Best dash speaker for b body

The AM radio is out for a rebuild and while I have the under dash apart to fix a laundry list of things, I figure changing the speaker is a now or never thing. the radio never played in this car, I found a blown fuse and it came on enough to think the caps are blown, then stopped doing even that. Not sure if this speaker is any good or not.

I’ll be adding an FM convertor I picked up off eBay. I want clear sound and have no interest in a loud stereo, thumping, etc. I found these two, I’m intrigued by the first one because it seems to offer an updated sound.

anybody use this one?

https://www.vintagecarradio.com/spe...profile-speaker-dual-voice-coil-speaker/

This one seems more like a stock replacement

https://www.smelectrotech.com/produ...sbp=false&q=false&category_id=10

While both will work the Dual Voice Coil speaker is overkill in your application as its made to handle some power and produce hi fidelity (1970s term!) sound. Your system is neither powerful or hi fi- no insult intended. I would choose based on quality and being name brands are not what they used to be- some are not familiar- you'll have to read reviews and research those two speakers you have posted.

i used one like your first one listed on a build years ago that had a woofer and a small tweeter in it also, it work good.

[align:center][/align]I found some places showing the dual coil doesn’t work with oem 8-10 ohms. I called the place saying it does and they told me it does not.

You can shop around and find them in 4 ohms speakers like them, or you use to be able to buy them

there used to be a place called "crutchfeild" that was pretty good at sound systems, their techs knew their stuff, and were very friendly to work with.
i don't know if that place is still around or not.

Very much alive and well.
https://www.crutchfield.com/

I installed the dual coil speaker last year in an E-body dash. Thankfully I had the dash out of the car.
There was not enough clearance o the backside to drop the speaker in. I had to do some mods to the speaker chassis and mounting hardware to get it to fit without having to cut into the dash frame (others have).

My original radio was gone so I replaced it with one from classic car stereo that looks OEM, but is modern internally.
That took car of the ohm issue.

https://www.classiccarstereos.com/1970-71-mopar-e-body-radio-chrome-buttons.html

There was a member here that made (and sold here) a dual speaker mount that is a replacement for the stock oval.
Basically an aluminum plate and two 3" round element holes.Once speakers were fitted they could be wired for either mono or stereo (with a modified stock radio) for stereo.

Most 60/70 Mopars used a a 4x10" oval speaker up front...
EZ to make a drop-in replacement by taking (2) 3.5" speakers and mounting them on a an adapter plate made out of thin aluminum like a cookie sheet. By making template and cutting round holes for mounting the speakers and creating extended end ears for mounting to studs under the dash. Next is how to connect up depending upon what head unit U have..
1. If using an mono AM Mopar OE head unit, the (2) speakers should be wired in series for an 8 Ohm load(3.2 Ohms + 3.2 Ohms).
2. If using an aftermarket stereo head unit the (2) speakers should be wired (1) to the left front output(3.2 Ohms) and (1) to the right front output(3.2 Ohms).

Just my $0.02...

Sounds like I should stick with a stocker. I had an am with a convertor setup in a 69 rr that did well enough for what I want. I know that one wasn’t upgraded internally. Just wanted to get the best I could for a fresh start on this car. I want this summer to be the last time crawling under the dash.

thank you sir !
i bookmarked that for future use.

Absolutely a great place and a great staff still alive and well !!

Just did this last summer. I couldn't tell you who I bought the bracket from. It was someone on here. I put JL speakers in with a retro radio. 5x7 in the back, sounds better than the fuel pump.

I have one that he made for my 69 B-body if someone wants it.

I went with the sm electotech one. Mine ended up being a low ohm one that blew the transistor.

There are places that can rebuild your orig. speaker.

what ohm speaker were the originals, and what happens to the radio if one just sticks in "any old speaker" that fits, of a different ohm impedance ? [i think that's the correct term to use]

I "think" the originals pre 1974 factory single speakers where 4 ohms, maybe 8 ohms.
As far as ohm rating the smaller, lower, the numbers the less resistance. I'm not sure about how that affects the wattage needed to drive them
I'm wondering if the stock AM and AM/FM/ and AM/FM tape player radios had different wattage output for multiple stock speakers

In the 50/60/70s most automotive OE speakers were 8 Ohm...
In the 80/90s, as the OE head units increased in power by adding more channels and higher power (transistor-based) output stages, the speaker impedance spec dropped to 4 Ohms..
Today most replacement automotive speakers are 4 Ohms, some like the Infinity reference are 2.8 Ohms.
My experience for most installs in our vintage Mopars, the biggest risk is putting a 4 Ohm speaker on an older OE head unit that was designed for 8 Ohms.
Note that a 4 Ohm speaker requires 2X the current of an 8 Ohm speaker, and this additional current requirement frequently will burn out the amplifier output stage in an older Mopar vintage head unit.
Final note, later aftermarket head units have higher current capability and also typically will have more built-in protection circuits for shorts and/or low ohm speaker loads.

Just my $0.02...

Back in the pre-74 days, all of the OE head units had either a mono 4Wx1 output stage or a stereo 4Wx2 output stage, all into 8 Ohms..
As the aftermarket stereo biz grew then next higher powered head units having 10W per channel output having what was called a bridged output stage which was actually dual amplifier stages in a push-pull type circuit...
However the bridged output stage did not use a common chassis ground circuit, all speaker output leads (+ & -) were above ground..


Just my $0.02...

Got my radio back from Devin Duke and I went with the SM Electrotech speaker. That was where he recommended to look and it worked out awesome. It’s as clear as any new car radio, exactly what I wanted. I’ll put my fm convertor box on after the local concours show I’m in and then I should be golden. Thanks to all who replied.