Roadster radio/speakers/subwoofer ideas...

[Kevin Desirello]

My dads car has been updated since. It is even more amazing.
I think he still has this set up in his garage. Make him an offer i'm sure he will sell it.
I don't think the speakers are in it still though.
Kevin D.

[Tomakze]

LOL when you said you did this professionally I totally expected something wild like this:

Haha, I wish. I haven't learned how to fiberglass yet, although I want to. I don't want something flashy, I just want something nice sounding. These Kickers sound so good, I am not sure if I will even bother with an amp/sub. I am blown away with how great the sound is considering they are only two speakers being driven by the head unit only!

Which Kickers did you use, and how many watts feeding them? At this point, I'm thinking a small amp and a Ipod with FM or Droid. Question is volume control, any suggestions? I saw a motorcycle hidden setup, had FM, Ipod, and USB with a bluetooth remote, but can't find it now. Current idea is to dummy up a pair of 5 1/4 or 6 1/2" speakers up under the dash pointing down, out of sight.

As I said, I am powering them with just the head unit! The head unit claims 50w per channel, but that is a huge exaggeration. I would guess it really puts out 15w RMS per channel, and the speakers are rated at 45w RMS. If you wanted more juice, Alpine makes a very clever amp that is mounted inline with the deck. The model number is KTP-445. We have had great luck with this amp at work for people on a budget. It is also very small, so it would be easy to hide. It cranks out 45w RMS per channel, and would be perfect for these speakers. The speakers are Kicker KS525's.

[spyder]

With the previous setup, can you carry a soft top?

[f1fx]

Have you done a test drive yet? Several years ago I was putting together a system and it sounded great, and felt it was plenty loud until I took it on a test drive. Granted my roadster was not stock, I have a stroked 1600 with solex so all I could hear was my motor when @ wot.

[Tomakze]

I haven't taken it for a ride yet, but then, my roadster isn't road ready yet! I just had these laying around, and wanted tunes while I worked, so they went in first. I should have her up and running in a month or so, hopefully.

[Tomakze]

I hate to bring this thread back from the grave, but I am still trying to figure out a good location for the front speakers. The rear Kickers are working fantastically, but it would be nice to have a little sound coming from up front. Someone suggested a small hole up under the dash, but I have not found what they were referring to. I am almost tempted to leave the door stops out (It has never had them, but I have some I plan on putting in) and install some small speakers in that hole.

I have also started investigating the power door locks I bought, and I am unsure if they will work... Datsun gave me NO room to add things inside the door. The glass rides right next to the inner door skin, which is the standard install location. I may have to rig up some kind of remote mount with a lever... Also, the locks are fairly stiff... is that normal? I may need to disassemble the door again and rebuild the door latch so it works smoothly. Those door lock actuators are not known for being especially strong.

[ReddTrain]

Speaking as an interested bystander (the engine swap comes first), PLEASE bring this thread back from the grave. I'm subscribed to it

[Garm]

In back use the side panels, the holes are already there and you can get 6 inchers in easily.

The set of three holes on each side behind the seats are 4". I'd like to try filling them with six good-quality 4" speakers, plus an 8" sub behind the driver seat. I have a thumping system in my Yaris with nothing larger than 5 1/4" speakers and one 10" sub. It gets louder than I can withstand it.

[datsun65]

I hate to bring this thread back from the grave, but I am still trying to figure out a good location for the front speakers.

In my 1965 SPL 1500, the car is actually a Positive ground vehicle, so there are very limited options of what can be done.

I plan on installing an enclosed Shark Audio System, which are actually made for motorcycles. They have amps with built-in SD cards and wired/wireless remotes. They also have enclosed speakers that are made for the motorcycle handlebars. I think these small enclosed speakers should be able to be mounted under the dash/kick panel area with minimal work.

They make multiple versions of the speakers, and also have full systems including Amps/Subs.

Here is a sample of what the front speakers look like:

[notoptoy]

Dan:
I picked up a set of those also, haven't set them up yet, but they were inexpensive and seem very well suited to the job in a convertible!

[68DSU]

Can't have both ears covered. You can use one, like a blutooth phone thing but not both. The idea is you wouldn't be able to hear the fire engine blowing the red light and driving into your driver's door.

[Gregs672000]

I added small adjustable tweeters, surface mounted on the small triangles on both sides in the footwells, just below the hood release (on a '67.5 anyway). That has added some presense up front, 6.5 tri's in the side panel behind the seats, two 8 inch subs in the rear panel (holes were already cut by PO), cross overs under the dash, amp under the dash in the passenger well. All generally inexpensive stuff as I didn't expect super sound, nor did I want something I could not afford to lose or break. It does sound pretty darn good though, as is louder than I need by a long ways, even with the boewupp of the carbs!

[nismou20]

Someone previously mentioned taking out the triangle panels just under dash on both ends to house/ mount enclosed speakers. Maybe up to 51/4 speakers, where the hood release is on later cars. Footwell mods start encroaching on our clutch foot unless done right.

[Tomakze]

Someone previously mentioned taking out the triangle panels just under dash on both ends to house/ mount enclosed speakers. Maybe up to 51/4 speakers, where the hood release is on later cars. Footwell mods start encroaching on our clutch foot unless done right.

This is actually what I was wondering about. Does anyone have pics of this being done? Also, would it not be possible on a later car due to the hood pop location?

I am going to measure the holes where the door stops are, and I might try to install 5 1/4" component speakers in that location, with the tweeters on the doors. For a door stop, I was thinking about rigging up a cable, or a nylon strap like a Jeep uses so the door stop won't hit the speaker. What do you guys think?

[acuboy]

As was mentioned earlier, I think one of these Shark systems could be the way to go. The whole package is about the price of a decent deck. I'm thinking about this one:

http://www.sharkmotorcycleaudio.com/pro ... akers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've got a sweet system in my jeep, so as long as the roadster sound quality was decent I'd be happy. My exhaust already sounds a little bit like AC/DC, so it would have to be loud enough to differentiate. Seems like the chrome speakers might even look nice in the ride in a retro kinda way.