Setup for single cab 87 ranger

[Terry]

I have a head unit with blue tooth and a usb in front for a thumb drive. I have a round as well as some 6 x 9 Alpines. I have replaced the dash speakers in the dash with some pioneer 4" speakers. I am an old metal head so I am not out to bump down the road like a kid. I want good quality sound. My plan is to run a sealed 8" powered sub. I like the idea of under the seat but I put newer model buckets in it and it does not look like enough room. I will build some door panels and install one of my other set of speakers. I also think I will install some base blockers for the dash speakers. Does this setup sound like it will work for me?

 

[franklin2]

Roll the window up and down before cutting holes in the doors. You would be surprised how little room there is in the door when you leave room for the window to roll up and down. Where are you going to put the sub? behind the seats?

 

[Terry]

Can I hit the junkyard for later doors for my truck that are power? I think I have to go behind the seats

 

[franklin2]

The handle is not the problem. It's the large mechanism that is inside the door that lifts the glass. You can take the door panel off, and then carefully peek inside as you raise the window up and down to see how much and where any room is for a speaker. They used to make shallow door speakers with rain guards for this purpose. Water does get down inside the door.

 

[Terry]

The handle is not the problem. It's the large mechanism that is inside the door that lifts the glass. You can take the door panel off, and then carefully peek inside as you raise the window up and down to see how much and where any room is for a speaker. They used to make shallow door speakers with rain guards for this purpose. Water does get down inside the door.

I have had the door panels off for a long time. I have been building this truck for a few years. I will have to take some speakers and see how I can mount them. I want to point them up on an angle a bit. I am not really a fan of the 200 dollar kick panels.

 

[gaz]

@Terry ,
I like simplicity when it comes to car audio. In my 87 regular cab Ranger I used a quality head unit, a pair of separates (mids in the doors, tweets in the dash) through passive crossovers with a clean 50wrms 2 channel amp and a single 10" sub powered by 200wrms.

The 5¼"s in the doors are in speaker risers (came with the driver's) to permit their depth, unobstructed, I suspended and aimed the tweeters as desired. The sub was in a custom vented 1.7³ft enclosure behind the seat. To date, the best sounding system I have ever put together.

It is plenty loud but set up for zero distortion at full volume; talking over the sound, at full volume is reasonable ..)

 

[Terry]

So how did you mount your door speakers?

 

[Shran]

Should have room for small speakers in the doors. 2nd gen trucks had door speakers - look there for ideas on where to mount them.

I've got 6x9's in tiny boxes behind my seats and am not real happy with how they sound. I need to get some tweeters or something. Vocals are really muffled and there's not much bass, even after playing with my equalizer settings it just sounds like the mid range noise is overtaking everything else. Not much room for a sub (don't really care to have one anyway...)

Your seats will affect things greatly, I have Explorer 60/40 seats in my truck and can't lean the seat back all the way. I can tolerate it but if I was any taller or fatter it would be a problem.

 

[BroncLander]

I always thought a good place to mount a sub would be sideways in a custom made centre console. This way it's got enough room to exist and doesn't displace anything at all, and creates an armrest and possibly a cupholder

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've had 2 speakers in each door of my '90 for YEARS, works great. I had a home made sub box mounted to the rear cab wall with amp mounted to the back of the bench seat for a few years but there was like negative room for anything, sound was good but the 4 door speakers isn't far behind... Judging by me only ordering two sets of speakers on Amazon I put 6.5" speakers in the back of the doors on the '90, I had cheap ovals in there for a few years but the window hit the magnets about 2" before the windows were all the way down which was REALLY annoying, the round ones clear the window... I ended up with Kenwood speakers. The area in the front of the door is a little lower at least in second gen (in the rear the speakers are in the vents in the rear... I don't have any pics) so they matter less but I'm pretty sure they are 6.5" round as well...

 

[gaz]

@Terry ,
If you are asking me how I mounted the 5¼'s in the doors:
"The 5¼"s in the doors are MOUNTED in 1½" TALL/thick speaker risers (they came with the speakers from the manufacturer) to permit their depth, unobstructed". Speaker risers are available from stereo install shops or from Crutchfield. They are very reasonable in price. They can also be DIY fabricated from a number of materials: wood, plastic or metal.

Any speaker with a decent magnet will not fit in a 1st gen door without hitting the glass, unless some type of riser/spacer to mount it further inward.

 

[Terry]

I got my new head installed. Now I am wanting to install the speakers. Of course in ,y head I have gone thru doing component speakers. I am still thinking about installing a universal power window kit just to be sure I have room. I have seen the spacers as well as the tapered ones. The door panel material I was looking at yesterday is only 1/8 thick. I am thinking 1/4 material will support speakers well.

 

[Terry]

Did you have a standard cab? That is what I have.

 

[Terry]

I messed around Saturday with the truck. I took the plastic box with the I assume a 5" speaker out. As for as I can tell they do not come apart. I took what was left of the speaker out of it buy cutting it out. I took a jig saw and air grinder and opened up the hole to take a 6" alpine. It sounds less like shit. I also went in my audio settings, changed the setting of the front speakers to teeter and faded it more to the rear of the truck. I think I have decided to buy component speakers and put them into my doors and buy a powered sub for behind the seat. What I am not understanding is they advertise a tweeter and a woofer? I am thinking that I want a tweeter and a mid ranger in the door and the sub for that?

 

[Terry]

I understand that. What they describe on websites that sell speakers are a tweeter and a woofer?