pnyboy27

so you know what the stock interior looks like. this is my goal for what i want to do to my car


this is my first time installing a carpc. never done it before and never really even messed with customization like this. change my climate control unit with another unit from an es300 and move it down, fit a 7" touchscreen at the top, and where a cupholder is supposed to be on the right, is where im going to put a 4 port usb slot. but since the climate control that i was originally going to put there wouldnt quite fit like planned, i had to stick with my stock unit and just do a little modification to it.

for the screen, i want it to be inset a bit and slightly tilted. similar to some of the new cars, like the g37, or ls460. most of my inspiration comes from the new cars, and how they're assembled, and designed. and since its a lexus, i had to keep that luxury-inspired look. i was aiming for a stock, clean look.

what i also plan on doing to the climate control **** is update them by using different colors. most of the newer cars that ive seen, use a nice blue or white color. so that will be my goal, to change the light colors to a blue or white color.

ive been researching for a long time on what i planned to do with my car. i did my research before actually assembling so that once i start assembling, i dont have to stop at a design stage. most of it will flow with ease. now of course every once in a while ill have to redesign something to make it fit better, or just for aesthetic appeal. so i actually started working on the center console for a bit now. probably over a couple of weeks. so ill show you what my progress is and where im at now. then maybe you can follow along until i reach my goal. so enjoy the pix!


edit(02.21.08): heres a video clip of what my carpc can do..enjoy!

and so you dont have to search for a before/after pic..here it is for you!

before:


after:

pnyboy27

heres what my computer looks like


and this is where its going


and heres the cover to go over it


here, i had to cut a hole so all the cables could go through and for ventilation

JesLet

iTrader: (19)

Can't wait to see the outcome!

pnyboy27

here some work i did on the center console..here i already attached the usb port and cut the volume **** off and drew out where i would want some cuts and where things would be placed




heres a faceplate i cut out for my climate control unit so that when i put it all together, i can blend it with my screen and the rest of my center console


here, i made a few cuts so the screen would fit there flush at the top

pnyboy27

for my screen, i got a lilliput 619gl. when i test fitted it in there, with the climate control, it wouldnt fit perfect..so i had to cut the bottom part off and angle it so that it would fit



then i had to cut some walls..so i drew out some templates to cut out

pnyboy27

and so now..basically, this is where im at






and this is with everything pretty much there

habitat

Wow a very ambitious project! I can't wait to see the final outcome!
One question, it seems the cover will deny access to the cd/dvd drive, are you not intending to use it?
Also, although I have no experience with this type of install, I imagine the glove compartment would not provide sufficient airflow, are you planning on putting a nice fan (maybe usb powered) inside to help air move along?

Lastly, SUBSCRIBED!

88supramki

looking good so far. now time for bondo, sand, repeat...repeat...repeat...repeat

pnyboy27

yea..the cover will covering access to the cd/dvd drive..but that cover is also removable

and plus..since its a computer..i have like 120GB! so thats enough songs to where i wont need to constantly change cds.

as for the airflow, thats why theres that huge hole in the back so that air can circulate out of the glove box into behind there where theres enough room to circulate. if it does end up getting too hot in there, i will try to find a way to get the air circulated better for the computer

pnyboy27

and yes..thats going to definitely need lots of bondo and sanding. which i am prepared to do. i plan on making this perfect and clean. i want it to look like it came out of the factory like that. my goal is to make it, so when people see it, they would be like, "i didnt know they had screens in car back in 92!" then id be like, nope..they didnt...i did that! muahahhahaha! but actually..they did..on the soarers..not ours

timywong

looks good! keeps up the good work.

pnyboy27

thanks everyone for the comments!

now i started trying to fit everything in there to make sure it would fit and work. i also tried to retro fit some of these leds in the cc ***** and tried to light them up


and it worked! so now i can get blue cc *****, and also a blue cigarette lighter


so then i tried to fit everything to make sure all the things were in the right place so it would fit perfectly



and its a good thing i checked too..it turns out the cc unit i had was just a tad bit too high. so now i need to adjust it and bring it down just a bit.

ACleanSC4

iTrader: (7)

nice work so far!!

From my experiences, having a screen at that angle up there might give you lots of glare! Hopefully it's set deep enough so that it gets enough coverage from the "hood" you made...

Also, concerning airflow, I've had my setup installed behind the screen for over 3 years now and have had ZERO problems. These mini-itx boards are made for low power consumption and a lot of them are fanless units.

The biggest concern IMO is proper mounting of 3.5" harddrives if you plan to use them because they are more likely to be damaged because of vibration. As soon as SSD drives go down in price and become larger in size, that would be ideal for us.

Good luck, you're going to love it when you're done! I'm redoing mine as well, updating it with some new features as well as having some PC controlled parts of the car (ie. lights on/off, windows up/down, trunk open, etc...)

pnyboy27

nice..sounds like your project redo is going to be nice. what are you going to use to have those controlled parts? im gonna have something similar like that on mine as well. mines going to be the connect2car anywhere v2 kit.

pnyboy27

oh yea..and about the angle..the angle of the screen isnt so big..its just a small angle