I’m in the process of removing the fancy after market radio that the PO had installed and replacing it with a period correct looking radio from RestoSound. It is a push button model for appearance sake, but will have Satellite radio, Bluetooth, and iPhone connections.
Yesterday I had posted a question about the speaker rings/grills and I’m fairly certain that when the PO installed the after market radio, he also installed after market speakers and modified the radio bracket to accommodate them. Additionally, the bracket had been modified to work with the after market AC system that was installed.
I am happy with the AC system, but unhappy with the radio, somewhat unhappy with the speaker enclosures for not being factory looking. The real question is, should I toss this radio bracket, break out the credit card and buy a new unmolested one, insert my new radio into it, and figure out how to swap out the speakers for something that will fit in the factory round grills?
I’m open to suggestions and direction on speaker sizes that will fit in the factory grills. You will also notice that on my car, there is a cigarette lighter below the radio. None of the brackets that I’ve seen from the usual suspects seems to have a hole to support this. Was a lighter an optional accessory? I’m OK with ditching it because I don’t smoke, but it would be a handy 12v receptacle to charge a phone, etc.
This look to be the appropriate one for having AC, I see one just like this on XKs. Did you drill the hole for the lighter or is this an original piece? If not original, did you also buy the speaker rings/grills? What size speaker will this bracket support?
that bracket is as delivered, the lighter was already there, owned the car since 73. installed at factory ,or dealer, not sure. but yes its a factory AC car.
I still have the original Phillips radio and the original speakers in mine.
here is a picture I snagged of the forum some time ago of somebody else’s replacement Kenwood speakers. maybe they are still available.
After removing the speakers and the lighter, it obvious that this bracket is in bad conduction after being hacked for both the aftermarket AC and speakers enclosures. I really have no choice but to replace it.
The speakers on the other hand appear good. The question is will they fit in a new radio bracket with stock speaker rings. Here are pics of the speaker and their dimensions.
The lighter is original to the car. They modified your radio opening, which is unfortunate if your plan is to install a stock Phillips radio.
As for speakers, there are very few speakers available these days that are the right diameter and thickness, as you only have about 2 or 2.5" behind the grilles. The speakers should also be 8 ohms, because they are combined in parallel (those 4 ohm Kenwoods place too high a load on the radio’s amplifier). Once you have the exact measurements, you can search in Digikey, Mouser or Newark electronics for a suitable speaker.
Finally, in addition to the surround, there’s the grille. The original grille was a diamond mesh, cad plated.
Have you thought about using some thin aluminium sheet and pop rivets to repair or shore up the hacked up areas and then recovering the vinyl ? This radio is VERY similar to the original Blaupunkt in my 68 FHC. I think the face plate is big enough to help cover up some things too. There are places that will update radios like this with all the modern stuff. Just a thought.
Before I’d undertake that, I’d call Welsh and see if they have a nice used one, at a fair price. Worth asking at least. https://www.welshent.com/default.aspx
A few months ago I fitted my S2 with AC, same radio console as yours, with an original phillips radio and electrotech 6" speakers from turnswitch.com. These fit the rings and are low profile with small but powerful neodymium magnets, maximizing radio space, which is very tight with an original set up. Others on the forum have had good results with these too. Good luck!
I have ordered a new radio bracket that it unmolested for a car with AC which will better fit my FHC with aftermarket AC. Additionally, I just received a set of speaker rings and mesh that will look far nicer than the plastic brand x covers that were on it when I bought it.
However, the 5 1/4 speakers that were on the car (see my photos of them above) do not line with the speaker rings. The threaded posts on the rings seem to be on a 4 3/8" centers and the speakers are not. Does anyone have any input on some good aftermarket speakers that fit the factory speaker rings and will still fit in the enclosure? I’m going to check out the ones on turnswitch.com but would like to have options.
Don’t forget, the speakers you install need to be 8 ohm. You can find generic speakers at electronic supply houses: Digikey, Newark, Mouser, all have good search engines. Don’t bother with high fidelity, nothing about the speaker location or the available space allows for anything more than a simple midrange speaker.
These Kenwood speakers fit in the stock grille. Available from XKs Unlimited. I chose a hidden stereo for my 67 OTS, which controls my phone via bluetooth. The subwoofer sits free behind the seats and can be unplugged and removed for show. The wires are hidden behind the passenger seat.
It looks like you might have a gasket of some sort under the speaker. Since my setup was complete screwed up, I’m unsure of the setup. Here is what I think it is - grill/speaker ring attached directly to the radio bracket, speaker inside the bracket over the four threaded speaker ring posts (nut and washer). But ti does appear that you have a gasket of some sort and I see that XKs is also talking about an internal speaker ring of some sort. Are these necessary too?
Aftermarket, It’s been 22 years ago so I don’t recall the model, I think they were pioneer and they were sized such that the speaker rims fit on the outside of the round openings in the radio console and still allowed the stock speaker rims to fit flush on the console. That gave me a a bit more clearance between the magnets and radio body. Important since the aftermarket speakers were a little deeper (taller?) than the stock speakers.
