Monkey Truck Posted May 29, 2014 Report Posted May 29, 2014 I'm having my radio rebuilt and I needed to buy a new speaker because the old speaker is long gone. Tony at Vintage Radio Restorations found me a 6" speaker that he says will align with the mounting holes in the dash for the cover plate. My question is, does anyone know how the speaker mounts to the dash face along with the speaker face? Currently my speaker face is held on with the same 4 screws and clips that hold the speedo in place. I'm just not sure how that is done. I found the radio info on the DPETCA web site, but it doesn't show how the face plate is connected with the speaker. Quote
David A. Posted May 30, 2014 Report Posted May 30, 2014 When installing a radio in a truck, you had to buy a radio installation kit. It contained a number of parts; pieces to mount the car antenna on the truck cowl along with a template to lay out the antenna location, a speaker extension cable to go from the truck radio location over to the speaker location, the bracket to mount the back of the radio to the firewall, and a metal plate that you mounted your speaker to. After attaching your speaker to the thin metal plate, you would use the original speaker grill screws to also hold that thin plate in place. Are you keeping your radio original, or having it converted to solid state? I'm not an electrical expert by any means, so someone may want to chime in and correct me if I'm wrong, but if you are keeping your radio original, I think you will need to make sure you have the old style speaker as well. If memory serves me correctly, the large coil in the old speaker magnets were used as part of the noise filter system for the radio. David A. Quote
B1B Keven Posted May 30, 2014 Report Posted May 30, 2014 I had my radio rebuilt to original. I'm using a new style (non powered) speaker as per the shop that did the work. Quote
HanksB3B Posted May 31, 2014 Report Posted May 31, 2014 (edited) Here is the Radio Installation for 51-53 series trucks. The speaker is a 6x9 and takes up the upper and lower dash cutout and if you smoke and use the correct OEM ashtray, you'll have to give it up and switch to chaw. Hers's a link to my radio rebuild. http://p15-d24.com/topic/27822-motorola-610-t-restoration/ Nothing beats listening to a tube radio. Good luck with your installation. Hank Edited May 31, 2014 by HanksB3B Quote
52b3b Joe Posted May 31, 2014 Report Posted May 31, 2014 Here is the Radio Installation for 51-53 series trucks. The speaker is a 6x9 and takes up the upper and lower dash cutout and if you smoke and use the correct OEM ashtray, you'll have to give it up and switch to chaw. Hers's a link to my radio rebuild. http://p15-d24.com/topic/27822-motorola-610-t-restoration/ Nothing beats listening to a tube radio. Good luck with your installation. Hank I didn't know that they used the bottom ash tray area too! I guess I did mine wrong then....I put a 5.25" speaker from these guys in my truck: http://www.turnswitch.com/speakers.htm The only problem was that they mount from the front of the dash. The speaker had a thick plastic spacer glued onto it holding the cone in. I put the speaker in a lathe and turned down the plastic until I hit the metal case. I was able to get enough off where the speaker grill sits just about flush with the dash. Here is a video of mine that I think I posted before. You can see the speaker/grill and how it turned out. I have the 5.25" in the dash and a 6x9 under the dash. I was using an Ipod to play the music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7APNAngA9ns#t=23 Quote
Monkey Truck Posted May 31, 2014 Author Report Posted May 31, 2014 The radio is the original radio that I'm just having rebuilt as is, just to work again as original. Its been mounted in the truck forever. Tony at Vintage Radio Restoration's is pairing up a speaker that will work with the radio. I'm just not sure how the speaker will mount to the back side of the dash and how the dash speaker cover connects with it. Quote
BobB Posted May 31, 2014 Report Posted May 31, 2014 does anybody have a source for a modern speaker that fits in the top (round) screened position in the dash? And how would a round speaker be mounted there? I have a "MotorMeter" in the bottom (square) position that I don't want to lose, but I'd like a center speaker since there's not really a place for "rear" ones. Thx. Bob Quote
B1B Keven Posted May 31, 2014 Report Posted May 31, 2014 Bob, The speakers I bought are 6" on the diagonal. I have an extra if someone needs it. Mine are held on with the J nuts supplied with the speaker. I had to elongate the mounting holes (actually I cut off the outer part of the hole). Quote
52b3b Joe Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 does anybody have a source for a modern speaker that fits in the top (round) screened position in the dash? And how would a round speaker be mounted there? I have a "MotorMeter" in the bottom (square) position that I don't want to lose, but I'd like a center speaker since there's not really a place for "rear" ones. Thx. Bob A slightly modified round 5.25" speaker will fit. You will need to elongate the mounting holes or just slot them to the corners. The only problem is that your speaker grill might not sit perfectly flush. If that is an issue, you could also make some mounts to mount it behind the dash in that position or modify the speaker to make it thinner like I did. 1 Quote
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