another door speaker thread

[morriss]

Okay, I read all the relevant posts on replacement door speakers, but have not found what I'm looking for.
My 82 Euro has perforated door panels, no speaker grills. The original speakers are 3 1/2, not 4 inches. Any replacement must be low profile / shallow. I cannot seem to find any that are shallow enough to fit behind the door panels. The only suggestion I have seen is Dangler's about using an S10 dash replacement speaker. However, going back to even 1988, the S10 calls for a speaker that is too big. The suggestion that Crutchfield makes is:
#1 four inches
#2 not shallow enough

The speaker that would fit needs to be about 1 1/2 inches deep.
Any ideas?

[Mrmerlin]

cut a hole in the panel and mount the speaker on top of the panel,
get very good speakers so they will also have very nice grills

[morriss]

I cringe at the thought of having to cut holes in those flimsy panels!

[MPDano]

I actually Dremeled the aluminum panel behind the Door Panel to mount my shallow depth Polks. Go ahead and pounce on me!!

[Pete R]

I ran into the same problem. I have a set to RF separates (tweeter and small mid) that I remember being real close. They may have even fit. In the end I cut my door too, to use more powerful Eclipse speakers.

[Mrmerlin]

cut a hole in the panel and mount the speaker on top of the panel,
get very good speakers so they will also have very nice grills

[Pete R]

Originally Posted by Mrmerlin

cut a hole in the panel and mount the speaker on top of the panel,
get very good speakers so they will also have very nice grills

The early cars don't have the dual speakers like the later cars. There is a grid of small holes in the door panel that round speakers covers would not entirely cover. While you solution is functional the end result would look entirely half assed. It would also wreck the door panel and not allow it to be returned to the original look. The other problem is due to the perforated holes the panel is very weak in that area. I doubt it would hold a speaker for very long with out significant reinforcement.

[MPDano]

Originally Posted by Pete R

The early cars don't have the dual speakers like the later cars. There is a grid of small holes in the door panel that round speakers covers would not entirely cover. While you solution is functional the end result would look entirely half assed. It would also wreck the door panel and not allow it to be returned to the original look. The other problem is due to the perforated holes the panel is very weak in that area. I doubt it would hold a speaker for very long with out significant reinforcement.

Yes, this is exactly why I cut the aluminum versus the actual door panel. Ya gotta think of us OBers too

[Danglerb]

Speakers are out there that WILL fit without any cutting.

If you remove the door panel the inside actually as I remember it is a oval or round cutout in the board of the panel with just the vinyl or leather skin over it, so the speaker fits into the board cutout.

The Speaker needs to be both very shallow, and with a small diameter magnet. Reconing the factory speaker is a very easy option, but Lanzar, pyle, and blaupunkt all make a somewhat hard to find, but shallow speaker.

Personally the music I like best comes from the tailpipe, but if you search threads here and rennlist using lanzar as a keyword some old more detailed threads will come up.

Can't say I've seen many of the "mount the speaker grille on the panel" conversions that I liked at all. Better to find a decent set of the 84+ door panels with good speakers or grills and use those.

[morriss]

Originally Posted by Pete R

The early cars don't have the dual speakers like the later cars. There is a grid of small holes in the door panel that round speakers covers would not entirely cover. While you solution is functional the end result would look entirely half assed. It would also wreck the door panel and not allow it to be returned to the original look. The other problem is due to the perforated holes the panel is very weak in that area. I doubt it would hold a speaker for very long with out significant reinforcement.

Yeah, that's what I'm getting at. I really don't want to cut because the perforated portion is a lot larger than the speaker would be. I will search for "Lanzar" like MikeD said and see what shows up.

[Pete R]

Did you try any pro audio installers/retailers. They usually have a lot in there supplier catalogs that aren't off the shelf items. I had a Rockford Fostgate plate. it was 4x 6 (ish). It had a tweeter and a small mid (3.5 maybe) I was a LONG time ago and I forget the details, but a proper audio store should be able to help.

[Mrmerlin]

actually i have a seen a few very well done speaker installs on the older style door panels what is required is to use sheet aluminum and fasten it to the underside of the door panel,
paint it flat black, then you can have a secure mounting point and use bigger better sounding speakers. If you dont want to go that route then cutting fitment holes in the door itself may be your next option.

[Rob M B]

I've used these Kenwoods for a couple customers that didn't want any mods to the door in the early model cars with no grills.

If I remember correctly the mounting holes lined up too.
They sounded good but I'm no audiophile.

[Danglerb]

Old speaker thread.
Speaker depth behind the perforated door panel? - Rennlist Discussion Forums

[MPDano]

Originally Posted by Rob M B

I've used these Kenwoods for a couple customers that didn't want any mods to the door in the early model cars with no grills.

If I remember correctly the mounting holes lined up too.
They sounded good but I'm no audiophile.

From the picture, they are not flush. The Tweeter and Speaker surround protrude past the mounting face.



I put these Polks in my OB and even though they are flush and shallow, still require some cutting of the aluminum part of the door.

[Rob M B]

Originally Posted by MPDano

From the picture, they are not flush. The Tweeter and Speaker surround protrude past the mounting face.

The amount they protrude is less than the thickness of the door panel material so they fit without touching.

[MPDano]

Originally Posted by Rob M B

The amount they protrude is less than the thickness of the door panel material so they fit without touching.

Not really sure what you mean. The face of the speaker mounts on the physical Door Panel. I can see that the Foam Edge is past the metal mounting area, thus will push the speaker cone back into it's magnet. If I can get a side view, then I think it would be more clear.

[MPDano]

Here, I found a side view. Not only is the Foam Surround protruding but look how far the tweeter sit's forward. This is why they use a face place, which we are trying to avoid here.

[Danglerb]

This is Rob the leathershop guy, who does lots of 928 interior work.

Its just too hard to judge what fits from a picture, but if Rob says it fits, my money is that it fits, but I sure would like to see some pictures of the install, back and front of panel etc.

[MPDano]

Mike, the mounting posts are on the Door Panel. Sorry, I know Rob is the man, but it will not work.