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Posted by: FRUNKenstein Sep 23 2021, 12:15 PM

When I bought my bahia red '73 914 in July, it did not come with a sound system. No head unit. No cutout in the dash to mount a head unit. No speakers in the speaker boxes in the driver & passenger footwells. No nuthin'. It does have some sort of alarm system wired up under there and I have one remote for the alarm system (a CompuSTAR CM1300 system), but the prior owner didn't know anything about it, so I assume it was installed by the prior-prior owner in 2016 or earlier. For the time being I will just ignore the alarm system until I decide to keep it or remove it.

But, back to the lack of stereo system. The factory speaker boxes in the footwells make it easy to mount speakers. But, I didn't want to cut a hole in the dash. With the other cars in my hooptie fleet, the headunit is basically useless - I just hook my iphone up via Bluetooth and control everything from the phone while I stream music or a radio station via an app. Upon searching the interwebs, I discover that a lot of classic car people just buy a Bluetooth unit with an amp built in, but without a faceplate. You wire it in under the dash and it stays hidden.

This is the one I bought off Amazon for $22.99:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XG33WPN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1









I did have to assemble it, which was a little annoying. It wasn't bad and took only a few minutes. But, the screws and spacers were tiny for my gorilla meathooks to manipulate.

I originally bought a set of 5x7 speakers to mount in the footwell boxes, but they were too large. So, I bought a set of 3-way Pioneer 4x6 speakers from Best Buy for $90:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/pioneer-4-x-6-3-way--210-w-max-power-impp-cone-11mm-tweeter-and-1-5-8-midrange-coaxial-speakers-pair-blue/6454571.p?skuId=6454571









I mounted the speakers in the factory footwell boxes. The screw size for the speaker mounting thread inserts are M4-0.7. I bought some 10 mm and 14 mm lengths. I also used some "mending plates" to help hold the speakers in place since the footwell boxes are an odd size.





The install was pretty simple, other than the time spent on my back with my head stuffed in the footwells (brings back memories of replacing the ignition switch in multiple 996s). I connected the power to the cigarette lighter since it is switched power, plus it has a 16 amp fuse on that circuit, so the stereo shouldn't overload it. The Bluetooth/amp module is zip-tied to a dash support bracket out of sight, directly under the steering wheel. Based on advice in other threads here on 914world.com, I filled the speaker boxes with polyfill to help with the sound (my wife will never notice the missing sofa pillow).

The sound is about what you'd expect from a system that cost $113. It would horrify an audiophile. That being said, it gets plenty loud - it has a volume control knob that I could use by reaching under the dash, but it is easier to just set it on high and use my phone to adjust volume. It starts up and connects to my phone automatically. The start-up tone is just a short "beep" - there are some units like this that apparently have a really obnoxious start up announcement. All in all, I'm pleased with the results.

Posted by: mepstein Sep 23 2021, 12:39 PM

Thanks for the info

Posted by: iankarr Sep 23 2021, 01:48 PM

Great solution. thanks!

Posted by: FRUNKenstein Sep 23 2021, 02:13 PM

QUOTE(mepstein @ Sep 23 2021, 01:39 PM)

Thanks for the info

QUOTE(iankarr @ Sep 23 2021, 02:48 PM)

Posted by: TargaToy Sep 23 2021, 02:33 PM

I dig stuff like this. Thanks for the info! I've already forwarded it to a friend who is looking for BT options in one of his older cars.

Posted by: TargaToy Sep 23 2021, 02:34 PM

I dig stuff like this. Thanks for the info! I've already forwarded it to a friend who is looking for BT options in one of his older cars.

Posted by: DC_neun_vierzehn Sep 23 2021, 04:55 PM

Nice solution for those who have the original radio and want to keep it in the dash for optics, but can install this discretely under the dash for streaming functionality.

I actually have a 6 pin Bluetooth adapter in the back of my Blaupunkt Frankfurt, but when I stream from my iPhone to the Bluetooth adapter I can still hear the radio bleeding through in the background in quite spots of songs. So it's a flawed Bluetooth capability.

Removing my Bluetooth adapter and installing this instead should resolve that issue. Obviously, I would lose the functionality of the local radio, but there are apps for that : )

Posted by: DC_neun_vierzehn Sep 23 2021, 04:57 PM

P.S. lol at "gorilla meathooks"

Posted by: Sprout Sep 23 2021, 06:57 PM

Great information, and such a sweet ride! Did the depth of those Pioneers interfere with the heater tubes? I've seen people install speakers that crushed the tubes.

Posted by: FRUNKenstein Sep 23 2021, 08:52 PM

QUOTE(Sprout @ Sep 23 2021, 07:57 PM)

Great information, and such a sweet ride! Did the depth of those Pioneers interfere with the heater tubes? I've seen people install speakers that crushed the tubes.

