Thread: 97 Celica Carpc... 1st post be gentle!

Originally Posted by Gaer

Am I missing anything? Or have you guys any advice?

I would look into the issues that others have had with Jetway boards and the M2ATX. The issues have been resolved (or can be resolved).
Search the forum for more details.

Celica has a double din so am swayed towards putting the comp into a single din case which I got by gutting out an old radio, but I'll have to wait till I get the parts to test how they fit.

That's easier said than done... Not impossible, but a decided PITA.
You'll have far fewer headaches mounting the PC elsewhere.

Go raibh maith agat

No more posting under the influence!

Originally Posted by Profozone

I agree with darque, that cramming things into a single DIN is going to be very hard. I'm working on a Toyota that has what I believe to be the same size double DIN you have and it was hard to get everything into that space. Don't forget that the cabling alone takes up a bunch of room.

things may be a little cramped, the DIN enclosure I have will have to be modded slightly as it has a few L corners protruding intoward the box. I've tried the setup with the dimensions allowing for cabling which I think I might have to shorten for the lack of room, but the bigest problem is a 2.5" HDD in the enclosure, there aren't too many positions it can be put in. And I will not settle for having lots of external connections like a HDD outside the enclosure determined to keep it neat and stock. CF would solve the HDD problem but for alot of capacity I dont think it will cut it.

Personally, I don't like the idea of a motorized screen. It seems like something else to break plus in the up position, I picture it moving a little when you touch the screen, but I think that's just personal taste.

Me neither. I want a screen that will last for the amount of money they cost, the Xenarc 700IDT is proably the screen for me, no motorised, good quality and doesn't seem to have continous threads about it breaking

I think Ill go ahead with the ordering of the parts.

No more posting under the influence!

I'm Irish so I wouldn't know what your talking about

Cheers guys

Ok one thing before I continue, I am the same person as Gaer just forgot the password to this account which I used along time ago for a few posts so instead Ill stick with this one. Its my account and Im keeping it

Anyhow with that identity crisis solved I'll continue.

A lovely bundle of joy arrived this morning in the form of a package from mp3car.com woohoo is right! Inside was the Lilliput 629, M2-ATX and a 60GB HDD. More pieces to the puzzle. Cheers guys everything arrived top notch, talk about that xmas feeling, even left me late for a lecture so I could check out me toys
A few weeks ago I also picked up the Mechatroniks case which is well crafted and a great guy to deal with. So those are the pieces I have so far, still left to order is the motherboard, RAM and the AMP9 from 41Hz.com.

Since the first post I've slightly adjusted my setup as you can tell from the products I just received. Instead of a motorised headunit and a single DIN the unit will be Double DIN and all self contained, amp9, HDD, motherboard, RAM, M2-ATX and the Lilliput.
Heres maybe a few pics since they seem to be worth more than words sometimes.

First the ride always wanted one and spent a fair bob on it. insurance is crazy for a 20year old with a full licence!!!


Shot of the Console


A dry test of the Mechatroniks case


As you might be able to tell the bezel don't fit so modifications will need to be made. the bezel itself is around 1cm taller than the opening, and the curvature of the console means it will sit out a mill or 2 which I won't mine. Im thinking maybe mount the screen to the console fascia or even extend it out from the case. With plenty of rome to add a slim DVD drive the option to motorise it is also there but maybe I'll keep it simply... for now

So next Im going to go ahead and order the Jetway J7F2 mobo, RAM and the AMP9. For the radio I was tinking about the Silab USB FM radio but It seems it ain't that good wile moving? or am I wrong? Im into my radio so this is one feature I really want to work well.
O and does anyone know if this is really an OBD-II car? I can't find out if it is, this connector is in the engine bay so I ain't sure?

As usual any advice is appriciated

Originally Posted by black13

hey I'm doing the same thing in my 94 man, although this thread is old, doubt we'll get an update.

It sure has been quite the while! But I do have an update, car pc was put on hold and many of the parts were sold over the last few years. I still continued hoping I would get a pc installed in my car and continued lurking on Mp3car in hope

But I have finally installed a car pc not in my 97 Celica ST but in my 97 Celica GT-FOUR
One of the benefits was that the GT-Four I bought came with a factory amplifier which I could use instead of installing an amp in the ST.

Some pics of the car and the install so far, really as of tonight its running of the cars power supply, can be found on Celica Ireland here

Tips I would have for the celica 94-99 models for the install would be:
1. Go for a nano-itx motherboard and case it just gives you alot more room. The area in the dash is pretty spacious but you will have to mount it at really annoying angles to make a mini-itx case fit! I'll be upgrading to a nano itx at some stage (maybe 3 years time lol)
2. I had to chop the lilliput case and trim down the dash plastic to make the screen fit flush. The edges of the lilliput (629?? I think?) just need a bit of sanding down to make it fit absolutly perfect. The bottom will need a good chopping to past the AC/heater controls.

Many thanks to you guys on Mp3car you truely have a wealth of knowledge on the forum and with a bit of time anyone can install a pc in a car!