Summary: 86SE down to rolling frame, paint & GT conversion added factory Power locks Marksman M10 2way paging alarm Pioneer 4 x 10's in front Infinity 4 x 6's in back Sony 10" woofer Custom made sealed sub enclosure 2 MTX Amps Carputer: Via Mini ITX 800mhz board, 60gigs @ 7200rpm, Opus 150Watt Clarion 6.5" composite LCD screen
This was all done over the course of a couple years but I never did bother to post pics along the way. I have plenty more pics of steps inbetween that aren't posted. If anyone wants more detail or pics I can email them. Austinlee@shaw.ca is where I can be reached
As always it's a work in progress Looking for a GT nose & Round front psngr marker that can be delivered to Canada if anyone's got one. Bah its late enough rambling.
Enjoy!
Austin PS if anyone wants to PIP the pics so maybe they can be archived? i can email them over
Cool converstion. Was the roof hard to remove and install? Do you have to re-do any sealent around the windsheild?
It was OKAY. It was time consuming because you have to peel the roof panel up and wedge it with something, then stick pieces of cardboard along the way to prevent the roof panel from resticking to the frame.
I found that WD40 (or any sort of solvent) worked well in dissolving the black nasty stuff and cleaning up any mess.
quote
Originally posted by thismanyfieros:
dude u can order the marker lights from gm last time i did they were like 30 bux or so apiece..
Yeah or the FieroStore. But if anyones got one kicking around for cheaper that isnt in great shape that will do too. I actually repaired one round marker with fiberglass already because it was cracked in half. A little bit of glassing, glazing putty, paint, lens polishing and it looks brand new Besides one of the joys of owning a Fiero is in doing the work yourself and being proud of it!
Thanks for all the kind words Austin
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02:57 PM
Wipe0ut Member
Posts: 1524 From: Mankato, MN Registered: May 2002
Another Mini ITX fan I see! I have a bunch of questions for you. How are you getting power to that box? I have a 400 watt power inverter that I was thinking of using, but I've heard they are coming out with DC to DC power supplies. How are you controlling startup/shutdown? Are you running an RCA from the Mini ITX box to your CD receiver for audio? What LCD is that? I plan to do something similar (once my car is running!!), except without a CD deck there - an external DVD drive where the head unit should be, and RCAs from the sound card to the amps. I haven't seen a "good" solution for controlling startup and shutdown yet. I was planning on using Windows XP and using a relay to put the computer in S0 (hibernation) when the ignition was turned off, and back into S3 when the ignition was turned on.
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09:54 PM
007 Member
Posts: 162 From: Between The ATL and Augusta in a land of deer and cows Registered: Oct 2002
In one pic it appears that the shift pattern emblem on the shifter surround is backlit, is it?
JazzMan
Good eyes! Yes it is. I had a local guy here do a custom 1 off for me. It is a clear piece of plastic w/ black on one side. The lines & numbers are engraved on the back side to allow light to come through. It is wired to the dimmer of the instrument panel so that it varies in brightness w/ everything else
quote
Originally posted by Wipe0ut:
Another Mini ITX fan I see! I have a bunch of questions for you. How are you getting power to that box? I have a 400 watt power inverter that I was thinking of using, but I've heard they are coming out with DC to DC power supplies. How are you controlling startup/shutdown? Are you running an RCA from the Mini ITX box to your CD receiver for audio? What LCD is that? I plan to do something similar (once my car is running!!), except without a CD deck there - an external DVD drive where the head unit should be, and RCAs from the sound card to the amps. I haven't seen a "good" solution for controlling startup and shutdown yet. I was planning on using Windows XP and using a relay to put the computer in S0 (hibernation) when the ignition was turned off, and back into S3 when the ignition was turned on.
I run an Opus 150watt ATX DC-DC power supply. It costed a lot but it comes with a ignition turn on, built in tank circuit, shutdown delay timer, etc. I would like to run headunit-less but it's hard to beat the convenience and security of having a removable faceplate. Maybe later down the road I might play around more w/ it. I'm running Windows XP in standby and bootup time is extremely quick at below 10sec from turning ignition on, to playing music. Music is already playing by the time I've put the faceplate on after getting in.
The Opus power supply also lets you delay shutdown. I have a switch in my center console wired up so I can select for the computer to shutdown in 10sec, or 20mins. That way if I run into 7-11 or gas up, I flip the switch and the computer remains on for 20mins while the car is off.
