My Carpc Install

[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 knob 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!

[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

[pnyboy27]

here some work i did on the center console..here i already attached the usb port and cut the volume knob 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

[pnyboy27]

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 knobs and tried to light them up

and it worked! so now i can get blue cc knobs, 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.

[pnyboy27]

okay..so a lil update on my progress..ive mostly been gathering info, the reason why i havent made much progress. thanks to tony for much of the info i needed. so now, i made a bracket to hold the a/n unit in place since i wont be using the old bracket.

and then i pretty much super glued everything so that i would know where they would be put exactly and then put epoxy all over it

[pnyboy27]

so now..heres where im at again. im finally applying bondo to the thing to finally make it all pretty!

[pnyboy27]

so yea..heres where i was yesterday before i actually cut the face out for the a/c unit face. ill take some pix tonight of where im at again..but just doing some minor touch-ups right now too. ensuring the smooth clean look.

[pnyboy27]

so heres the pix i took when i cut out the shape of the a/c unit

then here, i took the face off the a/c unit and put it in place. that way the cut around the buttons would be more crisp and be using a harder plastic that wouldnt bend as easily

and since the face of the a/c unit was slightly curved..it was harder to make it flat as i wanted. on my new primered one..now theres more slight curves, which i guess kind of match the rest of the console. the console is full of curves which are just slight, and subtle. one thing i learned about this project is that there are very few, if any straight spots on this console. so for me to actually match oem style, i had to also follow those slight curves, and kind of make my own when molding in the screen and a/c unit

[pnyboy27]

so heres my most recent pix of where im at now. tomorrow im going to go ahead and paint it black then do the test fitment of the screen and prep the wires for installation

[pnyboy27]

here are some shots of where im at now. im not yet completely done. right now im just running off of a power inverter and not the power supply i ordered yet. so everything right now is just a beta fit.

this is a shot of the glossy paint i got..before i repainted it again because it was too glossy.

and this is one of it not glossy anymore. this time i used some trim paint which matched a whole lot better and looked so much better than the glossy

another shot of it in the car

and one last shot.

i have to do a few minor touch ups when i reinstall it again. some things worked out better than i thought, and some not so well. i really need to get another amp for my sub, because the sound sucks with no sub..haha plus, for some reason, when i plug in my speakers to my comp, theres some static, and i dont know why. but when i plug them into my ipod, i get no static. any help there? i got new front speakers too, 4" alpine, as for the rears, i havnt changed them yet. they're still the 4" stock pioneers. i got some nice 6" jl audios for the rear i will install later.

[pnyboy27]

heres a better picture of how it all looks in the car. but still with the temporary setup. i will be ordering the power supply adapter soon, so once i get that, the final installation should take place. hopefully finish this project by february!

[pnyboy27]

yea..the black interior has black buttons. i actually have a couple different options i want for the end, so im unsure of what color i want for the buttons. because im not sure if i want to leave it black or put a woodgrain vinyl on top of it. if i put the woodgrain then ill put the brown or maybe still get the black.

and as for the pix of the buttons, i will go ahead and take some tomorrow.

here are some choices for the woodgrain style i would put. not sure which part to cover. which do you think?

1.

2.

3.

[pnyboy27]

update: i just got in my power supply and my power supply adapter for the carpc. i just took it apart again and will do some minor touch ups to the center console and install everything again, and this time with the clean 'final' look. then after this...time to save up again for another 4 channel amp. then redo my trunk with the subs and amp setup. woo! this is going to be some fun stuff!

[djspawn00]

update: i just got in my power supply and my power supply adapter for the carpc. i just took it apart again and will do some minor touch ups to the center console and install everything again, and this time with the clean 'final' look. then after this...time to save up again for another 4 channel amp. then redo my trunk with the subs and amp setup. woo! this is going to be some fun stuff!

I was going to go the xenarc carpc route but after giving it some thought i realized I'm way too lazy. Awesome setup though, I went with a Kenwood DNX7100 with an ADS 8channel amp pushing focal comps in the front and beyma comps in the rear with a a few RF P3's in the trunk. Having a fully functional pc in your car must rock.

[pnyboy27]

I was going to go the xenarc carpc route but after giving it some thought i realized I'm way too lazy. Awesome setup though, I went with a Kenwood DNX7100 with an ADS 8channel amp pushing focal comps in the front and beyma comps in the rear with a a few RF P3's in the trunk. Having a fully functional pc in your car must rock.

that would've been nice if you went the carpc route..having that in your car is just amazing! all the things you could do and more..plus having a total custom thing done..but yea..your setup sounds pretty nice. im still unsure whether ill go with the 2 amps 2channel and 4 channel, vs the single 5 channel amp to power my speakers and subs. you got some pix of your setup? id be interested to see how it all looks

[chadimus06]

I was going to go the xenarc carpc route but after giving it some thought i realized I'm way too lazy. Awesome setup though, I went with a Kenwood DNX7100 with an ADS 8channel amp pushing focal comps in the front and beyma comps in the rear with a a few RF P3's in the trunk. Having a fully functional pc in your car must rock.

that would've been nice if you went the carpc route..having that in your car is just amazing! all the things you could do and more..plus having a total custom thing done..but yea..your setup sounds pretty nice. im still unsure whether ill go with the 2 amps 2channel and 4 channel, vs the single 5 channel amp to power my speakers and subs. you got some pix of your setup? id be interested to see how it all looks

im very impressed by your install.........looks great!!!!