WANTED 1974 Imperial speakers
- Thread starter Russo1157
- Start date
- Status
CBODY67
Old Man with a Hat
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2011
- Messages
- 9,844
- Reaction score
- 6,695
I believe the rear speakers will be normal 6x9s. The fronts might be 4"? Wh Might be 3.5" speakers, though. What's wrong with the existing speakers? Just curious.
In buying speakers, you don't need the mongo large magnet versions as those larger magnets are for mega-output amps . . . which the factory Chrysler systems didn't have. So, smaller magnet sizes are fine. The factory speakers were some really good speakers, frequency response wise. Much broader response than GM and Ford had, by a good bit, which helped the radios sound really good back then. They were not "dual cone", either, just normal speakers.
If the paper cones have deteriorated, you might be able to find a shop to re-cone them, which is really quite easy to do. Just need the cones for the size and shape of speakers in the car.
CBODY67
In buying speakers, you don't need the mongo large magnet versions as those larger magnets are for mega-output amps . . . which the factory Chrysler systems didn't have. So, smaller magnet sizes are fine. The factory speakers were some really good speakers, frequency response wise. Much broader response than GM and Ford had, by a good bit, which helped the radios sound really good back then. They were not "dual cone", either, just normal speakers.
If the paper cones have deteriorated, you might be able to find a shop to re-cone them, which is really quite easy to do. Just need the cones for the size and shape of speakers in the car.
CBODY67
Last edited:
Russo1157
New Member
To be quite honest, the rear speakers got soaked and no longer respond. The left front speaker is all crackling, and the right front speaker is the only one that plays music, but that's starting to crackle also. I'm not worried about keeping it original. I don't plan on ever giving this car up. It's all I have left of my grandfather. I am a little worried about installing speakers though. Do you have any experience on installing them?
Speakers are rated at 8 ohms. Can be found on ebay. From what you described it would be wise to verify all radio speaker channels work by testing w/ a known good speaker. If the radio is fried you can get a reasonable modern digital replacement for around 30.00 to 50.00 dollars. They will run on the 4 ohm speakers that are offered for current aftermarket radios. I believe the front speakers are 4" dia.
CBODY67
Old Man with a Hat
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2011
- Messages
- 9,844
- Reaction score
- 6,695
Yes, I've done speaker replacements. I've put 4ohm speakers to replace GM 10ohm speakers with no problems, just better sound. Many car speakers were rated at 8ohm resistance, but about all you can now find are 4ohm speakers in the aftermarket. I've similarly had no issues with using 4ohm speakers to replace factory 8ohm speakers. No fried radios or anything negative. IF anything, the slightly lower resistance can end up with a very minor increase in the actual power output from the amp. Can't really tell the difference, other than generally better sound from the aftermarket speakers, especially the non-Chrysler factory speakers! Those are my experiences over many years of doing this on my cars. Any NOS speaker you might find will have paper cones as old as the car, so that can be an ultimate durability issue as the speakers age after installation. By the same token, a rolled-foam outer edge speaker cone can deteriorate worse, so getting a more basic-style speaker will work just fine, from my speculations. Using some black "grille cloth", as the factory speakers used, can help, too. Looks like what my mother used to buy as "pellon" at the fabric stores.
Just my own experiences. I figured the "ohms" would be more critical, but in real world environments, not quite as critical as I might have suspected. Plus, there were millions of GM vehicles which got upgraded to Jensen Dual Cone rear speakers in the '70s and I heard of no issues with going from the OEM 10ohm speakers to 8ohm Jensen speakers. Going to 4ohm speakers caused me no issues, either.
Thanks for keeping the car and memories alive!
CBODYT67
Just my own experiences. I figured the "ohms" would be more critical, but in real world environments, not quite as critical as I might have suspected. Plus, there were millions of GM vehicles which got upgraded to Jensen Dual Cone rear speakers in the '70s and I heard of no issues with going from the OEM 10ohm speakers to 8ohm Jensen speakers. Going to 4ohm speakers caused me no issues, either.
Thanks for keeping the car and memories alive!
CBODYT67
Confusing as it may be, when used with speakers, ohm rating is the impedance of the speaker, rather than resistance. Basically it's AC rather than DC.
Some reading on the subject: Electrical impedance - Wikipedia
As it applies to speakers: Speaker Impedance Explained - Ohms
Will a 4 ohm speaker work work with a car radio rated for use with 8 ohm speakers? ... Well.. Yes, probably, but it takes more power to drive the 4 ohm speaker. You won't have the "loudness" that you had before and it can hurt the amplifier. Obviously, the 10 to 8 ohm difference is less, and the GM radios (and your ears) probably didn't know the difference. Best bet is to just match the impedance correctly in the first place.
Here's one supplier of 8 ohm OE type speakers. They have the 3 1/2" front speakers that Mopar used on the outside of their 3 speaker dash along with the 4x10 and 6x9 speakers. I have no idea what a '74 Imperial used... Maybe someone else can comment on that. Best to remove and measure.
Classic Car Speakers
That's great that you've given the Imperial a new lease on life!
If you decide the original radio is bad, or you want to upgrade, I suggest having http://garytayman.com/stereo.htm do an upgrade to a modern system using the original radio. It's a little pricey compared to a cheap aftermarket radio, but not so much once you start comparing apples to apples. I have these conversions in both my cars and the sound is fantastic. Great guy to deal with too.
CBODY67
Old Man with a Hat
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2011
- Messages
- 9,844
- Reaction score
- 6,695
Thanks for that link to the OEM-style speakers.
I recalled the impedance "ohms" situation after I did that post early this morning.
I believe that the main thing is that all speakers have the same impedance, not mis-matched with some being one level and others being another level.
One thing the GM radios in the '80s (when they started to upgrade their amps and such) was being turned on with no "load" on the outputs. That'd blow them almost immediately.
The ONE question I might have is why the OEMs used 8 or 10 ohm impedance circuits and the aftermarket radio/speaker manufacturers all went for 4 ohm situations?
CBODY67
I recalled the impedance "ohms" situation after I did that post early this morning.
I believe that the main thing is that all speakers have the same impedance, not mis-matched with some being one level and others being another level.
One thing the GM radios in the '80s (when they started to upgrade their amps and such) was being turned on with no "load" on the outputs. That'd blow them almost immediately.
The ONE question I might have is why the OEMs used 8 or 10 ohm impedance circuits and the aftermarket radio/speaker manufacturers all went for 4 ohm situations?
CBODY67
Have several different aftermarket radios in different cars, did research on each brand. The common thread was all required 4 ohm speakers. Have attached a photo of my cheapy 25.00 radio. With speakers all in at 125.00 and sounds fantastic. Bang for the buck the way to go on a budget. Now to answer your Question. advances in radio amp technology allow for the use of low ohm resistance speakers in todays radios. Don't try on vintage radios it will fry them.
Last edited:
- Status
Similar threads
