New Rear Speaker Boxes - Lots of Pics
10-31-2014, 07:30 AM
#42
Cruising
Member Since: Sep 2014
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I know this thread is a couple of years old, but I just got into the C3 world and really love my 82 CE. Can somebody please tell me why the sound quality is so "tinny"? The previous owner installed a nice Kenwood stereo with all new speakers. The rear speakers are kenwood 6x9s and installed behind the rear grills. The magnet of the speaker is too deep and the installation is not exactly factory but it is pretty close. The dash speakers look knew and have a tweeter. But the sound quality has no base.
I checked around I keep getting told the only way to fix this is to install a subwoofer. Lots of dollars. What I don't understand is the quality of the sound in daily drivers in my f250 and Honda Accord is just great. All factory, no additional equipment. I'm not an audiophile. I'm just trying to recreate quality sound in my 82 CE.
I like the design done by Hardway. Is this all i need to do? Any ideas?
I checked around I keep getting told the only way to fix this is to install a subwoofer. Lots of dollars. What I don't understand is the quality of the sound in daily drivers in my f250 and Honda Accord is just great. All factory, no additional equipment. I'm not an audiophile. I'm just trying to recreate quality sound in my 82 CE.
I like the design done by Hardway. Is this all i need to do? Any ideas?
Last edited by TapRackFire; 10-31-2014 at 07:43 PM. Reason: added the daily driver description
10-31-2014, 10:37 PM
#43
Advanced
I know this thread is a couple of years old, but I just got into the C3 world and really love my 82 CE. Can somebody please tell me why the sound quality is so "tinny"? The previous owner installed a nice Kenwood stereo with all new speakers. The rear speakers are kenwood 6x9s and installed behind the rear grills. The magnet of the speaker is too deep and the installation is not exactly factory but it is pretty close. The dash speakers look knew and have a tweeter. But the sound quality has no base.
I checked around I keep getting told the only way to fix this is to install a subwoofer. Lots of dollars. What I don't understand is the quality of the sound in daily drivers in my f250 and Honda Accord is just great. All factory, no additional equipment. I'm not an audiophile. I'm just trying to recreate quality sound in my 82 CE.
I like the design done by Hardway. Is this all i need to do? Any ideas?
I checked around I keep getting told the only way to fix this is to install a subwoofer. Lots of dollars. What I don't understand is the quality of the sound in daily drivers in my f250 and Honda Accord is just great. All factory, no additional equipment. I'm not an audiophile. I'm just trying to recreate quality sound in my 82 CE.
I like the design done by Hardway. Is this all i need to do? Any ideas?
Last edited by Joe Papa; 10-31-2014 at 11:29 PM.
05-18-2015, 02:30 PM
#44
Pro
Thread Starter
Hey everyone. I continue to get questions about these boxes every few weeks. Unfortunately I do not have any dimensions as I kinda eye-balled it as I went along. As others have mentioned, using MDF would be better and sealing the boxes would help too. The biggest challenge I remember was getting them to securely mount to the rear cargo wall. I was fearful of using too long of a screw as I did not want to go in to the gas tank. It has been several years since I sold the car but I am glad to see it has inspired others to build their own boxes.
I now see Corvette Central offers a pair of boxes similar to mind for $170 shipped. A little expensive in my opinion but if they are selling them then there must be a market.
I now see Corvette Central offers a pair of boxes similar to mind for $170 shipped. A little expensive in my opinion but if they are selling them then there must be a market.
05-18-2015, 10:47 PM
#45
Racer
Ask me how close the gas tank is to the that back bulkhead in a '70 ragtop, but then again, don't ask me. But if you do, it's much much much much closer than you think.
Keep in mind, I am an honors grad from the school for the chronically bewildered. And I'll bet you wait to have some cold brewskies when the job is over. Damn, I admire you so much!
Keep in mind, I am an honors grad from the school for the chronically bewildered. And I'll bet you wait to have some cold brewskies when the job is over. Damn, I admire you so much!
05-19-2015, 04:56 PM
#46
I too ran into the same situation; no trunk = no bass. I ended up using modified rear speaker enclosures and a powered subwoofer to enhance the bass. I wanted to use the OE speaker grilles for a more factory look, I didn't like the supplied speaker grilles (Pioneer Speakers). The tops also fit in the rear storage as well.
