73-87 door speakers
 

I bought my 79 k10 to practice body work, before I tackle the rust in my '68. I figure square-bodys are still cheap and plentiful, might as well cut one up
Looking to put door speakers in my '79, problem is the recessed channel running along the lower panel. I can't stand the gap that is left behind the speakers.

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/...0430121845.jpg
^^^^Google Image^^^^ Not my truck^^^^
Drives me crazy. ...still, I think ,the best place for speakers though.

Anybody ever smooth the front of the channels to get the speakers to fit better? I have looked everywhere but havn't found any pics.
I was thinking just smooth the front 12" or so, and transition to a factory looking channel just behind the door speakers.

thoughts?
Or better yet, pics?

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

I'm exploring a similar situation. I've done a lot of stereo systems in the past but never a single cab square. It is extremely limited in speaker placement for a high quality system. I pulled an extra set of doors out yesterday to compare them to my current ones. Realized that power windows take up the space in the door where you have your 6x9, so I assume yours is manual? In your case, I would make a ring out of mdf board to mount the speaker to the door. The rigidity will greatly help the metal and support the speaker. Just use some poster board and make a template. Either shave down or build up the door side to get the correct profile. I would use silicone to seal and attach it to the door alone with sheet metal screws. Then attach your speaker to that. It's gonna take some effort to do it right.
I have a question for you: Any chance you could expose the area behind the kick panel? I would kill for a parts truck I could sacrifice to peel the metal back and see the structure behind there. I want to mount 6.5's in the kick panel, but I want them as flush as I can get them.

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

would be interesting to see how that would look smoothed out.
not being a fan of doing bodywork, i took the easy way, thick speaker gaskets and baffles
Attachment 1913206

with some selective trimming, they sit in the doors not bad, gaskets make a black ring around the speaker hiding the gap. speaker grilles also come down over the sides of the speaker also helping hide the gap.
front doors
Attachment 1913207

rears
Attachment 1913208
having door speakers in my crew close to 20 yrs now, i highly recommend spending the couple bucks and getting the baffles to protect your speakers. even wit new window fuzzies, seals, runs, and vents, squares let water threw like a screen door. many times had connections rusted off, speakers wrecked from water.....

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

So, I took the easy way out. I cut the holes with some snips, used a hammer and dolly to flatten the metal and filed the edges.Then I installed the speakers with some foam baffles
I used Black RTV to fill the gaps behind the trim rings.
Looks okay and I didn't have to bust out the welder.
https://oi862.photobucket.com/albums...psifcznolo.png

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

I've always ran kick panels for front speakers in 73-87's. Im not cutting into my doors.

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

Chop chop.

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

A tip for people running those small baffles on door speakers, cut the bottom half off of at least drill a a 2" hole in the bottom. Most of the speakers being run that I see are designed for infinite baffle type enclosures. You are really limiting the bass/mid bass by putting them in such small enclosures. I just use a piece of 3 mil plastic sheet draped over the top half of the speaker if I am worried about water.

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

Unless of course your running a sub. Then you should be cutting the bass of those door speakers with a crossover or cap/coil below what the baffles might do.

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

there real rear but gm did do door speakers . i had a set in a 1980 k30 with crazy options .

they were mid height of the panel .

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

a 2" hole won't do much good unless you have real crappy speakers...then it may improve them
i cut the bottom off my baffles and in no way do they affect the bass, majority of my bass comes from a pair of subs anyways. have tried many other ways, pieces of plastic over the speakers, ALWAYS came off and would get tangled in the window track, tried old margarine tubs, tried home-made sheet metal covers, none ever lasted long or worked the greatest (biggest prob i found was keeping them on the doors and not coming off)
pre-made baffles are about the simplest, easiest way of keeping speakers dry i have found, with none of the "staying put" probs, once there mounted to the speaker, they are'nt ever coming off.
i like easy and simple...:lol:
and i live in the PNW, rain capital of north america...
Attachment 1930705

Re: 73-87 door speakers
 

It's always good to go back and check on old posts.

Might I assume, this is why my stereo has almost no bass? I Don't have a sub, but my stereo is seriously lacking in bass and mid range. Old country sounds okay, Rock and metal is marginal, Hip-Hop is a No-Go.
I might have to modify my baffles.

Update:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...5&d=1566407726
I cut my Boom Matts out just like this pic. WOW what a difference.
Originally, I was seriously disappointed in my new speakers. After this mod to the foam baffles, there is a significant improvement.
Before, as the volume increased, the bass dropped off significantly. So, at half volume or above it sounded crappy and tinny.
Now, it sounds full and proper.
Thanks for the great tip.
-Russ