47-55.1 Rear speaker mounting

[8man]

How are you mounting rear speakers to these trucks.

The 48 had some custom panels welded in place when I got it. They followed the curve of the side and back of the cab. Only problem with them was I had to make a spacers to set the speakers out from the metal piece because the speaker was hitting the side of the truck and wouldn't bolt in. I can't find them anyplace.

I've seen the ones from LS Fabrication, but don't know how they install and/or if there are other problems with them.

Thanks.

[rnrdthefox]

Curious about what others will say.

I haven't got to this point yet, but I was thinking about panel bond but I need to talk to a couple of the stereo shops. I want kick panel pods and pods in each rear corner molded to the curve of the truck. I've seen pictures with guys doing the mdf and fiberglass to fit the contour and building structure into it for the speakers of choice. Then it gets upholstery.

[Tempest67]

Here is what I did,

start with welding a 'tack strip' to the rear door frame. (used to attach the speaker panel)
then bend a piece of 18 gauge to form the rear corner and attach to 'tack strip' and the rear support strap.
Cut the 6x9 hole, and make a 'lid' for the enclosure,
then insulate/carpet the entire piece up to the 'chair rail' as the carpet will 'bend' easily to fill the corner.
do that to both sides, and make a rear panel (1/16 mdf) that butts up to each speaker enclosure
I also added 2, 4 inch round speakers to the dash.

Hope this gives you some ideas

[Tempest67]

oops, here is the dash with the speakers

[8man]

Thanks Tempest. That looks good.

[rnrdthefox]

Tempest, Nice corner work. I like the speakers behind the dash grill. I want to do the same for a mono center channel. What kind of fabric did you use across the inside of the grill?

[Tempest67]

Hopefully that will give you some ideas.

My work certainly wont win any prize, but it looks OK to me, and the sound deadening is really good


'fabric behind the grill ? ha ha, believe it or not, I had a wire mesh trash can from a dollar store lying around, and I cut it up and used it to give the "grill' look.

[8man]

That's genius!

[Tempest67]

genius ?

[rnrdthefox]

Lol!

[thaBrad]

I am currently trying to make my rear speaker enclosures. What does NOT work is 1/8" and 3/16" hardi board panels. They will not curve tight enough to the curve of the truck. I tried scribing slits in the backside and that makes it break when you try bending it. I'm planning next to use sheet metal and curve it fastening to the truck curve. Then glue/screw plywood standoff to the metal for the speaker to mount too, then upholster it. I'll post pics when complete if it works.

[Tempest67]

I had the same problem when making my headliner. The curve over the door was too much and the 1/8 MDF would break. So I ended up gluing the vinyl on a piece of metal that I shaped.

[jweb]

Originally Posted by thaBrad

I am currently trying to make my rear speaker enclosures. What does NOT work is 1/8" and 3/16" hardi board panels. They will not curve tight enough to the curve of the truck. I tried scribing slits in the backside and that makes it break when you try bending it. I'm planning next to use sheet metal and curve it fastening to the truck curve. Then glue/screw plywood standoff to the metal for the speaker to mount too, then upholster it. I'll post pics when complete if it works.

I didn't make a back since 6x9's are designed for use with or without a box. Seems to work fine for me.

[mr48chev]

The metal panels inside the corners of real 47/48 cabs are factory reinforcement because of the center cab mount on the rear of the cab. That just makes it a bit more challenging to put speakers in the corners of those cabs.

I like Tempest67'sahole setup though. That has the makings of a nice setup.

[8man]

Mr48, thanks for the info on those metal corners.