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tsombrero1
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2006
Posts: 288
Location: Seattle, WA
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 Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 7:32 pm Post subject: 6-in Speaker Door Install-- New and Improved! |
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I've had 6" speakers in the doors for a while but they were just mounted to the flimsy door panels. So when I cranked it up (my solution to road noise) it made the panels vibrate annoyingly. Turns out that speakers are WAY more efficient if they are mounted to something solid. I carved out a mounting bracket from some plastic cutting board material (good for spring shims too) and it works great! Now the speakers are mounted right on the door, and the grilles just go on top. There is a lot more bass-- enough for me anyway-- and the vibration buzzing is gone. I'm glad I did this instead of putting a fart box in the a/c cabinet.
First move the crank cable and stuff out of the way
After 20 or so trips back to the jigsaw and grinder it fits
Locked in with three M6 flathead screws and nylock nuts. I put rubber washers behind the plastic piece just for grins. A sheet metal screw at 2 o'clock makes it pretty solid.
Hefty bag behind the speaker
Two screws hold the speaker in place
Six more screws go in afterward to hold the panel tight against the speaker surround. Voila!
And yes, I am in the market for better looking grilles!
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Tennessee Sombrero
1988 Westy, Syncro-nated
2003 Aprilia Caponord (now with Jif)
Atari 2600
1970 Earthbound Humanoid |
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brooklynvanagon
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Joined: September 05, 2007
Posts: 177
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 5:59 am Post subject: |
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| did you cut into the door metal at all? |
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McVanagon
Samba Member
Joined: February 19, 2007
Posts: 1684
Location: Northern part of the Virginia
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 6:52 am Post subject: |
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I thought this was a thread about 6 speakers in a door..
I kept counting, and counting, and counting.... 
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tsombrero1
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2006
Posts: 288
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:59 am Post subject: |
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| brooklynvanagon wrote: |
| did you cut into the door metal at all? |
No cutting... I used one sheet metal screw but otherwise the metal is untouched. The three M6 screws go through existing holes.
The biggest hassle was getting the plastic piece to fit the contours of the door. I can upload my template if anyone's interested. You'll need at least a jigsaw and a bench grinder. A bandsaw and router are nice to have.
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Tennessee Sombrero
1988 Westy, Syncro-nated
2003 Aprilia Caponord (now with Jif)
Atari 2600
1970 Earthbound Humanoid |
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goffoz
Samba Member
Joined: May 09, 2007
Posts: 1486
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:17 am Post subject: |
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Nice, I like it
I was just wondering what size speakers could fit in there
and there you are with that detailed post....sweeet
.......This 'Samba" place is great 
I'd like to see the templet pattern, please
...and since I'm "tech challenged" a little info about how you wired those little tweeters and the door speakers to all work together would be much appreciated
Thanks
Owen |
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brooklynvanagon
Samba Member
Joined: September 05, 2007
Posts: 177
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:08 am Post subject: |
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| tsombrero1 wrote: |
| brooklynvanagon wrote: |
| did you cut into the door metal at all? |
No cutting... I used one sheet metal screw but otherwise the metal is untouched. The three M6 screws go through existing holes.
The biggest hassle was getting the plastic piece to fit the contours of the door. I can upload my template if anyone's interested. You'll need at least a jigsaw and a bench grinder. A bandsaw and router are nice to have. |
I might suggest in future installs, use wood like 2-3 layers 2.5mm doorskin or baltic birch or marine ply.
Then you could you some spray foam or fiberglass to attach your adapter to the metal inner door. (nothing sticks to hdpe) this will help with the bass even more and keep the back wave from cancelling the front wave.
Can you mount any depth speaker in there w/o problems with the window mechanics? |
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tsombrero1
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2006
Posts: 288
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:33 am Post subject: |
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| brooklynvanagon wrote: |
I might suggest in future installs, use wood like 2-3 layers 2.5mm doorskin or baltic birch or marine ply.
Then you could you some spray foam or fiberglass to attach your adapter to the metal inner door. (nothing sticks to hdpe) this will help with the bass even more and keep the back wave from cancelling the front wave.
Can you mount any depth speaker in there w/o problems with the window mechanics? |
Good ideas, I like the cutting-board plastic though because it is really strong. Stronger than wood I think. And no water worries.
The window crank will bump just about every 6" grille on the market... the grilles pictured I bought at SpeakerCity.com and are the only ones that play nice with the crank and the dashboard.
That's part of why component speakers rock... they have a nice low profile so you don't have to worry about the tweeter sticking out. I think flush grilles would work but they are kinda elusive. These are the speakers I used:
http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1138
It's a complete system with crossovers and everything.
Here's a link to the adapter doodad, sorry for the large file size:
http://home.comcast.net/~tsombrero/speakermounttemplate.JPG
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1988 Westy, Syncro-nated
2003 Aprilia Caponord (now with Jif)
Atari 2600
1970 Earthbound Humanoid |
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brooklynvanagon
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Joined: September 05, 2007
Posts: 177
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:58 am Post subject: |
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Those are 6.5", excellent! The window crank is not a huge issue, most installs are limited to shallow depth from the window/regulator ON the inside.
So the vanagon allowing very deep stock location starts off in the plus category.
