Depth space in rear side panels

[dkassulke]

Does anyone know how much room(depth, ht, wt) is inside the rear side panels?? And are the factory speaker(s) behind those panels?? I want to install subs in that area on both sides. Will be using Retrosound receiver 2, 6x9" speakers installed in rear deck panel as well as 6.5" speakers installed in door panels. An amp will go under passenger seat. Thanks for response.

[cbuczesk]

The right should have about a 5.5" speaker and there's none on the left. The right side has the gas vent tank the left has the power antenna. There's not a lot of room back there. There's a box you can buy that will replace the tail light panel and is cut out for 6x9 speakers. That might be a better way to go.

Chuck

[dkassulke]

Chuck,

Do you know about the depth of factory speaker?? I want to fit 6.75" compact subs that are < 3" in ht on both sides to compliment the rest of the system which includes the 6x9" in rear panel. Thanks for response. Is there anyone else who has put speakers or subs in the rear side panels??

[cbuczesk]

From what I remember it was tight with the speakers that I installed. I just had surgery or I'd go down and measure it on my 72 240Z. You might be ok with the depth but the diameter could interfere with the vapor tank and hoses. The holes in the plastic panel are for a smaller speaker and adding holes with the same spacing will be a little tricky. Wish I could be of more help.

Chuck

[dkassulke]

Any info is valuable to me. The mechanic has the Z so I don't have access to investigating myself. Thanks-Deb

[Stanley]

Yeah, I put a $25 5x7 IIRC from pep boys in there couple years ago, made the crummy radio sound better and a little louder, there was space for a similar speaker on the other side. Don't know about a 6x9 though. It's a hassle getting the left side panel back on because of the hatch bracket so I'm not going to look. Seems like maybe room for tweeters higher up and forward where there are some more holes in the panels, very tight though.

[jfa.series1]

Here is the right side of my '71, I'm not sure how it compares to your '76 (had to get it from your profile). You can see it is a pretty busy area, not much room for big speakers - or much of anything else for that matter. Hope this helps.

[Mike W]

So as an alternative to the locations for the subs you are considering, I mounted two 8" powered compact subs from Retrosound on the "wall" behind each of the seats. They are out of the way, sound very good, fit perfectly behind the seat, and nearly invisible. Install was quite simple as well. I've attached a picture of the sub so you can see it's size.

In addition, I also use the Retrosound Model 2 (BT is a great feature BTW) and highly recommend it. I also mounted a very small 4 channel amp from Rockford Fosgate on the upper portion of my glove box. It is model Punch PBR300X4 and is about the size of a small paper back book. It is a 4 channel amp but I only run it as two channel to drive the 6 x 9 Infinities I have installed in the MSA speaker box that replaces the plastic cover over the rear tail lights. I only use the pre-amp outputs of the Retrosound.

I was rather concerned about the amp creating too much heat in the glove box so I also installed a very small 1" muffin fan that is powered from the antenna control of the Retrosound Model 2. The fan draws very little current and the output of the antenna control is more than sufficient to drive the fan. This cools the glove box sufficiently and even in the 100+ weather here in Texas I have never experienced a heat issue with the amp.

It all works and sounds great and was a relatively straight forward install. About the only hassle is that you have to remove the inner part of the glove box to install the amp but I also added a quick disconnect to the amp wiring so removing the glove box is still straight forward.

I'd be happy to post some pictures of my specific install if anyone here is interested.

Mike.

[bpilati]

Interesting side note, my vent tank is black steel.

[jfa.series1]

Interesting side note, my vent tank is black steel.

Yep, a Series 2 update at the factory and a common replacement upgrade for Series 1 cars with a cracked plastic tank. I thoroughly checked my tank for stress or aging cracks before putting it back in.