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Speaker question.

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Old Sep 20, 2016 | 08:57 PM
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Default Speaker question.

85 W Bose system.

I have been reading and reading and reading and nobody seems to know what speakers are in the rear of this thing?

So.. I pulled them out when I put carpet in it last week and they're a 4.5" round speaker hidden under massive 6x9 looking grills.

So, cool. Now I know for sure.

So, I was shopping for replacements when someone said: You can put 6x9's back there with no cutting. There's an adapter you remove.

And I can't for the life of me remember seeing an "adapter" plate to take out, but this person swears it is true?

Before I rip the carpet back out to check, is anyone familiar enough with the 85/Bose system cars to tell me for sure?
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Old Sep 20, 2016 | 09:13 PM
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http://www.carstereohelp.com/corvette.htm
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Old Sep 20, 2016 | 09:19 PM
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Thanks, but the headset is already gone. PO removed it.

I don't want another one to be honest.
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Old Sep 21, 2016 | 12:13 AM
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I don't know about the 85 so here it goes. I have a 91 and I bought OE speaker enclosure or whatever the bracket is called and used them. I had Bose but I bought NON-BOSE speaker enclosures, tossed the speakers out and put 6X9 into them.
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Old Sep 21, 2016 | 07:27 AM
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This is what I had to do to make Kenwood 6X9s work, made a 1/4" plywood adapter. I have to make some custom grills as the factory ones won't fit with the speaker's tweeter sticking way out.

Rick
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Old Sep 23, 2016 | 07:44 AM
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Originally Posted by confab
85 W Bose system.

I have been reading and reading and reading and nobody seems to know what speakers are in the rear of this thing?

So.. I pulled them out when I put carpet in it last week and they're a 4.5" round speaker hidden under massive 6x9 looking grills.

So, cool. Now I know for sure.

So, I was shopping for replacements when someone said: You can put 6x9's back there with no cutting. There's an adapter you remove.

And I can't for the life of me remember seeing an "adapter" plate to take out, but this person swears it is true?

Before I rip the carpet back out to check, is anyone familiar enough with the 85/Bose system cars to tell me for sure?
pioneer 6x9's dropped right into the area once the Bose box was removed, the only exception was the speaker holes didn't line up so I drilled new ones through the plastic.

My understanding was that non-Bose cars came with 6x9s in the rear so most should fit.

your next step should be to read up on the boss wiring, most people prefer to run new speaker wire through the car.

Last edited by Chris**; Sep 23, 2016 at 07:47 AM. Reason: Update
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Old Sep 23, 2016 | 10:18 PM
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I installed low profile 6x9's in my 88 when replacing all my Bose equipment. That way I could still use the Bose speaker grills with some minor sanding of the plastic bar that runs down the middle. I'll check my records if you want the manufacture. Try onlinestereo.com.
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Old Sep 28, 2016 | 07:44 PM
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Originally Posted by shootnstarz
This is what I had to do to make Kenwood 6X9s work, made a 1/4" plywood adapter. I have to make some custom grills as the factory ones won't fit with the speaker's tweeter sticking way out.

Rick
Thanks, I was inspired by your post. Those are the housings I had back there. (Didn't really notice them when I changed carpet. )

That's what I did, too. Except I wanted to dump the Bose grills and use regular 6x9.


A piece of 3/4 plywood mounted on top brings them level with the carpet, then you just trim the carpet and mount the speakers and the grills directly to the plywood.

It makes the car a little louder with the housings out. Anyone considering this may want to put some fiberglass insulation in the cavity behind them.

Thanks to everyone for your help.
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Last edited by confab; Sep 28, 2016 at 07:46 PM.
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