Wood has better properties, at least what I listed... Stiffer, stronger, and with a coating of epoxy resin.. waterproof... mainly you can glue to it... making it one piece with the door frame is awesome. |
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r39o
Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005
Posts: 9800
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:47 am Post subject: |
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| McVanagon wrote: |
I thought this was a thread about 6 speakers in a door..
I kept counting, and counting, and counting.... |
Do you mean this one (fromt the best stickies thread) :
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=168674
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tsombrero1
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2006
Posts: 288
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:52 am Post subject: |
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so, when do I get my honorary purple fur hat?
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1988 Westy, Syncro-nated
2003 Aprilia Caponord (now with Jif)
Atari 2600
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sunshine_norway
Samba Member
Joined: September 17, 2007
Posts: 76
Location: Norway
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| Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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Nice work 
do you have pictures of your doorpanels? I hope you got pictures showing the whole panel
I`m trying to fix up my 89 Syncro DOKA inside. I just finnished step 1 of making new panels in the back. I think I have to find some panels on the junkyard to comlepte them. I hope to find anything like the pockets in our Golf IV. In the pocket it is place to put 6.5 " speakers. Maybe I don`t need the pockets?
I also got fresh doorpanels in the frontdoors. But I want to make them a bit special. Boring to use the originals  I hope I can find black GL-panels 
So..... Please show me some doorpanel-pictures
My car, in the norwegian VW-bus forum :
http://www.vwbus.no/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10774 |
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ww87
Samba Member
Joined: September 05, 2008
Posts: 1
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:34 am Post subject: Re: 6-in Speaker Door Install-- New and Improved! |
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Great seeing this posting. Many years ago I made the same sort of door adapter out of 1/8" hardboard. I included the template I used for reference because coming up with the odd shape took some doing.
[img]http://www.me.com/ro/kniggets/Galleries/100014/vanagon6inchSpkrTemplate/web.jpg?ver=12206323670001[/img] |
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WBX man
Samba Member
Joined: September 06, 2006
Posts: 94
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:12 am Post subject: |
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I molded a fiber glass shell on the inside of my 6 mm birch ply wood door panels and made a MDF structure on the outside to support the speaker and increase the volume for the speaker.
At the end it was all covered in gray vinyl.
Looked like this: http://www.t3nettet.dk/viewtopic.php?t=1257
btw. it's 5½" speakers
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mysticalclimber
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2008
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:49 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks! I got my head unit in yesterday and was trying to figure out the best way to install the speakers- I think I may try something like what you did! |
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mysticalclimber
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2008
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 11:27 am Post subject: |
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| I just did this yesterday.. huge sound improvement.. The speakers play nearly twice as loud before distorting and I seem to be getting more bass.. however still not enough- a sub will take care of that. |
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airkooledchris
Samba Member
Joined: January 25, 2005
Posts: 2719
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| Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 1:26 pm Post subject: |
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those crazy germans build some nice looking speaker boxes for their doors also.....
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riceye
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Caledonia, WI
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| Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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| airkooledchris wrote: |
those crazy germans build some nice looking speaker boxes for their doors also.....
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That does, indeed, look sweet.
But, how do you open and close the windows?
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There's gonna be some changes made.
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"Quality isn't method. It's the goal toward which the method is aimed." - Socrates, later quoted by R.M. Pirsig |
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MrPolak
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2004
Posts: 1357
Location: AG ,atnaltA
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| Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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| riceye wrote: |
| airkooledchris wrote: |
those crazy germans build some nice looking speaker boxes for their doors also.....
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That does, indeed, look sweet.
But, how do you open and close the windows? |
You push a little button. |
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riceye
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: Caledonia, WI
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| Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:31 pm Post subject: |
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| MrPolak wrote: |
| riceye wrote: |
| airkooledchris wrote: |
those crazy germans build some nice looking speaker boxes for their doors also.....
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That does, indeed, look sweet.
But, how do you open and close the windows? |
You push a little button. |
Guess I didn't see the window raise/lower button in Chris's picture.
I should look closer.
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'87 Westy Weekender - daily driver on salt-free roads
There's gonna be some changes made.
“I find that things usually go well right up until the moment they don't.” - Ahwahnee
"Quality isn't method. It's the goal toward which the method is aimed." - Socrates, later quoted by R.M. Pirsig |
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[email protected]
Samba Member
Joined: April 12, 2003
Posts: 1839
Location: Englewood, FL
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| Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 6:29 am Post subject: |
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allright since this thread is still fresh and this will sorta pertain, since I just installed sirius and have found a that uninnerupted "trance" tecno makes me very happy for up to a 6 hour drive (so far). Its time that I upgrade the speakers!
I've got I think 4" infinity's front and rear. They do have nice sound but not enough So I am looking at speakers and I am wanting components. That link that sombreo posted for the audio equipment has a kazillion speakers made by a kazillion companies. so what a good set to get. I'm thinkiung 5.25" to make fit a little easier I am also thinking of temporarily putting the tweeter where the window crank is (I am retrofitting stock power windows so I will have that hole to deal with) . I'm trying to avoid the use of an amp just because I do use the stereo alot when camping and less drain the better.
I did browse the speakers for awhile, actually the infinity lower end set listed says they work pretty decent right off the head unit as they don't need alot of power. For now my head unit is a kenwood couple of years on it now. Thoughts, oh yea what are you guys using for speakers above the bed (in a full late westy with A/C) will the 5.25 fit up there as well and would the componet speakers be a good choice back there as well?
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