turning fresh air vents into speaker pods

[chillininnh 21]

I've been wanting to add a pair of speakers to the front of my Mach. I tried the MP Products kick panels with speaker pods but they were less than ideal for a manual transmission car. They interfered with the emergency brake pedal for starters. They also cramped the foot box area in general, considering I wear a size 14, room is at a premium. I refuse to cut anything to install speakers anywhere in the car.

 

I had an extra pair of fresh air vents in the parts pin so I thought I could perhaps mount a speaker in each of them. I want to maintain the appearance of a working vent but have it contain a 6.5" speaker. I have started modifying one side and have a pair of speakers on order. I had an old speaker at work that I used for mock up and it looks like it's gonna work pretty good. I will miss the fresh air but if I want to go back I can simply reinstall my originals. Here is a pic, I trimmed the plastic some to maximize space inside, and screwed the door shut to keep it from opening. I also cut the cable down but left the opening mechanism so it looks functional. The original kick panels should go right back on, over the speaker, I of course won't be using the grills. More pics to come.

 

 

 

I know some people have used the cougar pods for a similar install. i went this route because the cougar pods lack the vent mechanism and I want it to appear stock, using the original kick panels.

Edited February 25, 2013 by chillininnh

[FrozenMonkey 12]

I've thought of doing this as well. Keep us updated!

[chillininnh 21]

Speakers arrived this morning, they are Rockford Fosgate P1675 6 3/4" and fit in the opening nicely. I had to clearance the back a bit to get them in the center. I used double sided tape and a few screws to hold them in place. I then sealed it all up with black silicone rubber. I used some 3M duct tape (sticks like a mother) to seal up the clearance hole and ran the speaker wire extension. Followed that up with some new foam on the back side to keep out the road debris. I have the speaker wire leads already there from my earlier kick panel speaker experiment so swapping them in should be a breeze. I'll snap some pics of the finished product. Work is slow today, time to do the other side!

 

 

Edited March 1, 2013 by chillininnh

[Chelby-Ann 47]

Nice Project. Please post some pix when you get them installed. I too like this approach to adding speakers here.

[chillininnh 21]

Oh man that wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. The passenger side was gravy, no problemo. I completely forgot that one of the first things that went in when assembling the interior was the parking brake. It has to be "floated" to get the vent on the drivers side in and out. A 1 hour job turned into over 3 hours. It was worth it though, 4 speakers is just way better than 2.

 

 

 

[blueblood 26]

Looks good.

 

Where are your other 2 speakers?

 

How does it sound?

[chillininnh 21]

I have 2 6X9's in speaker boxes sitting in the back seat, no one will ever sit back there. I would love to add a fold down and mount speakers in a repop trap door. It sounds twice as nice with the additional front speakers, huge difference.

[blueblood 26]

I have a fold down rear seat in my 70, but have not heard anything good about the plastic moulded trap door for speakers.

That was my original plan, so at this stage I have speaker boxes sitting in the boot and a dual speaker in the dash.

Is there a version of the trap door you have seen that fits ok?

[chillininnh 21]

Lucky you, I would kill for a fold down! I guess I haven't heard about any problems going that route. I wasn't aware the repop trap doors were so ill fitting. Does it vibrate? I am quite pleased with the sound as is and no extra holes. Like all my other mods, it's easily reversible.

[blueblood 26]

I added the fold down, turned into more $$$ than I first thought but good result.

Be much easier to source all the bits in the US.

 

I have heard they just dont fit right, not much more than that.

Would love some feed back from someone that has one that fits well and sounds good.

[buening 63]

How does it sound? I'd think they would be too far under the dash to get much sound from them.

[chillininnh 21]

I am more than pleasantly surprised by the sound. After jamming to 2 6X9's in the back for a season it was clear that these 2 additional speakers in the front really fill the sound in wonderfully. The 4" speakers I had in the kick MP kick panels are no comparison to the additional sound I'm getting from these larger 6 3/4". They really made a big difference! Having these tucked away nicely really has me thinking about permanently mounting the 6x9's somewhere in the back.

Edited March 4, 2013 by chillininnh

[Cayenne06 10]

I have a fold down rear seat in my 70, but have not heard anything good about the plastic moulded trap door for speakers.

