Thought I'd share my " budget build" of a stereo system install, might help someone considering going through the same thing.

My passenger side window won't go down so since i had to remove the door panel to get to the regulator assembly and remove it,I figured I might as well do the speaker upgrade while i have everything off, currently have the stock bose speakers with a non working sony HU.

Budget plan is,

Kenwood speakers ordered from amazon at HALF of what crutchfield was asking for the same speaker.

One IMPORTANT thing to note is that the 6x8's did NOT come with a speaker cut out template so i had to make my own from poster board.

6x8's in the dash

6.5's in the doors

6x9's in the rear stock bose location

2 10" or 12" subs ( location/brand undetermined yet )

Kenwood 4 channel 400 watt rms amp to drive the 6 speakers and separate mono amps to drive the subs. ( have not bought the amps yet still doing research ).

Kenwood HU single din cd receiver

Started by removing the dash and measuring the opening for the 6x8 speakers, had to trim slightly one edge of each speaker to fit.

And made mounting plates out of 1/4" plywood which is 1/16th less thick than actual 1/4".

I'll be making custom speaker grills since the stock ones were cracked.

Ordered speaker fabric which should arrive in a week an a half.

EDIT: Found this video waaaay after i already completed the pass door removal, thought this might help if you are doing this for the first time on early c4!!


This is my progress so far.

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Back in the late 80's I installed new speakers in my 85 Vette's dash. (That Bose did suck!). I used smaller plate speakers than you are using and was just barely able to slide the dash cover back in. The speakers you are using appear shallow but you better check and see if those speaker magnets will slide in under the windshield and over the dash frame. Not flaming, just giving my experience.
Steve

 

Skip the 6x9's in the rear and install two 8" Subs in the stock location.

A simple mounting plate needs to be fabbed up but, the two 8's will sound Great!...

 

Any good advice is welcome, i'm not an expert just an enthusiast and i respect the experience on how to avoid any issues with the install !!

i thought about that when i was test fitting the dash back in for clearance, so i'm going to try to make it where i can drop in the speakers from the top and use an " L " shaped phillips head screw driver to tighten them.

 

That's a good idea that i've seen works well on other vettes, for how i listen to music i really like multiple speakers for a fuller range so i did order the 6x9's.

I've built a couple of custom wooden enclosures with 10's and 12's and was very happy with the sharpness of the bass.

The biggest mistake i've noticed on other systems is that the base sounds like mud, or too much distortion creating a crappy window vibrating mess of a sound, so i want to avoid that with this set up.

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By building a simple ported enclosure while keeping as much of the limited space usable as possible.

The speakers came in today so once i'm done with the dash i'll move onto the rears and doors.

Thank you again for your suggestions and keep them coming !

 

HU and eq came in today as well,

I had considered a touch screen with Nav but between the total projected cost of 3000.00 and about less than 1000.00 for the total system, i chose the latter to focus more on listening pleasure than multiple capabilities for budget reasons.

Decided on this Kenwwod HU mainly for android/apps/ipod compatibility, 6 pre outs, usb, and aux in, and since i wanted to add an equalizer.

I'm showing my age since no one really uses them, but i've found eq's to be great for enhancing different kinds of music especially on long drives that i take.

I'm adding a 1/2 clarion eq. which will take up the space in the center nicely with the single din HU without having to cut the stock trim plate opening.

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Just wanted to thank you again for your help !

I did a test fit of the speakers with the dash installed and they will have to be installed after the dash is in place!

Theres just enough room to slide them in from the top, and get them bolted in place once the brackets are completed, i'll also have 1/2" clearance to the windshield for the speaker cover from the front top of the speaker to the windshield.

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Who still buys Kenwood, lol.

 

Remember, Less is More...

The more speakers you have, the more the soundstage will change.

Also, the distortion and muddiness you heard before was probably due to a lack of clean RMS power.

Head Unit power is very overrated and is not clean power. Use an external 4 channel amp.

 

Thanks! i will, plan on a 300/400 rms 4 channel amp either helix, kenwood, or alpine to drive the 6 speakers with the front 4 speakers wired in series/parallel to keep the 4 ohm load, and mono amp(s) for the subs. My other installs have gone good, the poor quality i heard was from other's rides who needless to say lacked a fair amount of skill in execution.

You are right about the HU power output being way over rated, so i'm looking at rms values in my research for an external amp.

I may have to pull new heavier guage wires for power and ground as i think the stock bose wires were too small to handle this new load, as well as new speaker wires of course. The stock motorized antenna doesn't work so i'll have to remove it and test/replace it.

Just took out the rear bose speakers so i'm in the middle of making the mdf mounting plates for the rear 6x9's. I'll be locating the subs in the stock cubby area, i'm thinking of using the stock cubby doors in reverse to cover a tool storage area i'll make from mdf in the rear. So this is definitely going to be time intensive.

