Ivary

I hope this helps the next person who has a Bose system and wants to upgrade to quality components.

How to install 6.5 speakers in the factory Bose 6x9 brackets

What is needed:

rigid sheet of wood, plastic or plexiglass (I used poplar, see pic)
Something for a soft seal on edges, rubber cement, form-a gasket, felt, foam, ect
screws to attach speaker

Tools:

Jigsaw with thin blade ($20 at Harbor Freight )
Hole saw (if you need tweeter template)
Drill
Screwdriver
pen or pencil

What to do:

Trace out the 6x9 Bose speaker including screw holes. These speakers measure just over 6 ½ inches at the widest point. There is a fifth small hole, you can drill out or clip off the small alignment pin, I opted to clip the pin on the bracket housing. Find a round object (lid, bowl, saucer etc) to trace around for your center hole that leaves at about a 1/4 inch from the edges. I opted to mount lower than center to maximize available speaker depth Cut your center holes first, drill a hole near the line to get your blade in, go slow, when you get off your line back it up slightly to correct. It helps to have your material to be cut as stable as possible, I used the corner created by two benches.

Drill your holes and test fit to the speaker bracket, be sure the screw holes line up and test fit the corner screws. Place the 6.5 speaker in the new mounting plate, drill small pilot holes. Remove the plate and soft seal your mounting edges. Screw in your speaker, and your done. The factory bracket is intact and can be converted back to stock by removing the plate.

A large amp will fit where the stock Bose amp goes. You will need to replace the foam block with a cover to hold the carpet up. I used the same wood for a plate over the amp that I used for the speaker mounts. Trace around the carpet pad, cut it out, a little foam tape on the edges to prevent rattles. My amp is huge, 20" long and 9" wide, the connectors and adjustments are at the ends so I needed a full two feet, and it fits.

Tips and tricks for your audio install:

WD 40 in the molex / rubber tube in the door and the grommet in the firewall for feeding wires. In life, you will find many times and many ways that a little lube makes things easier. Words to live by.

The Molex is tricky to reconnect, you have to move the door to 3/4 closed to move the lever. The lever will try and lock open or closed to test your resolve. A little tape on the back of your right hand and thumb will help with the sharp edges on the drivers side or it will cut you.

Feed the power line from the engine bay and the door speaker wire from the door through the molex to the interior.

I found the tweeter wire on the passenger side is easier to feed straight up from the floorboard taping the speaker wire to a guide such as a thin coat hanger and feed it up to your eye looking down through the windshield.

Leave enough slack in your wiring to remove things and adjust your crossover and amp.

Most component crossovers will fit behind the kick panel in the foot well.

For proper sound proofing the doors you need to drill out the two rivets and take off the inner panel. Sheet metal screws will replace the rivets when you reinstall. The rear wheel wells outer section is a pain, but important if you want to muffle gravel sounds in the wheel well. Sound proofing took me a whole day.

The fuse for your power wire to the amp needs to be within one foot of the battery

I will post some pics