Back in our July 2012 issue we printed a technical story on how to restore a set of door panels for an A-body--a '69 El Camino to be precise. Not only were the stock door panels worn out, but they were littered with aftermarket speakers. If you have owned a Chevelle or El Camino then you know these were not built with good audio systems. Most only had one center speaker and that just won't cut it in these 5.1 surround sound, touchscreen, iPod days. While the rear areas of the Chevelle/El Camino are not such of an issue, the front area is less than optimum for good speaker placement. Year One has a product that will allow you to easily install a decent size set of speakers in the front without doing any permanent damage to the car. It's a replacement set of kick panels constructed out of ABS plastic that has been redesigned to house a 6.5-inch 80-watt two-way speaker, which is included for only $159.99. The kicks are offered for '64-72 models for A/C and non-A/C-equipped cars. The new panels come in black only, but Year One also offers all the correct A-body dyes so you can match them to your interior. The installation is pretty straightforward but we mapped it all out in the following photos just to give you an idea of how simple it can be to upgrade the tunes in your ride without doing any permanent damage. 1 Here is what we are trying to cure with this story. As you can see, the owner of this El Co decided to install his speakers directly into the door. While this does make the stereo system sound much better than the single mono center speaker these cars came with, it really is an obtrusive and cluttered look--not to mention there is a big hole cut in the door which can be an issue with you guys with the matching number cars that you still want to upgrade. We built and installed new door panels and left the speakers out till we ordered the cure from Year One.1 Here is what we are trying to cure with this story. As you can see, the owner of this E 2 This is what we have been talking about--a new set of kick panels. As you can see these are basically the stock shape, but with a molded area to hold a 6.5-inch speaker. The panels are constructed of pretty stout ABS and only come in black, but that is nothing a little spray dye can't cure. The panels come just like you see them with a set of 80-watt two-way speakers already installed.2 This is what we have been talking about--a new set of kick panels. As you can see these 3 Step one in the installation is to remove the sill plate, which is most likely held on by Phillips screws.3 Step one in the installation is to remove the sill plate, which is most likely held on 4 Now we have to remove the E-brake pedal assembly, which is held on by two nuts on the firewall and one bolt under the dash.4 Now we have to remove the E-brake pedal assembly, which is held on by two nuts on the f 5 If you still have your e-brake cable hooked up then you will need to just lay the assembly to the side. Our subject car is missing the cabling so ours was totally removed and set aside.5 If you still have your e-brake cable hooked up then you will need to just lay the assem 6 Now to get the stock kick panel off pull out on the bottom enough to slip your hand in till you reach the vent assembly area attached to the kick panel.6 Now to get the stock kick panel off pull out on the bottom enough to slip your hand in 7 While it is attached to the kick panel, they like to stick in the hole so use your other hand to slowly get it out.7 While it is attached to the kick panel, they like to stick in the hole so use your othe 8 We would highly recommend grabbing a shop vac to suck out any debris that has made it down the cowl and accumulated at the bottom of the ovate hole where the vent was. Our car was recently painted so all those orifices were cleaned then.8 We would highly recommend grabbing a shop vac to suck out any debris that has made it d 9 The new kick panel will go in much easier since there is no vent assembly to deal with. It's a good idea to hook up the speaker leads now. One thing to note with these kicks--you will lose the actual vent door so air will be coming in when you drive. We may revisit this story and actually try and incorporating the factory vent assembly but for now back to the task at hand.9 The new kick panel will go in much easier since there is no vent assembly to deal with. 10 Once the kick is resting in its new home, go ahead and toss the sill plates on...10 Once the kick is resting in its new home, go ahead and toss the sill plates on... 11...and then the e-brake assembly. 12 We noticed that now the e-brake pedal is going to hit the speaker in the fully up position. There are two options to fix this issue. You can crawl under the car tighten the e-brake cable till the pedal won’t come up that high anymore or you can move the assembly over a bit.12 We noticed that now the e-brake pedal is going to hit the speaker in the fully up posi 13 We decided since we don't have a cable right now to just move the front of the assembly towards the passenger side about an inch by making a quick little strap that has a hole at each end.13 We decided since we don't have a cable right now to just move the front of the assembl 14 After the strap was in place the e-brake was ready for service without damaging our new audio components. Well after we buy a new cable that is, but the pedal doesn't hit the speaker and that is the real point. Now the stereo in the car is actually a stereo. We have noticeable left to right imaging and all our music sounds so much better. If you are a guy who likes bass we would recommend lining the back of the kick panel with some sort of sound dampening material like DEI's BoomMat. This will stop the speaker from vibrating the kick panel and in turn let those vibrations become bass.14 After the strap was in place the e-brake was ready for service without damaging our n SOURCES YearOne, Inc. Braselton GA 30517 800-932-7663 www.yearone.com By Calin Head Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
