Door speaker instal

[Ponydrvr72]

Couple years back I bought a pair of kick panels with the speaker enclosures. the description said tight fit on left side, i thought to myself no biggie i'll just get some speakers with the smaller neodyne magnets. the other day I figured i better mock these up before i order some speakers. well magnet space wasn't the issue but E-brake clearence is. in order to get these to work i would have to relocate the E-brake a healthy inch by bushing up the mounts which sounds like more work then it's worth. I looked at the door panels and i could see the slight depression in the panel where door speakers would be and since i had to replace some hinge pins and door rubber i thought well hell i'll just put some speakers there right? wrong! after taking off the panel and discovering a few more things i need to replace on my doors I found there are no cut outs in the sheet metal for speakers only a slight depressed area for maybe a courtesy light since the panel had a delete strip about the size of the light on the panel back. my question is did standard interior cars come with dealer ordered door speakers or did you need to get the deluxe interior package, and if so did the speakers come attached to the bulkier panels and there was never any access holes in the door frame? just was wondering before i go get a plasma cutter. many thanks in advance.

 

[OLE PONY]

Your probably lucky you don't have the speaker cutouts in the doors. The original speakers are an odd size anyway. The ones offered by Mustang suppliers look like they have taken a smaller speaker and built a frame around it to fit in the old cutouts. So buy the speakers you like and start cutting. You do have to be careful of the depth of the magnet so it doesn't hit the window mechanism. Here is a picture of the factory cutout in my 73:

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

I cut mine out with a cut off wheel on a 4 1/2 angle grinder. Going slow and careful I was able to fit the speakers in nicely. If you do this mod, remember to keep the speakers smallish and throw some type of sound deadener in the door.

 

[Totalled]

Yes, Std interior could have door speakers, or at least they were added with factory parts to mine.

 

[Ponydrvr72]

Yes, Std interior could have door speakers, or at least they were added with factory parts to mine.

Thanks for the images guy's. was just on cruthfield looking at lift rings for 5.25" speakers. I was hoping to be able to avoid the cut but the only low bottom depth speakers are junk. so yea i'll be cutting. a combo of lift ring and the new hole will allow for a bigger magnet. I've got some left over ice guard i will use to dampen any rogue sound and vibrations.

 

[Tnfastbk]

you can get plenty of sound from the dash mount and rear deck mounted speakers if done correct. Trust me

 

[SPAIN72MUSTANG]

i just put some mtx speakers in the door 5.25 they sound great more bass ,i had the same problem,i bought the kick panel speakers and relized no way is it going to fit between the e brake so i put them in the doors and glad i did....sound so much better i think..... good luck

 

[Ponydrvr72]

Yeah my back tray looks like a amp stack at a Judas Priest concert.Ive got the mid and highs from a set of cerwin AT-10's and their controlers,centered by a 5 " sub from a scientific atlanta computer speaker, in the trunk is a box with two 10" explode subs. needless to say there is a hole in the sound up front. as far as the dash goes, that ship passed a few years back when i replaced the pad, i should have thrown some money at it back then but i always thought i would put speakers elsewhere.


just goes to show, when in doubt whip the wallet out. Maybe U Should Take ANother Grand...MUSTANG

 

[mrbill4]

you can get plenty of sound from the dash mount and rear deck mounted speakers if done correct. Trust me

+1.....I removed the sub (now sitting in the bay) that was in it when I bought the car, but then I also removed the battery from the trunk and put it back in the engine bay....guess I'm showing my age lol

 

[Ponydrvr72]

you can get plenty of sound from the dash mount and rear deck mounted speakers if done correct. Trust me

+1.....I removed the sub (now sitting in the bay) that was in it when I bought the car, but then I also removed the battery from the trunk and put it back in the engine bay....guess I'm showing my age lol

Maybe the previous owner needed the battery back there for amps? speaking of rear battery 71-73, I saw a smokin yellow C code sell on Mecuum auctions today in texas, 40K. a week after i bought my car out of the auto trader I was on ebay looking for cobra jet parts when i came across a unmolested J code 20 miles from me, it was a buy it now 25K,I almost went and played the winchester trumpet. anyway got the window out and cleaned it up and going to put the door on horses and install new hinge pins, no big surprises so far. waiting for my 5.25 speakers. if they are going to be a problem they will also fit in the doors of my suburban. I wish i had the time to restore this door but i need to get on the road this summer. last summer i had a nasty detonation that side lined me for the season. I think ive got all the bugs sorted i just need some good tunes, an inspection and plates then i'm on the road again.

