Kick Panel Speakers

[1969_Mach1 333]

I have the kick panels with the smaller speaker pod that hold a 4x6 speaker. I like the panels, they pod's are small enough to not be obtrusive and look correct in the car. Since they are made for a 4 x 6 speaker, they should also fit a 4" round speaker as well.

 

Questions: What speaker is shallow enough to fit? Retrosound is the shallowest but have poor reviews. Also, what type of speaker grill is flat enough to not interfere with the emergency brake pedal? I guess it's possible there is something subtle wrong with my emergency brake pedal. I have Blaupunkt 6x9 speakers in the back and was hoping for the same brand in the front, but now I don't know if that is attainable.

 

I went this route for the front speakers because my Mach1 did not originally have door speakers, so I prefer to not cut up my doors and new door panels.

Edited November 12, 2014 by 1969_Mach1

[MikeStang 247]

Well here's a few suggestion.

#1. Adjust your emergency brake up a bit more to remove a good bit of the slack so that you dont have to push your E-Brake down far to make it engage and hold.

 

#2. The speaker grills can be bought online so find one that dont have much to it...OR you can pop the mesh out of the front of the grill and instead of having the done shape just lay the mesh out and mash it flat then trim the excess and rebend the edges to go back in. OR you can trim the grill plastic down, OR remove the grills all together and cut some mesh to fit over the speakers and shim it with washers underneth the screws you use to hold the speakers in with.

#3. Do like I did and mount 2ea 4" speakers in the dash ... i built a bracket or 2 and angled the speakers in a V shape facing the speaker opening ...Talk about make your ears bleed and they are cheap old Pioneers....What most people done understand is that the sound bouncing off the glass blows it right in your face, and just 1 speaker in there with an amp on it is almost all you need for mids and highs if you get the right stuff... Altho component speakers mounted at the pillars help a ton also.

 

Also the addition of an 8" or 10" sub woofer will make the mids and highs sound much louder... its all about the balance.

 

For example My 2012 Tundra Crew Cab has factory speakers with no amp and it sounds like crap on its best day.

I added 1 10" Super sub in a ported box and it totally changed the sound system to one that most people find to loud when I crank it up.

[1969_Mach1 333]

I have thought about your second suggestion and am I am leaning that direction. I have 4" Blaupunkts that will fit better than a 4X6 simply because I can offset it in the pod moving it a little further from interfering with the E-brake pedal. I'll mount the speakers then work on fitting the grill as flat as possible. I hadn't thought of trimming the plastic perimeter part of the grill.

[69volunteer 84]

Mike-

Which speaker kick panels do you have? Also, make sure to post final installation pics as I am definitely interested and I am sure others are as well.

 

I was going down the path of modifying my fresh air vents to house 6" speakers but it is a project and I keep putting it off.

[1969_Mach1 333]

69volunteer,

 

I have the kick panels with the smaller more rectangular shaped pods that holds a 4 x 6 speaker. These kick panels are the same outside dimensions as the original kick panels. I originally tried the panels with the larger tear drop shaped pods that hangs down very low and holds two separates or one 5.5 inch round speaker but they looked horrible in the car. But, since the pod on mine is only 1.5 inches deep it appears the only speakers that are shallow enough to fit without modifications to the car body are Retrosound. If I install something else an extender ring is needed which adds to interference issues with the emergency brake pedal.

 

The other thing I noticed between the two kick panels is the panel with the larger tear dropped shaped pod interferes with the emergency brake pedal. Where at least my panel with the smaller pods doesn't.

 

Regardless of kick panel, the last thing I noticed is who ever designed these things absolutely didn't consider the fact the speaker grills are larger than the speakers. Therefore, the grill hangs over the outer edges of the pod.

 

Ideally, if I drill with a hole saw a 3" diameter clearance hole in the car body behind the kick panel for the speaker magnet then most any 4x6 or smaller speakers will fit into my kick panels. Plus then I could possibly use a flat grill of perforated metal and the finish would be cleaner. I not sure if removing metal from that area of the car is a good idea? Since Ford left that area mostly solid I don't know if it provides any structural support for the car?

 

If I could install a 4x6 or smaller speaker in the air vent area and keep the air vents that would be the cleanest installation. That's just a thought, I haven't even looked into that yet.

Edited November 13, 2014 by 1969_Mach1

[MikeStang 247]

I am considering removing my fresh air vents and plugging the holes then just putting speakers in there and calling it a day...The fresh air vents bring fresh air in but its always hotter than the air in the car already on hot days LOL.

I have avoided messing with them really tho

[69volunteer 84]

1969 Mach 1-where did you get them? Curious what they look like. I looked into the tear drop ones and read about the same issues regarding the interference with the E-brake.

 

Not sure about drilling a hole, probably not an issue structurally but.....still drilling a hole.

 

There is a thread on this forum about chillinh who installed speakers in the fresh air vent

http://www.1969stang.com/mustang/forum/showthread.php?t=13076&highlight=front+speaker

 

I am toying with the idea of (a) going smaller speaker and (b) fiber-glassing somehow an angled flat surface inside the fresh air pod so that the speaker is facing more towards the passengers.

[1969_Mach1 333]

I bought these kick panels from NPD.

https://www.npdlink.com/store/products/mustang_kick_panel_speaker_set_no_speaker-137971-301.html

 

I like them, but still trying to work through the issues so the speakers fit well. I'm still considering drilling the hole for the magnet to recess into. It will solve all the issues. I saw the thread on installing the speakers in the fresh air vents. Nice clean solution. I'm not ruling it out. I don't know if I want to give up the vents yet.

Edited November 14, 2014 by 1969_Mach1

[1969_Mach1 333]

Well I decided to try the kick panels I have with the 4x6 speaker pods. I was surprised the 4" Blaupunkt speakers I have fit the shallow pod without any modifications to the car. They are not the most shallow speaker available in that size at 1.75" top mount depth. The grills are a bit bulky so I am going to order a piece of wire mesh of similar open area from McMaster Car and try to fabricate smaller grills to replace these bulky grills Blaupunkt provided with the speakers. Since the E-brake pedal slightly interferes with the bulky provided grills, if making new grills works, I won't need to tweak the E-brake for clearance.

[1969_Mach1 333]

Well I decided to try the kick panels I have with the 4x6 speaker pods. I was surprised the 4" Blaupunkt speakers I have fit the shallow pod without any modifications to the car. They are not the most shallow speaker available in that size at 1.75" top mount depth. The grills are a bit bulky so I am going to order a piece of wire mesh of similar open area from McMaster Car and try to fabricate smaller grills to replace these bulky grills Blaupunkt provided with the speakers. Since the E-brake pedal slightly interferes with the bulky provided grills, if making new grills works, I won't need to tweak the E-brake for clearance.

[MikeStang 247]

I got a Lokar Ebrake Ill sale ya that replaces the factory unit and its a bit smaller.

[MikeStang 247]

I got a Lokar Ebrake Ill sale ya that replaces the factory unit and its a bit smaller.

[69volunteer 84]

Lets see pics when you are done!

[69volunteer 84]

Lets see pics when you are done!

[1969_Mach1 333]

MikeStang, Thanks, but not interested in the Lokar E-Brake.

[1969_Mach1 333]

MikeStang, Thanks, but not interested in the Lokar E-Brake.