Where do I find one?

Chuck Jones · 04-18-2009, 11:47 AM

When I bought my 87 factory slant, it came with an upgraded sound system that has little circular walnut sized speakers mounted on each side of the side panel that curves around under the dash area in the footwell. These little speakers are encased in a black plastic round half-ball shaped casing that is screwed into the panel by a single screw. Because of their proximity to the edge of the side panel where you get in/out of the car, I have hit one of the speakers with my foot and broken the plastic casing. I have no idea where I might have to go to find something like this, but there must be other folks out there who have the same setup.

Any suggestions? I believe this is a factory add-on because there are speakers in the back, sides, and under the dash...and I've seen other older 930's with them in there also. In the cabriolet, they had to put in extra speakers so you could hear the radio with the top down. The original radio has been replaced with the newer Alpine unit, but the speakers look a bit old.

x98boardwell · x98boardwell's Garage

First of all, I hope you are doing better. Shoot me an email when you have time and we can catch up. I dropped the motor today for the 1,000 mile valve adjustment along with fixing a leak behind my passenger side cam sprocket from when we rebuilt the motor. Otherwise, everything looks good.

Regarding the speakers, what you are seeing is a tweeter (high pitch noises). Most dash and door speakers have a mid range (the larger part of the speaker) and a tweeter (sits in the middle of the circle) and are referred to as "two-way" speakers because they handle mid and high level noises. Your speakers are separated in to what they call "component" speakers which has the mid and then has the tweeter. These have been known in the past of their better quality. You can normally make a higher quality mid speaker when you don't have to include a tweeter in the same unit so they can get a better quality sound. Now this is not always true as there are all different levels of quality in that regard so it depends on what you have. Lastly, component speakers normally will have a box with each side (passenger/driver's) that the speaker wires travel through which tells which sounds to go where (highs and mid's).

I would first start by trying to find a brand name on them. This will help to determine who makes them. Also, you can find these types of speakers at any stereo stop or Best Buy and could always upgrade if needed. I'm not sure if this was a factory option or not but if it was these are very old so you would have to find a plastic cover someone who doesn't need theres or just buy new stuff which may be the right choice unless your car is concourse which then good luck searching.

On a positive note, a lot of people have gutted their stereo's for track use so you may just get lucky.

I hope this helps,
Bryan

Ken911 · 04-19-2009, 05:39 AM

I replaced all of mine with new Boston Acoustic speakers you should be able to pull them out and take them to any stereo place and get a good replacement.

Chuck Jones · 04-19-2009, 06:57 AM

Thanks guys...I'm trying to keep it original insofar as the interior goes. I've already modified the exhaust with RarlyL8 stuff for smoother performance, but have kept all the original parts for retro should the need come. I'm trying to keep the speakers as original too if possible.

Ken911 · 04-19-2009, 11:18 AM

thing is with speakers they will rot. the paper cones in the old speakers that came in our cars dissolve over time with exposure to sun etc. most people just replace them with something good and keep the original grills.

Chuck Jones · 04-19-2009, 03:05 PM

It's not the actual speaker I'm trying to track down because I know I should be able to find a tweeter that would fit in that case...but it's that golf ball sized speaker case that I broke...and that's what I'm trying to find...it's black plastic. I'm going to try to do some CPR with superglue and see if I can possibly reconstruct the broken back part that attaches to a screw.....maybe build a metal backing that I can superglue over the broken parts.....but I'd rather find the round speaker case itself...

Thanks for the ideas....I'll be pursuing them.