brown7373

My 72 Supreme convertible has what appears to be a correct year (or very close) AM/FM Stereo radio. But it currently has only the front speaker, and I don't know where a 2nd speaker would have been mounted. I want to stay with the 10 ohm (I think that is correct) speakers that these old radios use, but I don't recall ever seeing in the Olds Service Manual where it would be mounted in a convertible, as it has no package tray.

I have a 1970 Pontiac BonnevilleB body convertible and it mounts a 2nd speaker in the left rear arm rest, but I don't believe the arm rests are big enough on a Cutlass or other GM A body for a speaker to fit. I am not looking to changing to an aftermarket radio or cutting custon speaker mouints, but wouldn't be opposed to some other than stock location if it was more stealth and didn't permanently cut other parts of the car if there was no provision originally made for the 72 verts.

Lady72nRob71

Yes, the U58 AM FM stereo radio and stereo 8 track were both offered in the vert.
The rear speaker option would mount behind the rear seat, firing into the top well.

Not a good design, as the rear is hard to hear and to get the true stereo effect (when you could hear the rear one), you would have to listen with your head turned 90* looking out the side windows...

brown7373

I was thinking I could probably add one to that area and it would be hard to hear clearly.

I see you have the rear retractable seat belts also. My original seat belts were a mess. The rears were totally soaked in hydralic fluid from an exploding top cylinder line. I tried several times to clean them, but realized that they would leave a little oil line across the cloths of anyone who used the rear belts. I bough another good set off E-bay and was lucky enough to find an excellent set with rear retractors, and that was a nice upgrade.

Lady72nRob71

Unretract the belts and hold them open with C-clamps. Soak webbing in hot water with TIDE or simple green. Scrub well and repeat a couple times and rinse. That will get the oil out!

Jesse

Hello Brown7373,

Rob is right horrible set up ! Especially with top down you cant hear a thing. I have not tackled my interior yet since it is in pretty good original condition but have to address the radio issue.. Some people as Rob put them in rear side panels or front kick panels. I have also toyed with the under seat ones but have not heard great things about them. I turned my rear 6x9s around so they are facing front istead of rear and that didnt help much... I am still trying to figure out best way to get good stereo sound while keeping interior original .... Yet to decide what I am going to do .

brown7373

I tried 2 or 3 times with very hot water and Tide, clamping them open, but they just seemed to retain a little of the oil, so when I saw a full set with rear retractors from a hardtop (no possibility of ever having a leaking top pump motor) I bought them. Since my interior is white, I have black belts but with the brushed stainless buckles

Mr Shifty Sidney

We make speakers where I work. We make a speaker that is installed in a BMW. It is a weird design. It is a flat speaker, approximately 3" X 7" X 3/4" thick. I thought one of these may fit in each rear panel under courtesy light assembly as seen in the picture posted in previous post. Where the torn area is at. Maybe make some type of perforated cover out of the same material as rear panel is made out of for a nice clean look.

Don W

stevengerard

yep, best way to listen to a radio in these cars are with the top up, so far I haven't bothered fixing the radio because the top is down most of the time.

rcorrigan5

X all on being able to hear the stereo. In my '68 convertible, I added the rear speaker option but, instead of having a stereo radio, I just found and put in a factory AM-FM radio to replace the AM radio that was in it originally. What I like about the AM-FM radio is that I can have FM and, when the top is down and you can't hear the rear speaker at all, I just put the radio to front speaker only and I still get all the sound instead of just one half of the sound that a stereo radio would deliver.

My '69 convertible came with the AM-FM stereo radio so I will just have to live with it when it's done.

I don't care too much for the earlier stereo radios. It seems that the stereo reception on radios of that era wasn't real good (a lot of in-and-out sound, even when close to the radio station and, especially, in cities with tall buildings). That's why I like the mono AM-FM radio with the rear speaker a lot better - the sound doesn't waffle nearly as much.

