Replacing the Speakers on an Older Car

[chickenderp]

I have a '77 lincoln continental that I bought a while ago, and I'm looking into replacing the speakers in the rear and front. My car has two on the rear package tray and one in each door panel. I got the speakers out easy enough, but I have some questions regarding my choice of speakers. Btw I'm a complete noob to car audio, so I apologize for ignorance.

The speakers that came out of my car are 3.2 ohms. How much leeway do I have in this regard, and how do I know if the speakers I'm buying are the right impedance? Does it matter if I get 2 or 3-way speakers? Will 3-way speakers work on the stock wiring, or do I have to run extra wire for those? Lastly, is the brand/model of speaker that important? I'm not planning on a huge upgrade here, I just want it to sound decent and be long lasting. I don't really want to spend more than $100 on all 4 speakers, but my budget is flexible if the cheap speakers are rubbish.

I should mention that so far I've only looked on crutchfield.com, because it has a function to search for speakers that will fit your specific car. I'd hate to have to modify the mounting brackets too much, so I liked this feature. I can supply more information about my car if you guys need it too. Thanks!

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[C1500martin 10+ year member]

$100 for all 4 soeakers won't get you much. cheap speakers are just that...CHEAP.

what size speakers does your lincoln use? and you'll b powering them off the factory radio?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

QP-MR6.5 (Sold As Pair) (Grills Not Included)

4 of those for 110 bucks and do some tweeters up front later. Thats assuming your car uses 6.5s

most 2 way/3 way coaxials sound like garbage under the 50 dollar range, worse than stock.

 

[chickenderp]

My fronts are 5-1/4" and my rears are 6" x 9". I think there's a little bit of leeway though if I did modify the mounts, especially in the back where there's plenty of room. I would power it off the factory radio. If all that's for sale under $100 is garbage I'd be open to suggestions also.

 

[garychoffmann 10+ year member]

On deck power look at rockford prime 5.25 components and 6x9's. On ebay be around 100. On crutchfield be 170-180. I put some on an aftermarket deck in a friends car and I was not appauled. We can all be a bit of audio snobs. For the average listener they would probably suit you quite well

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Drop the 100$ into some Alpine Type R coaxials in the front and disconnect the rears. The type R is a good sound for the money and you don't need speakers on the rear deck...they sound like garbage in that location

 

[chickenderp]

Going by gary's advice, I could go with a rockford 5-1/4" component speaker for $100, then a 6x9 2-way for $70 (or a 3-way for $80?) for around what you said. Would those work w/o an amp? A couple reviews said the bass left a little to be desired without one, but I don't think I'd suffer much for that.

Also, I can't seem to find any Alpine Type Rs for less than $200, but I did see they had Type Ss for around $100. Are those alright?

*In sober second thought, I realized that I was looking at american crutchfield. Canadian crutchfield doesn't seem to have these speakers specifically. They do have alpines though.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

dont worry, you'll add an amp eventually, once you start upgrading, you dont stop. Get the good stuff now and add a cheap small 50rms x 4 channel amp later.

 

[Bomber Z 10+ year member]

Could not agree more with that statement.

dont worry, you'll add an amp eventually, once you start upgrading, you dont stop. Get the good stuff now and add a cheap small 50rms x 4 channel amp later.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Stick with factory sizes in factory locations. maybe piece together the sets by buying used. ideally the same brand/line but it's not dire to match perfectly.

JBL P562 5-1/4" 2-way Power Series Speakers - Sonic Electronix

JBL GTO938 Grand Touring GTO 6" x 9" Car Speakers

i'm thinking that'll be enough to make you happy. but ideally you'd pair the fronts with matching rears:

JBL P963 6" x 9" Power Series Coaxial Car Speakers

I linked to Sonic, but Crutchfield is excellent to buy from, they'll give you everything you need. I highly recommend them.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

to answer your other questions - your factory speakers are 4 ohm. when you measure them with a DMM you measure DC Resistance, not impedance, so it's lower, around 3.2 ohms.

some companies have 2 ohm nominal speakers to account for resistance in wiring and connections. the head unit sees closer to 4 ohms.

what head unit? i hope aftermarket. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

2-way or 3-way doesn't matter for the head unit.

if you just can't afford $200 in speakers, new, then look for them used.

 

[arena314]

I need help with my amp wiring

 

[chickenderp]

dont worry, you'll add an amp eventually, once you start upgrading, you dont stop. Get the good stuff now and add a cheap small 50rms x 4 channel amp later.

I think you're completely right, but I don't want to start splurging until I'm out of college and have a job so I can afford all this stuff.

 

[chickenderp]

to answer your other questions - your factory speakers are 4 ohm. when you measure them with a DMM you measure DC Resistance, not impedance, so it's lower, around 3.2 ohms. some companies have 2 ohm nominal speakers to account for resistance in wiring and connections. the head unit sees closer to 4 ohms.

what head unit? i hope aftermarket. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

2-way or 3-way doesn't matter for the head unit.

if you just can't afford $200 in speakers, new, then look for them used.

It's stock right now, I kind of like my 8-tracks! Though I have been looking at aftermarket HUs that have that retro look, but with aux jacks and stuff. I don't really want to put too big of a hole in my pocket just yet, but it's on my "Big list of upgrades".

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

I have used retro sound head units, they are nice shaft-style upgrades.

Feel free to shoot me a PM.

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