Installing stereo and kick panel questiom

I am going to put in a stereo. I have seen kick panels with speaker spots. My current car is a 1970 GS with no AC but I am going to put in a vintage air. I believe my current kick panels with the 4 vent pull tabs are only for non AC cars right? So with that, I can remove them and put in the new kick panels with the speakers. Is this correct?

Also, is there anything I have to close off on where the kick panel vents are currently?

Thanks.

 

Most don't cut up their kick panels. There is a stereo thread that has info about mounting two 3" or 4" dash speakers side by side in original front dash speaker location. Couple 6 x 9's in rear deck and you're rocking... maybe Larry here will find the thread and post the link for you.

 

Thanks, I will look too. I wasn't going to cut up my kick panels, I was going to buy new ones with speakers already there, The vintage air I believe will use the stock vents in the dash and then a small vent under the ashtray.

 

Hey SCamero, That’s a good question. I put the kick panels with speakers in my 68 GS convertible, but it was an AC car and did not have the vents that you were talking about. I would think after you got the side panels out along with the vent pole knobs, and disconnected the cable that’s attached to the vents, that it would be pretty easy to just seal the vents closed. I don’t know because I never had to do that. The 6 inch speakers I got in the front of my convertible along with the 6 X 9 speakers in the back sound great!
I am a cheap bastard! I looked at the kick panels with speakers from Legendary. They actually said in their write up that they either used kicker speakers or infinity because they are the thinnest speakers. So I let my fingers do the surfing on the Internet and found the cheapest set of kick panels with speaker holes cut into them, and I bought my infinity speakers from Crutchfield. I think I saved at least $75. I figured the speaker cut out kick panels are probably made by the same company. They fit great and I had no problem installing them. Hope this helps

 

Thanks, it does help. I then wonder what is behind the kick panels then. I assume the metal body work is the same for ac or non ac car, so there are just some vents that are removable hopefully. I have no idea.

 

I think I have a set of AC Kick panels with the speaker holes already cut out out in the garage. Asking $45 + the trip. If you are interested let me know. Also, there is a big space behind the kick panel and a few folks have removed/cut a brace (there are 2 holes and a wide brace in the middle) to open it up. That way you can use any speaker.

 

I had to trim one of those braces some when I put the front speakers in my car. Someone had already cut the kick panels for speakers, but I put good ones in there and the magnets were much larger than what came out.

 

I would buy the new molded kick panels, per your prior post. These turn the speaker slightly toward the cabin VS sending the sound toward your feet & the console. They also make more room for the speaker's depth. As another poster commented, you can just seal the vents -- I would use some Mortitie - perfect for that kind of task. Never hardens and fills any gaps. I would keep the existing vent cable in place (in case you want to go back to stock) just disconnect it from the vent door and zip-tie it out of the way. FYI Mortite https://www.homedepot.com/p/Mortite-19-oz-x-90-ft-Grey-Weatherstrip-and-Caulking-Cord-B2/100152937

 

I agree and did this with my last couple cars for the fronts and 6x9’s for the back and it sounds perfect.

 

I like both options. I will be going to AC so I do not need the pull tabs on the vents or the vents themselves. I cannot envision going back to a non AC car after having AC.

However, I like the two speaker set up. Did you use some ply wood and make a bracket for the two small speakers?

 

It’s a metal plate with 2 spacers that I made on a 3d printer. You can find plastic and metal plates on eBay or hifi sites. I have used the plastic ones but they sag due to speaker magnet weight so I have doubled them to stiffen. There’s also ones with speakers but they are usually low end but I wanted to use the alpines I had.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/302916209535

 

What about that bracket in the middle? Did you fin that on ebay too?

 

Also, any point to get a sub, I know, it will sound better but I assume it is not a must? Where is everyone mounting their amp?

 

I made that piece.

 

Not really needed. Although I did have a sub (kenwood) in my convertible that I mounted under the passenger seat. That’s because I could not use 6x9 speakers and wanted more base.

As far as an amp, I think it depends on the head unit. I have had a couple retro sound stereos and used their amp which is pretty small and I mounted it to the heater box just above where the heat vents out.

 

There are nice small amps which you can put anywhere: Kenwood 2156568 KAC-M1804 Compact 4-Channel Amplifier.

I put that one under the dash.

https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/another-radio-post-with-a-twist.347930/

 

I installed a Bluetooth device from Wetsounds, simply install an amp and speakers and pair it to this device. You control everything from your phone or any BT device. Leave the factory radio in place and no one will know how you are doing it.
WW-BT-UR | Wet Sounds Marine Bluetooth® Universal Receiver - Wet Sounds

 

That Wet Sounds is pretty cool!

 

How is the sound from the bluetooth wetsounds? So it is basically your phone/ipod or somethign to the wetsounds to the amp and then the speakers? No head unit?

I had been thinking about getting one of those sirius docking units too but the wetsounds may be a better approach.