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Largest dash speaker in the 3.5" dash cutout?

Mav2u

Mav2u

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I'm wondering if anyone has managed to fit anything larger in the space on the dash ends where the 3.5" speakers go?

I'm thinking a 4" speaker might fit with a little nipping of the inside of the factory speaker mount.

If anyone has picks of a bigger speaker fitting I would like to see your installation!
 
4" will fit. I think you have to drill some mount holes. Been 10 years since I did my 83 so ???
 
I've mentioned it in other threads, just the switch from the stock units to a good aftermarket 2-way style will be a HUGE improvement, It blew me away when I was having my stereo installed and I checked it out while the guy was building the speaker box. Just a 400 wat amp running the two new 3.5 Kickers and the side panel Kicker 6x9's, I was beyond amazed at the sound quality difference and loudness. This was withough the subs even being hooked up yet.

You're not going to be getting any bass out of them anyways because they aren't in anything sealed anyways, just sitting in open air really, my opinion is to run them as mid/tweet units.
 
I'm already running a stereo system in the truck. I just have 3.5" installed in there. But as I am taking the truck apart now to rebuild it, I've been thinking of new ideas for system setup!

I'm just curious if anyone has successfully installed anything larger than the 3.5" that is factory! 4" look like they could fit, 5" maybe if done just right! 6" I would have to say seem to big but ya never know!!

So if anyone has done it, it would be someone on these forums I'd imagine!! An hopefully they took pics!! :-)
 
Mav2u said:
I'm already running a stereo system in the truck. I just have 3.5" installed in there. But as I am taking the truck apart now to rebuild it, I've been thinking of new ideas for system setup!

I'm just curious if anyone has successfully installed anything larger than the 3.5" that is factory! 4" look like they could fit, 5" maybe if done just right! 6" I would have to say seem to big but ya never know!!

So if anyone has done it, it would be someone on these forums I'd imagine!! An hopefully they took pics!! :-)
Click to expand...

My 3.5 infinity kappas didn't fit on the driver side for my 83. using stock brackets at least. Still have then new in box sadly.
 
KansasTwister said:
My 3.5 infinity kappas didn't fit on the driver side for my 83. using stock brackets at least. Still have then new in box sadly.
Click to expand...

Really? That is what i'm running in mine....

Broke the tip off the center of the tweeter mount, and nipped some of the support metal out of the dash pad.
 
dhcomp said:
Really? That is what i'm running in mine....

Broke the tip off the center of the tweeter mount, and nipped some of the support metal out of the dash pad.
Click to expand...

They hit on the volt gauge I think. In my 83 with ac. Passenger side was fine.
 
I fit 10" in the dash.

OK, it was really a 4x10 in the center. I actually put a crossover on it to just run lows. My thought at the time was that if kids were sleeping in the back I could play just the dash speakers and have a little better than just 3.5s. I don't know if really helped. I think it you cut it for an 8" sub or one of those 6x9 subs and fed it from it's own amp it could be OK.

For any speaker in the dash, the key is to seal it against the underside of the dash pad. That is what separates the front and rear waves and lets the speaker work. So any new mounting needs a way to accomplish that. It would be sweet to build an actual wood speaker box and hide it in there instead, but I think that's impossible on the driver's side.
 
I put 4" speakers in last night. The PS is really easy. the factory mounting bracket just has to be opened up a bit and a couple of new holes drilled in it. I also had to put a notch in the dash steel to ensure the terminals wouldn't touch it.

The DS is tough. I had to hack the dash steel quite a bit. I eliminated the factory mounting bracket and mounted the speaker directly. I just drilled two new holes in the steel and put nuts on the screws for spacers. The front of the speaker is touching the windshield gasket and the magnet is pushing on the cluster, so I don't think anything bigger than 4" is possible.

I put some sticky foam around the speakers to help them seal to the underside of the dash pad, which is where the front/rear seperation comes from. It was sounding pretty decent until I put the dash pad on, which eats most of the highs. So don't bother with "coaxial" speakers in there, get the tweeters up on the A-pillars where they belong (or on top of the dash pad). Which is my next step....
 
What I kind of want to do is just cut through the dash pad and mount some 5 1/4's on top, just using standard grills on top of them. This would sound much better and probably be easier to install. Since the dash pad has a steel frame, it should be no problem to run mounting screws down through - maybe even tack weld nuts to the bottom to make all future speaker work easy.

The other thing I thought would be cool is to put a DVC 8" in the center (open up the factory 4x10 hole) and run passive crossovers. Sorry, I didn't make measurements to see if such a speaker could fit there. But if you're really trying to get some low end, the sealing/cabinet design would be important here.
 
The more I think about options for the dash, the more I want to cut holes through the dash and mount speakers to the top. The 4" I've had in there for a while don't hit the dash in some places and were damaged a little by it in others. Getting the seal to the dash bottom is critical to any kind of decent sound. Now from the top you can see what's going on and you make the seal between the back side of the flange and the dash, as the speakers are designed for. With a grill on top, I don't know if 5 1/4 would fit above the cluster, though. Maybe a 4x6 would work, but finding a grill to work would be key. I think you could get 6" on the PS this way.
 
Truthfully, mine sounds good with the 3.5's.

I'm running 100watts a channel to some 6x9's in the side panels, good power to a solid 12" sub, and the 3.5's in the dash.

Would bigger sound better? Probabaly. But for how it's setup, i'm more than happy. I have 6.25's to put in the doors, and it sounds good enough that i've let them sit on the shelf for years.
 
I'm really considering getting 5x7's with grills and cutting through the dash to top mount them. I know 4x6 would work like this, but IMO cone area is the most important factor for tiny speakers without boxes. A 4x6 is easily twice the cone area of a 3.5" and 5x7 is more like 3x, so it almost has to be night and day. If you can get an actual seal from the top to separate the front and back wave of the speaker (which is hit or miss under the dash pad), it could actually sound good.

I just like the idea of the speakers being up out of the way, so doing kick-panels is out. Doors could work, but in my experience, lower door speakers are always messed up by people's legs or the stuff they bring with them.
 
I've decided that on the DS, a 5x7 could only work with a very shallow mounting depth, like 1.2", and rotated at a strange angle. The cutout for the VIN number is too close.
 
Scheming...

20170901_122209.jpg

The biggest challenge is the curve of the dash.
 
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