Speaker Placement Option

[dr8track]

When I decided to install a modern FM radio/CD player in my van I didnt' want to cut into the door panels, which had never had speakers installed in them. I used 6X9 boxes and sat the rear speakers on the floor in front of the rear seat, but the front speakers were more of a challenge. I was using 5 1/4 inch round speakers up front. First I purchased the boxes to mount those speakers. I was considering mounting a bracket and hanging them under the dash, but they were just too big. Finally, I noticed the front panels under the dash on the nose of the bus. I removed a panel to see if there was enough depth to mount a speaker and sure enough, there was.

My original panels were pretty beat up so I decided to create some new panels to install my speakers. I used Masonite board which had a smooth surface and was a bit thicker than the orginal panels. I used an old panel as a template and cut a new panel. I had to make a few modifications, but eventually had a pretty good fit. I mounted my speaker to make sure there would be enough clearance. There was.

I then primered the panels and painted them with Rustoleum Hammerite Black paint. I used the Hammerite because I thought the dimpled finish would look similar to the texture on the dash. I gave the panels several coats and then installed them in the van.

Works well and it's an alternative to destroying those uncut door panels.
They sound great to me, but of course, I'm not one of those guys who uses a 1,000 watt amp and has the rear of the van filled with subwoofers.
But by 1974 standards, they sound pretty darn good!
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1974 Westfalia Deluxe Campmobiles - Lake Stevens, WA

[iWesty]

Thanks for the input! I have a pair of radio shack speakers (already in cases) sitting on the floor on the passenger side- they were hung by drywall screws by the previous owner and weren't hanging... so i'm glad what you did works. I'll do that when I get my alpine system.

oh and your pics aren't showing up because you are copying the address of the webpage they're on, and not the picture file itself. to get this, right click on the picture and choose "copy image location" ... or something similar to that (I'm using a Mac) and paste that into your img tags. the address should have ".jpg" at the end of it. Hope this helps and thanks again.

[dr8track]

[dweller]

Since i found your message here on search, thought i'd revive it to post my results. I basically followed your idea, used masonite, and sprayed w/ a pewter rattle paint that was supposed to look hammered...feh on the hammered effect. But my cloth interior is grey, so it matched better than the black, beat-up cardboard ones i used for templates.
Masonite was $6.69 at Lowes, paint another $5. I have enough masonite for the doors, or to redo the kickpanels at a later date if i care to. Maybe i'll go faux hunting and bag an ellusive, wiley grey Nauga...

I had just removed the non-working dpd ac to gain access to the underdash, now to clear up the wiring mess.

thanks for the idea, giving credit where due,
dp
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77 Westie 2.0L FI ... slowly restoring bit by bit...