I've researched some threads of people putting speakers in the door panels of their W123. I just got an '83 300D and I'm about to pump up the system. I've got a new Alpine CDA-9883 head, a Sony 4-channel amp in the rear (been using it for years in my old car running a 3-way config on two 5-1/4" speakers and a trunk sub), and a Kenwood 2-channel amp for the front speaks.

I can't make up my mind on whether I want to work with the existing speaker locations (4" front dash, 5-1/4" rear deck), or cut some holes in the door panels to get bigger sound, at least up front. I have seen pictures of people's modifications, and it looks good.

What I have not seen is an actual documentation of the door panel cutting process. I'm wondering what kinds of surprises I might encounter. Do most people take the panels completely off before cutting? How difficult is it? Or can you safely use a hole cutter without removing panels?

I've done work like this before on my old car (VW Passat), but I'm new to Mercedes and I want to do a good job on this baby. If anyone can share their experiences, I'd love to hear them. I am ideally wanting to at least do bigger speakers up front because those 4" deck speakers probably won't cut it. Can anyone convince me that this will be well worth my trouble/money, or should I just go the cheap 4" 2-way coax route?