Rear Deck Speakers

RatBoy4 · 09-29-2002, 05:31 PM

When I bought my 77 911 Targa, there were the odd Blaupunkt forward facing "cabinet speakers" (model LA 6639) installed on the rear deck. Well, one of them has blown and now I need to get some new speakers. I'm thinking of getting some 4x6's but how do I install them. Under the rear deck panel, there seems to be no room. I read in other posts that this is just a pad that I can cut into. Is this true? How much room do I have to get the speakers in? Any recommendations? Thanks!

plain fan · 09-29-2002, 07:55 PM

Judging by what I pulled off my 78 rear package tray, it is just cardboard covered in fabric or carpet. I didn't even know I had rear speakers back there until I pulled that out to get the glass out. Guess what came out with the package trey!

scottb · 09-29-2002, 08:30 PM

Ratboy: If you decide to go with the 4x6 speakers, I have a set of Boston Acoustics that I'm thinking of selling. Send me an e-mail if you're interested.

Scott

Sean Hamilton · Sean Hamilton's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by RatBoy4
......Under the rear deck panel, there seems to be no room....... this is just a pad that I can cut into. Is this true? How much room do I have to get the speakers in? .........

Kevin, it's a bit of a battle. I wanted the speaker set-up per factory - concealed under the perforated vinyl trim and secured to the underside metal mesh grille. The foam rubber padding can be trimmed to allow another 10mm to 18mm depth, which i did to allow for the new deeper speakers, but that's it - you're back onto the bare metal fire wall and the speaker magnet may grab onto it. Another option is to elevate the speakers up through the mesh grille and the perforated vinyl...... but as they say " if you want to keep the value up to the car - keep it original" so I chickened out on such drastic surgery.

plain fan · 09-29-2002, 09:01 PM

If you are set on originality or at least the look of it, I think someone sells a fiberglass piece that is designed for the package tray to hold the larger speakers. I think Automotion sells it, not sure. I've also seen it in Excellence and Pano. Pelican might even sell it.

RatBoy4 · 09-29-2002, 10:13 PM

Does anyone have any pictures of their rear deck speakers installed. From what I can tell, there were never any 4x6s installed in my car. The brackets which are molded into the metal underneath the vinyl deck seem to have been made for these speakers. Are they original? Has anyone ever heard of there being these box-like speakers in Porsches before?

RatBoy4 · 09-29-2002, 10:14 PM

I looked at those rear-deck conversions - about $300? That better be pretty good for that price. Does anyone have one of these for the large 6x9 speakers?

plain fan · 09-30-2002, 05:21 AM

RatBoy, "supposedly" this $300 package tray was copied off the 930 package tray, not sure of that, just repeating what I was told. I've never seen one in person, but to me it looks like it would block the rear window too much for my taste. I've also seen pictures of 911/930 with the larger speakers in a box for each speaker. The box just covered what stuck out of the stock holes for the 4x6 speakers. Didn't look too bad, didn't block the view as much, but for some reason it still looked half-a$$ed to me.

Ove · 09-30-2002, 06:02 AM

Hi, Kevin,

I would put my money in a good set of front speakers. The music should come from the front, not the rear. With a set of 6.5" in the doors and tweeters on the dashboard, there should be no need for speakers in the back. At the moment I have 6x9"s in the rear deck panel, but I'll be removing them this winter.

However, If you want to mount rear speakers, I would recommend adding a 22mm MDF board on top of your existing rear deck. This will give you more room to fit 6x9"s, and it will cost around $30 including vinyl to cover the board.

Jdub · 09-30-2002, 09:34 AM

I did what Sean did and you can find my comments via a Search.

My car came with the "elevated" rear deck that permits speakers (some don't). I used Original Fit for the new material with the diamond-shaped perforations. I did not put covers over the top of the material, instead putting the speakers inside the deck as per original and buying stiff metal framing from a fireplace shop, cutting out the ornamental material to finally get a strong metal piece I could shim between the two layers of cardboard (?) they put on either side. You lose some depth that way but you can add some material to the bump pad on the very back of the deck to elevate it a bit.

Pulling the deck and taking it apart to do the work is not child's play. It must go back together in a certain sequence and then be hooked to the tab and four-screwed into the metal.

Also, many rear speakers were set to simply run "mono" with both R and L going to both speakers. You may have to run another line back there dedicated to a single channel for a single speaker.

John

James_TX · 09-30-2002, 10:01 AM

I went to one of those High end car audio places to see what they thought. Needless to say they take things to a new level. The guy suggested I go with a 6 1/2 round speaker in the back. He said they out preform ovals.

Just something to think about.

On a side note, these guys take laser pointers and calculate the distances of each rider to determine how to mount a speaker.

Its insane!

plain fan · 09-30-2002, 07:23 PM

I would second Jdub about the mono wiring, I had only 2 wires running to the speakers a positive and a ground.

RatBoy4 · 09-30-2002, 07:30 PM

I must have a different deck than most of you guys. The deck has no cut-outs for 4x6 speakers. There are only 2 hole for each speaker bracket. When I lifted the deck up and also considered the space it takes up itself, I bet that I only have about 3/ to 1 inch of space. Do I have some sort of replacement deck, or was this common on the 77 911s?

poorsha · 09-30-2002, 08:02 PM

Ratboy4. Your car is the way it came from the factory. You would have to update your rear tray to a 78 or later style. This will allow you to install 4X6 speakers back there. Anything bigger and you will have to cut a hole into the engine compartment. I agree with 911777 that you do not need rear speakers with the fronts done properly. I had a set of MB Quart 6.5" woofers and seperate tweeters running off a 2 X 30 watt PPI power amp and a Alpine cd player. A simple system that was installed correctly. They installed a dense foam material (the type you use as a camping matt. Perhaps 1/2" thick) and glued a 12" X 12" piece to the inside door panel (against the outside panel) right behind where the speaker backs to. They also used that sticky black window sealer stuff to seal the speaker to the door panel. The sound was incredible. Every one thought for sure there was a sub in the car. Hope this helps.