Rear speaker 1960 Thunderbird

[Guest]

Was there a factory option to add a second speaker in the back of a 1960 Thunderbird?

Does any body reproduce the carburetor linkage the part that is attached to the bell housing?

[jopizz]

A rear speaker was not an option. What part are you referring to. None of the carburetor linkage attaches to the bell housing. Do you mean the intake manifold. None of those parts are being reproduced. If you need parts contact Carl Heller (partsetal). He should have what you need.

John

[Frango100]

I just got a complete accelerator mechanism from Carl. Are you missing the part on the intake, or does it have a lot of play? In case of play, it seems that this can be repaired with bushes.

[Tbird1044]

Larry:
Someone had installed a rear speaker prior to me getting the car. I did clean it up a bit and think it has a 60's retro look. If I had originally done it, I probably would have put 2 speakers on the rear deck instead of the one center, but it will be fine for me.
Nyles

[OUR5T8BIRD]

Larry:
Someone had installed a rear speaker prior to me getting the car. I did clean it up a bit and think it has a 60's retro look. If I had originally done it, I probably would have put 2 speakers on the rear deck instead of the one center, but it will be fine for me.
Nyles

For your information :

PRODUCT Service Letter, P-432 , dated June 4, 1959 states :

Rear Seat Speaker Installation ( 1958-59 Thunderbirds ) .
Poor radio tone quality may occur in some 1958-59 Thunderbirds and can be eliminated by installing a Rear Seat Speaker Kit (B7A-18875-A ) as follows .

The service letter came with instructions and diagrams on how to install same. Location and grille look similar to your picture of grille.

[jopizz]

That's interesting. Is there a fader control as part of the installation. I've seen them in Fairlanes and Galaxies but I wasn't sure if it was aftermarket or dealer installed.

John

[YellowRose]

Rear speaker 1960 Thunderbird

That is interesting. It is NOT listed in the Optional Equipment lists for 1958-1960 Tbirds. It will be interesting to see what the VTCI OFS says about this!

[OUR5T8BIRD]

That's interesting. Is there a fader control as part of the installation. I've seen them in Fairlanes and Galaxies but I wasn't sure if it was aftermarket or dealer installed.

John

Yes John / Ray , the diagram does show a fader control . Will try and have the service letter copied and send it out to you if you wish .

[jopizz]

That is interesting. It is NOT listed in the Optional Equipment lists for 1958-1960 Tbirds. It will be interesting to see what the VTCI OFS says about this!

Many times dealer installed upgrades weren't available from the factory. Since this kit has a B7A part number it was obviously not designed specifically for squarebirds but was retrofitted probably due to complaints.

John

[YellowRose]

Rear speaker 1960 Thunderbird

Martin, thank you for this information on the rear speaker. I never knew there was one available and it IS sanctioned by the VTCI in the Official Factory Specifications (OFS), that Alan Tast, "Fuz" Johnson, and even our Founder, Alexander Sosiak helped put together years ago. I would like to have a copy of it for our historical files. If you have a scanner, you can scan it in as a .jpg and IF it is to big to post, email it to me and I can work with it. Yes, John is right, I suspect. This came about probably because of complaints regarding the radio and speakers in the Squarebird and this was their fix to correct that. It was probably a speaker that was already in use in Fairlanes and Galaxies as Martin said, that they decided to put to use in the Squarebird.

I just took the time to look at my VTCI OFS CD and here is what it says about this speaker.

"Note: Operation SP-18875-A-59, illustrated in Product Service Letter P-432, provided for installation of Rear Seat Speaker Kit B7A 18875-A in the center of the rear package tray by dealers in both hardtops and convertibles to resolve complaints of poor radio tone quality. A fader control was mounted in the lower dash extension near the console. Templates were included with the bulletin for location of holes in the panel for hardtops and for fabrication of a mounting/baffle board for convertibles. Installation of the rear seat speaker using the B7A 18875-A kit will not be assessed a modification point deduction in all Divisions; use of speaker frames, grilles, speakers and fader switches/knobs that do not match those used in the kit may result in modification point deduction. (PSLP-432, 6/4/59)"

[mh434]

I would be interested to see any photos of the fader control mentioned above. Apologies for the poor quality of the pictures, but I have a couple of rotary controls just behind the ashtray in mine. I assume they are some sort of aftermarket radio control, I've not had chance to investigate yet. Mine has what appears to be aftermarket speakers in the rear shelf and in the footwells.

Jon

[sidewalkman]

I would be interested to see any photos of the fader control mentioned above. Apologies for the poor quality of the pictures, but I have a couple of rotary controls just behind the ashtray in mine. I assume they are some sort of aftermarket radio control, I've not had chance to investigate yet. Mine has what appears to be aftermarket speakers in the rear shelf and in the footwells.

Jon

Looks cool, but definitely an aftermarket item. Can you take a close up?

[mh434]

Will do. I seem to have perfected the art of taking loads of photos of not quite the right bit..!!!

Jon

[Deanj]

I love today's modern factory radios and the use of flash sticks for storing and playing music. I think the rear speaker is cool, but I don't even consider upgrading my console speaker since all my radio is the original AM. I had a Redi-Rad, but thought it too much trouble.

Is that center speaker difficult to replace? I read where you said the A/C head has to come out.

Dean

[sidewalkman]

I love today's modern factory radios and the use of flash sticks for storing and playing music. I think the rear speaker is cool, but I don't even consider upgrading my console speaker since all my radio is the original AM. I had a Redi-Rad, but thought it too much trouble.

Is that center speaker difficult to replace? I read where you said the A/C head has to come out.

Dean

I'm with you Dean. I need to replace the console speaker because its the original and shot but the original AM radio still works great.

What I discovered tho is the joys of Bluetooth. I am installing into the glovebox a small (3"X2") Bluetooth receiver that I can amplify. I'll wire a small 2 channel amp in the trunk and wire in these small JBL bookshelf speakers in the front seats. I measured the amount of room required and they have lots of room. You can't see anything not factory looking into the car or even drving around in it but I will have access to Sirius Radio via the app at shows and my iTunes library when driving. And there is a USB slot for flash drives (of which I have probably 40 4GB -8GB) so best of both world. I have a JBL Bluetooth speaker which sits on my console, but you can't get any decent volume from it.