The audio is straight from the stereo mini-plug to the line-in of my headunit, out to the EQ then to the Amps. Pretty straight forward :P
Awesome, thanks for the info! + for you. How many milliamps does the thing draw on standby? I'd be scared that keeping it in standby (S2 right?) for a long time would drain the battery. STR (Suspend To RAM) would be another option (I think that's S1 and conserves a lot more power).
Another Mini ITX fan I see! I have a bunch of questions for you. How are you getting power to that box? I have a 400 watt power inverter that I was thinking of using, but I've heard they are coming out with DC to DC power supplies. How are you controlling startup/shutdown? Are you running an RCA from the Mini ITX box to your CD receiver for audio? What LCD is that? I plan to do something similar (once my car is running!!), except without a CD deck there - an external DVD drive where the head unit should be, and RCAs from the sound card to the amps. I haven't seen a "good" solution for controlling startup and shutdown yet. I was planning on using Windows XP and using a relay to put the computer in S0 (hibernation) when the ignition was turned off, and back into S3 when the ignition was turned on.
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11:42 AM
Joe Torma Member
Posts: 3485 From: Hillsborough, NJ USA Registered: Jul 2001
The Opus PS is the way to go. I have one. I have a little jumper pack and I ran the computer for just under 2 hours off of it before it went into it's low volt shut down(leaves enough juice to start the car). That is MUCH better than an inverter and normal PS. Those start screaming low volts after 10 minutes.
The Opus utilizes the case switch circuit to shut down, hibernate, suspend you pick. I use the hibernate mode.
Very clever stuff, SoD. I like the mount for the LCD screen looks like a mirror mount?
Have your driven with the computer operating yet? I was wondering if you've experience with the hard drive and big bumps.
Nice job!
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11:44 AM
Wipe0ut Member
Posts: 1524 From: Mankato, MN Registered: May 2002
If you're using a laptop drive, they can take a lot of crap before they start to screw up. That's what I'll be using. I even contemplated using a 2GB CompactFlash disk for a hard drive, but then I wouldn't have much room for MP3s.
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03:50 PM
SoD Member
Posts: 48 From: Vancouver, BC, Canada Registered: May 2002
Awesome, thanks for the info! + for you. How many milliamps does the thing draw on standby? I'd be scared that keeping it in standby (S2 right?) for a long time would drain the battery. STR (Suspend To RAM) would be another option (I think that's S1 and conserves a lot more power).
Yep I'm using STR thats how it's able to bootup as quick as it does. I did play around with hibernate mode but because it has to dump to harddrive and reload from hdd again, there's just no way it can compete. Right now with my weak battery, I've drained it so many times from leaving music on that it won't sit for more than a few days until I have to put the charger on it. I bought an Optima Yellow top to take it's place but have yet to put it in. I've also upgraded from SI to 105amp CS alternator to help with things. As for current draw I haven't gotten around to putting a multimeter on it yet. I would think it would be relatively high in the 400-700ma range due to radio, 2 way alarm, Carputer, and whatever else i've added.
quote
Originally posted by Joe Torma:
The Opus PS is the way to go. I have one. I have a little jumper pack and I ran the computer for just under 2 hours off of it before it went into it's low volt shut down(leaves enough juice to start the car). That is MUCH better than an inverter and normal PS. Those start screaming low volts after 10 minutes.
The Opus utilizes the case switch circuit to shut down, hibernate, suspend you pick. I use the hibernate mode.
Very clever stuff, SoD. I like the mount for the LCD screen looks like a mirror mount?
Have your driven with the computer operating yet? I was wondering if you've experience with the hard drive and big bumps.
Nice job!
The Opus is perfect for this application. But like I said it comes at a price The LCD mount is indeed a rearview mirror mount. I had an extra one kicking around after I upgraded to one w/ curtousy lights built in from a early 90's Oldsmobile. It's great because I can swivel & pivot it for either myself or passenger. DISCLAIMER: Always keep your eyes and attention on the road when driving Have to watch out for thos kittens, nuns & eastery bunnies lol.
I've had the carputer running for roughly 7 months. No problems w/ the harddrive. No spindowns, seek delays, seek errors or anything. It's just a regular 3.5" IBM 60gig 7200rpm desktop harddrive screwed down horizontally w/ stiff rubber feet inbetween. You want to make sure the harddrive is mounted ridgedly enough so that it doesnt oscillate on bumps and yet when you hit a bump, the rubber slows the impact down when it transfers to the hdd. If that makes any sense?
