My '82 Pace Car has a dead radio and 4 dead speakers. The speakers in the rear were replaced at one time with Kenwood speakers that have deteriorated and totally fell apart.

I found a new stock radio, but it wasn't available in '82. What are a good set of matched speakers for these cars with this factory radio?



On my son's Mustang, the forums had great recommendations for his car that made the factory stereo sound so much better than the factory speakers, but at a reasonable price. I'm looking for something similar here. It's been 30 years since I put a set of speakers in a 3rd gen, so what do you guys recommend that will sound good for just cruising with tunes? I need the 6x9 rears and the 4x6 dash speakers for this car. Thanks

 

Hi, Scott.
　
I believe I have the same radio in my 1987 IROC. (This radio was the second highest option, just below the Bose.) When I bought the car almost two years ago, it had aftermarket Sony Xplod speakers front and rear. To my ear, those had an unrefined sound (not smooth with a raggedy midrange), so I looked into better options.　


After reading many reviews (and plenty of discussions on thirdgen!), I decided to get some Boston Acoustics speakers. Unfortunately, Boston Acoustics has pulled out of the aftermarket for car stereo, so I ended up buying stuff off of Ebay. I lucked out by buying new old stock (never used) a pair of Boston 746 4x6's and a pair of Boston RM9 6x9's. I paid about $200 for all four speakers. 　


I have a high-end stereo at home, so I'm pretty fussy about sound quality, and I'm very satisfied with these speakers. I believe they are extracting all the quality that is available from the stock radio. I'm sure the 6x9s would benefit from a separate amp, but I'm trying to keep a stock appearance in this low mileage (4000 miles) car, so I'm still running directly off the factory radio.　


Unfortunately, these speakers are probably hard to find, as they haven't been made in several years. You could consider other Boston speakers (if you can find them) or speakers from other brands (perhaps recommended by other members here). In looking at different options, you may want to consider the two main issues that drove me to buy the Boston speakers mentioned above:　
1) good sound quality with high efficiency. I was initially wondering whether the stock radio (the one you show in the picture) could handle lower impedance (4 ohm) speakers since the original Delco speakers were 10 ohms. Apparently this would be a serious problem with older (1970s) Delco radios, but the Delco radios by the mid-1980s had a different amplifier which could handle 4 ohm loads. (I talked to a repair expert known for working on Corvette radios, and he reported good success with 4 ohm speakers.) I wouldn't use anything less than 4 ohms though.While the radio can handle 4 ohm loads, it doesn't have a lot of power, so it is therefore important to get speakers with high sensitivity (usually measured in dB/Watt). For instance, the Boston RM9's I bought have a rated sensitivity of 95dB/W, which is pretty high. (This probably explains why my setup plays cleanly to a loud enough level, though the sound levels won't impress too many teenagers, I suppose.) Other good speakers I saw had lower sensitivity　
such as 91dB/W. Since a 3dB difference corresponds to doubling the required wattage, I would be hesitant to get speakers with sensitivities below 93dB/W or so.　
2) fit inside dash and sail panels. I think this is well covered by older third gen threads, but you have to make sure that the 4x6's aren't too deep, or they won't fit under the dashpad. If the 6x9's are too deep, they won't fit properly in the sail panels (my RM9s just fit, so you wouldn't want anything deeper than that). The main thing I'll add here is that you should be careful about the tweeters in some kinds of 6x9s. Many aftermarket 6x9s have tweeters that protrude out toward the sail panel covers (perhaps for sound quality), and they protrude so much that they will not sit behind the sail panels properly. (I have seen people cut holes in their sail panels to expose their speakers, but I definitely didn't want that look.) One thing I liked about the RM9s (even compared to other Boston 6x9s) was that the tweeters only protrude slightly, and I found that they fit fine behind the panels for a completely stock appearance.　


Good luck on your speakers search,　
John　
p.s. My family had a 1982 Berlinetta with the analog tuning (and cassette), so I know exactly the radio which you are replacing. That car ended up being my first car, which I drove until I gave it away at 229,000 miles. The radio served me well -- the only thing I ever had to do to it was replace a light bulb!

 

Interesting.

 

Not sure what your budget is but why not buy a new set of Kenwood speakers or JBL. Just make sure the 4X6 will fit in the dash as some have fitment issues due to magnet size on the front drivers side.

Good place to start...

www.sonicelectronix.com

 

I can buy Kicker, kenwood, JBL, etc. I'm asking for recommendations on what "standard" speakers sound good with the stock head unit. I'm not trying to build an awesome sound system because the car isn't a daily driver and I'm trying to preserve the factory appearance. I don't want component speakers that will require door speakers or A pillar tweeters. I just want to know what combination people have used that provided a good sound.

Like I mentioned regarding my sons car, the Mustang forums had many people raving about a specific Pioneer speaker that just blew the factory speakers out of the water and required no additional amps, etc. I'm looking for the same here.

 

I used Kicker, front and back. I did have to slightly dremel the support structure under the dash pad to get the fronts to fit - not seen in any way. Sorry, no pics.

 

Is it possible to have your existing speakers rebuilt??Just something to think about.

 

I put Alpine's in mine: https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-SPS406...SIN=B001UDNX3M

https://www.amazon.com/ALPINE-SPR-69...=alpine+spr-69

Not real expensive, but sound good in an old car to an old guy with bad hearing

 

Hal87,


my only concern about those Alpines would have been the sensitivity (rated only 87dB/W for the 4x6's), which is on the low side. Since every 3dB corresponds to a 2X difference in required power, those speakers would seem to imply a need for 4X more power (Watts) compared to a speaker with 93dB/W sensitivity, say. (Perhaps these ratings are not exact, but 87dB/W is definitely on the low side.)


Do you find they play clean and loud enough off the stock radio?
(I realize this depends highly on your taste regarding desired sound level.)


-- John

 

Same here. Sounds decent. No dremel in my case though.