'97 FLD 120 front speakers in upper counsel

I know that this is an old thread but thought that I'd give an update since I couldn't find the information anywhere else.

The overhead console has to come down. It's not as big of a pain as it might seem. It just takes a little patience. I had mine out in about 45 minutes. For the love of all that is holy and good, don't bash in the grill covers with a hammer! You'll need a T20 torx bit, drill driver (if you have one, or a bit driver), something to pop off the button screw covers (fingers, spatula, spoon, etc).

Take the trim piece around the bottom edge off first. Then the entire lower trim panel that the track for the curtains (and curtains) attach to. I had to work around a search light on mine (took off the handle to the search light and slid the panel off of the shaft). Take visors and visor clips off of the console and remove the rest of the screws. Make note of the different screw sizes and types and where they go. The console has a steel rod that holds it up on each end. You'll need to pull the left side of the console toward the rear of the truck first. It may take some wiggling to get past the search light bracket if you have one, but it will go. Once that's free the right side will fall down. Be careful of any electrical connectors and speaker wires as it comes down.

I've seen a lot of incorrect information about speaker sizes and what will/won't fit in the factory positions. The speakers are 5-1/4" and replacements can be found at any car stereo shop or walmart. I used the Pioneer 5-1/4" triax (3 way) speakers from walmart. After years of building competition car stereo systems, I've found that Pioneer has the best "bang for the buck". They're are far better speakers available, but nowhere near the $50 price point of the pioneers. While it's true that the center (tweeters) of the 3 way speaker touches the factory grill, it doesn't interfere with the operation of the speaker. DO NOT run the screws all the way down. The factory screws around run all the way down and there's no reason to do it on the replacements. They only need to put enough tension to hold the speaker in place. If the resulting gap bothers you, go by a car stereo shop or amazon and pick up a spacer for a 5-1/4" speaker. If you want to get the most out of the speakers, make sure that they're properly phased with the rest of the system.

 

I went the opposite way. after taking down the headliner, I marked out the metal for a 5" cutout. took the jigsaw to it. replaced the headliner and top mounted a pair of Kicker Pro comp 6.5's up there. put the tweeters in pods mounted to the windshield pillars. powered the whole thing with a Kicker 4x100 amp with the 3rd and 4th channel bridged going to the single 12" in a custom box behind the seat. total investment was around $600 sourced thru Ebay

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Yeah....it rocks

 

Entire install time was about 4-5 hours. But i did it right....no exposed wires, and looks clean. Amp is mounted to kick panel on front of passengers seat. Wifey sits there all the time and never hits her feet or knees. I'm thinking of adding another 12 behind the drivers seat, and getting 2 JL Audio 12's at 8ohms, and bridging them over to 4ohms.

 

Can you post pics of your whole setup? I need some inspiration for my truck.