05-20-2015, 02:17 PM
#47
How big of a market do y'all think there are for C3 speaker boxes like the ones that Eckler's, Corvette Central, etc. sell for around $150?
I think I could make them in small quantities and sell them for around $75-$100 and still make a nice profit. I think I could even offer multiple color options on the carpet covering which would be an improvement over the currently available ones which are only available in black. Different colors might possibly need to be a small upcharge, depending on availability and price of materials.
I think I could make them in small quantities and sell them for around $75-$100 and still make a nice profit. I think I could even offer multiple color options on the carpet covering which would be an improvement over the currently available ones which are only available in black. Different colors might possibly need to be a small upcharge, depending on availability and price of materials.
05-20-2015, 09:12 PM
#48
Instructor
Did something similar but brought it one step further. Here is the link to my post.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...m-73-coup.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...m-73-coup.html
05-21-2015, 01:32 PM
#49
Instructor
I've done my speaker boxes fully sealed on my 82
I'm using old school Rockford Fosgate 6x9 (used as bass speakers only, no tweeter).
boxes are built from MDF and fiberglass
everything is bolted to the stock speaker mount
I have some 5.25" (old school RF too) in the kickpanels and 3" mids+1" tweeter in the dash (old school RF again).
all those speakers are powered from an old school RF 6 channel amp and headunit is a new Alpine with 3-way active filtering + equalizer and time align.
I'm using old school Rockford Fosgate 6x9 (used as bass speakers only, no tweeter).
boxes are built from MDF and fiberglass
everything is bolted to the stock speaker mount
I have some 5.25" (old school RF too) in the kickpanels and 3" mids+1" tweeter in the dash (old school RF again).
all those speakers are powered from an old school RF 6 channel amp and headunit is a new Alpine with 3-way active filtering + equalizer and time align.
05-22-2015, 01:40 PM
#51
It doesn't look like there is room to fit your T-tops with those full width speaker boxes. I'm not prepared to give up that much room. I jettisoned a big kicker box with a couple of 10" subwoofers, some smaller speakers and a huge amplifier... Well, actually it is still sitting in my garage... need to put that thing on craigslist and get rid of it.
05-22-2015, 01:54 PM
#52
Oh... FWIW, I finally got around to stopping by Home Depot last night and bought a sheet of MDF and some corner brackets. I need to stop by either Auto Zone or O'Reilley's or some parts store and get a roll of the interior carpet... oh... need to get some staples for my staple gun too...
Then I will finally be able to get this project done...
Then I will finally be able to get this project done...
10-19-2023, 10:05 AM
#54
I wanted to share my rear speaker box build with the C3 community. My '81 was in need of some new 6x9's as the old MB Quarts were blown. This is not anything new as many owners have done something like this in some fashion or another. I was inspired by other owner’s builds on here and used Marc’s site as a guide, found here - http://members.***.net/~mfouchi/vett...s/boxplans.htm
Wanting to make sure what I built actually fit correctly I still built mine from scratch. Starting with a cardboard box and working from there, trimming here, adding material back to make the box deeper. The Kenwood Kfc-6983PS 6x9 speakers are fairly deep so I wanted to ensure I had plenty of room for the magnet to clear. After the cardboard mock-ups were complete I cut the top and bottom pieces out of 1/4 inch plywood. The face and small side extension are made of 3/8 plywood. I went with the thicker front panel to ensure I had plenty material for the screws to secure the speaker to.
Once the boxes were built I wanted to make a pattern to cut the carpet out of. As you can see wrapping paper was easy to come by in December and the grids on the back helped out a lot. Once I had wrapped the box to my liking I simply cut the carpet out using the paper pattern. Since both boxes are basically mirror images of each other I simply flipped the paper over to make a pattern for the other box. I waited to do my final trimming once I had the carpet on the box.
I had thought about buying an electric staple gun but after successfully using my Power Shot staple gun with 5/16 staples I am glad I didn’t. In addition I did not glue the carpet on to the boxes. I thought this may be needed at first but I was able to pull the carpet tight enough as I stapled it down to give a nice clean look when done. The carpet I used is universal replacement automotive carpet from Wal-mart. At $8.00 per roll you cannot go wrong. Plus it was easy to use and I still have a lot left over. Originally I bought 3 yards of 80/20 cut pile carpet off Ebay but after S&H it costs me $50 so I am saving it for other areas of the interior.
