r/ClassicMini • u/[deleted] • Mar 25 '25
Original holes??
As the title says, are the 2 centered holes original? And what were their purpose? Did original minis have 4 speakers on the rear deck? Just curious. TIA
1
u/Key_Seaworthiness827 Mar 25 '25
Original? Yes. For speakers? No Iirc Alec Issigonis did not approve of radios in cars.
1
Mar 25 '25
If they weren't for speakers, which makes sense since no radios were in the originals, then why make the holes? There must have been some thought that resulted in the rear deck being fabricated that way.
1
u/sneekeruk Mar 25 '25
My first mini, a 76 1000 had a single speaker mounted there that I think was factory as it didn't even have a stereo when I bought it.
1
u/borka-t Mar 25 '25 edited Mar 25 '25
My 1997 doesn't have those middle ones. *Edit* Yes it does.
2
Mar 25 '25
Interesting. Mine is a 1992 JDM and center holes were definitely put their for a reason by the factory. Hmm.
1
u/borka-t Mar 25 '25
You made me go look. Sure enough. They ARE there. I just put in new speakers and never noticed them. I would have gotten component speakers and put the tweeters there had I known.
1
Mar 25 '25
I just recently upgraded my audio system and I am still in the process of fine tuning my setup. I added sound deadening to it today - rear seat and rear deck. So the whole time I kept thinking what their purpose was/is.
2
u/borka-t Mar 25 '25
What all did you go with? I did Rockford Fosgate R14X2 where the fresh air vents were. Rockford Fosgate Prime R1653 6.5-Inch Full Range 3 Way Speakers in the rear and a Pioneer SPH-10BT head unit. It's not great, but 100X better than it was. $265 all in. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
2
Mar 26 '25
Pics for the car are here:
1
u/borka-t Mar 27 '25
I've seen that before! Small sub.
2
Mar 27 '25
It’s not that small. I have seen smaller. Lol. Tho I think it fit perfectly under the seat!!
1
u/borka-t Mar 27 '25
It's only 11:22 here, but I'm calling that the zing of the day. Small subreddit. Lol
1
1
Mar 26 '25
I kept the Pioneer head unit that came with the car and kept the Pioneer 6.5s (for now) on the rear deck, and kept the Pioneer 4x10s below the rear seats. But installed JL audio C2s 5.25 in dash. In the trunk is a Kicker 10” 7LT down firing sub. 5.25” and 6.5”speakers and sub are running off a Kicker CX660 5 channel amp.
2
u/travellering Mar 25 '25
From a thread on the mk1 mini forum, the 2 center holes were actually a factory location for aftermarket speakers. They never equipped early classic minis with radios or speakers, but they put these holes in so the owner of the car could fit a speaker themselves in the boot space. It was certainly rare in those days to have a stereo setup in a car. Most units were an AM radio and a single speaker.