Randy C.

brown7373

Right now I have only the one channel. Some of the older music (early stereo) really exaggerated the channel separation, and some of it you literally can't hear any of the other track. I was even wondering if there might be anywhere around or beside the glove box I might be able to squeeze another speaker. I always wondered why they discontinued putting the rear speakers in the top middle of the rear seats like so many 50's and early 60's car had. Maybe a rear seat middle passenger didn't like a speaker in their ear.

MDchanic

C'mon, Brown, NOBODY cares about the poor schmo who gets stuck in the middle of the seat.

Probably it was because they began offering STEREO SOUND, just like you could get from you home Stereophonic Console in your living room.
To prove that they weren't old fashioned, they did away with that SQUARE center-mounted speaker in the back seat (which had been the LATEST THING the year before).

Think "iPod plug" in modern cars.

- Eric

Olds Dad

I have the stereo in my '71 convertible & put a second speaker under the dash (non A/C car) since the rear was MIA when I got the car - sounds fine for a 40 year old audio system...and it eliminates the "dead" channel from the earlier stereo tracks. Amazing what a couple of zip ties will do - sure, it's not ideal, but I won't tell if you don't.

PS Anyone know how to get better tuning from these radios?? Mine 'works' fine, but a lot of static and it fades quickly...yes it's hooked up to the antenna. Is it as simple as some electrical contact cleaner on the tuning coil?

jrzybob442

There are some modern solutions that will work better and be invisible. Gary Tayman will convert your period radio to 4 channel with CD and IPod hookup AND IT WILL LOOK AND WORK LIKE THE ORIGINAL including the tuning and station buttons. You can give him an AM, AM/FM or AM/FM stereo radio to convert (about $400). He can also sell you Stealth Under the front seats speakers which are fully enclosed and deliver awesome sound. Dimensions 11" x 12.5" x 3". 200 watt capacity. The speakers are under $200 for a pair.

Go to www.taymanelectrical.com and see what he does. I have this system in my 1968 442 and it is awesome, no cutting no nothing. With the speakers under the front seat(s), you will hear the stereo with the top down.

bigfun64mo

I had boxes built for some 6x9 i just have them sitting on the floor behind the seats. I rarely have more than two passengers. I can hear them fairly well at highway speeds with the top down. Just an idea.

71403

Not sure what antenna you have but on my '71 with the windshield antenna a FM booster/amp has done wonders even when using a modern radio.

The previous '72 CS I had exhibited the same behavior.

brown7373

My radio play fairly well for an old radio, and I have never had an issue with radio reception with windshield antennas, having one first in a 69 Grand Prix, in my 70 Bonneville and in the 72 Cutlass. I also had my original radio in the Bonneville restored and converted to all electronic guts and it's great. I have just wanted to try to keep this one the way it was originally. Plus, with two back operations in 10 months (the second to correct the screw ups of the first surgeon) and no pay check since last October, the savings only goes so far and extra spending is just not real smart right now.

hookem horns

I have the repo front kick panels with the spreaker opening which are a good option for a driver and easy to swap back to original. Decent sound quality and decent looking install without tearing up anything.

brown7373

Dane, I have considered a set of repro kick panels with speakers, but do you think I can get the high ohm spekers to fit. I don't want to change the radio to an aftermarket, and my understanding is using modern day speakers with an old factory radio will burn out something in the radio.

hookem horns

Ooops, I have an aftermarket radio and did not think of that. Might get away with 4 ohm speakers if volumes kept moderate and not pushing the OEM amp. Or add a aftermarket amp with speaker level inputs. Might be able to find some 8 ohm speakers that would work. Sorry for any bad advice, you get what you pay for

brown7373

Man Dane, I wish I hadn't mailed you the check for the advice before I really thought about it.

thomaswatk

Along these same lines, what size is the original front speaker in a '72 Cutlass vert ? I recently ordered an aftermarket radio, and just realized that I'm going to need a speaker. I'm sure the original is shot, but don't know the correct size. The a/c stuff is in the way to see it and I'd like to have the new speaker when the guy takes the a/c stuff down.

