Haha they actually are a thing. I doubt very much the "white van" guys had em, I have heard some of the white van gear were merely "shells" no internals or electronics, x-overs ect. Just empty housings.
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Custom Speaker Grill
- Thread starter harleybass
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- speaker grills
But I’ve seen Reliable Hardware grills. They look great and are fabricated accurately. I think they are great looking upgrade.
I’ve played around with the various grill options for my builds, but in the end, it’s waffles. I can’t bring myself to splash out the extra dough for custom or the extra work for sparkly grill fabric.
I know someone who just last week bought a TV / media projector out of a van in a parking lot!
Not sure what color the van was. The projector is definitely an off-brand.I didn't see many of those guys in Connecticut in the 80's and 90's, but I'd see them all the time on Long Island, NY.
The Hardware side parking lot of Fred Meyers (you know, the door/lot farthest from the grocery section) had that white van selling speakers and such out there all throughout southeast Portland area in the 80's and early 90's.That I've seen, but never the stereo guys. I didn't even own a car for a good part of the 70s and 80s though, maybe that's why I was blissfully unaware.
GI Joe's also had them vans in their lot.
Great choice! Looks SO MUCH BETTER. Like a professional speaker, not one you bought out of a white van LOL
Analogeezer
These guys do a great job: Reliable Hardware Company E-Commerce Web Site
Personally, I love waffle grills though. Yes, really.
Alas if you go to round grills, all they offer are....you guessed it WAFFLE GRILLS.....uggghhhhhh
Analogeezer
p.s. Well they offer round mesh grills but painted white and designed for ceiling speakers
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,066
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- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Penn Elcom makes round grills with a small round hole pattern, they are seemingly not easy to find at retail or even on their web portal though. Here's one vendor selling the 15" variant: DIY Speaker parts Grilles
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Hey! Late to this post, but what grill mounts or offsets are you using? I am just about to order a grill from Reliable and don't see those. thanks!
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Thanks! i am interested in the caps that are either hiding the screw tops, or if they are are a combo unit / peg kit.
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Oh yeah that is a great idea. Thank you!
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Screw caps like this are a nice touch.
Or buy some nice torx/Allen headed screws.
For metal grill stand offs I use 3/8" fuel line/hose from an auto parts store. Just cut to whatever length you want. Cut it a little bit long so it compreses a bit. This will also help dampen buzzes and vibrations. Trial and error till you get the right height and squish.
Or buy some nice torx/Allen headed screws.
For metal grill stand offs I use 3/8" fuel line/hose from an auto parts store. Just cut to whatever length you want. Cut it a little bit long so it compreses a bit. This will also help dampen buzzes and vibrations. Trial and error till you get the right height and squish.
I had a friend stop by and asked me to take a look at some speakers he just bought back in that time frame. I asked him where he got them and he said he bought them from a guy in Fred Meyer’s parking lot. I did ask him if the guy was in a white van
He said, yes how did I know?Anyway it was a part of these, the “Liquid Cooled” ones in all its rat fur glory…
I think he paid like $300 for the pair
Here in 2026 to say "That is effing beautiful!" Gonna go with the perf metal myself with silver jubilee Tolex. I love that cream color though. Great job.
