# stereo dilema....how di you do it?



## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

starting to think about tunes in the Tempest, want to route all wires correctly (under carpet pad) for new aftermarket glove box insert receiver and since i will require a little more power(no sub-woofer boxes, although the 6 passenger "goodfellows" trunk would allow 17 of them with a half dozen amps)than the factory AM radio will allow was debating how to set up front and rear speakers without butchering the pristine dash, kick/door panels, and rear tray, since the tray only has center cut-out for mono. My thoughts are make brackets to line up with existing under dash screws and mount facing down under dash (there seems to be plenty of room to hide them) or mount on frame to bottom of buckets facing down, i know its not optimal for sound but i hate to drill a non factory hole in anything, as this car is 99.9% intact as it rolled off the showroom floor (want myself or heaven forbid, the next owner to be able to put back to numbers match someday, if need be). In the rear i was thinking of recycling (theme of this build) a pair of bracket mount self enclosed speakers from a pick-up truck i used to have and mount them in the trunk to pivot up directly under the two rectangular cut outs at the outer edges of the tray and cut out jute under tray liner and make foam speaker cover inserts so as not to distort or block sound and mesh liner will still appear stock. just wondering how others dealt with this, sounds kinda anal, but I am the guy who last night while installing gauge cluster was steel wooling scale off of 1/4" nut drive screw heads before i re-installed (wife just shook her head and said "really".....lol)


----------



## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

If you don't want to cut, you can buy aftermarket kick panels with built in round speakers. save your originals. OR you could mount 1 6x9 in the stock position in the rear shelf, and one in the stock dash location (this will give you front and rear instead of left and right (still stereo)....Neither of these are really optimal but if you don't want to cut.......Eric

P.S. a small vibratory tumbler cleans and polishes little nuts, washers, etc better than steel wool ( the anal mans dream tool) and are pretty affordable.


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

I've had speakers in both my GTO's for over 20 years installed behind the kick panel vent screens. The speakers fit perfectly with no harm to the panels. I'm removing them from the '67 because I need the cowl vent's back in action...too hot out here in CA. I am installing a stereo speaker in place of the single one under the dash. Cheesy, but I'm not a really big stereo guy when driving these things. With all the metal under the dash, yu should have no problem fabbing some brakets/mounts for speakers. Thank you for not cutting the car up!!!


----------



## Jeff's Classics (Feb 24, 2010)

Agree with Eric Animal on the kick panel speakers. I just installed these in my '68 recently, and although they aren't the optimal location for speakers I didn't have to cut anything to install them. My car already had the rear deck cut for 6X9s so I just dropped in a new pair of Polks using the Kenwood amp the previous owner had installed, sounds great. If I were you I wouldn't worry too much about cutting the rear deck for speakers. Unless it is something like a Judge or an original tri-power car I doubt that a well executed installation of speakers in the rear deck is going to have a negative affect on the value. If you do a clean job of cutting the work could be reversed easily with a new package tray shelf, and few, if any, people would ever notice the cutouts in the sheetmetal below, visible only by laying on your back in the trunk. And rigidly mounted 6X9s will sound a lot better than the free-standing speakers in plastic boxes that you could sit on the package tray instead.
But...it's your car and you'll have to decide. Maybe someone has a novel solution out there. I do like Eric's front/rear 6X9 idea...
Jeff


----------



## 58mark (Sep 28, 2010)

I like the idea of buying aftermarket kick panels and putting round speakers in them.


----------



## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

got under there today and i should have no trouble fabbing brackets under dash with a slight angle towards the seats and you wont even see them from a sitting position, easily accessible and removable (like the air vent idea too Gee) have to crawl into the trunk and see if the box speakers will fit under the stamped rectangular holes in the back window corners. Not really worried about value Jeff, just the fact that in 45 years no yahoo or punk kid has gotten there hands on this and hacked and drilled unnecessary holes in this car, and i don't want to be the first.


----------



## nedorama (Sep 13, 2010)

Here's what I did on mine:

Stereo

The caddy underneath the dash came with the car; it's since been repainted the same color as the rest of the dash.

Alpine unit has an iPod dock; the speakers "sort of" fit" behind the vent grills. Unfortunately the previous owner had hacked them up, not me. I've got a pair of the new kick panels with built-in speakers and will paint to match before installing.

Am thinking about having the AM radio rebuilt; would be nice to just have the AM radio and an iPod hookup, similar to what these guys do:
Joe's Classic Car Radio Co. - Home . This is further down the line, but I like the idea of just AM radio and the last preset button turning on the AUX in - then I'd get rid of the Alpine and the aftermarket stereo caddy altogether.

Installing a stereo speaker in place of the mono grille speaker could be interesting - could then use the fader control. Figuring out how the AM radio and the Alpine could both use it should be fun to explore.

Did Pontiac have rear speaker(s) on the 67 convertibles?


----------



## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

nice set up ned, i just got my JBL's in today for the front 4"x6" duals, they look like they would drop right into the air vent passage, just hate to block it, guess i will test fit and see what works for me i know i am going to put my receiver in the glove box, am fabbing an aluminum box with front plate to slide in and looping my MP3 cable under the carpet and into the console glove box for I-pod and stereo remote, looks like the bracket speakers will work in the trunk also, just need a short cross brace added on each side and two screws up under where they will never be seen, that way if i am sitting outside they can also pivot back for better sound


----------



## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Convertible rear speaker was an option.


----------



## nedorama (Sep 13, 2010)

Eric - where did it go, since there's no package tray? curious. Thanks.


----------



## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Right here.........


----------