bennie442

All GM "A" body cars from 68-72 used a 4x10" speaker for the center dash speaker. The original speaker used an aluminum cradle that has 2 fingers on one side that slide into slots on the bottom side of the dash. The other side has a hanger that clips onto a tab. The problem is that the original speaker has a square magnet that sits onto the cradle, making aftermarket round magnet speakers a no go. What I have done to my cars is to use a pair of 3 and 1/2" speakers side by side on that bracket instead. Now you will have a left and right channel up front that you can actually hear, instead of having to deal with hacking up the bracket,or coming up with some mount of your own. And this gets rid of the rear speaker buried in the boot that you can't hear.

brown7373

Bennie,

Were you able to get the 10 ohm speakes in that small size? I did the identical thing with my Bonneville, but that one has the original radio connverted to electronic guts, so it uses the lower ohm speakers. I then installed larger rear speakers, below the factory provided rear arm rests and it works great, unless someone sits in the back, and their leg rests against the speaker and blocks the sound.

bennie442

No,10 ohm speakers were strictly a GM thing. The aftermarket is stuff is 4 ohm, or 8 ohm. You can safely use 8 ohm speakers with the original radio.

nj_cutlass72

I like to install rear speakers in my 72 vert, any unique ideas where to mount them? Is there any repro panels for the rears? If you have pics do share... To some it may be pointless however I like hearing some nice tunes while cruising and want more then the front speakers...

allyolds68

I just wrote this up. There are no repro panels for the rear ash wells only the front kick panels. If you don't have A/C you'll lose your vents using those.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post597059

Winger67

I'm in the process of upgrading the audio of a '72 convertible too. I just changed the head unit for a Retrosound Malibu. It's the same features as the Model Two but suposedly the face is better match for the dash opening. I was disappointed that it came black instead of chrome but seems to work fairly well.

I already have 6" Cerwin Vega speakers in rear corners of the doors. The Retrosound head isn't loud enough before it starts clipping. I wonder if newer speakers would be more efficient. Those were the only speakers in the car and definetly not good listeneing for for front passengers so I ordered the Retrosound dual voice coil speaker for the dash. We'll see if adding that will give me acceptable sound.

If I still think it could use just a little more oompth after the dash speaker install, my next plan is to add a small amp like the Alpine KTP-445U. Should be able to tuck that somewhere under the dash or under the front seat. When I changed the stock head unit in my '92 TransAm convertible I went with an Alpine unit and the amp. Was very pleased with the improvement. Just a little louder and sounded better though my stock speakers. Then again, I really didn't try it without the amp. I'm not expecting miracles from this set up without a subwoofer in a roofless car but I think it will do nicely.

Anyone seen a subwoofer that would fit under the front seats?

classicmuscle442

Built a box to hold two 6 x 9 that fits on the rear tunnel between the bucket seats. Works good, even with two people in back, trimmed out sides with thin fabric to match interior, stays on top of tunnel without screws.

nj_cutlass72

I may go that route as well, will do a write up when I'm done.

Miles71

Cutlass stereo:
On my former 1971 CS Convertible, I went with aftermarket stuff (low budget and in college).

You need Audio POWER in a convertible!

I installed a modern 4 channel stereo and amplifier.
The amplifier was rated at over 100 watts (25 watts per channel) with a 5 band equalizer.
The few ***** made it easy to balance the sound front and rear and change the equalizer to adjust for Roof up and down conditions.
Roof up and down made a big difference in performance, the Amplifer and equalizer made a huge improvement.

Under the dash I mounted two 4 inch speakers facing down at the floor
(hanging under the dash area, not a recommended solution).
In the rear I mounted 2 Jenson 6x9’s, in the Roof bag area.
I seem to remember, there were existing 6x9 screw holes in the back for an easy installation.
The speakers / covers fed the sound in roof bag area and sounded good with the roof up.
With roof up, at highway speeds the 100 watt system worked well with all 4 speakers running.
Of course I had to run a lot more power to the rear speakers.
I think my power ration was 20% front / 80% Rear.
With roof down, the rear speakers turned into just a super bass woofer, neat.

