Speaker replace '87 Corolla

My sister wants me to replace the speakers on her '87 Corolla, since
one hasn't worked well for quite awhile. They are the cheapies mounted
on each side of the dash -- ie -- just to the left of the steering
wheel and just to the right of the glove compartment.

Unfortunately, she lives a few hours away and I'd like to buy the part
sometime this week before I cruise to her place next weekend. She
won't/can't take an existing speaker out of the dash, so she can't tell
me what exactly I need to buy.

I'm almost betting they are the same things that were in my old 84
Tercel. I remember I bought replacements for less than $10 in the late
'80s for that car at Radio Shack. But, when I went into my local Rat
Shack today, the woman had no clue what I was asking about, and they
had no speakers. A search of their web site was also unproductive. Any
clues here?

<timbirr@mailcity.com> wrote in message
news:1139260435.302958.86630@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> My sister wants me to replace the speakers on her '87 Corolla, since
> one hasn't worked well for quite awhile. They are the cheapies mounted
> on each side of the dash -- ie -- just to the left of the steering
> wheel and just to the right of the glove compartment.
>
> Unfortunately, she lives a few hours away and I'd like to buy the part
> sometime this week before I cruise to her place next weekend. She
> won't/can't take an existing speaker out of the dash, so she can't tell
> me what exactly I need to buy.
>
> I'm almost betting they are the same things that were in my old 84
> Tercel. I remember I bought replacements for less than $10 in the late
> '80s for that car at Radio Shack. But, when I went into my local Rat
> Shack today, the woman had no clue what I was asking about, and they
> had no speakers. A search of their web site was also unproductive. Any
> clues here?
>[/color]

Hmm, none of the standard speakers on Crutchfield's web site
[url]www.crutchfield.com[/url], fit an '87 Corolla Sedan. BTW, the dash on the
liftback and sedan/wagon is different so you should know the body style. It
looks like you are going to have to mount aftermarket speakers somewhere.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

It's the sedan. That much I know (HAHA). I found the crutchfield site
after posting here and, as you say, they did not have anything. I
THINK, however, that the JCWhitney speaker I just found MIGHT be close.
I don't want to order from JCW, but maybe i can find something local
that would work, since I may need to be returning it next Monday....any
hints on where to find the following locally, I don't want to go to a
high-end stereo shop and pair high-end prices....
[url]http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10101/s-10101/p-100000196972/mediaCode-ZX/appId-100000196972/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000196972[/url]

<timbirr@mailcity.com> wrote in message
news:1139261551.076500.151760@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> It's the sedan. That much I know (HAHA). I found the crutchfield site
> after posting here and, as you say, they did not have anything. I
> THINK, however, that the JCWhitney speaker I just found MIGHT be close.
> I don't want to order from JCW, but maybe i can find something local
> that would work, since I may need to be returning it next Monday....any
> hints on where to find the following locally, I don't want to go to a
> high-end stereo shop and pair high-end prices....
> [url]http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10101/s-10101/p-100000196972/mediaCode-ZX/appId-100000196972/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000196972[/url]
>[/color]

Where is "local?"

Have you tried K-Mart, Wal-Mart, or your local auto parts stores?

Also, you mentioned that the factory speaker does not work - the fix could
be as easy as fixing the balance, plugging the speaker back in, or soldering
a broken tab. Since a speaker is basically a magnet and a paper cone, there
is not much to fail so be prepared for a cause other than the speaker
itself, unless the paper cone is completely trashed. Try duct tape if the
cone is torn. If you're going to make the trip, bring along a soldering
iron and some solder in case the connection tabs just fell or broke off.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 13:13:55 -0800, timbirr wrote:
[color=blue]
> My sister wants me to replace the speakers on her '87 Corolla, since
> one hasn't worked well for quite awhile. They are the cheapies mounted
> on each side of the dash -- ie -- just to the left of the steering
> wheel and just to the right of the glove compartment.
>
> Unfortunately, she lives a few hours away and I'd like to buy the part
> sometime this week before I cruise to her place next weekend. She
> won't/can't take an existing speaker out of the dash, so she can't tell
> me what exactly I need to buy.
>
> I'm almost betting they are the same things that were in my old 84
> Tercel. I remember I bought replacements for less than $10 in the late
> '80s for that car at Radio Shack. But, when I went into my local Rat
> Shack today, the woman had no clue what I was asking about, and they
> had no speakers. A search of their web site was also unproductive. Any
> clues here?[/color]


Chances are it is a 3.5" speaker.

Depending on what you want to do with it, Infinity and Pioneer make 3.5:
speakers that will fit right in there. You can also shoehorn a 4" in there
without a lot of problems; you'll only have 2 screws holding it in. I have
had this set up in a Corolla for 14 years.

