Stereo build / questions

Tonyorlo · May 28, 2019, 11:33am

I am making this thread to discuss and post about my stereo replacement in my 94 VP.

I recently bought this car for $500 not running, and with the help from a lot of great members on this site I got it up and running. Before I take it to get inspected I have to fix a few things. So I figure while it’s down I will mess around with the stereo install.

All of my searches have told me that I needed 5.25” drivers in the doors. After pulling my door panels off and measuring I discovered that 6.5” drivers will fit. I tried a Pioneer component set and it fit in the space, but the surround was hitting the door panel. So I tried a older set of 6.5s that have a foam spacer which keeps the surround away from the panel. They seem to fit ok. I snapped a pic before putting the passenger door panel back on.

I’ve ran these in an active system for years and have been pleased. They have good low end output. I am going to use some alpine tweeters, and I will build my own passive crossovers.

I am installing a old Clarion DXZ785USB head unit. It has a ton of features. I’m also going to build a fiberglass/wood sub box for the trunk. It will all be powered by a soundstream 5 channel amp.

A few questions I have,

Are the rear door speakers the same as the front?
How do I remove the trim panel on the dash for the tweeters?
What is the best way to access the rear tweeters?

Robin_O_Connor · May 28, 2019, 9:08pm

My ‘40 has been gone too long to help with the questions posted but what I can recall is the speakers on each side share a common ground (at least up to ‘92) so you might have to ‘adjust’ the wiring to suit the new head unit.

abercanadian · May 28, 2019, 10:24pm

I remember reading a thread talking aout eBay having wiring adapters to suit changing from the quirky wiring on the xj40 to standard aftermarket stereo installations.

Tonyorlo · May 29, 2019, 1:57am

You are both right, the speakers share a common ground and the wiring is different. I am only going to use the 12v+, Switched 12v and the ground. I will run rcas to the amp and from the amp to the speakers will all be my own new wiring.

I popped the dash trim panel out and pulled the tweeter, man it’s tiny. I may abandon the factory location all together and use surface mount tweeters in the door panel on the wood trim. It’s in poor shape currently, so I don’t feel too bad about cutting holes. If I ever decide to go back I can always make a new piece of trim out of wood.

Tonyorlo · May 31, 2019, 3:02am

Is there any value to a working original radio from this 94?