I'm thinking about replacing the radio and speakers in my 85. Will I have to change out the speaker wire or can it be reused.

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You can reuse it unless it's damaged in some way. You'll probably have to re-terminate the wire for the after market speakers. Use terminals and heat shrink for a quality installation. Speaker wire is speaker wire...just make sure it's not damaged at all and it's fine to use.

KL - do you have a bose system in there now? If so, the procedure is a little different than with a regular system. The original bose uses individual amps on each speaker and the wiring is slightly different because of that. You cannot simply put new speakers in and hook to the original bose amps (that are inside the black boxes) because the impedance will be wrong.

If you had the base model stereo it is easier, because the speakers were driven off of the head unit.

Why do you want to replace the wire? Is it damaged? Just putting in a new stereo? It can't hurt to replace 25 year old wiring, IMHO.

Check out my post when I redid my 89.

http://www.corvette-guru.com/modules/ ... php?topic_id=6878&forum=2

Matthew

DB - as Matatk says, the Bose changes all that. I would avoid reusing that as much as possible. It's just not up to the job, in my opinion.

Also, take a moment and scan through the C4 Audio FAQ. It outlines the basics of the C4 audio topography.

You can reuse the preamp wire feeding the Bose boxes, but it's puny.

Probably fine for low end systems, but I ran new wire anyways. I found this speaker wire at radioshack I think, that was very flat like a ribbon, and about 1/2" wide. Great for running under carpet.

The radio was replaced with an Audiovox unit by the previous owner. The speakers are Bose and was thinking about taking the old speakers and amplifiers out and replacing the radio and speakers so I didn't have to mess with connecting old to new.

If you remove the rear bose boxes, you can install 6x9s easily.

In the doors, you need to fabricate a plate or reuse part of the bose box in order to put a different speaker in there. The bose box has an opening for a 4" speaker with 3 screw holes. I wouldn't bother with 4" speakers since you can fit 5.25 or 6.5" instead.

The dash has plates for 4x6 speakers that can be cut out, but you can't install anything deep in there. Again, 4x6 is not worth the effort. I put my tweeters up there and my mids in the door. I just wish I went with better quality speakers.

Since you are planning all new speakers (removing bose) and head unit, my post above is a good guide for you.

Matthew

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What was the rated impedance of the stock Bose speaker coils?

I wasn't really referring to reusing the stock amps, just the wiring. Speaker wire really doesn't need to be very big.

Example - 14 gauge wire is typically rated to handle between 100 and 140 watts max. That's fine for MOST after market speakers. I usually run 15 gauge which will handle anything I will ever use for mids.

oh, man... the Bose system is wack, yo.

The drivers are actually 1 ohm. This allows them to use a real small amp and get 50 watts out of it.

The signal is just that, a low level signal. It's like 18 gauge crap wire, too.

I use 16 gauge, it will work in most applications. The theories on wire gauge have been getting modified over the last couple of years. I use 10 gauge with subs... mostly because it looks impressive.