Another forum I lurk regularily on is http://www.mp3car.com I lurked on there and gathered the information to come up w/ what suits my application.
Thanks again for the comments & interest
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05:16 PM
fiero_gt Member
Posts: 170 From: huntington wv 25705 Registered: Aug 2001
How are you getting power to that box? I have a 400 watt power inverter that I was thinking of using, but I've heard they are coming out with DC to DC power supplies. How are you controlling startup/shutdown?
Another Mini ITX fan I see! I have a bunch of questions for you. How are you getting power to that box? I have a 400 watt power inverter that I was thinking of using, but I've heard they are coming out with DC to DC power supplies. How are you controlling startup/shutdown? Are you running an RCA from the Mini ITX box to your CD receiver for audio? What LCD is that? I plan to do something similar (once my car is running!!), except without a CD deck there - an external DVD drive where the head unit should be, and RCAs from the sound card to the amps. I haven't seen a "good" solution for controlling startup and shutdown yet. I was planning on using Windows XP and using a relay to put the computer in S0 (hibernation) when the ignition was turned off, and back into S3 when the ignition was turned on.
They've had the DC-DC power supplies for a while now I've had mine for about a year, what you might be thnking about is the new ITX that will take 12DC directly, plus it's smaller. I run mine directly into my amp, no head unit, I use Hibernation, take about 12 seconds fast enough for me, plus don't have to worry about my battery running down. I use the MediaCar frontend for now. For power management I use a PIC that I can do everything the OPUS does plus a LOT more! For a lot less! The onboard sound card isn't the greatest, but I've heard theyv'e upgraded it on the new boards.
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11:44 PM
PFF
System Bot
Apr 12th, 2004
Wipe0ut Member
Posts: 1524 From: Mankato, MN Registered: May 2002
Err, that's what I was thinking. Yeah I knew about the DC to DC power supplies, but they usually weren't for automotive or computer use (12-15V with separate 5V and 12V rails, and plugins, etc.). Cool
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11:46 AM
SoD Member
Posts: 48 From: Vancouver, BC, Canada Registered: May 2002
They've had the DC-DC power supplies for a while now I've had mine for about a year, what you might be thnking about is the new ITX that will take 12DC directly, plus it's smaller. I run mine directly into my amp, no head unit, I use Hibernation, take about 12 seconds fast enough for me, plus don't have to worry about my battery running down. I use the MediaCar frontend for now. For power management I use a PIC that I can do everything the OPUS does plus a LOT more! For a lot less! The onboard sound card isn't the greatest, but I've heard theyv'e upgraded it on the new boards.
Can you tell us more about this 'PIC'? I've seen the DC-DC supplies before but at the time the problem would then be to regulate the input voltage to a constant 12V. That ITPS setup that RBeaubien mentioned sounds like a good alternative. + to you guys
Can you tell us more about this 'PIC'? I've seen the DC-DC supplies before but at the time the problem would then be to regulate the input voltage to a constant 12V. That ITPS setup that RBeaubien mentioned sounds like a good alternative. + to you guys
Yeah, have to use a small capacitor to smoothout the power line going to the DC-DC,
The pic is a "microcontroller" they can have any different number of I/O lines, basiclly you have sensors and the pic will "poll" them so that when this event happens then it will trigger what ever you want, for example say you get into one of those cars that remembers where your seat position is, the mirrors, the steering wheel, the A/C comtrols... thats a PIC! So in my case I just run the switched powerline from the fusebox to the PIC, the PIC senses when the power is turned off and waits however long I want, then "pushes" the power button on the carputer which is set to go into Hib when the button is pushed, I'm also working on automatic temp. control for the A/C!
But a PIC in not a power supply!
P.S. you DO have to program a PIC!
[This message has been edited by ds21 (edited 04-13-2004).]
I recently updated my picture gallery and figured I'd share.
The LCD mount is indeed a rearview mirror mount. I had an extra one kicking around after I upgraded to one w/ curtousy lights built in from a early 90's Oldsmobile. It's great because I can swivel & pivot it for either myself or passenger. DISCLAIMER: Always keep your eyes and attention on the road when driving 