That was my original plan, so at this stage I have speaker boxes sitting in the boot and a dual speaker in the dash.

Is there a version of the trap door you have seen that fits ok?

 

I got my trap door repo at NPD and it is metal. Also got 2 rear package tray speaker grilles to keep the look as period correct as possible. The grain on the trap door is not perfect and would not be satisfactory as a replacement for the original, however it works fine for the speaker mounts and I still have my original if I remove the system. Here is a quick phone photo of the trap door with speakers and the trunk.

[chillininnh 21]

I got my trap door repo at NPD and it is metal. Also got 2 rear package tray speaker grilles to keep the look as period correct as possible. The grain on the trap door is not perfect and would not be satisfactory as a replacement for the original, however it works fine for the speaker mounts and I still have my original if I remove the system. Here is a quick phone photo of the trap door with speakers and the trunk.

 

That looks beautiful! Where did you get the grilles? They have a fantastic factory look.

[Cayenne06 10]

Grilles came from NPD also. The trap door does not fit perfectly, but works great with the speakers. I was fortunate to have an original stereo car so my front speakers were already in the doors. I just upgraded them and also installed 2 3.5" coax in the dash speaker location so I have 6 channels plus the 10" sub.

[stangme428 33]

chillininnh - what is interesting.. is that in some sound quality competition cars they actually cut out the metal at the kick panel and create an enclosure behind it .... basically the same thing you are doing but you didn't have to cut!! great idea... i may have to use it instead of modifying the aftermarket kick panel speaker pods.. !!! im looking for a emergency brake handle setup to fit between the seat and the trans tunnel (with factory console installed) so i can remove the factory foot operated emergency brake and create more room.

[chillininnh 21]

I thought I was being rather clever lol.

[69gmachine 15]

I have a plastic trapp door with speakers in it, but it's not the one with the speaker pods. It fits great.

 

Love the idea chillininh, eventually I think I'll do the same. I have too many projects going on to do it any time soon.

[buening 63]

That looks beautiful! Where did you get the grilles? They have a fantastic factory look.

 

Ironically those are factory grilles :001_tongue:

 

http://www.cjponyparts.com/65-70-package-tray-speaker-grille-6x9-with-correct-screen-1965-1970/p/RSG1/

 

 

I've been tempted to use the A/C vents on the lower corners of the lower dash to house a tweeter. I'd leave the directional ball/vent things in there, but mount a tweeter behind that.

[Pakrat 1,043]

Yeah, looks great. I originally thought about doing that at one point since I rarely used the vents in a convertible and the few times I did all I got was a lot of debri flying into the cabin. I never more than glanced at it and it looked like it was going to be more of a challenge than you actually proved it to be, if I hadn't already decided on the Fiero seats with speakers built into the headrest I think I would be revisiting the idea after seeing this post.

[mustangindia 10]

Great Idea. I want to do what you have done chillininnh. Can I permanently seal the rear? Will it have any acoustic implications? perhaps stick a piece of foam on the inside of the trap door.

 

Don't have a fold down rear seat on my Mach 1, so I plant to block of the area between the seats and the boot and install a boxed sub woofer, amps there and 2x 6x9 on the parcel shelf.

[chillininnh 21]

Sure, sealing it up would probably help the sound. Foam may not be a bad idea as well.

[waketek516 10]

I was just thinking about this idea last week!

 

Awesome job on the execution of it!!!!

[mustangindia 10]

Got my speakers today. There was a mix up and I ended up with components with the tweeters separate (no crossover box). Any idea where the tweeters would be best installed?

 

Also @Chillininh you lopped of the part of the grille on the vent assembly, is there a gap on top now? the light in you photo is blocking the view.

[nickjames138 15]

Sure, sealing it up would probably help the sound. Foam may not be a bad idea as well.

 

I don't have a fold down back seat, but I cut my 4x10 holes in the rear to accommodate 6x9 with a mounted amp on the deck. I JUST thought about converting my kick panel vents because they're just blowing HOT air from my engine. My one vent on the driver side is all cracked and blowing through. Will I have to replace the vent first? I think I'll be able to seal it up because I don't want any hot air coming through. Is anyone else's engine run super hot? I have a 351W