Early model speaker help needed

[Andy95W]

I was wondering if anyone here had any experience in removing the speaker in an early Mooney, 1964 and earlier with the old style headliner.  Possibly @takair or @cliffy?

On a related note, does anyone know of a good replacement 4 ohm speaker that will fit (if I can get mine out, of course).

Thanks!

[47U]

37 minutes ago, Andy95W said:

I was wondering if anyone here had any experience in removing the speaker in an early Mooney, 1964 and earlier with the old style headliner.

‘63 C model… when I was doing the layout for my gps antenna I was trying to use the same coax hole as a previous comm antenna.  Since the fuselage skin is so thin (albeit, not structural), I wanted to do a doubler, but it was complicated by the speaker footprint.  Here’s my layout, the speaker mount screws (in the circle) are through the external skin.  Remove those screws and the speaker should be able to get fished out through the hole in the headliner after the speaker trim piece is removed.  As far as a replacement speaker, there was a thread about that a while back…

 

[takair]

I did mine so long ago that I don’t recall. I think it was pretty straight forward. 

[cliffy]

Nothing difficult about it except the headliner has to come down from the front to allow access.

2 wires and 4 screws on mine when I had it out. The speaker should be able to be sourced easily.

If you use the speaker a lot get a good heavy duty one so it won't blow out on you. 

Take the old one out first, measure it and then order. 

[Andy95W]

You guys are the best.  Thanks!

[AJ88V]

Never replaced the speaker before, so please take this with a grain of salt....

Had really good experiences over the years with Parts Express for audio stuff, especially raw speakers and related parts.  A quick search for 4 ohm speakers turns up the following:  https://www.parts-express.com/search?keywords=4 ohm.

I wouldn't even worry too much about the ohm rating.  You won't get max power efficiency out of an amp designed for 4 ohms if your speaker is 8 ohms, but it shouldn't hurt anything.

[cliffy]

Used to use the PMA isle at Radio Shack

[cliffy]

On 12/31/2024 at 7:31 AM, cliffy said:

Nothing difficult about it except the headliner has to come down from the front to allow access.

2 wires and 4 screws on mine when I had it out. The speaker should be able to be sourced easily.

If you use the speaker a lot get a good heavy duty one so it won't blow out on you. 

Take the old one out first, measure it and then order. 

The height of the speaker will also be a limiting factor. Too large of a magnet and it won't fit up in the hole

[AJ88V]

2 hours ago, cliffy said:

The height of the speaker will also be a limiting factor. Too large of a magnet and it won't fit up in the hole

Words to the wise!

[Kelpro999]

 If you have dual speakers like I do then re-coning might be the easiest way forward. The back or top side mounts through the roof and the assembly supports the grill and headliner. They also have magnetic field shielding as part of the assembly.