They are 4 ohm speakers, so get 4 ohm replacements; if you can only find 8
ohm speakers you'll have to replace the rears also.

--
A young girl I know told me I drive like an old man

I told her, actually, I drive like Mario Andretti.
It's just that too many other people on the road
drive like Paul Tracy...

Hachiroku wrote:
[color=blue]
> Chances are it is a 3.5" speaker.
>
> You can also shoehorn a 4" in there
> without a lot of problems; you'll only have 2 screws holding it in. I have
> had this set up in a Corolla for 14 years.
>
> They are 4 ohm speakers, so get 4 ohm replacements; if you can only find 8
> ohm speakers you'll have to replace the rears also.[/color]


Thanks for the HELP! I'm not a stereo/speaker expert by any means
(obvious, ain't it). Maybe I'll try the 4-inch speakers and see if I
can make them work.

But, one question. This car only has front speakers (it is an
after-market system) purchased from the dealer and installed a few days
after delivery of the new car by a local stereo store).

So, if it only has front speakers, does the "ohm" rating matter as long
as I replace both front speakers?

In article <pan.2006.02.07.00.57.28.344956@ae86.GTS>, Hachiroku <Trueno@ae86.GTS> wrote:[color=blue]
>On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 13:13:55 -0800, timbirr wrote:
>[color=green]
>> My sister wants me to replace the speakers on her '87 Corolla, since
>> one hasn't worked well for quite awhile. They are the cheapies mounted
>> on each side of the dash[/color][/color]

I just got rid of my 87 Corolla FX last wek. (kept the radio and the rear
speakers, but not the front ones!)

I recall having a speaker failure sometime during the life of the car, and was
able to purchase a replacement from Crutchfield. It may have been a
Pioneer-branded speaker. It was in their database, which of course doesn't
mean that it's *still* in their database, and I have the vaguest of
recollections that one had to do something exceedingly minor to the speaker in
order to get it to fit in the Corolla - slightly ream a screwhole in the
speaker frame, or something similarly trivial.

You might head over to the Crutchfield site and see if any of this babbling is
still relevant.



Art
Temporary usercode - to be deleted when spam starts. Use MyBrainHurts at this ISP to reach me

On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 17:02:06 -0800, timbirr wrote:
[color=blue]
>
> Hachiroku wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Chances are it is a 3.5" speaker.
>>
>> You can also shoehorn a 4" in there
>> without a lot of problems; you'll only have 2 screws holding it in. I have
>> had this set up in a Corolla for 14 years.
>>
>> They are 4 ohm speakers, so get 4 ohm replacements; if you can only find 8
>> ohm speakers you'll have to replace the rears also.[/color]
>
>
> Thanks for the HELP! I'm not a stereo/speaker expert by any means
> (obvious, ain't it). Maybe I'll try the 4-inch speakers and see if I
> can make them work.
>
> But, one question. This car only has front speakers (it is an
> after-market system) purchased from the dealer and installed a few days
> after delivery of the new car by a local stereo store).
>
> So, if it only has front speakers, does the "ohm" rating matter as long
> as I replace both front speakers?[/color]


No, they just have to match.

If it has an aftermarket radio already, they may have already modified
things for a larger speaker. You may even be able to find the same or
similar model from the same manufacturer.

Shoot, I wedged a 5 1/4" into a 3 1/2" hole on my Celica (it wasn't easy!)

--
A young girl I know told me I drive like an old man

I told her, actually, I drive like Mario Andretti.
It's just that too many other people on the road
drive like Paul Tracy...

Arthur Shapiro wrote:[color=blue]
>
> I just got rid of my 87 Corolla FX last wek. (kept the radio and the rear
> speakers, but not the front ones!)
>
> I recall having a speaker failure sometime during the life of the car, and was
> able to purchase a replacement from Crutchfield. It may have been a
> Pioneer-branded speaker. It was in their database.....,snip
> You might head over to the Crutchfield site and see if any of this babbling is
> still relevant.[/color]

Crutchfield was able to give some good ideas, once I finally learned
how to hit "ignore that this doesn't fite my car." I didn't buy from
them, but I got an idea of a Rockford Fosgate speaker that seems as if
it would work. Unfortunately, I'm in a pretty rural area, and there
aren't any big towns between my sis's and my place.

None of the local stores have any auto speakers, and the lone stereo
store in the area wanted $70 for a scratch and dent Kenwood speaker
that was available all over the web for $25 NIB....so I ended up
ordering a Rockwood and had it mailed USPS priority to my sister's
place. It should get there by Friday, I hope.

The vendor claims to ship same day, and Postal Service claims one-day
delivery via priority to her place....we'll see, even if it gets there
Saturday, that's O.K.

So, thanks to everyone that replied! Highly appreciated.