I am relatively new on here and have spent some time reading that past few years worth of threads(I was in a hospital for a long time...dont ask) and what I havent seen is anyone who has figured out the seemingly age old question of how to get anything but a single din in the stock radio location. Sure, sure people have trimmed and shoehorned sunfire/firebird/vibe radios in, but what about functionality when its in park or even drive for that matter! I have put carputers in dodges,pontiacs and GM's for the last 10 years. What I have in the works here I think may be a help. It is not done and I didnt really want to tell anyone about my idea yet, but I also want to make sure Im the original if someone likes this. If not, oh well. i personally dont like interiors that are just modfied for the sake of being different without taste. I may not always have taste but my hearts in the right place. That being said, I just get on with it. Heres what i made. I took .80 lexan and cut and modified a spare radio insert so that the heating-a/c controls go the bottom and the radio(or in my case) the 7" touchscreen fits nicely between the vents and hvac controls. This is just a scratch piece to work off of. Also please note my field is not in fabrication, so be kind. Plus, Im not done. These pieces are just laid on under the lexan for now. Heres a couple of shots with the vents and touchscreen digitizer in place. Im still working on this but I would like to hear what other people think! Have a good day.
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09:55 PM
PFF
System Bot
stickpony Member
Posts: 1187 From: Pompano Beach, FL Registered: Jan 2008
very cool, i like the diamond plate, if that is going to be the final finish... is that video interface using a standard laptop LCD ribbon for the video signal? how small is the mainboard of the computer going to be? i have thought of toying around with this for a while...did you source a DC-to-DC power supply yet?
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10:04 PM
jreigner Member
Posts: 151 From: Willow Street, PA Registered: May 2010
Sorry, the diamond plate is actually my antifatigue mat showing through the clear plexiglas. I plan on it being matte/satin black like any common interior. I'm not to big on extreme textures used on interiors. The video is DVI straight to the lilliput touchscreen. I have found it to be more resistant to noise than VGA. My dc to dc ps is a 200watt standalone but I use my own made startup/shutdown controller.
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10:49 PM
Jul 28th, 2010
Gandalf Member
Posts: 647 From: Stockport, England Registered: May 2009
Originally posted by Gandalf: I'm thinking about a similar project myself a bit further down the line with my car, will be watching this with great interest!
What screen/touch sensor etc. are you using there?
Looks like the same 7" Liliput screen that I have. Don't know who specifically makes the touch overlay, but it came with the screen in the one I bought. I'll probably be getting totally different hardware when I start building my system though.
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01:52 PM
Scottzilla79 Member
Posts: 2573 From: Chicago, IL Registered: Oct 2009
have you moved or looked at the connections for the hvac controls yet? I was told on here that is where the difficulty in moving the radio up is. I wanted to move it all the way to the top.
have you moved or looked at the connections for the hvac controls yet? I was told on here that is where the difficulty in moving the radio up is. I wanted to move it all the way to the top.
I think the really hard part is the metal frame which the radio and hvac controls mount to. It's not really designed to move them around.
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02:20 PM
jreigner Member
Posts: 151 From: Willow Street, PA Registered: May 2010
Looks like the same 7" Liliput screen that I have. Don't know who specifically makes the touch overlay, but it came with the screen in the one I bought. I'll probably be getting totally different hardware when I start building my system though.
Yeah it's a 7"lilliput. I have used xenarc but they're junk. I also have a big elo I'm saving for something else cool I'm working on.
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05:40 PM
jreigner Member
Posts: 151 From: Willow Street, PA Registered: May 2010
have you moved or looked at the connections for the hvac controls yet? I was told on here that is where the difficulty in moving the radio up is. I wanted to move it all the way to the top.
I have already moved the hvac controls. that was the easy part and really hinges everything. I took off the trim, removed the radio, and removed the bolts for the hvac controls. I have removed the fan harness and left everything else attached. The controls slip through the back and come up at the bottom. The harness has enough slack and the hot/cold cable just follows along. I honestly was suprised no one did this before it was that easy. I am preferring to leave the venting where it is because A)i like where it is and 2)its would be a pita to move and i dont want to.
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07:21 PM
jreigner Member
Posts: 151 From: Willow Street, PA Registered: May 2010
nice man! I would like to move the radio to where the vents are but I could be satisfied moving it up to the middle. what are you doing to make your own frame? Pics would be nice
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12:02 AM
PFF
System Bot
stickpony Member
Posts: 1187 From: Pompano Beach, FL Registered: Jan 2008
Sorry, the diamond plate is actually my antifatigue mat showing through the clear plexiglas. I plan on it being matte/satin black like any common interior. I'm not to big on extreme textures used on interiors. The video is DVI straight to the lilliput touchscreen. I have found it to be more resistant to noise than VGA. My dc to dc ps is a 200watt standalone but I use my own made startup/shutdown controller.
is the controller going to be software activated ? or just a switch?
From the pictures I'd say your fabrication/prototype skills aren't too shabby
I did the Vibe radio swap and had to hack away at the radio surround and remove some mounts and shoehorn the radio and harness in somehow. It fits, but its awful tight. The shifter being in the way *is* pretty annoying, but when in drive its really not a big deal for me. Also, I figure the shifter being the way may deter some thieves. It being a Pontiac radio with red backlighting and a tape deck, it looks stock in my car so I'm pleased with it. Moving it up a slot would be pretty nice though.
However, if you made or found a local place to make some more faceplates like yours out of metal, welded together, and primed I bet you'd sell a few. You'd have to show some pictures of how you moved the HVAC controls though (hint hint).
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03:07 AM
jreigner Member
Posts: 151 From: Willow Street, PA Registered: May 2010
nice man! I would like to move the radio to where the vents are but I could be satisfied moving it up to the middle. what are you doing to make your own frame? Pics would be nice
I think for right now because it will hidden it will be(sigh)... wood. Pics are coming to show more progress but its tough during the week.
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05:03 PM
jreigner Member
Posts: 151 From: Willow Street, PA Registered: May 2010
is the controller going to be software activated ? or just a switch?
Any low current draw 12vdc voltage controlled timer relay can be used to facilitate startup and shutdown. I did use a script controlled shutdown relay and wake on lan style controller but it was never really what i wanted and kind did its own thing some of the time. I keep it simple using the one constant- when is the engine running and when is the engine stopped- and ive never had a dead battery because of this.
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05:10 PM
jreigner Member
Posts: 151 From: Willow Street, PA Registered: May 2010
From the pictures I'd say your fabrication/prototype skills aren't too shabby
I did the Vibe radio swap and had to hack away at the radio surround and remove some mounts and shoehorn the radio and harness in somehow. It fits, but its awful tight. The shifter being in the way *is* pretty annoying, but when in drive its really not a big deal for me. Also, I figure the shifter being the way may deter some thieves. It being a Pontiac radio with red backlighting and a tape deck, it looks stock in my car so I'm pleased with it. Moving it up a slot would be pretty nice though.
However, if you made or found a local place to make some more faceplates like yours out of metal, welded together, and primed I bet you'd sell a few. You'd have to show some pictures of how you moved the HVAC controls though (hint hint).
Yeah Im definitely of the mindset to keep the flow the same. I like when things look factory but arent. I actually liked my Vibe and the radio that was in it. I just figure which do you fiddle with more the hvac or the radio? I will be getting some more pictures up its tough during the week.
Also please note my field is not in fabrication, so be kind. Plus, Im not done. These pieces are just laid on under the lexan for now. 
Heres a couple of shots with the vents and touchscreen digitizer in place. 
Im still working on this but I would like to hear what other people think! Have a good day.
