New to Corvairs

[66vairguy]

Has anyone added rear speakers to a convertible, and where did you put them? My radio lights up when I turn it on, but not a sound comes from it. I want to improve the stereo so that when I am driving this on sunny days with the top down, I can also enjoy my favorite music.

I will post some pictures of the engine soon.

Thanks again to everyone for the warm welcome and the needed advice!

Don

In 65 and 66 the dealers could install a four speaker stereo option, IF the factory AM/FM radio was ordered. See PDF of discussion and the dealer installation instructions.

[caraholic4life]

Has anyone added rear speakers to a convertible, and where did you put them? My radio lights up when I turn it on, but not a sound comes from it. I want to improve the stereo so that when I am driving this on sunny days with the top down, I can also enjoy my favorite music.
Don

Many years ago I installed round rear speakers in the rear arm rests of my convertible.
It required first marking where I wanted the speakers before removing the arm rest assemblies from the car.
Once I knew exactly where the speakers were to go and the arm rest assemblies were out of the car, I gently removed the chrome trim strip so it could be trimmed and reinstalled after I cut the holes as needed and installed the speakers.
Once done, I was satisfied with the installation.

Moving forward 45 plus years, I have another late convertible and eventually want to add rear speakers.
I have acquired a pair of used rear arm rest's that already have small 4" holes cut out so I can save the original ones and purchased the Clark's http://ssl.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... w_page=265 material they offer to recover arm rest's

This time around I want to install "Hidden Speakers" by mounting them from the back side of the arm rest (Inside the cavity) rather than having them mounted on the outside surface where the speaker grill cover would be visible.

The plan is to strip the original vinyl off as needed and open up the existing holes to allow for larger 6", 8" round, or maybe even 6"X9" speakers. I plan on installing some sort of stud to the metal arm rest base so the speakers can be attached and perforate the new vinyl like a speaker grill might be done.
Once the new vinyl has been installed, I would then install the chrome trim like it was originally to keep the installation as invisible as possible.

If the used arm rests I acquired didn't already have holes in them, I would have probably drilled hundreds of 1/8" holes in the metal to protect the speakers from accidental damage.
With that in mind, I may try to find a perforated flat metal that I can place on the metal arm rest over the opening but under the new vinyl material. Since there is some padding under the vinyl, I am confident this should work acceptably.

Another option would be to mount speakers in the rear window well but you would need to be sure they don't get in the way when the top goes down. Also, with the top down, hearing the sound from them would be muffled, especially if the Parade Boot is in place.

[1949chevy]

One super nice convertible you have Don...My radio in my 66 comes on but no sound comes out also. I think there is a guy that rebuilds them but one of the other guys on here probably knows who it is. My 66 was a local car sold in the city I live in and just now turned about 60k. Not nearly as nice as yours but presentable. I did break the engine in two halves when I rebuilt it for the 3rd time. 1st time it needed it...the lady who bought it new passed away and her two sons treated it bad. The second time, a Deves oil ring from Clarks came apart at 10k miles on my rebuild and also destroyed the timing gear. The 3rd time, I had to put in a new cam and of course timing gear. I used all Hastings rings this time. My 140 runs great now for 2 years.