FART_NUGGETS

I wanted to upgrade my rear speakers while I was doing the front as well, so I got some Infinity Reference 4X6s for the front (6422cfx) and a pair of 6.5" shallow mount, I think the model is 6522ex, for the rear.

Pulled my panels and found this: Someone had pre-hacked them for 6X9. There was an old Pioneer 6.5" bolted poorly to the 6.9 hole, partially obscured. Didnt get pics of the old speaker.



Grille was in good shape:



Best spot for magnet clearance is up toward the door, so I used the Infinity template they provide and marked the panel to cut full clearance to top mount the speaker, as far forward as I could without the magnet hitting the lower B pillar. I bridged the gap where the 6X9 size hole was with a piece of aluminum channel.





Here was the most risky part. I decided to cover the rest of the gap by trimming the grilles to mount up against the Inifinity grille. So I sliced down the middle of the fabric on the grille, then peeled it back, marked it with the outline of the Infinity grille, then cut it with a dremel and pulled the fabric back over the trimmed piece. Was worried about this not working and ruining the speaker grilles for nothing, but it worked great, and I was able to do both sides with one grille so I still have one good one left.









installed in the car. The reference speakers in all 4 corners sound great, and I'm very happy with the appearance of the factory grille notched out to fit up against the new one.

FART_NUGGETS

And one more Infinity item I happened to have in the garage from a previous car.....

I jumped temporary power to it, and tapped into the rear speaker wiring for inputs, this spot was both out of the way which still gives me most of my trunk space, and also sounded by far the best. I also tried many other spots, down in the well, in the center, etc, I think this is the best bet.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Tragic. Those poor panels.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

But it looks like you hacked it worse. I think you'll age a little bit and look at this and mutter the classic "What was I thinking?" line. I don't know of any aftermarket vendor that sells the replacement speaker covers or those rear seat side cover panels for these cars and you've just butchered them. It will take some fiberglass work and a custom speaker cover now.

FART_NUGGETS

I hear you, I know these panels are hard to find. The panels were already cut up, so in my mind the damage was done, they weren't original any more anyway, and would need glass work / filler panels to restore. I made a very minimal additional cut to flush mount the 6.5, which I wanted to do.

The grilles? Yeah originals might be hard to find. They're just 6x9 rectangles with black speaker cloth fabric over them. If I ever need them again Im sure I can find or make something. And I only hacked up one grille to cover both sides

I'm already 41 so not sure how much older I'll need to be to change my mind. The car is already no longer 100% original, it has been repainted black (was red), interior is completely custom as you can see, etc, all by the previous owner(s). It's not going to be a Mecum car, and it's what I wanted to do with it. I didn't pay collector car prices for it

FART_NUGGETS

Also going to order another pair of the 6.5s and put them in the doors when I pull them apart / re-weatherstrip / de-rattle them later this winter/spring. The 6.5s in the back sound phenomenal, even with the factory cd unit. Might go with a small 6-channel amp to power everything though especially when I add the door speakers.

TRANSAM82-92

iTrader: (1)

The reason most rear speakers will not fit in ASC convertibles FBody is because of a bar they welded in for structural support, only thing I've came up with is cutting a hole in that bar to fit speaker...

FART_NUGGETS

Yeah, There is a brace that runs at a 45 degree angle from the door jamb to the upper part of the rear quarter. No, I was not about to cut that, or anything structural, to fit a speaker.....

There is one particular spot where that brace makes a triangle with the B pillar and another horizontal panel, that triangle shaped hole is the only place you can hope to fit any kind of magnet. These speakers are just about centered over that triangle, just a little more forward (toward the door) than exactly centered. I should have taken some pics of that with the panels off, but I am sure there are pics of that here somewhere on this site.

FART_NUGGETS

And damnit Tibo, that hurt.....

I think it looks pretty damn good. I understand the horror of the panel and grill being cut, but it's not the end of the world.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

I assumed you were younger.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

I don't think I took a picture of what I did and I have no idea where in my build thread I put it if at all but that cross bar support was in my way of using virtually any 6" round speaker so I cut it and welded in some angle iron to reinforce the area where I removed metal. I thought it was strange that I only had to that on the passenger side. Tells me there is quite a bit of build variance in these convertibles....

TRANSAM82-92

iTrader: (1)

Exactly you can cut it and reinforce it once you have speaker placed. ASC didn't care about speaker clearance when building these cars they were kinda hodge podged together, a lot of that has to do what GM paid them to do the convertible project of FBODIES…not much if you know GM...

FART_NUGGETS

Well just sayin, if you place the speaker where I did, you don't have to cut anything except the panel. And if you just have the factory holes without them having being expanded for 6X9, you might not need to hack up the factory grille to cover any gaps.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

Are you happy with the Infinity 6"? I have a pair of Kenwood and Kickers, you think there is a noticeable difference?

FART_NUGGETS

Yes, absolutely. The 6.5's sound great. So good that as soon as I heard them, compared to the 4x6s in the dash, I immediately decided to add another pair in the doors. I happen to have the Megadeth Rust In Peace remastered CD in the car right now, and it sounds wonderful
Infinity's usually have a pretty high sensitivity of like 92 or 93db, and that helps with lower power head units. Never had a lot of love for Kenwood, but the Kickers are probably pretty close, likely they just need a bit more power. And they also likely handle more power, I think the infinity's are rated for about 140w if I remember right.