How to upgrade your Vanagon's "hanging down" speaker pods. No screws or glue required. This is a fast, easy and great looking solution to the classic Vanagon audio problem
CategoryVanagon
Rear Speakers
Get yourself a pair of the Infinity Reference 3022cf speakers. These are not hugely loud, but they are a lot better than the original speakers! |
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Cut around the seam with a small hacksaw, remove the old part and chuck it. |
Line up the new speaker where to mount it inside the pod. Use a small drill (2mm) making a line of holes 7/16 to 1/2 inch inside the pod, a little wider than the mounting tab. Ream out the perforation back and forth with the drill creating a slot for the metal tabs. |
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Plug the connectors in (I had to compress the small one for better gripping), then insert the tab top first in the slot and snapping the bottom tab into place with a little pressure. The case is now holding the speaker tight and no fasteners are necessary. |
Mount the upgraded speaker pod in the rear of the Vanagon and rock out! |
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Front Speakers (original)
~ I used the Infinity Reference 4022i speakers in the front door. They mount in the same place as the originals, exactly fitting in the holes. Drill through the fiberboard to mount them. It is fairly routine, but you will need the little window crank extenders. I just left the covers off, and filed off the sharp plastic points from the ring holders to avoid hitting my hand on them. The rings are probably not even necessary if you don't want covers. These new speakers are a lot tougher than the old paper ones so covers are only really needed if you are mounting in a package tray.
Front Speakers (ovals)
~ I realized I needed more bass to overcome the massive road noise of the diesel Vanagon at freeway speeds, so I put JL Audio TR570-CXi speakers in the front door.
There is a rounded rectangle in the bottom of the doors, as you see in the picture here, but the oval speakers overshoot the edge by about 1/8th of an inch. |
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You need to clear the door-stopper (circled) when the door is closed, so mount the speaker to the rear of the opening!
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Use a nibbling tool like this one, not the cheap crappy one you get from Radio Shack. |
Observe the speaker how around the edge it has a 4-part flange running all the way around it. The trick to positioning the cut oval perfectly is to position the board on the door by a few buttons and locate the center of the tweeter with an awl.
Remove the board and cut a crude hole through the board to clear the tweeter, then hang the board back up.
Tap with a small hammer around the speaker. There is a flange protruding that leaves black paint on the inside of the board. You may need to press hard while tapping to force the warped (like mine) board down onto the metal.
Remove the board and position the supplied mounting spacer (used for tray-mounted speakers) inside the marks and cut around inside it. |
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Here is what the finished speakers look like, and they make a lot better bass than the upper round speakers! You don't get grilles with these speakers, so be aware that they are naked. |
Future work might be to screw down the board, preferably with sponge strip behind it. Should only improve the audio.
Comments
| 199 | thanks for taking the time to doc. Great job. Bryan |
2009-06-23 10:29:39 X | ||
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c-67-180-76-148 | A-1 installation and illustration. I may return to this article after I get my van rolling.. JB |
2009-06-22 10:11:58 X | |
| cpe-66-68-149-182 | Nice job! Thanks for the professional write-up w/ pics. Rick |
2009-06-22 04:15:35 X | ||
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