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Need help with speakers in front doors!

K

kp texan

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*Updated with pics*

I know this subject has been beaten to death but I've been unable to find all of the information I need by doing searches. I just purchased an '88 K5 last week and the stock radio does not work (driving for a week without a radio is making me go crazy). I've decided to upgrade to an Alpine CDA-9847 headunit, Alpine 6.5" SPS-170A speakers in the front doors, and Alpine 6x9 SPS-690A speakers somewhere in the panels on the side near the rear seat. Top mount depth on the 6.5" speakers is 2.25" and top mount depth on the 6x9s is 3". I tried to pull my door panels and see how much room I have in there but cant determine how much clearance there is down in the bottom front corners behind the metal. I'm going to make new lower door panels but I need to know what is available as far as depth goes so I know how far to build them out (if any). Also I need to know where exactly to make the cut in the front doors so that I dont hit anything important (any pictures would be helpful). Approximately how much depth is available in the back stock speaker locations and will it be adequate for the 6x9s without having to build it out any?

Thanks so much for the help,

Wes
 
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Need more info

Power windows and locks? Have you had ithe interior door panel off yet? Depending on where the front lower part of the window regulator mounts, You may need to build the door panel out some. An inch of wood mabey, to put less of the large part of the speaker inside of the door. If you want I can take some pics of a 85 or 91 to give you an idea. The 85 has power, the 91 does not. Just look for a spot weld in the place i spoke of, that will tell you about the regulator. :)
BTW... Measure the depth of the 6x9 It should mount fine in the rear.
 
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I do, in fact, have power windows and locks in my Blazer. A picture of your door would be extremely helpful! Thanks for the reply. :)

-Wes
 
LMC sells kick panels with speakers in them

I bought a pair. Sound is OK. Probably replace the speakers later.
 
Yeah, I looked into going the Q-forms kick panel route but they only allow up to a 5.25" component set. I'd really like to have 6.5" coaxials and not have to pay the additional $110 for the kick panel pods (even though after I put all this labor into the door panels it may have just been worth it to buy the kick panels, haha). :D

-Wes
 
I put 6x9's in the stock in the back area in my 85. There is plenty of depth but, you have to be careful of staying clear of the fuel tank inlet on the passenger side. I also had to mount panels in there to cover up the excess from the 4x10's. I have 6.5" speakers in my 74. No power anything. I put them in the lower front corner about 8" up and off the front edge (to the center of my hole, not the edge). I got them in just fine but, I caught about 1" of the main support for the front of the door. That was sure a bitch to cut out properly. I would try to go about 10" back to center your hole if you can.
 
I mounted my JL audio 5.25" up in the corner of the kick panel facing the riders. Basically identical to the Q-form design, jus cheaper.
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. I've gone ahead and ordered my speakers so it looks like I'm going with the 6.5" up front. I think I'm gonna build my lower panels out of 1/4" plywood and then construct the part the speakers will mount in towards the front bottom corner out of 2x6 or something (all covered in tan vinyl) which should give me about 1-3/4" of build out and I should have approx. 1/2" of the speaker protruding from the back into the door. Do you think I need more build out than this? Basically, I need an idea of where to cut into the door so that I am not within 1/2" of anything for the area I need to cut out and that I dont hit anything when I make the cut. Do any of you guys have pictures of exactly where you cut? I pulled my door panels but can't really manage to see what's down there in that corner.

Thanks so much,

Wes
 
pics of doors

I am in the middle of doing some half doors right now. I will get you some pics of the inside later tonight. These were manual doors, a little different but should be close. Because you have no limit on how far into the cab the speakers can go, a buildout will work fine. On my daughters 85 K5 a actually put a set of 6.5 seperates in the kick panel with a 1.5" buildout. The emergency brake hit the grille though. Depending on how deep your speakers are and how big the magnet is, limits their placement. ie. the smaller the magnet and structure of the case the smaller hole you need and deeper into the door you can go. The metal run channel of the window will be your biggest concern IMO.
BTW using a 2x6 is way overkill 1/2" plywood would be plenty. If you have the original radio in the vehicle you can by an install kit at Autozone for about 10 bucks for the radio. You will need the little meal brackets off of the original radio to make it work. By far the cheapest kit I found..........DUDE I just realized you are in Mckinney .....Drive to Allen you can see the doors and I'll help you do the install!!!
 
