I have recently bought a TJ 02 VRX and am very happy with it. I will be visiting these forums often. Over the last few weeks I have been working on putting a computer in my dash instead of a plane head unit for audio and other things. The hdd has about 80GB of my music, about 80GB of video clips and movies.

The computer and screen are completely recessed within the dash (thanks for the roomy magna). The screen has been fabricated into the double DIN spot replacing the stock cd player (FS if anyone is interested), the computer is then again behind that squeezed into a 10x20x18cm Perspex box mounted to the DIN chassis. For sound ive run a usb cable to the boot for 5.1 usb sound directly into my amp. I have replaced the rear 6x9 with 300w kenwoods, but have left the front 6" and tweeties as is. The quality is very good, running 4 channel (subs soon to come). For my full worklog with many many more fab pics go here (http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=71024).

Hardware:
7 inch ex-audio lilliput touchscreen
VIA MII-12000 motherboard
M2-ATX power supply
200 GB 3.5' HDD
512 DDR RAM
USB sound for amp

Things yet to add
GPS
iburst internet
blue tooth phone connectivity
fm radio
digital sound upgrade
OBD-II integration
drive cameras
additional external usb hdd in boot

the car
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/car1_800x600.JPG

before shot (loose)
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/dashbefore.JPG

fabed dash
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/fabspray.JPG

screen together (media engine front end software)
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/screenfinal.JPG

case slug fit
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/boxdash.JPG

comp running off car power
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/compdashON.JPG

messy audio (soon to be custom fiberglass fitting with subs)
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/audio05.JPG

all together
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/aftershot1.JPG

dark shot
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/darkshot.JPG

OMG that setup is the exact same one I was explaining to a friend! Me wantee! Looks absolutely stunning! Great work!

Oh btw...how much for the stock cd player? :)

dunno whatever + shipping. make offer. thanx for the comment

ahh forgot about shipping - dun worry about it then.

Thats awesome man. Really great work.

Very similar to what I was wanting to do, but with the computer in the back of the car.
I've got all the parts sitting here, just need some spare time to do it all.

Thats cool.. come do it to my car will ya..:P

hah, if you pay me

good idea and it looks good

Very nice work.
I assume the fans are very quiet, as this is the first time I've seen anyone put the pc in the dash.

OH MY GOD. That has to be one of the most awesome things i've ever seen in a car.
WOW!
Looks fantastic.
Curious though about the computer mounting behind the screen? There's not alot of room back there, must have been a very tight squeeze?

Very nice work.
I assume the fans are very quiet, as this is the first time I've seen anyone put the pc in the dash.

Yeah the one case fan can only be heard when the engine is off, and only very slightly. The computer is on a 30 second shutdown delay after ignition off. While driving you cant here a thing and the cpu fan is almost silent.


OH MY GOD. That has to be one of the most awesome things i've ever seen in a car.
WOW!
Looks fantastic.
Curious though about the computer mounting behind the screen? There's not alot of room back there, must have been a very tight squeeze?

The magna has more room then most cars, I could fit my head in that gap easy. The box fits nicely between those two dash brace bars sitting on the rubber grommets for the DIN cage. I was originally going to cut threw the bars and mount on the bolts on top. But then realized I didn’t need to do that.

Fantastic work! I would actually pay you to do that. The TL dash may be even easier to work with. There is a lot of room back there. Obviously not in that colour as its the worst wood possible.

ouch, that would be hard to do copy. Its possible, you can get ABS woodgrain plastics. Im not very good with the whole texture/paint mixing side of it. Sorry I wouldnt touch that :(

this guy did it to his keyboard lol...

http://www.geocities.com/christopher_bergeron/mp3jetta/wood_keyboard2.jpg

I need to hurry up and find me a new car so i can install a carputer

ouch, that would be hard to do copy. Its possible, you can get ABS woodgrain plastics. Im not very good with the whole texture/paint mixing side of it. Sorry I wouldnt touch that :(

this guy did it to his keyboard lol...

http://www.geocities.com/christopher_bergeron/mp3jetta/wood_keyboard2.jpg


No mine isnt that colour, its the only big pic of a TL/KL dash taht I could find.

so you made the complete mould out of plastic putty? or did u use resin first to make the mould?
cheers
jaz

also how much was your total cost for the project?
iv been thinking about this for ages but just haven't got off my bum to get motivated enough to do it yet, maybe this yr

ahhaha just incase your stuck in peak traffic and havn't done that report for boss.

Go the effort.

Im impressed!
That looks like an awesome project. The link you posted was a good read also.

No mine isnt that colour, its the only big pic of a TL/KL dash that I could find.

