Easy. I'd get a pair of repro quarter trim panels, cut speaker holes, and upholster them. Back in the day, we'd cut these all the time, but now you'd want to preserve originals.
5x7 would be no problem, and even 6x9 would work if you were careful. Get flat steel grilles, and paint them to match the upholstery.
Run the rear channels of the radio to them. Use a Dual Voice Coil 4x10 in the dash, with the front channels.
For the radio, no question, I'd use the USA-66 radio, which is a repro of the 65-66 AM/FM radio. Some people talk about problems with Custom Autosound, but I've had good experience with them. You can even connect a remote CD changer to it, operated by the pushbuttons, or use the aux inputs for mp3 player, etc.
For my '67, I cut holes in mine for 6 inch round speakers and think they look pretty nice, but if I had to do it again I'd certainly consider a flat square grill, especially if I could find something with a strong horizontal fin like on the door grills for the '67 deluxe.
I also toyed with putting a light in each panel but ended up mounting them underneath the rear of the front seats. I've often wondered how many folks would go for an aftermarket panel with an integrated grill for speakers and light.
As for the front, I prefer the dual cone under dash to the kick panels. My buddy has the kick panel speakers in his coupe and they sound good, but I'm always worried about kicking them. Also, with the top down at speed, I find that I get at least half of my sound bouncing off the windshield even with the bigger and badder speakers in back.
As for the front, I prefer the dual cone under dash to the kick panels. My buddy has the kick panel speakers in his coupe and they sound good, but I'm always worried about kicking them. Also, with the top down at speed, I find that I get at least half of my sound bouncing off the windshield even with the bigger and badder speakers in back.
Neither of those look like what I have, but if I were buying today, I certainly would get the dual voice coil. Actually, my wallet just started itching.
I was more commenting on the directionality of the sound with the top down. One big thing for me is that I really don't need/want to make other people listen to my music anymore, so I'm willing to trade stereo separation on the front speakers for what seems like more volume at the driver's seat but less overall noise from outside the car.
I'm certainly not an expert on this and am just talking about my perception, so additional or corrective comments on this are much appreciated.
The reason factory speakers are in the dash, facing up, is they use the windshield itself as a sound shell, to disperse sound to the occupants. Years before, the speaker was facing into the car, and was very directional, much louder for the passenger than the driver, for example.
Replace the dash speakers, buy repro quarter panels, put in 6x9's, leave the AM radio in dash, and mount an iPhone compatible bluetooth stereo *underneath* the ashtray . . . . . . .any thoughts??????
I made my own kick panel pods and they are all I need for speakers. They get REALLY loud and sound great. They also dont get in the way like you'd think. After that I would run some 6-1/2" or 8" subwoofers in some pods out back. Give you plenty of tunes and very little packaging. Put a late model CD player in the glove box.