65 Cadillac Coupe Deville stereo questions

[65CaddyNYS]

Hey guys kind of new to this, I picked up a 65 Coupe DeVille about a year ago looking to put a stereo in it. The rear speakers are missing and there's a regular 6 by 9 oval cut out on the passenger side but on the driver side there is a rectangular cut out.I was expecting two ovals. What was the factory set up like when it was new any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Eric

[65CaddyNYS]

Here she is

[65CaddyNYS]

Here's what's in question.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Stereo was not offered until 1966.

[65CaddyNYS]

Okay I got you. Still scratching my head why there is Speaker cutouts in the back and why there is a rectangular one on the driver side.Pretty sure it's factory

[Roger Zimmermann]

Usually those cars had 2 speakers, one at the front and one at the rear. A knob at the radio controlled the balance between both. It was not stereo, of course!

[Chuck Swanson]

Okay I got you. Still scratching my head why there is Speaker cutouts in the back and why there is a rectangular one on the driver side.Pretty sure it's factory

The 65-66 dashes are the same.  Someone could easily have swapped the dashes, as it is maybe a 15 minute task to swap a '66 stereo dash with a non '65.  Add another 15 mins to take out the radio and swap.    Chuck

[gkhashem]

I have a 1966 with a mono radio and a rear defogger. So I think this is why you have 2 cut outs. So the second cut out is for a rear defogger optioned car. If that was offered in 1965. So I am taking a guess since there was no stereo radio in 1965 the drivers side cut out was square but in the 1966 it is oval like a speaker to accommodate the blower or the speaker.

So again the reason for the second cut out is a rear defogger. If you have a rear defogger and my car does. The cut out on the driver's side is used as an intake vent for the defogger blower motor which then blows the warm cabin air back onto the rear window through a center vent. They did not have a modern rear defogger as today.

The cut out on the passenger side is for the rear speaker. So if you had AM FM stereo in 1966 you did not have the rear defogger option since that cut out had your second rear speaker and if you had the rear defogger you only had a MONO radio and not stereo. Since the space for the cut out had your defogger blower motor in that location. It happened to be square in 1965 since it was only for a defogger blower in the 1966 it is oval since it was used for one or the other.

I hope I am clear.

[65CaddyNYS]

Thanks alot guys for all the knowledge. It makes sense now!