Posted by: second wind Sep 23 2021, 10:03 PM

Thank you for your post. So if the Pioneer speakers are plug and play with no "muscle" modifications is it a no brainer to just do that and enjoy new speakers vs. 50 year old speakers? Thank you for any and all replies.
gg

Posted by: Chris914n6 Sep 23 2021, 11:18 PM

The problem with BT, and the reason I use cable, is because phone calls become a one way conversation.

Posted by: mgp4591 Sep 24 2021, 12:15 AM

I'd love to see a version of this that has RCA outputs on the back to feed some good audiophile gear. I've had a few cars that I loved to cruise with the sunroof and windows open at 3am on desolate highways and crank the stereo until I can't hear the engine, road and wind noise...nothing except (insert favorite band/album here). That's what I want for my car. I can always turn it down to listen to the engine and exhaust whenever I want to. I just don't want those to be the only options I have.

Posted by: Shivers Sep 24 2021, 07:36 AM

That is cool

Posted by: Sprout Sep 24 2021, 01:05 PM

QUOTE(FRUNKenstein @ Sep 23 2021, 09:52 PM)

QUOTE(Sprout @ Sep 23 2021, 07:57 PM)

Great information, and such a sweet ride! Did the depth of those Pioneers interfere with the heater tubes? I've seen people install speakers that crushed the tubes.

After reading the other threads on here, I was prepared for the speakers to be too deep and crush the heater tubes somewhat. But it did not seem to be an issue - I didn’t have to use force to get the speaker boxes back in place.

And thanks for the compliment on the car! I give all credit to the prior owner. I just happened to be lucky enough to have the chance to buy it this summer. The prior owner was the friend of a friend. He is a great guy and really spent the time, money and effort on the car to make it truly special.

Posted by: ddire333 Sep 24 2021, 01:50 PM

thanks will be looking into doing this

Posted by: Chris914n6 Sep 24 2021, 01:59 PM

QUOTE(mgp4591 @ Sep 23 2021, 11:15 PM)

Posted by: jim_hoyland Sep 24 2021, 05:31 PM

Great hearing new ideas on sound sys. I’ve been using my I phone too. And, Great Looking 914 !

Posted by: FRUNKenstein Sep 25 2021, 05:17 AM

QUOTE(jim_hoyland @ Sep 24 2021, 06:31 PM)

Great hearing new ideas on sound sys. I’ve been using my I phone too. And, Great Looking 914 !

Posted by: 56kabrio Sep 25 2021, 06:36 AM

Gorillas are primarily vegetarians. Perhaps "gorilla salad tongs"???

Mack

Posted by: Arno914 Sep 27 2021, 07:57 AM

Thank you for this info!

Would it be possible, to connect the old stock radio to the "Input" and still be able to use bluetooth with this amp?
I want to keep my stock 70´s Becker but need a bit more power, since the original setup is only good enough to listen to the news while parking.

I also have (30 year old) pioneer speakers in 4x6". Recently bought a pair of 5x7" Alpine´s that wont fit. Mounting holes would line up (110mmx110mm) but the speaker frame is too wide about 10mm horizontal and vertical. Would have preferred to install the larger ones since they should improve the sound considerably.

Long time ago I had a slim subwoofer-box fitted under the dash just left of the glove box. Basically invisible and added a lot of sound. Probably will go the same way but do not want to install my old amp again for cosmetic reasons.

Here is a comparison between 4x6" and 5x7":

Posted by: 913B Sep 27 2021, 01:37 PM

QUOTE(Arno914 @ Sep 27 2021, 05:57 AM)

Thank you for this info!

Would it be possible, to connect the old stock radio to the "Input" and still be able to use bluetooth with this amp?
I want to keep my stock 70´s Becker but need a bit more power, since the original setup is only good enough to listen to the news while parking.

I also have (30 year old) pioneer speakers in 4x6". Recently bought a pair of 5x7" Alpine´s that wont fit. Mounting holes would line up (110mmx110mm) but the speaker frame is too wide about 10mm horizontal and vertical. Would have preferred to install the larger ones since they should improve the sound considerably.

Long time ago I had a slim subwoofer-box fitted under the dash just left of the glove box. Basically invisible and added a lot of sound. Probably will go the same way but do not want to install my old amp again for cosmetic reasons.

Here is a comparison between 4x6" and 5x7":

Posted by: Arno914 Sep 29 2021, 01:17 AM

Thank you, 913B.

I will check with a local car-hifi specialist this weekend to see what suggestions they might have. They even have their own carpentry to manufacture custom built speaker housings etc.
I will keep you updated.

Arno