The boxes are attached to rear hatch panel via an “L” bracket and a few wood screws. Yes, it pains all of us to drill holes in our cars but 4 small holes won’t be noticed even if the stock speakers are put back in one day.
All in all I have about 10 hours of total labor and around $25 in materials in the boxes. This is definitely a DIY project for any C3 owner. Plus, if I ever want to go back and if I find some shallow 6x9’s I can reinstall the factory brackets and speaker covers.
Overall I am very happy with the end result from a look and performance standpoint. The speakers put out a lot of sound. Even at highway speeds with the windows down, I can crank them up and hear them clearly.
What do you think?
BTW, when I replace the rear carpet in my interior I have already found a better box design and may re-do mine later in the future. Check out the pics of the C4 styled speaker boxes in this thread - http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...-speakers.html
Wanting to make sure what I built actually fit correctly I still built mine from scratch. Starting with a cardboard box and working from there, trimming here, adding material back to make the box deeper. The Kenwood Kfc-6983PS 6x9 speakers are fairly deep so I wanted to ensure I had plenty of room for the magnet to clear. After the cardboard mock-ups were complete I cut the top and bottom pieces out of 1/4 inch plywood. The face and small side extension are made of 3/8 plywood. I went with the thicker front panel to ensure I had plenty material for the screws to secure the speaker to.
Once the boxes were built I wanted to make a pattern to cut the carpet out of. As you can see wrapping paper was easy to come by in December and the grids on the back helped out a lot. Once I had wrapped the box to my liking I simply cut the carpet out using the paper pattern. Since both boxes are basically mirror images of each other I simply flipped the paper over to make a pattern for the other box. I waited to do my final trimming once I had the carpet on the box.
I had thought about buying an electric staple gun but after successfully using my Power Shot staple gun with 5/16 staples I am glad I didn’t. In addition I did not glue the carpet on to the boxes. I thought this may be needed at first but I was able to pull the carpet tight enough as I stapled it down to give a nice clean look when done. The carpet I used is universal replacement automotive carpet from Wal-mart. At $8.00 per roll you cannot go wrong. Plus it was easy to use and I still have a lot left over. Originally I bought 3 yards of 80/20 cut pile carpet off Ebay but after S&H it costs me $50 so I am saving it for other areas of the interior.
The boxes are attached to rear hatch panel via an “L” bracket and a few wood screws. Yes, it pains all of us to drill holes in our cars but 4 small holes won’t be noticed even if the stock speakers are put back in one day.
All in all I have about 10 hours of total labor and around $25 in materials in the boxes. This is definitely a DIY project for any C3 owner. Plus, if I ever want to go back and if I find some shallow 6x9’s I can reinstall the factory brackets and speaker covers.
Overall I am very happy with the end result from a look and performance standpoint. The speakers put out a lot of sound. Even at highway speeds with the windows down, I can crank them up and hear them clearly.
What do you think?
BTW, when I replace the rear carpet in my interior I have already found a better box design and may re-do mine later in the future. Check out the pics of the C4 styled speaker boxes in this thread - http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...-speakers.html
can you make me a pair? I didnt like the ones in the other thread anyway. Thanks eric
10-19-2023, 12:13 PM
#55
Nice job, I Don't need no stinking radio
Takes up way to much valuable real estate in a 71 convertible, plus all that heavy copper wiring will just slow down the racers = especially on a trip, top down, wind
messing up your hair ( if you still have some ) occasional big bug hitting your outside mirror & bouncing inside, muffled small block motor ( big boys included ) purring out their tunes.
Doing just the opposite & doing a radio delete on mine, dash is filled, now the radio area is next.
Takes up way to much valuable real estate in a 71 convertible, plus all that heavy copper wiring will just slow down the racers = especially on a trip, top down, wind
messing up your hair ( if you still have some ) occasional big bug hitting your outside mirror & bouncing inside, muffled small block motor ( big boys included ) purring out their tunes.
Doing just the opposite & doing a radio delete on mine, dash is filled, now the radio area is next.
