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carpc in lexus es300 finished

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Old 12-29-06, 10:29 AM
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spiike
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Default carpc in lexus es300 finished

Here is the finished product on my 2001 es300. I fabricated a solid maple plank into the shape of the bezel, varnished and used polyurethane to match the gloss. Let me know your thoughts.



More description found here:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=92899

Some more pictures:



You can actually see the bezel is a little lighter, but up close it's an exact match.


Griffin powermate. Works like a charm (knock on wood)


Here is the BU 353. I love this thing. I had to take apart the backseat to get the wire through. It was a pain. If anyone has a lexus and needs to take apart the backseat I can give some pointers.


Here is the blue devil screen with custom logo built in.


I think I'm going to try to fab a lexus 3 spoke wood wheel like on my 2006 es330 but that is in the works right now.

Last edited by spiike; 12-29-06 at 11:48 PM.
Old 12-29-06, 10:34 AM
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charley240
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looks good, almost like oem
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Old 12-29-06, 10:35 AM
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charley240
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looks good Eric, almost like oem
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Old 12-29-06, 11:13 AM
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calichris
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thats amazing what kind of stain did you use? and how long did that take you to make, and how much was the nav
Old 12-29-06, 01:04 PM
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Smitty
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Nice bro. I'm about 80-90% finished with mine but my bezel dosent look nearly as good as that one.
Old 12-29-06, 02:26 PM
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spiike
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The varnish is an American Walnut with polyurethane 2 in 1 mixture. It took 3 full coats to get the color right.

Total time spent to create the bezel is a week working 2 hrs each night. Dremeling the wood for the lcd opening was a pain and took the most amount of time. I used a powersander so sanding didn't take that long. But I've been planning this for about a 2 years from when I had my old bmw.

LCD prices has gone down about 60% so I figured now is the time to finally build it. GPS is a bu-353 usb gps reciever which goes for ~70 at gpsnow.com. Software used is iguidance 3.0 aka ig3 which cost $80 brand new on ebay. I used ig3 because the directions are really accurate and turn by turn is good as well as voice integration so I can just talk to the computer. My total cost is right at $400 which includes night vision camera, backup camera, griffin powermate (idrive ****), wires for extending the stock headunit about 5 feet and an hp laptop I got off my friend for $50 bucks.

Last edited by spiike; 12-29-06 at 02:30 PM.
Old 12-29-06, 03:22 PM
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Maxx941
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That looks great, Bezel came out excellent, looks like it needs a switch or 2 on each side but nonetheless Great Job
Old 12-29-06, 09:45 PM
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LXMN
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Clean looking install. Picture shows a great match to existing wood trim.
Thanks for sharing pictures with us.
Old 12-30-06, 07:37 PM
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tuan92129
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That looks awesome! Oem lol.
Old 12-31-06, 12:26 PM
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Just wow i have been to 2 shops asking for that and both said it was impossible. I think i'm gona have to print this out and bring it in. You should make a few $400 or so a piece i know i'd buy one.Oh and where did you hide the laptop i don't see it

Last edited by Choas; 12-31-06 at 12:43 PM.
Old 01-01-07, 11:54 AM
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spiike
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The bezel is pretty easy to make if you have patience with a dremel. I'm sure they told you that cause they dont want to take the time to make one. I've gotten a few requests and if there are enough I could possibly create a batch from my template. Laptop is in the trunk in a custom box I fabbed and covered with black carpet. All the wires go under the backseat and under the carpet to the arm rest where a dc-ac inverter powers the whole thing. I'm currently putting some finishing touches with a suttle light up Lexus logo on the box.
Old 01-01-07, 03:12 PM
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jondiego
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Default Looks damn good!

I like it. Wish someone would fabricate something like that for my es300. Good work. How long did it take you to install everything?

-Jon
Old 01-01-07, 03:21 PM
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Smitty
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Originally Posted by spiike
The bezel is pretty easy to make if you have patience with a dremel. I'm sure they told you that cause they dont want to take the time to make one. I've gotten a few requests and if there are enough I could possibly create a batch from my template. Laptop is in the trunk in a custom box I fabbed and covered with black carpet. All the wires go under the backseat and under the carpet to the arm rest where a dc-ac inverter powers the whole thing. I'm currently putting some finishing touches with a suttle light up Lexus logo on the box.
I would defintely be interested in one. The bezel I made looks ok but it defintely does not go with the rest of the interior. I've good wood everywhere even on my steering wheel and then a flat black bezel. It just dosent flow well. Let me know if ur taking orders.
Old 01-01-07, 05:35 PM
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That is a good job!
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