Installed my speakers and radio this morning and boy are my nerves shot!
Cutting holes into a brand new interior panel is enough to drive one to
drink (I am having a beer right now). I tried to be as cautious as I could
and found this method worked very well.
I mounted the speakers into the 'L' shaped panels behind the doors. It was
strongly suggested to me by Les at CDM and others to mount the speakers as
low as possible to avoid being covered by the top or boot. The large hole in
the body nearest the floor was where I mounted mine.
We pulled the 'L' panels and removed the short staples on the back of the
both panels on the part nearest the floor and on both sides about a foot up.
The vinyl was then carefully peeled off the back side and the vinyl and foam
insulation pulled up to reveal the fiberboard backing. The panels were then
reinstalled in the car and after slitting a 1" hole in the board with a
razor knife, I inserted a hacksaw blade and made saw cuts from the center of
the hole. I cut outwards to the hole in the bodywork.in 8 places to define
the outer edges of the circle I needed to make in the panel.
The panels were then removed and placed on the workbench with the vinyl and
foam still taped up out of the way. I discovered that a quart sized can of
Rustoleum paint is exactly the same diameter as the hole in the body, so I
used the can to mark a circle. It was just a matter of using the razor knife
to cut the circle out of the board.
I then re-glued the vinyl and foam back onto the panel. After the glue had
dried about 20 minutes, I cut the foam out from the inside to the size of
the hole and used scissors to cut the vinyl, leaving about 1/4" of material
in the hole ( a trick I learned from a co-worker, an old stereo installer.
After that, it was only a matter of marking and drilling the speaker
mounting holes in the panel, then re-drilling the holes into the bodywork
after the panels went back on.
No hacked up vinyl or broken panel. No slits or cuts where they shouldn't
be. Damn they look nice! AND we got tunes!
Paul Bauman
Westminster, CA
67 1600
http://www.PictureTrail.com/bauman311
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