Help w/ drivers for an old enclosure

[mjurban]

I have an old set of bookshelf speakers whose woofers have finally given up after pumping air for better than 40 years. These are the speakers from the first stereo my family bought when I was a young teenager. I think we got it back in the early 60's. It was a Harman-Kardon "compact" system, essentially a small solid state receiver with a low end Garard turntable built into the same box. The speakers, however, were beautiful. They are as well made as any piece of furniture.

These speakers were much larger than you would find in a similar product today. Remember, this was back in the day, when a "bookshelf" speaker meant something on the order of an AR3a. These are almost the same size, measuring about 22.5" high, 13.5" wide, and 10.5" deep. They are built very solidly, and the wood veneer is still virtually perfect.

I could possibly get the drivers repaired, but to be honest, they were always a little boomy, and the best part of the speakers are the enclosures. I'd like to find a nice DIY project for a speaker about this size. I think I can replace the front baffle completely, so I'm not constrained as far as driver selection or layout

I am new to speaker design. I've done a little reading, and have calculated the internal volume of these boxes to be about 1.3 cubic feet. Then I read that I had to allow for the volume taken up by the bracing, drivers, and other internal components, and decided it was time to ask for help. I really won't know how much to subtract for all that until I get them opened up, and until the new drivers are selected.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks,
Mike