Oh ok i misread the first post. Yes its not that hard I am not confident enough to do this to someone else car specially someone I dont know. If i do something wrong.... well it would suck. But possibly.


so you made the complete mould out of plastic putty? or did u use resin first to make the mould?
cheers
jaz

I will post a little run down on how I did the dash, the full worklog with much more detail is here at mp3car.com
(http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=71024)


also how much was your total cost for the project?
iv been thinking about this for ages but just haven't got off my bum to get motivated enough to do it yet, maybe this yr

computer part all brand new delivered to my door was little over $1000, fab stuff was about $200 but most of that is tools i needed to buy etc. amp speakers and wire was $300 from JB HIFI


ahhaha just incase your stuck in peak traffic and havn't done that report for boss.

Go the effort.

Yeah lol, cant wait till i get iburst going, then web browsing, streaming internet radio, msn.

I removed the front bezel form the screen
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/opencase3.JPG

i measured it up. tape on the area where i DONT cut to make it flush
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/dash2.JPG

cut it out using a rotary
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/dash3.JPG

epoxy glue it in place on the back
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/dash7.JPG

get it on the perfect place you want it.
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/dash8.JPG

used fiberglass bondo for a filler
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/bondo2.JPG

sanded it to the perfect shape, this took the longest I kept sanding off to much.
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/dash09.JPG

after the shape was right, i used an automotive plastic primer to seal it, the used body putty to build it to remove any imperfections, acts the same as a high build primer... but better. 5 layers of this stuff
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/dash10.JPG

I used 1200 grit paper to get the putty extremely smooth then the paint, I bummed out on the paint, I could have gone a nice texture finish to match the dash but I really dont know much about it so I didnt. I might redo the whole dash textured silver later.
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/dash12.JPG

after the bezel is in the dash you just have to simply bolt on the electrical part and back case of the screen and boom you dash has a touchscreen inbuilt with vga out. I actually screwed this up and ripped one of the ribbon cables a bit. Lucky the screen still works perfectly.
http://202.87.18.9/uploads/finishedback.JPG

o my freakin god. thats so awsome. man if u were in vic id so pay u 2 do that for me. excellent job. well done :clap:

I didn't realise a car computer was a sought out thing! Maybe I should start charging people for the installs :bowrofl:


I've been waiting for over 4 years for a transflective screen (like the ones on the iPAQs) to come out in a 7" screen thats <$1500, as to why I havn't done Mk.II of my setup yet. Unfortunately it looks very slim for such a screen to come onto the market, so I may have to go through the route I'd least like to use, a cheap Xenarc screen :(


Mate, your setup is interesting, I never thought about integrating the existing bezel. My personal plan is to use an 8" widescreen as apparently that fits in well in double din spaces.

Oh so the EPIA MII's fit in nicely within the 2DIN spacing? Cool, I was thinking I might have had to resort to using the Nano boards if I wanted it to fit all behind the dash. But now i'm having second thoughts about using the EPIA boards, I need either a) more processing power for constant video encoding, b) USB/firewire MPEG encoder. (thats <$600)

I'm still in my planning stage for Mk.II of my carputer.

thats an awesome job man! never seen one installed right in the dash like that!!

just a thought, what about getting an external DVD drive, and mounting that where the ashtray would be? thats the only disadvantage i can see with the current setup.

man, absolutly SWEET setup you have running, im very envious :redface:


i have a question, can a 7" widescreen be fitted to a 2nd gen? same way this guy has done his?

im trying but it looks hopeless!
(edges of screen actually touch the edge of the facia)

Dude, that is ****#n tits!

That is one sick setup you got there!

Im like drooling on my keyboard!

:) (We need a smiley that drools) (Just picture that drooling*)

I'm off to hong kong at easter, i wonder if I could get something like that cheapish :confused:

have you got AM/FM radio and where did you buy from?

']man, absolutly SWEET setup you have running, im very envious :redface:


i have a question, can a 7" widescreen be fitted to a 2nd gen? same way this guy has done his?

im trying but it looks hopeless!
(edges of screen actually touch the edge of the facia)


That console looks weird, did you cut out the mirror controls/cig lighter?

The best way to do it in a 2nd gen is to get the Verada surrounds because you don't get that middle horizontal bar between the two DIN slots. Of course, you could always cut that bar off.

have you got AM/FM radio and where did you buy from?


From his first post, looks like the FM radio is in the todo list.

Actually I'm currently in the process in trying to obtain some DAB radio modules (Digital Radio (http://www.broadcastaustralia.com.au/radio_digital.html) for those not in the know) and make a simple interface that can be controlled via serial commands. This is only good for those who are in areas where DAB is being tested (like Sydney, yay!).

