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Can anyone recommend speakers that fit the front speaker kicker holes on a 1969 350/350 4 speed?
I'm purchased a newer RetroSound Long Beach head unit (the new model), so I bought some 4ohm "Kicker" speakers but the back cone brace is a little too steep to fit in the hole without modifying those little angled body tabs the hang down. I honestly think they would fit if I just bent the body tabs back a bit. (see image below)
Wondering what everyone else used that fit in the hole besides repo speakers. I'm also not interested in screwing speakers to the outside of the kicker panel as I want it to look as stock as possible.
I used 6.5" round Rockford/Fosgates for my fronts. They came with little eye-ball tweeters that I have tucked into the windshield corners.
I did end up mounting the main speakers to the sheet metal, but cut holes in my kick panels and then mounted the R/F grilles on top of those to close out the whole thing (my kick panels were cracked and faded anyway, so I didn't worry about preserving them.
I also have the Retro-Sound head unit, but I didn't like the high-volume sound quality with just that set-up.
I quickly added a compact R/F powered Sub that I have sitting in the rear compartment.
And then added a small $30 Boss 200W amp for the front speakers that I mounted neatly behind the passenger lower dash panel.
All-in-all, sounds pretty good. The Sub helps with better bottom (not nearly enough to rattle the neighbors' windows), and the small amp up front helps drive those speakers at higher volume (needed for when the T-Tops are off and speeds are "semi-legal").
Now, if I could just get rid of that nagging ignition whine!!!
I used 6.5" round Rockford/Fosgates for my fronts. They came with little eye-ball tweeters that I have tucked into the windshield corners.
I did end up mounting the main speakers to the sheet metal, but cut holes in my kick panels and then mounted the R/F grilles on top of those to close out the whole thing (my kick panels were cracked and faded anyway, so I didn't worry about preserving them.
I also have the Retro-Sound head unit, but I didn't like the high-volume sound quality with just that set-up.
I quickly added a compact R/F powered Sub that I have sitting in the rear compartment.
And then added a small $30 Boss 200W amp for the front speakers that I mounted neatly behind the passenger lower dash panel.
All-in-all, sounds pretty good. The Sub helps with better bottom (not nearly enough to rattle the neighbors' windows), and the small amp up front helps drive those speakers at higher volume (needed for when the T-Tops are off and speeds are "semi-legal").
Now, if I could just get rid of that nagging ignition whine!!!
Yeah, I’m trying to find aftermarket 4x10 that fit in the existing hole without any modifications. Probably a tall ask tho. The Kicker speakers I bought will work, but I’ll have to heat up the metal behind and bend the top tabs back a bit. Do you think this is possible?
You will not find any good quality 4"x10" speakers in the world of audio. You will only find 'similar to stock' speakers in the after-market. The OEM speakers were poor, at best; the replacement speakers are "equivalent". Go with some round speakers which have a low profile and will fit in the available space envelope. Also put some fiberglass batting in behind those kick panel speakers; that will reduce unwanted structural resonance.
P.S. You can throw a lot of money at big magnet, high power, low efficiency speakers for "sound quality" reasons. But, you are inside an automotive interior space...not a big, well designed studio. And please don't try to impress other drivers and your neighbors with the booming bass you can produce to rattle their windows. They really don't like it, anyway.
Last edited by 7T1vette; Jul 31, 2019 at 12:16 AM.
From: Some days your the dog and some days your the hydrant.
Royal Canadian Navy
I used Infinity speakers which my particular model is discontinued. I would think any shallow mount 5-1/4" - 6-1/2" will fit. I also have a pair of Focals which I test fitted. In order for them to fit in the hole, the speaker frame needed some, not much, clearancing with a dremel. It wasn't a shallow depth speaker and requires a spacer. It may still fit behind the panel. Anyway, you can fit round speakers in a rectangular hole without using a bfh.
I used Infinity speakers which my particular model is discontinued. I would think any shallow mount 5-1/4" - 6-1/2" will fit. I also have a pair of Focals which I test fitted. In order for them to fit in the hole, the speaker frame needed some, not much, clearancing with a dremel. It wasn't a shallow depth speaker and requires a spacer. It may still fit behind the panel. Anyway, you can fit round speakers in a rectangular hole without using a bfh.
Okay gotchya. Do you think it's possible to just heat up and bend the top two tabs back a bit? I have 4x10 shallow Kicker speakers, but the cone bridge on the back is too steep (even tho the speaker is just as shallow overall) - so if I could bend those back, they should fit.
Here's something that might be a little "off the wall", but might work. I used to have an S-10 4x4, that was my winter ride. I still wanted a good sounding radio, however, and went to the aftermarket. The dash took 4x6 speakers, and JBL made a good 4x6 "plate" speaker. It had a "mid-woofer" of about 3.5-4" in diameter, and a tweeter of about 3/4-1". If your opening will accommodate a 4x10 speaker, it would certainly accommodate a 4x6, and not have the clearance issue.
Those will work....but the tweeters down in that area won't really transfer quality highs to your ears....those sounds will get absorbed by your clothes, carpet, seats, etc. A better choice would be a bit larger speaker which will produce good quality mid-range and bass frequencies. For bass sounds, larger is better; and the kickpanel area is ideal for low frequency sound generation. You can create high freuqencies down there...but you won't get to hear them very well. But, for '68-69 cars which do not have the dash speakers, that may be what you HAVE to do.
For '70-77 C3's, good quality mid/high range speakers in the dash AND mid/bass speakers in the kickpanel areas is about as good as you can get for full-range sound in a C3.
The RetroSound speakers are 4x6; however, they have a cutout back of the cone brace, so they should fit without modification. See below:
Overall, I'd really like to try to make the Kicker brand speakers fit as I think the sound quality would be much better, but I don't really want to modify the surround if possible.
Last edited by Dustin James; Aug 4, 2019 at 12:01 PM.
From: Loud, Raw and Dangerous 1968 327 4S in Southern California
Here is what I installed with no issues, however looking at your picture it seems like the cars speaker opening area is different from what I remember on my 1968. For your existing new speakers, instead of bending why not put some spacer washers between the speaker back and the mounting surface to set it out a touch?
Whatever speakers you choose, and however you decide to wire them up to your "sound system", the total impedance of the speaker system needs to MATCH the impedance of the sound system and/or amplifier which drives them. If you don't know what "impedance matching" means, you need to Google that term and learn how that can be done properly with your system.
P.S. The original Delco radios (1968-1977) had 10 ohm output impedance. The stock speakers were 10 ohm speakers. Today, you can only find 4 ohm or 8 ohm speakers for auto audio use. There are a few "exact replacement" speakers that are 10 ohms....but they are as poor quality speakers as the ones GM originally installed.
8 ohm speakers will work satisfactorily with the original Delco system. Or, two 4 ohm speakers wired in SERIES, will also yield 8 ohms total impedance. That is what you need to know if you are installing modern speakers with the stock Delco radio.
1969 Front Speaker Recommendations
