| Tuffy Fenderwell Speaker Boxes Installation |
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| In order to have some more sound in the Jeep as well as some storage, I did some
research to see what I could get to help to offset the pitiful sound that as coming from the front dash speakers.
I ended up seeing some Tuffy boxes that mounted on the rear fender wells and that housed 6x9 speakers as well
as offering up some lockable storage space.
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| So, I proceeded to buy the boxes (part# 14032 01 07) from
Quadratec.
I argued for a bit with the guy on the phone about the fact that they said that they fit 1980-1991 Jeeps. On
the Tuffy site, they said that
they fit all models for CJ's. Even if they didn't, I was going to make them fit.
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| So, they came in and I got to work installing them. I had done some research on
the Crutchfield site to see what speakers would be the
best for what I was trying to accomplish. I wanted a pair of speakers that would provide rich sound since I was
planning on putting an 8" tube in the back as well. So, I ended up with a pair of
Kicker 6x9
3-way speakers. These came in after I found a better deal through Froogle. I
ended up getting these speakers for about $75 bucks cheaper then what was advertised on Crutchfield. It took a
bit longer to come in, but the wait was worth the cost savings in my mind. I put them in with a couple of
mounting screws that came with the box after I put the divider in that separated the speaker area from the
storage area.
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| So, with the speakers installed in both boxes, I proceeded to mark and drill the
3 mounting holes on each side of the Jeep. I torqued down the bolts and I went on to hook up the speakers to
the head unit I had mounted in the
Tuffy Security Center Console. With that
accomplished, I moved onto putting the 8" tube in and hooking that up. What I ended up with was a complete
stereo system for about $400 bucks. This was mainly due to the fact that the Sony head unit I had was given to
me free by a neighbor and all I had to do was to get a wiring harness and an antenna hookup.
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| Lessons Learned the Hard Way |
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So, my lessons learned here would have to be that you need someone with little
hands to help connect the 6x9 speakers to the boxes. My hands were too big to fit down between the divider and
the speakers. I employed a small-handed person and that task was easily done.
Also, keep in mind that when you put these in the Jeep, you have to figure out how to quiet the noise that comes
from them. I am not talking about the speakers; I am talking about the rattling around of the tools and stuff
you end up putting in the boxes. Every bump you go over, those items will rattle around. I plan on getting some
rubberized shelf paper that they have in the mechanics toolbox shelves. This will hopefully help to deaden the
sounds that emanate from there.
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| Conclusions |
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| This is a pretty easy thing to do for some extra storage and good sound in the
Jeep. The CJ-5 doesn't have a lot of extra storage space due to the small wheelbase. Include in this that I
had mounted the spare tire where the rear seat used to be and it makes for a great way to put the straps and
miscellaneous tools/rags you need in a lockable area.
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