I read that the Firebirds with the performance audio system option had factory speaker enclosures inside the sail panels. Were these any good, or were they just cardboard covers with jute padding? Does anyone have a picture?

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...614-post3.html

Could this be what you're referring to?

 

Interesting. Does anyone know where I can find a set?

 

those are the factory 6x9 "enclosures", not the premium firebird ones. some of the firebirds got plastic enclosures that held a 5" sub (using that term loosely) and a 4x6" speaker. found a pic online:



i almost got a set from the junkyard around here, but i couldn't find a good pair (at least that i could safely reach).

 

Uhm, factory you say?

Please don't tell me the PO who installed my POS audiobahns removed these and left nothing but bare m,etal inside the sails...

 

yeah, it wasn't that uncommon for them to get pulled out when people threw new speakers in to replace the paper factory ones. you could probably get a set from the local junkyard and tried beefing them up with some fiberglass - they're really soft and almost a similar material to your hoodliner

 

You have got to be kidding me. So ALL thirdgens had these from the factory and mine are gone because the PO who used cheap speakers, coat hanger wire and flimsy crimp connectors took them out for god knows what reason?

So you are saying that granted it is unmolested, the early style base model thirdgen I saw at a local yard would have them? It would be so much easier to reinforce these enclosures vs having the fill the entire sail panel.

Also, I don't have a hood liner, but from the picture it looks like these are constructed out of the same flimsy cardboard the trunk glove box is made of.

 

Just to help clarify:

Most camaros & firebirds came with cheap 6x9s with a cardboard "pseudo-enclosure" behind them.

The Camaros had the "bose" option in which speakers were put on a shelf over the rear well instead of in the 6x9 location. I believe that these cars had some sort of flat plate over the 6x9 opening, but to be honest I'm really not sure because I've never torn a Bose Camaro apart.

The premium system in the Firebirds had a plastic enclosure that extended down toward the floor behind the speaker opening. This enclosure housed a 4x6 in the top, and a 5.25" woofer that utilized the airspace of the plastic enclosure.

 

Don't feel too bad if the factory speaker enclosures are
missing as none of the 3 styles i have seen are anything
real special(unless you are going for originality)
The "performance sound"version with the 4x6s and
small,long throw sub might sound ok at low volume,
but i'd say they are just too small to really rock.
For the 6x9 enclosures,i have seen them in both
cardboard and soft fiberglass-my '82 did not have these
enclosures,so i just put some foam padding behind the
speakers.

 

Included with the speaker boxes was a slider switch on the dash to adjust the bass level of the woofer in the box.

I had a set but the bizarre size woofer (4" i think) is virtually impossible to replace with something newer.

I had the woofers connected to an separate amp and did not feel the sound was that great anyway. Its a cool concept but no big loss imho.