think it would sound OK as long as the convertible top boot cover is not snapped on. Since the high frequencies are more directional I was contremplating some tweeters mounted in the recessed area just above the armrest. That means cutting a very small hole in the convertble side panel, which makes me cringe, but at least it's not a very noticeable location.

I measured the area and it's tight on width. I'm thinking a 5-1/4 might fit. That or a 4x10. The 5-1/4 might be enough since I'm planning one or two powered sub woofers under the seats for the bass. I just picked up 2 Sound Ordnance B-8PT powered subwoofers on Craigslist. They're shallow enough to fit under the front or the back seats.

Does anyone have an opinion on speakers down under the convertible top linkage? Will they sound OK? Should I be worried about dust and dirt collecting on speakers that fire straight up?
 
I have a 65 Dart Convertible I put the speakers in the door forward. There is a hole there already just had to enlarge. Kept the same radio in dash AM still works. Mounted a Am / Fm / Cd under dash so not to mess with originality.
 
Mine has speakers in the doors now. The previous owner cut the chrome strip between the carpet and the vinyl on the door panels and now the front sections won't stay on. I have another pair of chrome strips so I can put the doors back to original.

I'll make some custom kick panels for the front speakers instead. The kick panels on these cars weren't much to begin with, so it doesn't bother me as much to go custom in that area.

In the back, I think can mount a pair of 5-1/4's on each side below the convertible linkage. I'll build some boxes out of fiberglass to hold them. Having two on each side should compensate for the location down under the top linkage. If I mount tweeters up near the arm rests I should have good high frequency and acceptable mid range.

Instead of a head unit in or under the dash, I'm planning on the Custom Auto Sound SecretAudio SRMS. The head unit will mount under the back seat and everything is operated via an RF remote with an LCD display. That leaves the dash with the original AM radio which will still play through the single in dash speaker.

The SecretAudio has line level pre-outs so I can use a splitter on each of the rear channel pre-outs to drive a four channel amp to power all four 5-1/4's in the back. I think I can drive the fronts with the head unit. It also has a separate subwoofer pre-out which I will split to feed each of the Sound Ordnance powered subwoofers. So under the back seat and out of sight, I'll have the head unit, a 4 channel amp and two powered subwoofers. The only thing visible will be the front speakers in the kick panels and the tweeters in the back.

I wonder if I need to be concerned about things getting too hot under the seat. Also need to think about whether I have enough alternator to drive it all.
 
I have the secret audio under the front seat on my car. Been there 5 years now, seems to get plenty of air. All of the wires are run under the carpet. My unit is an older one with the controler having a cable hooked to it. At shows I just slide it under the seat.
 
Does the wired controller work well as a hand held unit, or does it need to be mounted?
 
I have velcro for under the dash, but for the most part. I hold it to tune radio and other stuff, then set it down between the seats.
 
I created a console for the front that has my AM/FM/CD unit in it along with two 5 1/4" speakers on each side. It just goes straight down from the dash to the floorboard. I then use box speakers in the floor board in the rear...with the quick disconnects.

I will not hack my doors or kick panels.
 
I did a test of my idea to see what kind of sound I would get out of speakers down behind the convertible side panels.

I used a pair of PC speakers (Harmon Kardon HK109 that came with a Dell PC I bought back in the 90's) connected to my daughters iPod. I had them playing and then I gradually covered them up, first with the side panels and then by installing the seats amd finally the armrest pads. As I added more stuff, I could tell that the high frequencies were getting weaker and I heard more of the bass. I used the iPod's equalizer to reduce the bass and it helped quite a bit.

I was surprised at how good they sounded, especially when I sat in the back seat. My ear was right above where the sound was coming out and I could hear everything really well. They sounded pretty good from the front seat as well. And that's without any other speakers in the car.

I think it may have sounded a tiny bit better with the top up. I was afraid having the top folded down would obstruct the sound, but it really didn't make that much difference.

Based on this test, I really don't think I need two speakers on each side. I think just one 5-1/4 on each side will be fine. That eliminates the need for the 4 channel amp.

I also think using a component set and mounting the tweeter in the recess above the armrest will be worth it for the high frequencies. If somebody were really opposed to cutting the side panels, I think they could get by with a coax speaker down below and boost the trebble. But my side panels have already been repaired so it's not like I'm cutting a virgin set of panels.

These are the speakers I plan to use: http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/spr-50c. The tweeters are less the 2" in diameter and I think they will look pretty subtle up in that recess above the armrest.

Here are a couple pictures in case it's not clear what I did for this test.
 

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Because armrests for the rear seat of a convertible are almost always just ahead of the top mechanism and can't be comfortably used by the rear seat passenger anyway, Fox body Mustangs used that area for the mounting of 5 X 7 inch speakers by extending top mechanism enclosure forward to the door opening to create a compartment. The later ones (87 to 93) even made the extension as wide as the part enclosing the mechanism and totally eliminated the vestigal armrest of the earlier ones. This was relatively simple for Ford designers because all the convertibles used power windows, but still should be doable in A body convertibles without power windows by careful packaging and/or extending the window winder crank shaft.
 
65Dart- thanks for the update and pics... much appreciated.
Need to look @ 69 panels to see clearance- dont think theres as much as yours but I could be wrong. Great idea though
 
DA69RT GT said:
65Dart- thanks for the update and pics... much appreciated.
Need to look @ 69 panels to see clearance- dont think theres as much as yours but I could be wrong. Great idea though
Click to expand...

It's going to be a tight fit on the 65 too. There is actually only 5-1/8" of width, but the 5-1/4" speakers I've measured are actually less than 5-1/4". I think I could stick some shims behind the side panels at the bottom. I don't think the speaker grills are going to fit without some trimming.
 
OLDFARTSDART said:
copied the adaptor another member is making ( only because I had the material and tools to make it)
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"Imitation is the sincerest of flattery." Although I do make and sell the laser-cut dual-speaker brackets like the one you "copied", I must say your installation is very nice and clean - good for you. Most of the folks who buy my brackets do so because, unlike you, they often don't have the material, tools, or shop space to make their own. Just don't get any ideas...
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