68442Convertible

Anyone know what size speakers I can install in my front doors without cutting the sheet metal (using the existing cutouts behind the door panel).

Any recommended speakers - ones you use and like?

I am also considering the kick panels with built in speakers. If you have these, how far do they protrude, and are they in your way? Is there enough room behind the kick panel for the speaker to sound OK?

allyolds68

68 doors don't have much of anything for existing holes. The forward hole is a triangle with about 3" legs and there's a rectangular hole aft of it that's about 3 1/2"x 4". There's plenty of room for 6" if you cut

68442Convertible

Should I be reluctant to cut metal and install 6 1/2 inchers in the door? Does it reduce the value of the car (which I never plan to sell...)

I could just install 3 1/2" in the front. Or use the kick panels.

I have 6 1/2" in the back seat and a sub in the trunk.

Fun71

I have the kick panel speakers and they sound good. They don't protrude so much that they are in the way.

The only negatives are I had to drill an additional screw hole to stop some rattling during high volume play, but that was a simple operation. The black finish is shiny and I considered spraying them with semi-flat paint to better match the interior but then I got lazy and never did it.

IMG_11611_zps727762d6.jpg

You can see the additional screw that I installed here. Please ignore the faded carpet - a radiator core leak and the Arizona sun have taken their toll.
IMG_11601_zpsf61beb65.jpg

cadillac kevin

I vote for kick panel speakers. if you are semi handy, you can make your own with some mdf rings, 1 bys or dowls for angling, fleece or mat, and resin.

joe_padavano

I'll echo the kick panel speakers. No cutting of sheet metal or door panels and completely reversible. Slamming the doors isn't particularly healthy for the speakers anyway. The only downside is that you lose the vents on non-A/C cars.

Arthur T. Berry

I installed the kick plate speakers in my 69 442. This was one of the best changes I made. Make sure you purchase a quality speaker. The installation was simple, no cutting or retro fitting.

68442Convertible

Thanks for the info and advice.

There are kick panels with vents on ebay, but only as a pair. Seems to be newly available. The A/C version seems to not have a drivers side vent. I called Rodtique and they are looking in to it - i.e vented on drivers side only.

Q-Logic makes a kick panel that angles the speakers so they are pointed at you. They also have a spot for a separate tweeter. Suppose to sound better. Anyone tried them?

cadillac kevin

a friend of mine has q logic kick panels in his box suburban (came with a set of US made soundstream components he bought). neither he nor I were completely satisfied with the kick panels (for the price they originally retailed for). the speakers were angled up at the ceiling (dome light) which was our biggest gripe (severely off axis response). the kick panels resonated at lower frequencies (partly due to how they were mounted), and IMO having the tweeters in the kick panels is not ideal for good SQ. that being said, his were used and installed in a rattletrap old truck. depending on vehicle (design is vehicle specific) and equipment used, results will vary.

I'm not saying Q logic makes a bad product by any stretch of the imagination, just that my friend and myself (we're both super **** about audio quality btw) were not completely satisfied with them

joe_padavano

This is an excellent point. High frequency will get absorbed by the carpet and lost. The tweeters want to be as high as possible.

hookem horns

Another vote for kick panels. I have them and the parking brake scraped the spreaker grill slightly, so just shaved a smidge off the rubber pad. JVC speakers BTW, so pick speakers with low profile grills if not getting the panels with spreakers pre-installed. Never going to be audiophile quality, but not like it really matters in a 'vert that nice!

68442Convertible

Between the Flowmasters and the ragtop, it is definitely not an audiophile environment.

Sounds like Q-Logic is not worth the extra money - compared to the standard kick panels with speaker mounts that everyone seems to sell.

I was planning on using JBLs in the front, probably because that is what is in the backseat and trunk. But I could easily be talked in to something else.

I would like to use component speakers with a separate tweeter, but am puzzled about where to put the tweeters. In my Avalanche, the tweeters are mounted on the A pillars - and it sounds good. Maybe I should locate replacement A pillar moldings and try that. OPGI has some listed - but they don't look quite right based on the photo - maybe they fit though. Bet someone has an extra set of originals.

Also thought about mounting tweeter on a swivel mount on the lower edge of the dash. Found some tweeters that have swivel mounts, but did not yet find generic swivel mounts that fit any tweeter.

68442Convertible

PS - Thanks for the photos Fun71. Very helpful to see the panel installed.

Fun71

Are the vert pieces the same as the hardtop? I thought they were different but I am not certain.

68442Convertible

I think they are different. The repos I saw were for a Cutlass and looked different. Not sure what is what yet. Maybe I will post in parts wanted.

cadillac kevin

heres what I did in my caddy. this was for 1.5" ring radiator tweeters though (hence the large cup). the cups are pivotable. you could go alot smaller with dome tweeters.

and if you go JBL, IIRC alot of JBLs nicer tweeters have swivel bases build in to them.

68442Convertible

Back to the kick panels -

My 68 has A/C. The P/S kick panel is two pieces, the large piece appears to be the same as the non A/C part. There is a separate plastic piece that covers the A/C inlet duct - it is screwed on. The vent **** molding is there with a hole for the vent control. This was later changed to a one piece panel w/o the vent **** molding and with a protrusion to cover the A/C inlet duct. This newer style kick panel appears to be the basis for the panels with speakers.

If you order the A/C version of the kick panel with speakers, both the left and right panels have the protrusion - they are mirror image. I talked to Custom Auto Sound and they cannot sell a mixed set with a vent on the D/S and the A/C protrusion on the P/S.

I am not sure that the panel with the A/C protrusion will fit on my drivers side without interfering with the parking brake.

My plan is to order the kick panel version with a vent, and cut the P/S panel to fit around the existing cover for A/C inlet duct.

cadillac kevin

I would think that would work just fine.