Date:         Wed, 6 Aug 2003 15:02:59 +1000
Reply-To:     Stephen Overmyer <s.overmyer@UWS.EDU.AU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Overmyer <s.overmyer@UWS.EDU.AU>
Subject:      Re: Stereo time...  front speaker question
In-Reply-To:  <200308060400.h7640RSF014786@cooper.uws.edu.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Steve,

My speaker set up is not quite the same as yours however
what I did to alleviate a dilemma similar to you may still
be of some interest (?)

All Transporters sold in Australia up untill the T4 was
introduced came sans a radio/stereo unless specifically
optioned.This was done partly at least to circumvent
higher import duties on so-called luxury vehicles.
Bringing in a more basic van was cheaper, then things
like A/C and stereos were fitted locally.
Generally most of us here were happy with that because we
got to choose the level of stereo equipment we wanted
without having to first rip out something considered below par.

Anyway after purchasing my van back in '92 I arranged with
a car stereo place to fit the stereo,speakers & ariel of my
choice.
They did a good job AFAIK and off I went with music a-blaring.
Later I fitted some rear speakers myself under the rear seat
and things were even better/louder ;)

Some time later,maybe a couple of years,I noticed that occasionally
in heavy rain,there would be a drop of water dripping out the
bottom in the interior door trim into the foot well.
Water leaks tend to p*ss me off somewhat so I went investigating...

Turns out the installers had cut thru the plastic moisture shield
(bastards!) in the lower door hole where my speakers are installed.
That is,in the door hole that is lower /forward of your speaker position.
BTW,I had never noticed any increased wind noise or wind leakage
into the van because of this...just the occasional water leak,although
the speakers had not been damaged.

I happened to have quite a few plastic 1 litre (approx 1 qt) ice-cream
containers lying around (good for mixing paint,cleaning brushes etc)
so I removed the front speakers,and positioned a plastic container
into the door cavities thru the cut plastic membrane.
The edges of the cut plastic were folded over into the container and
fixed in place all round with duct tape.

The speaker wires were passed thru into the container via a
small hole fitted with a rubber grommet and a small drain hole
was included in the bottom just in case any water still found it's
way in to the speaker enclosure.

The speakers now had a nice sealed water proof environment in which
to live and any water that got into the door cavity simply dripped onto
and around the plastic box and out the proper drain holes at the bottom
of the doors.No water has entered the van thru the doors ever again.

Anyway,I mention this only as something to consider if your new
speakers ultimately won't fit into the space provided with the plastic
membrane in tact...The different speaker location also may negate
this possibility too...

Cheers,
Steve O
Blue Mountains NSW Australia

'92 Transporter WBX Kombi
'00 Transporter Double Cab
'03 Transporter Double Cab (work truck)


At 11:53 PM 5/08/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>From:    Steve Delanty <laurasdog@WEIRDSTUFFWEMAKE.COM>
>Subject: Stereo time...  front speaker question
>
>Well, I couldn't stand it anymore and finally broke down
>and bought some stereo bits for the bus.
>
>Installing the CD player was pretty easy. DIN mount
>is cool...
>
>Installing the rear speakers wasn't too bad. I removed the
>upper rear cabinet (where the AC used to be) and opened
>up the stock speaker holes to take 5-1/4" speakers and
>also cut some particle board pieces and boxed up an
>area on each side so the speakers have a fixed rear volume
>to work into and also to keep junk that's stored up there out
>of the back of the speakers.
>
>The amp for the rear speakers was easy, it lives under the
>back seat where my 2nd battery is. (Everything is wired up
>to the house battery, not the main battery)
>
>Now I'm ready to do the front speakers....
>I picked up some Eclipse 5-1/4" speakers that have a relatively
>thin grill cover and it looks like they'll clear the Ford window
>cranks nicely, and probably even have enough room to clear the
>corner of the dash when the door is closed. (it's very close)
>
>I got the door panel off, and there's plenty of room for the
>speakers without cutting any metal. Cool...
>
>So, my question now is what to do about the plastic
>moisture shield that's glued to the door. It has a small
>"pocket" for the stock speaker to nestle into, and although
>the new speaker will also fit into the pocket, I'm concerned
>because it gives almost no working volume on the back side
>of the speaker, and I'm also concerned that the plastic pouch
>may buzz and rattle when the volume is cranked up...
>
>A photo of the door innards and the plastic speaker pocket
>are here:
><http://www.weirdstuffwemake.com/automotive/vanagon/pics/doorguts.jpg>
>
>If I just cut the plastic out, am I inviting a lot of wind leakage
>into the van and/or possibly inviting water damage to the
>speakers and door panels?
>
>Does anyone have any experience or suggestions they'd like
>to share before I do something stupid?
>
>Thanks,
>Steve
>EJ22 -> '86 Westy "Escape Pod"