I tried a forum search prior to asking this question but I did not find anything, ( I was sure that someone else has encountered this issue as well...)

Our recently purchased 1976 L48 4spd is in great working condition except for a few items. The horn, amp gauge and radio do not work. I think the horn and amp gauge are related, I will go looking for the relay this weekend and see what I can figure out.

Meanwhile, I checked into the radio this weekend. It's the original stereo unit and the previous owner built an enclosure for 2 speakers and placed it on the rear deck area. He then spliced it to the dash speaker wires. There was no sound coming from the radio. I disconnected the 2 additional speakers and get sound from the original speakers. The speakers sound fair, but could stand to be replaced. Upon further inspection, I found a sticker on the original radio that says it requires 10 ohm speakers. I have never heard of 10 ohm speakers or know where to get some.

I would like to replace the 32 year old speakers with new units but still retain the original stereo. Does anybody make 10 ohm speakers for this application? If not, do I need to just buy 4 ohm speakers and add a 6 ohm resistor?

Seems like a simple issue, I am not sure why I am so confused......????

Thanks for any help.

 

The factory radio uses a seperate Stereo Convector "remote transistor". There were two models, a two speaker system (singe output transistor) and a four speaker system with two remote mounted transistors.

 

If the Delco radio is a stereo model, each side speaker should be 10 ohms. However, unless you buy the chinzy GM replacement speakers, you can't find 10 ohm speakers. A good alternative is to buy 8 ohm speakers as replacements. This can actually give you a bit more volume, as lower ohm speakers will draw more power. But don't go less than 8 ohms, or you could fry the amplifier when you turn up the volume. If you have a mono Delco radio, the two speakers should be 4 ohm speakers hooked up in series (which would yield 8 ohms to match the 10 ohm output). By the way, the Delco head produces about 15 watts of power at full volume. Chances are that the speakers installed in the back are high-wattage speakers....and the Delco head can't make enough watts to drive them [or any other speaker hooked up to them]. If you want to keep the Delco unit, dump the rear speakers. (But you could put some 20-40 watt speakers in the kickpanels along with the dash speakers to enhance the sound of the factory radio.)

 

I'm curious to hear how y9ou make out with the horn. Can you take a picture of the relay when you find it? My horn doesnt work either and I have replaced everything but the relay...cant find it or where it goes

 

This is what Scott is referring to. But I think it was one transistor for the mono radio and two for the AM/FM stereo. I can't recall four-channel stereo back then, only two.



You never know what surprises Bubba has left for you! When I removed an old Kenwood head (15W x 4) a couple of weeks ago I found a 10-ohm speaker on the left and a 4/8-ohm speaker on the right. And I wondered why I wasn't getting good sound....



I now have Pioneer speakers (4) in upper dash and kick panels. Head unit is 50W x 4 with MP3 jack.

 

 

Thank you Scott. I saw the transistor, but wasn't sure what it was for. My car is a two speaker model. It looks like there is room in the kick panels for speakers as well. Is this where the second pair of speakers would have been located on 4 speaker models?

Thanks

 

Perfect, Thanks.
I checked Crutchfield and their speakers are all 4 ohm. Could I buy 2 sets of speakers at 4 ohm and wire each channel in series to get 8 ohms? If so, I may get a set of Polk Audio for the dash (since they have a mid and tweeter grouped together) and then a pair of Kickers for the kick panels. Does this sound like a good combo?

Obviously I realize the sound will not be premium since we are retaining the factory AM/FM unit, but sometimes good speakers will make anything sound good.

Here are the speakers I found...
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...ures_and_specs
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...ures_and_specs

 

Sure thing. Looking at the assembly manual, it looks like the relay may be found under the dash, near the steering column. Not sure though....I'll let you know where I find it. The wiring diagram shows that the amp gauge is connected to the horn relay so this is why I am thinking the two issues are related.

 

The horn relay is the black module.