 

[Don65Stang]

Yeah my back tray looks like a amp stack at a Judas Priest concert.Ive got the mid and highs from a set of cerwin AT-10's and their controlers,centered by a 5 " sub from a scientific atlanta computer speaker, in the trunk is a box with two 10" explode subs. needless to say there is a hole in the sound up front. as far as the dash goes, that ship passed a few years back when i replaced the pad, i should have thrown some money at it back then but i always thought i would put speakers elsewhere.

:worthlesswithoutpics:

 

[Ponydrvr72]

Yeah my back tray looks like a amp stack at a Judas Priest concert.Ive got the mid and highs from a set of cerwin AT-10's and their controlers,centered by a 5 " sub from a scientific atlanta computer speaker, in the trunk is a box with two 10" explode subs. needless to say there is a hole in the sound up front. as far as the dash goes, that ship passed a few years back when i replaced the pad, i should have thrown some money at it back then but i always thought i would put speakers elsewhere.

:worthlesswithoutpics:

yeah i'm working on it,wifey has memory card, all my other pic's have to much resolution.

 

[Ponydrvr72]

Okay i'll try to add some pic's with a little context. thiis first picture is of the door and the small circle is where i plan to sink the speaker.

Okay i'll try to add some pic's with a little context. thiis first picture is of the door and the small circle is where i plan to sink the speaker.

this is a pic of my rear deck,sorry for the darkness.

Okay i'll try to add some pic's with a little context. thiis first picture is of the door and the small circle is where i plan to sink the speaker.

Okay i'll try to add some pic's with a little context. thiis first picture is of the door and the small circle is where i plan to sink the speaker.

this is a pic of my rear deck,sorry for the darkness.

this pic is of the sub's in the trunk,it's okay but it blocks access to adjust the air in my shocks. my aiwa deck will power all this but it really cant push the low's so a 4 channel amp is in the works.

 

[Ponydrvr72]

okay, I finishd the install. i'll post some pic's for those interested. The speaker port was a easy cut with a electric jig saw and metal cutting blade.


I did'nt feel like spending the cash on water shields so i made my own with thin tar paper treated with a silicone waterproofer.


I now made sure the speaker was a good fit. i used 3M two sided foam tape to fill in the dead space left and right of the speaker,this will also help to dampen any vibration. the foam baffle was trimmed because the speaker hieght/window crank was going to be tight. I made sure to position the connectors in the right direction, I then pre-drilled the mounting screw holes.


in between the door hinges is a small divit perfect for drilling, the wires go here. make sure to place a line stopper on the inside so the wires wont get yanked. I used a large wire connector and lightly crimped it in place.


the wires will go into the cockpit nicely using the rubber body plug located just ahead of the cars door hinges.


while the door internals were exposed i cleaned off and relubed the lift bar which had 30+ years of dried up lube and was causing the window to drag.


I put the window back in then installed the water shield using permatex high tack sealer. was a good use for it since the sealer sucks for gaskets.


I located the hole for the speaker in the door panel earlier by just clipping in the corner of the panel, a pilot hole in the approx center and using the jig, i cut a cross to locate the edges then slowly cut the cirlce out, real clean. lasly i connected the speakers,set them in place and located the pre drilled holes and srewed in. like i figured the clearence between the gill and handle was tight but it just cleared. I also left a foot of extra wire in the door in case i want to remove, or install base blockers in the future