I wan to upgrade the radio and speakers in both the 91 sedan and 92 wagon. My wife listens to and sings opera and I enjoy jazz. Have any of you done any upgrades to your system? What did you use? What problems did you have? I read that I will have to make custom inserts. Also, I see that some 240’s had speakers in the upper dash and rear package deck are these custom?

Thank you,

J.

I put a couple of Pioneer coaxials in the front doors in the orginal openings. In the back, I removed the smallish 5" round speakers in the deck and installed a plastic adapter kit that allowed me to install a set of 6x9 three ways. The hole in the deck that opens to the trunk acts as a huge enclosure and bass response is pretty good.
I thought about a subwoofer, but too much weight, takes up too much trunk space, etc. etc.
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I also went with Crutchfield. I go with Alpine receivers only. In the front I went with Polk DB 4" and painted the grilles black. If you have a tan or blue interior, a can of SEM interior paint, or Krylon Fusion matched to your interior does the trick. You can also go with components in the front if price isn't an issue. It would have been fun putting those tweeters up somewhere. The speakers i used just fit, although i had to "pull out" the metal/speaker hole a bit, and loosen the screws, for it not to hit the window, but with some patience, it can fit. I've had Pioneers in the past that I've liked and clearance was never a problem. The back speakers are a little trickier. Speaking of a wagon, of course.
Components could fit in the rear doors, (if they're not there already) also, it would be fun to mount those tweeters somewhere. An amp isn't really necessary, unless you want some bass. What i did however was take 6x9 Polk DB's and of course, paint the grilles. But I installed them with the rear seat in the "sitting" position right behind the back rest, in the cargo area. I got some door hinges from a hardware store, and screwed them into the deck. The deck is made of wood, if you didn't know. If you hinge them just right, they will flip up when the seat is put down, making room for larger cargo to rest on the top of them, and yet will point right at you as if you were in a sedan.
I really don't think the wheel wells are stong enough to hold any speakers for a long period of time. Plus, you have to use them to access things like spare tires, and storage and rear brake bulbs. I've seen the bottom locking cargo area in the back used for a 6 disk cd changer, amps, or used as a bass enclosure for sub woofers. Since it's wood, if you screw something up, or don't like it, another one can easily be made. Plus, the extra weight in back is nice if you live in a snowy area, and need some weight back there. I also wouldn't put anything in the rear tailgate for a wagon. The extra weight would easily weigh down the struts and cause them to fail.
For a sedan, really the rear deck will take anything. some slight modification might be required but you can easily fit 6.5's (without cutting) or even 6x9's in there. Also, a 10" mono bass box connected to an amp would work just fine and not take up too much space. Or, an Infinity bass link would work in both applications. Good luck.
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Hello,


I put the speakers from an 850 Turbo in my 1977 264 GL. They are Opera quality! I know, because I listen to it.

The rear shelf speakers from the 850 set in the holes for the 240 shelf. You have to drill holes for the studs so you can tighten it down.

I used 3M Scotch mounting tape to put the speakers from the 850 dashboard into the front doors.

The amp I used is a 60W+60W sony I bought used for $30.

The fidelity really is unmatched with all 8 ohm speakers.


Goatman

I have a 92 and 93 wagon and have upgraded both, although on a budget. I went with Crutchfield - Kenwood reciever and speakers, best combo of service sound and price. Plus side is Crutchfield has good customer support and sales, downside is the wagon lacks a good spot for rear speakers and IMHO you really can't get good sound w/o an amplifier and that was beyond my budget. As a side note the 93 rear speakers are component type (separate woofer and tweeter) and I chose to keep them and only replaced the fronts. I can definitley tell the difference between the two cars as the 17 year old large woofers on the 93 rear doors provides way better base response than the new small 4" speakers (no surprise there). The adaption kits they provide work well, I think I ended up using the rear adapter for the front (w/ some minor plastic cut n file), using the new covers on the fronts and on the 92 I was able to re-use the Volvo covers on the rear speakers. Some of the screws had to be cliped short to avoid contacting the sheet metal (causes the speaker to ground out). If I had more $ I would put in an amp and fabricate or buy a speaker box or 2 for the back of the wagon for better base. It also took awhile to figure out the wiring as the existing unit has a separate amp (not worth re-using), and there's alot of wires, even w/ the Crutchfield quick connect pigtails. If you do a search on this site, you will find a wealth of info from many who know way more about this stuff than me. Have fun and be patient, set aside a whole weekend for this project unless you've done it before or are really familier with this stuff. I'm sure many have slapped in a new system in less than 2 hours, but I took the time to do some PM under the dash and the doors while I was at it (for instance I replaced the plastic moisture barriers behind the door panels for better sound and moisture barrier).

I went the Crutchfield route as well for our 92 sedan.

4 in Kenwoods in the front and rear door - http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KFC1062/Kenwood-KFC-1062S.html?tp=102

Sony CD receiver with Ipod controler with USB and Bluetooth.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158BT3700/Sony-MEX-BT3700.html?tp=5684


I really didn't need an amp - the Sony had more than enough power and although the placement of the rear door speakers isn't the best for great sound - I opted to go that route since the originals were dead and had to be replaced. Didn't go with rear deck speakers as I found the Kenwoods did a pretty good job and didn't have the extra $ to throw in the necessary amp for 6 speakers at the time.

Crutchfield gave me a plastic ring for the back of the front speakers (good thing since PO had damaged the door matting with generic junk and 2 inch screws) - the rears speakers simply attached with the screws and clips. Used the Kenwood grills and they worked perfect - but I heard another 240 owner had to turn the Kenwood grills upside down on the front door due to height causing problems with manual window crank. Since you've got a 92, this shouldnt be an issue.

They look and sound great. - We listen to Jazz and old school R&B.

Oh yea - I took the time to run new 14ga speaker wire to all 4 doors and also ran to the back deck while I was in there! (in case I wanted/needed to amp and rear speakers in the future) - Took me a while to fish thru the carpet, but don't regret the effort at all!!!

Hope that helps
Charles