Since I had already had so many pieces out of the way, I decided to go ahead and upgrade the speakers while I was "there". Won't explain how to remove all the components and getting the dash out, but a ratcheting 10mm combo wrench is your friend here. This mod will 100% make changing out the speakers later a pain in the ass since it will require removing the dash.
Mounting using the old studs was out of the question. I didnt want to wait to make brackets.
I ended up buying a license plate kit cause it pretty much had exactly what I wanted. I used a dremel to round off the edges because if they didnt line up just right the corners would keep the speaker from laying flush.
My plan changed to mounting them to the fiberglass from the top. I started by cutting off the studs so they wouldn't damage the speakers. Then I sanded off lots of foam to make sure it wouldnt be sitting on the edges of the speaker. What isnt shown is that later I had to go back and sand where the screws weren't clearing the foam. (I didnt realize how bad the pictures were at the time)
I used some painter tape I had lying around so I could mark the holes with a sharpie. Not necessary, but I only had a black sharpie to mark the holes. Using a small bit, I hand drilled from the top to transfer the hole to the bottom side. With the glass in place, there's no place for a drill.
This is probably not the best method, but I then used the small pilot holes to drill from the bottom side. The bit was roughly the size of the nylon "nuts". A step bit would be better.
Using a dremel high speed cutter, I turned the circle hole into a square. It was pretty much the right diameter to match the width so this wasnt too tricky.
To finish it off I used some strips of adhesive rubber cork to make the other "ears" flush. Im hoping this will prevent them from rattling.
The reason I went from the top is that there is a not enough clearance on the bottom with the "ears" there. If the glass was out, I'd probably use some rivnuts since I have the tool. If I ever need to change them out, Ill make design a bracket with studs in the original orientation so I can replace them again without taking the dash out.
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