I am in the process of putting 6.5" speakers in mine now. I have a '90 with power windows. It's a bit of a pain, but can be done. Get ready to cut some metal! They have to go as far down and forward as possible. I bought some 1" spacers, but don't like the way they look, I'll probably end up building my own. ........................
 
I hope you're right about the 1/2" plywood because I would much rather have that than the 2x6. I should have a better idea of the depth available once I cut into my door. I'm at school in New York right now but I'll most likely be back home in McKinney on Sunday (my speakers and radio should be in on Friday). I just might have to make a short trip down 75 to come and take a look at how you're doing your doors and get some advice on it. I ordered my stuff from Crutchfield and they're including an install kit so hopefully that will work fine. What are you guys using to cut your metal with? I was thinking about using a Dremel with some cutoff wheels. :hack:

Thanks,

Wes
 
Hole saws

Use the proper tool for the job. I have hole saws up to 4.5". Beyond that Use a template and a jigsaw with metal blades. If you want to add boom later, I have plenty in stock.(the garage). It would be good if you accepted private messages or email from members here. I don't like making my email or phone number open to the public.
LEPER :D :D :D
BTW If you are worried, we can practice on the halfdoors, They will get spkrs anyway. Mabey I will put some 10" in the halfdoors~evil grin~ yes 10's.
 
Sorry about that, I didn't realize that setting was turned off in my control panel. Should be fine now. :D

I have a jigsaw with some metal blades (or my dad does, hehe) so you think I should use that in my dash instead of the Dremel? Same thing with the door?

Thanks,

Wes
 
I was going to put some 6 1/2 inch round speakers in the doors of a 84 k-20 , but because of the power windows there is no room...Even putting them all the way down and over to the hinge part of the door they still wont fit...
As far as what to use to cut them I was going to use a Rotozip router....
 
I tried to put 5 and halfs I think they were in the doors of my Burb. I'm pretty decent with this stuff and I thought it was going to look hack so I passed on it. If you do it, they will have to be tucked in tight to the front bottom curve of the door. Real tight. The depth wasn't the issue it was clearance of the window stuff.

I've since gone with really high quality 3 1/2's in the factory location and 6x9's in the rear cargo doors. With appropriate distribution of power with the fader I can get surprisingly full sound. The 12" in the back makes up for any hollowness.

This lack of speaker placement is the main impetus for me to do a custom dash.
 
Forgive if I am making an ass out of myself because I did not read every post, I felt like being lazy and I have no time right now. Searching information regarding my rockwell swap and full hydro is in priority right now. But I think the jist of what I got is that you are putting some 6 inchers in your front doors but you have no room or due to power windows and what not, right? Well anyways I bought this nifty little spacer that looks like pvc and its about an inch thick and goes between the speaker and door. No extra cutting and perfect install, clears the regulator fine. I dont remember who makes that thing but I am sure with some pvc you can cut and inch slice of 6 inch round pvc, use longer screws and bam, no problems and probably alot easier than building the door out. I can take pictures if you wish of mine so you can see what I am talking about, and if your nice I will gladly pull the speaker so you can see all thats going on behind there. Only because this spacer is not just a tube, its more reinforced and has holes for the screws to go through. Made for this app. Otherwise if I am wrong diseregard this post and back to your previously scheduled information.
 
Hmmmmmmmmm

fireplug said:
The 12" in the back makes up for any hollowness.
What kind of power are you running? I put a 12 in the back and thought I was going to break my back window. :D
Click to expand...
 
Having trouble seeing into tight places, get a small mirror and flashlight but just remember everything your looking at is reversed.

Make sure the speakers are mounted low enough that the windows can go all the way down.

Happy Jammin'
 
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