Well, I got them to fit, and it was such a simple solution!!!

So, to refresh, I have a 99 CrewCab and wanted 6x9's in the rear instead of the factory 6x8 size. My solution? An adapter. Sort of...

You may be familiar with the 'snap-together' exercise flooring for homes. I had a few extras of those laying around, and it hit me - they're perfect!!

I removed the factory 6x8's and measured for depth - there's about 5" of available space behind the mounting surface for the speaker!!! so I knew I was fine there, but the basket of the bigger speaker was hitting the sides of the opening, and i did not want to do any cutting... so I was trying to think of materials that would add some 'height' to the 6x9s to move the 'too big' portion of the speaker out beyond the bottleneck area. Then, I wanted to seal it up good... maybe a silicone bead on some MDF... and then I saw the pad....

All it took was the template from the box of the speakers (there's a perforated ring cut in to the box), a sacrificial pad, a razor knife, and some time.

It works perfectly!!! I cut out my 'foam ring' (it's more a rubber ring actually), made sure it match up with the mounting surface of the new speaker, and then used it as a template to drill 4 new holes! Then it all just screwed down (after a tiny bit of wiring), easy as pie!!

I'll get some pics up later for y'all; my camera died while at the zoo today (zoo trip interrupted the speaker project) but this was so stinkin' easy it's just ludicrous!!!

You can pick up a pack of these pads from Sam's Club for about $20 (for 8-10 pads) - adapters from an aftermarket company cost that or more, and literally would not be as flexible in their usage!!

If you're near me in Colorado and want to do this, I've got enough material left to do a couple more sets - you bring burgers, we'll grill, and do some moddin'!!!

 

Excellent Idea Brendan. I'd rep ya but the timeout police have me. What did you use to mount the speakers? Self tapping screws or did the factory holes line up?

 

Factory holes didn't line up, so I put the 'adapter on the back of the speaker, did the wiring, then simply held it in place and drilled, using the speaker pressed in place as my guide. The supplied screws were then used - no self tappers needed, though you could use them and skip the drilling process. I did one hole at a time, and after the first screw was in, I did the opposing corner. Then the 2 left were done. I just did the 2nd speaker and it took about 30 min TOTAL; from cutting out the 'adapter, to removing the panel & OEM speaker, the install and all buttoned up. It's really a pretty quick job. 1.5 hrs total from scratch.

 

Good deal, What kind of speaker did you install?

 

Some "OK" Pioneers - rated for 300W peak, 100W RMS. I figured since most of the music would get filtered by the rear seat, I was more concerned with the bass/mid-bass performance. They were only $100, and the others I really liked better were $180 Infinity's - but their big advantage was the mids/highs, which I won't get, so I went cheap.

 

As long as your happy with the sound, that's all that matters. When i was a kid I bought some 6x9's from the flea market rated at a bazillion watts added a power boost and went crusin with some "rattlen" tunes. Man how have times changed!!

 

yeah, i know what you mean - I've got 3 vehicles now: Nyx (my PSD), a 96 Passat, and a 94 Subaru legacy wagon - 12yrs ago I had more in to the stereo of my only car than the 3 of these combined...

I need to get the amp installed, but that's for tomorrow or Monday...maybe... i'm feeling friggin' tired, so maybe i'll be mountainbiking instead!

 

I put some sony 6x9 in speakers in the back of mine and they went right in. They were tight, but I didn't have to do any trimming. I guess the pioneers are a little bigger.

 

Why didn't you just go with the Pioneer 6x8's? I swapped a set of those into my crew cab and a friends super cab a few weeks ago. They sound great to me. I got them at Wal-Mart for about $55 a set.

 

I wanted 6x9's for the higher power handling (for when my amp goes in) and better bass response. There are also probably 10 times the choices with 6x9's.

 

Great job, Brendan. Rep sent.

 

I won't be changing my Infinity 6X8's any time soon, but it's good to know there are options out their - LOTS more choices of 6X9's than 6X8's. Reps sent.

 

Thanx for the tip, opens up a lot more choices for speakers....reps sent.

 

Well, it turns out that I left my camera with my g/f... but she has the charger too, so hopefully she'll get it charged up for me, and then I'll be able to post some pics! I know my install isn't showcar worthy, but I don't care, it friggin' works and is so simple too! Thanks for all the reps guys!! I love me some green chiclets!!

 

Just for reference, so you know what I used, here is a link to what looks just exactly like what I had laying around.

I will say that due to the tweeter portion of the speakers, the trim panel is pushed out ever so slightly. It doesn't affect the sound at all or interfere with the rear seat belts at all either, and everything snaps back in place so I didn't worry about it.

I did consider trying to fit a set of 8" subs on either side, and may still play around with the idea, not that I know there's 5" of available depth.