Looks great mate,,,,, an idea,,, how would you go using a 2GB USB flash drive to boot from,, at least it would last more then a HD with vibtations and heat build up,,,

I've got all the parts sitting here, just need some spare time to do it all.
Haha, ok apparently I now no longer have all the parts.

We've been renovating for the past few months, clearing junk out of the house and I've also been interstate working over summer. Went to grab the brain box to check some things out and realised it wasn't where I last put it (Under one of my desks). Hmmm... After a lot of searching, asked my dad if he'd seen it. "oh... I thought that was Mums old computer. I dropped it off at the tip with the last load of stuff"

:rant: lol

Time to find another Carputer.

Jeez you are all very interested in this eh. Im not quoting you all so ill answer all in one.

TecoDaN
transflective screen would be good but is not necessary, unless the screen is in direct sunlight it is always visible in day. Just make sure its at least 400 nit brightness which all lilliput are. The bezel is the easiest and best fit way of doing it. You can try and just connect the screen to the opening but will look abit dodge. the mini-itx motherboards are fine. There is the 12x12cm nanos now and also the 3.5" babies (http://www.evalue-tech.com/products/ECM-3710.cfm) by eden. That digital radio looks interesting keep me posted.

Asylum
http://www.pccasegear.com/prod1795.htm
I bought this to replace the ash tray, But when i got it I realised the bezel is non removable and will be very hard to fab it in. I will put something like this in one day to monitor fan speeds and temps. I am planning to put a slot DVD-RW hidden in the glove box just so I can burn people stuff form the computer from my car, this is in my to do list but not very important.

[TUFFTR]
I see it doesn’t fit flush, you can fill the gaps by putting thin wood pieces in place to give support, the glue and bondo will do the rest.. There is a write up on how to do this at mp3car.com (http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=36970) and I don’t recommend cutting those internal bars. I suspect that will weaken the chassis and cause more sway.

JET-BLK
You can probably get everything there :) I ordered my screen from Hong Kong and had to pay $60 postage. Still only $270

micjaiy
For FM i will first try something like this (http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product_info.php?input[product_code]=AL-AVERRADIOUSB). Im not sure if it will pick up very well while on the move. There are other high end usb FM recievers but a bit costly for just fm.

jay
Normal 3.5" hdds can handle very hard conditions. It all depends on how you are using the drive, if you are encoding video using most of the hdd cache and you drive over some corrugation then there is a good chance it will skip sectors and you will get a system hang. Worst comes to worst you will have to reformat. If all you are doing is streaming audio then it takes alot more to skip. Read some comments on this at mp3car and am convinced that 3.5" hdd can handle the job fine. But if you are paranoid flash drives wont give you much to play with... go with a solid state hdd. basicly like a large stick of ram with a sata connection, so there is no moving parts, check them out here (http://www.m-sys.com/site/en-US/Products/IDESCSIFFD/IDESCSIFFD/Products_/IDE_Products/FFD_35_IDE_Plus.htm). very costly

Sideswipe
Try and avoid the inverter setup, it is hard to integrate and is very harsh on your alternator. And it seams pointless to go from 12v to 240v back to 12v.

thats friggen awesome man.. if only i had the money to do that:cry:

You got me thinking about that matrix lcd, i whipped it out and double checked the bezel. I was wrong it does come out, this can be fabed in my dash somewhere and can monitor temperatures and fan speeds. 3 sensors, one behind dash but not in case, one in case and one on the cpu. Control cpu fan and case fan speeds, I like this idea. Only problem is the only place I can see it going is the ashtray. How can I remove that dash if I don’t have the ashtray gap to pull on. I will put this in my todo list and go to sleep, will think about this another time.

http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/lcd.JPG

I agree with you Bigs on the 3.5" hdd's. I used it in my first computer, albeit with foam surrounding it. No problems there. But I'm not too sure about using it again in with the hard suspension i've got. I had it running on an old car of mine which had really soft suspension so it was alright.

I think I'll be using a solid state drive this time, mostly because its now considerably cheap in comparision to when i began the project 5 years ago. (Hmm, 64mb CF card for $120 anyone!)

The ultimate setup would be to use something like this (http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Storage/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2180&ProductName=GC-RAMDISK), but its insanely expensive and it'll be a while yet before I attempt to purchase one of these!

Could you boot it from an iPod?

could u flush mount some usb sockets onto the dash, under the screen??

since everyone is asking "could you" qustions


could you do mine for me lol


o and another question how do u load songs and stuff in it? do u have to keep pulling it out and adding files to it?