 

LOL i actually felt worse getting the eq than the kenwood, was going to go with alpine but budget won out over brand loyalty. I couldn't justify investing over $3000.00 into it considering how many squeaks and rattles you hear with the hard suspension, i wouldn't have been able to get the most out of such a high end install going with JL only to hear more rattling from GM's lack of fit and finish than music.

 

I've done internet search on speaker cables BUT it's entirely confusing, i need copper cables to solder to the speakers, your suggestions would be greatly appreciated !

Where's the best ( place/brand) to get 14 guage copper speaker cable ?

 

Home Depot 50' of 14g is $15, 100' is $25 if you need it or want leftover for future projects

 

Great thanks!

Waiting on the speaker fabric to make the grills,

Finished mocking up the wood brackets in the dash and test fitting the 6x8's, all's good there, once the grills are done i can install the dash.

Speaker adapters came in today for the doors, power window assembly removal/motor test/replacement is next.

Should have the rear 6x9 brackets done tomorrow out of mdf. Waiting for the glue to set up.

Had to make 1" out of two 1/2" pieces. Most speaker brackets are too tall or have a wierd angle and are not 1" ( stock plate is not 1" all around either though ).

Pics to follow.

 

Another question

While i have the door panels off,

I'd like to get rid of the stock alarm system and get one that i can lock/unlock the doors and be able to open the rear hatch with the key fob and possibly auto start.

What is a good alarm system for the 84 ? ( i know the choices seem endless ! )

 

Ok managed to make some progress today.

Cut out the mdf 6x9 panels i sandwiched/glued with elmers' carpenters glue and brad nails the night before to make it 1" thick.

Came out good, used the stock mounting screw locations and used zinc Pan Phillips Head Sheet Metal screws #8 x 2", (1 1/2" would not grab too short ).

Waiting on the wire to come in before i can button up the dash/rear speakers.

Next is the carpet cover for the stock grill location, it will be the same shape as stock to cover the original wear points.

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Got the outer trim rings cut and carpeted today.

Cut these to cover the stock covers wear pattern on the original cargo carpet out of 1/4 plywood, granted 1/4 mdf would have been stiffer but i already had the wood and it's easier to drive staples into it.

Used 3m #80 spray contact cement, Dap landau top adhesive is the ideal choice BUT i didn't need a gallon of it.

Used inexpensive black carpet from autozone.

I'll be using simple trim screws with trim washers to hold it down.

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14 gauge awg Speaker wire came in late yesterday,

Grill surrounds have had about 3 days to cure inside,

Installed them today !

Used #10 oval head 1 1/4" long sheet metal screws with #10 trim washers,

Soldered 3 foot pigtails to each speaker and twist tied them for now to 2 15 foot runs of wire to the HU. Have not decided on which amp yet so i'll have sound until i get the amp. Then it's only a matter of connecting the small runs of wire to the amp and capping off the longer runs of wire. If i need to remove the amp for any reason i can always connect the longer runs from the HU directly to the speakers until any amp issue is resolved.

Still waiting on the front dash speaker grill mounting inserts and speaker fabric to arrive before i can finish that.

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While i'm waiting for the speaker fabric to come in, started getting the HU wiring figured out.

According to the FSM there is a pink/white stripe wire CTSY/CLK FUSE 15 amps that feeds the clock circuit on the original bose radio.

From this pink/wire an orange wire branches off to feed the speaker relay.

However i'm confused !!!

Color code charts show Car Radio Battery Constant 12v should be - Orange

BUT all i see is the pick/white stripe wire behind the dash, this wire though fused to 15 amps seems very thin, too thin to be power to the radio.

In the FSM on page 8A-108 it does show the radio fuse 10 amps and what looks like yellow wire by description, but it does not show a wire or where it connects to other than and arrow to the anti-theft system.

I do have the yellow wire which is switched.

So my question is WHICH wire is the one that carries power to the radio ?

The pink/white wire ?

Or do i need to add a new 14 gauge fused swtiched power wire to the HU ?

 

Ok answered my own question,

The haynes manual was actually more clear about which wire does what.

The very thin and faded pink/white stripe is fused 15 amps hot all the time, this is the circuit that all the interior lights run off of and feeds the clock/station pre set memory for the radio.

NOT an orange wire as stated in color charts. ( in my particular case this is what i have since the po may have removed the orange wire and just left the pink/white wire ).

The yellow 10 amp wire ( radio fuse ) is the fused switched 12v that the radio AND the theft deterrent system get power from.

Turns out the po had these 2 wires crossed and connected wrong.

So i'll be installing new 14 gauge color coded power wires to the fuse box to ensure the new HU gets enough power. ( a little over kill BUT peace of mind is priceless and this allows for future stereo upgrades without having to go through so much work ).

And new 14 gauge ground wire for the HU.

Still sorting out the hanging brown and gray wires i found as i'm not sure if the new HU will need to be wired for dimmer/illumination function from the headlamp switch or not.

Since the po cut into and removed the stock bose harness connector the new metra HU harness connectors are basicly useless other than differentiate the color wires and their functions for clarification.