I came across the '68's speaker box and ancillary parts the other day and cleared some room on the bench to bring it back to life. Here are the parts, including the box, speaker, baggie with small bolts, backer board, nuts, washers, etc. Can't believe they stayed around after 30 years.
The grille cloth (lower right) appeared viable, 6-1/4" x 6-1/4" piece of fairly close-weave, black linen type material. (It didn't work out – more later.)
So, I took all the paint off the box exterior, straightened some bent metal (23-gauge +/- steel), sanded, and painted with wrinkle finish black that closely approximated the original. I tested three textured paints and found VHT Wrinkle Plus the closest match.
The box interior was not bad, needing some light sanding and a coat of black semi-gloss to match the original.
The speaker is a little sad, but it still works. (Tested it with three radios, one original Toshiba AM – still need to find the *&%$#% '68 antenna somewhere in the garage – and two aftermarket radios.)
The grille cloth, following a gentle hand washing, showed some damage that apparently cobwebs were hiding. Went to a fabric store's going-out-of-business sale and looked at black organdy, organza, tulle, and other fabrics. Found that chiffon was the closest match to the original. (Yeah, I can hear the smarta$$ remarks from here.)
Anyway, here's a couple shots of the finished product.
The speaker, as mentioned, is a little tired, so I didn't try to restore it since I will be replacing it or replacing just the cone. Texture is difficult to render in photographs without studio equipment (X and Y coordinates are easy; Z coordinate impossible in 2D), but hopefully the wrinkle finish texture shows up some.
Now, I'm taking on the radio consoles next. I have three of the high-windshield versions with bezels, not to mention the '67 still in the car. Obviously, I haven't been in a big hurry - I figure I have all the time I need, after all, I only hit 70 years old two months ago.
), 2014 Dodge Durango Citadel
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