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Stereo Speakers in the Doors or Kick Panels?

71SandbugCharger

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For my ‘71 SE, modified! Do you think I should mount the front side speakers in the kick panels or door panels?

I think benefits in both: wiring, hole to cut, serviceability, kicked vs not.

Any experience in either?

Btw, I had the lower door panels wrapped in leather.

Thanks!!!
 
do you have a console a 3x5 in each side would be nice. easy to work on and no kicking or holes in the doors. 6x9 in upper rear package tray and of course a woofer in truck behind spare tire. just a thought
 
Not this 73 by my first 73, I did speakers in the kick panels. Sounded great and easy to wire. Plastic panels are easy to cut.
 
Price replacement panels and doors before cutting. Kick panels and emergency brake may have conflicts. Not much clearance there.
 
I didn't like either of those options so I put them in the console. I'd likely do the door panel out of those 2 options for 2 reasons.

#1 I'd hate the speakers always getting filthy and dented from being kicked.

#2 I'd think the sound would be better.
 
For what's its worth - and I'm no expert , most modern cars music systems seem to focus on a rear end bass / mid and a front end mid / top . If you sit in a modern car and lean backwards in the driver's seat it's a lot more bass and leaning forward alot more mid\high end sound range . Tweeters are a lot smaller in the front . So my take on it would be to design it the same way this would also mean that your front speakers could be considerably smaller and little to no drilling as far more concealable . As said I'm no expert , someone has drilled my front door panels at the bottom and fortunately they done quite a good job but it wouldn't have been my choice and I'm now stuck with series of holes in a circle pattern about 5 inches across , as said luckily they took their time and both panels match up . I'm no purist so I'm not fussed but the rear 6x9s in my car sound MUCH better on their own
Good luck mate
 
With the cost of door panels and the reason they call em kick panels, I chose a different option. I build floor mounted boxes that fit right between the front seats. They are completely out of the way with seat movement and point straight up. As far as sound goes much better direction for those speakers and have better contact with vehicle to avoid vibrations. Here’s a pic. Good luck
DBCAEDEC-257C-4FD4-869A-51029A3844C6.jpeg
 
Kick panels are a lot cheaper and easier to replace than doors.

The A body guys can buy pre-made kick panes with speaker mounts and grilles.

There was an FxBO member that used a shower drain as a template to drill holes in a pair of kick panels effectively making a grille.

That's what I plan to do, fab a mount for the 5 1/4 or 6" speaker to the metal behind and then get a spare set of kick panels to drill through.

Right now, the speakers are attaching themselves to the metal with their own magnets.
Works.
 
A popular installation back in the day was to install small, round speakers in the kick panels. Really not too good for acoustics, but there was JUST enough to fit, since the magnets were not that big. And, kick panels were cheap.
 
Ultimately, you decide on where the speakers go.

Sonically speaking...

Mounting the speakers in the door panel is better. Crutchfield (and other places) have a stiff foam bowl to mount the speaker in for not only sound improvement but also weather seal. This increases the bass sound and speaker life.

Afford yourself the largest possible speaker in the door. (Or where ever you decide to out them) Multiple speakers such as the component set up allow you to place the tweeter up higher for better sound and power handling.

When it comes to power handling, more is merry even if you don’t turn it up loud or to the max. It is a position of clarity at any level. For the most part, 100 watts by 4 channels handles most in car systems for volume. At the very min. 100 watts to a sub woofer if you so decide. Best if it is double the power because a sub takes a bit of power to drive cleanly.
 
I also read on crutchfield that having tweeters up high (or in the door for that matter) causes the left speaker to be much closer to your head, whereas kick panel mounting causes the distance, while further, to be a more equal length from yo' head.
 
Don't cut up your doors. This is my RR before restoration with this gapping hole in the door where 6x9's were.
DSC03797.JPG


During restoration, had them welded shut
20140124_155313.jpg


and I was very happy to have them back to this condition, looks so much better without any speakers.
20140524_111606.jpg
 
I have an otherwise beautiful pair of 73 Charger doors that have been cut for a 10" woofer.

Seriously. It's ridiculous.
 
With the cost of door panels and the reason they call em kick panels, I chose a different option. I build floor mounted boxes that fit right between the front seats. They are completely out of the way with seat movement and point straight up. As far as sound goes much better direction for those speakers and have better contact with vehicle to avoid vibrations. Here’s a pic. Good luck
View attachment 683423
Do you have a picture of these inside your car? You must have a column shift?
 
Floor console. Here’s a pic of inside drivers side. I did some measurements before building them so they would fit perfectly.

CAC2FCD2-8A8A-4C48-80DA-81CF2CC20CBD.jpeg
 
well, they actually seems to be E body... but I bet B bodies could be available too... sorry I can't enter on Classic Industries for whatever reason at this moment to search
 
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Don't cut up your doors. This is my RR before restoration with this gapping hole in the door where 6x9's were.

During restoration, had them welded and I was very happy to have them back to this condition, looks so much better without any speakers.
While I totally agree on not cutting the metal of the door, your missing something IMO in the first sentence of his post where it says “Modified.”

Getting past that and forgetting that and the fact of the OP doing his car his way and is the only way a car gets done for anyone, his speaker placement is his decision alone and not anyone else’s.

Your post is centered around your past issues in what you were doing not him and that is your issue and hang up. Stop being a parent in telling someone how and what to do to there car because you had issues with someone else’s past work.
 
While I totally agree on not cutting the metal of the door, your missing something IMO in the first sentence of his post where it says “Modified.”

Getting past that and forgetting that and the fact of the OP doing his car his way and is the only way a car gets done for anyone, his speaker placement is his decision alone and not anyone else’s.

Your post is centered around your past issues in what you were doing not him and that is your issue and hang up. Stop being a parent in telling someone how and what to do to there car because you had issues with someone else’s past work.
You are missing the fact that he asked for door or kick panel placement recommendation and I showed why not to do the door.
 
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