Could you boot it from an iPod?

I don’t know what kind of output an ipod has. The screen has rca video and audio input and has a av1, av2 and pc mode, so perhaps. Also looks to be a coax connector, so I can plug a tv aerial in maybe.


could u flush mount some usb sockets onto the dash, under the screen??

Yes decently, I would not use them so I didn’t. If I want to add a keyboard or game controller ill just go wireless.


since everyone is asking "could you" qustions


could you do mine for me lol


o and another question how do u load songs and stuff in it? do u have to keep pulling it out and adding files to it?


atm ive got a network cable with a female connector that runs into my glove box. I just run a cable down from my house computer and use remote desktop to connect with my home computer. I will get a usb wireless lan later on tho, I will need it for iburst anyway. Then I just have to be on the same street and can connect to my house computer.

Thats what i would like to do, but in the back mod a xbox so that the center console will have a opening to allow a dvd drive to eject (towards the rear passengers) and have 2 screens on the head rest and have wifi controllers.

hats exactly what im going to do (the xbox thing) but i have no idea hwere to mount the screens, dont want to do the headrest thing....thats why i swapped my ps2 for a xbox

Some more shots.

http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/after01.JPG

http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/after02.JPG

http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/after03.JPG

http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/after04.JPG

What front end are your running on the PC,,, Road Runner??

Media Engine

I am getting a few inquires from people asking if I would do this to there dash. I will for a small price.

If you mail me the screen and dash piece +$100(including return postage) for me I will do the fabrication part for you. Nobody is yet serious about it yet just inquires so far but the offer is on the table. If your interested PM me.

I am getting a few inquires from people asking if I would do this to there dash. I will for a small price.

If you mail me the screen and dash piece +$100(including return postage) for me I will do the fabrication part for you. Nobody is yet serious about it yet just inquires so far but the offer is on the table. If your interested PM me.

Done. However thanks to that little setback I posted about earlier, it may not be for a little while.

What's up bigs. remember me :D

What's up bigs. remember me :D
Ha yeah whats doing!? Hows your setup going? Got a log yet?


Done. However thanks to that little setback I posted about earlier, it may not be for a little while.
Yeah no probs pm me when ur ready. Got a dash and screen on its way to do for a guy from the CAA forums. My first customer :).

Ha yeah whats doing!? Hows your setup going? Got a log yet?


not yet. I am still working on the software. I also have to get the screen fabricated. i will get a shop to do it for me, as buying the stuff will probably costmore. If i was in Aus, you'd be doin it for me :D.any way, i'll be getting everything done in a week or so and i'll post here & on mp3car. Man, beautiful install by the way. 51 posts in 5 days, WOW. that's interesting.

keep up the good work.

Hey Ramy,,, im also on Mp3car.com........

Hey Ramy,,, im also on Mp3car.com........

yeah.. you sent the private message.:D

Here is some work ive done for other people since my install I would like to share. Im doing a 3rd gen magna soon for a friend, as well as a big redo for mine.

before-after shots

http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/before.JPG
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/vinyl_last.JPG
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/P1010327%20(Small).JPG

http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/dave.jpg
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/dave2.jpg


http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/nome1.JPG
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/nome2.JPG
http://www.ccgl.org/uploads/nome3.JPG

I don't really know too much about these setups, and I'm thinking of installing my own. I know a bit about computers, but one question I have is what is the go with the front end software? Does the computer just boot straight into it? Or do you run It from Windows like a regular program? And if it does boot straight in to the front end, is it possible to still use Windows?

No you have to use an OS like windows xp. You need to setup windows so it will auto load the front end software when windows starts. Windows xp came with a nifty startup folder to make it much easier to do, all you have to is drop a shortcut to the front end .exe into this dir: Start Menu>Programs>Startup. Anything in that folder will boot automatically after windows loads.

No you have to use an OS like windows xp. You need to setup windows so it will auto load the front end software when windows starts. Windows xp came with a nifty startup folder to make it much easier to do, all you have to is drop a shortcut to the front end .exe into this dir: Start Menu>Programs>Startup. Anything in that folder will boot automatically after windows loads.
Sneaky!! If I want to, i can exit out of the front end and it will just be like a normal pc?

yes, most front ends have a button in the corner to exit/minimize out any time. But ill tell you now its very hard to use windows with only a touch screen, what I do when I want change settings etc is login to remote desktop via my wireless laptop connection and control from there, I have drives shared so I can just drag drop from my home pc via wireless from the driveway, the battery will last about 1 hour without the engine going and will still start the engine fine, but I have a very heavy duty battery.