Sadly I sold the convertible (1992) because the frame looked like Swiss cheese.

Front Speaker Replacement:
Do not throw away the bracket from your Front Dash speaker.
Save the bracket and sell it or reuse it.
New speakers usually do not come with a replacement bracket.
I purchased a set of new 4 ohm, dual speakers from turn-switch.
I wired the speakers for separate leads each so I can run Stereo in the future.
Then with wires and speaker installed, I then wired the speakers in Series (4 ohm + 4 ohm = 8 ohms).
Now I can wire the 8 ohm leads to my Stock Oldsmobile radio without any issues. And later when I switch to a modern 4 ohm radio, I can still re-use my wires and speakers.
http://www.turnswitch.com/speakers.htm

Future Stereo plans for CS Hard top:
This winter I will replace my 71 AM with a stock 69 AM/FM and use the original speaker’s holes initially (Turn-switch dual speaker replacement front) and one Rear deck 6x9.
If it all works great, I will keep it this way for a while since it looks stock.
Otherwise ill go with one of the New Look-alikes with replacement kick panel front speakers and dual 6x9 on the deck.

The convertible also has two holes in the back for 6x9 speakers and the screw holes may already exist.

Dual cone speaker from Turn Switch.
This one is shown mounted in a CS bracket for the front.
If you buy the 4 ohm version, you can wire the speakers in Series to
connect to your existing 10 ohm AM radio, etc.
By installing both pairs of wires with plenty of slack, you can then
later easily revert back to dual 4 ohm speakers for a modern radio.







Here is a pictures of Robs rear deck area. If you look closely you can see
the factory existing holes for a pair of 6x9 speakers. The speakers are
designed to aim Into the roof bag area.

coldwar

This is the way we used to do it even 30 years ago, and it worked great. Other GM divisions got the idea to have separated front speakers in the dash corners, but not Oldsmobile until 1973. If at first it makes no sense to see the L&R speakers so close together, give your brain and ears a chance before condemning the idea. Very adequate perceived channel separation considering what you have to work with.

I used two high performance 5" heavy magnet types (such as those from Bose 901 cabs) which is a tight fit but can work. Then 'Mind Blower' amplified 6X9's in the two holes out back. Used a two-way passive LC network crossover such as the type Radio Shack used to sell and still might, set to lowest crossover point, bipolar capacitors do not work well in this use, highs to front and lows to 6X9's. No front-rear fader is needed in this use as really the rear pair render only omnidirectional lows. The left-right control on the radio now performs it's intended function. The only real drawback in this design is low volume performance is a bit lacking in lows as the Mind Blowers required a bit of drive to achieve nominal audio out. You had to run one more wire for the second channel to rear and a #12 stranded to battery for amp power, with a inline choke as the Mind Blowers wanted to pick up alternator noise which was annoying.

With todays output driven amps a guy could do the same thing with better low volume performance.

I'm thinking of 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' By Led Zeppelin under a bridge at about 3AM in my '72. Ahhh youth.

Oldsguy

Unfortunately no, the biggest problem is the old capacitors which have degraded and have become "leaky". Capacitors are a very important part of the tuning circuit in those kind of radios and about the only way to really refurbish a radio of that age is to replace all the capacitors. If you search online you will see that people that do this for money replace the caps as a matter of regularity, almost the first step.

Winger67

Thanks for the pics. Maybe next year I'll put a couple of 6" subs in those 6x9 spots in the back.

QMaster

I updated my '71 convertible this summer. I went with the Retrosound Two, Polk Audio Dxi65s in the kick panels, and Dxi650 Components in the rear armrests, similar to Rob's setup (holes were already there from previous owner). I added a pair of 6.5" subs firing forward from the trunk with a small 75W x2 amp. It sounds pretty good.

However, I am intrigued by the 6 x 9 openings in the previous pics. Good to know! If I ever re-do the interior in the rear, I may go the 6 x9 route and loose the subs.