Drive-in speakers retasked

[Brisso57]

Browsing a second-hand store the other day I spotted a few pairs of
drive-in theatre speakers (housings, actually). Those of us "of an age"
(prior to low-power FM broadcast soundtracks) will recall that these
would be taken from their post and hung on the side window of your car.

I had a thought that a pair of these (suitably painted) would make funky
retro bedroom speakers - ie hung at either side at the head of the bed,
or at the foot.

The distance between speakers would be, say, 4 to 5 feet.
The distance to listener would be, say, 6feet.

So, to my question:

Finding a FR speaker of appropriate physical size shouldn't be difficult
(3"? 4"?), but what T-S paramters should I hunt for, bearing in mind the
nature and size of the cast metal housings (enclosures)? Any other
recommendations? Bear in mind that we're not talking high-end sound here, but we may as well get what quality can be got easily.

Is there anyone who's done this? What was your result?

cheers,

Doug

[Original Burnedfingers]

Did you say housings were empty? I think the original speakers were 64 ohm.

Try any generic speaker like those used in a fast food drive thru.

Forget about TS parameters because the responce isn't going to be good.

[Brisso57]

Just to clarify: I don't want to fit drivers as close to the original as possible. (I don't give a rat's for authenticity.)
What I want is to fit something into the housings that will provide decent sound.

cheers.

Doug

[mashaffer]

Can you estimate the internal volume? Are the original mounting screws there? What is their pattern and distance across?

mike

[Cameron Glendin]

Any chance of a photo? There were several different funky looking drive in speakers designed and manufactured during the drive in boom years of the 50s till the early 70s.

Personally, If it uses a 3"speaker, vifa make a lovely sounding full range, its light on bass but with a dedicated hidden subwoofer , could combine for a wonderful sounding, retro looking system. These speakers work well in a sealed box from 0.7 - 4 litres and handel 20w.

4 inch drivers tend to have some usable bass but generally a bit less detail in the highs, so depending on the size of your cut out in your drive in speaker, Im sure you will find someting to make the project worthwhile.

Sealed boxes do offer a great flexability on driver choice, Good luck with your project.