1st Gen Custom Speaker Install (Front Doors)

Not a lot of info on installing speakers in first gens so I thought I would post some pics for others that may be looking for some ideas on how to do this.

My goal with the install was to maintain a stock appearance. For orientation, these pictures are taken doing the work to the driver's side door panel.

Remove the door panels and the stock speakers and the plastic mounting pieces. (Depending on what you are planning to install, you may want to hang on to the connector to use with your new speakers.)

The inside of the door panel needed to be modified to allow round speakers to fit behind the grille.




Here I've done some initial trimming and marked the rest of the material to be removed. I used a Dremmel tool with a cut-off blade and a sharp chisel to remove the excess plastic.



In this picture the trimming is complete and the 6.5" round speaker fits.
I glue 1/4" closed cell foam strips to the edge of the speaker flange as spacers to prevent the cone from contacting the door panel as it moves outward. I also glued some small pieces of foam in to cover the parts of the stock grille that are not in front of the speaker.





Using 3/4" MDF, I made a set of mounting rings that serve to allow mounting the speaker to the door itself and to position it right behind the stock grille. Some trimming will happen later to allow the the mounting piece to conform to the elevation changes of the inner door face.





Need to make marks on the pieces while they are in position to maintain correct position while gluing up.


I needed to trim a little of the inner door skin off to allow the speaker frame to clear the door skin without touching. (passenger side door pictured)




I did not want to use the stock tweeter grill as it is too small and restrictive. Removal is pretty easy after removing the stock tweeter.




I will need to glue the new tweeter in place due to what I am installing and the nature of the door panel. You may be able to do something different.



I will add to this thread as I complete the install. Going to be a few days for this glue to completely set up.

 

I like this good write up so far looking to do something similar in my truck when the funds are there

 

sub'd!

 

Thread revival!! Do you have pics of your completed install? What did you use to trim the inner door skin? I'm going to be installing 6.5" components in my '03 in the next few days. I want to be as prepared as possible so I don't have to have my doors apart for longer than necessary. I'm willing to take the time to do a proper install, just want it to go smooth.

 

A Google search for "1st gen Tacoma speaker install" led me straight to this thread, which is a great write up! But my first gen (1997) doesn't look like the one pictured, so I thought I'd post a few pics for others to reference.

This install was VERY easy with NO fabrication. Inside my door panel looks like pic 1 (round, not oval).

The old speaker (with 22 years of Arizona dust) is shown in pic 2. And with it removed in pic 3.

Unfortunately, the stock mount is too shallow for a good quality speaker, so an adapter is required (Metra 82-8140). I used a 5-1/4" speaker in front but the adapter claims to support 6-1/2" as well. See pic 4.

And just for reference, pics 5 and 6 show the rear speaker install. These are 6-1/2" from JL Audio and they came with an adapter ring. After pulling the factory rear speakers out, clip two small pins off so the adapter will fit flush. Snap most of the tabs off teh adapter but leave the pentagram-shaped ones and use a file/drill/dremel to elongate the hole. The rest is easy.

 

I have this same round speaker cavity in my 1998. Were you happy with the end result? How was the sound before and after?