Thread: 2010 Dodge Challenger install

What a fantastic fabrication job RipplingHurst, that looks great.

I think I must have sat in the driver's seat for about 30 minutes just going over various screen placement scenarios in my head. If I had any confidence in my fabrication abilities at all, I may have decided to leave the factory head unit in the dash and done something along the same lines as you. I probably would have preferred something like that too, because it gives you the best of both worlds.

However, there just isn't much room at all in the factory overhead console, and I fear that I would have had to remove both the sunglasses holder and maybe move or remove the overhead lights as well. I was more than a little nervous about attempting something like that since I don't have a fabrication background.

That said, I think at this point I'm fairly committed to replacing the head-unit, and the parts I have ordered thus far are geared toward that end. Hopefully I've done enough planning that it all goes fairly smoothly.

Actually, if you mean fiberglass, there was no real fabrication involved, just creative cutting the plastic with a dremel, than careful sanding and painting. The screen is supported by a steel bracket using some factory support. The screen is in its original case, just painted.

Nevertheless good luck with your install. Don't forget to post pictures of your ride!

If you want to keep the headunit.... what about making a custom solution? How much room do you have in your dash, on top? Maybe buy a motorized screen, mount it vertical into the dash. then when you turn it on, it slides up to reveal the screen. Kinda like the same way the Cadillac has it in the crossover commercial. Because my dash is to small, I went with manual flip up screens. They aren't finished yet though, but getting there.

The dash on the Challenger is actually huge, so I did contemplate doing something up there...nothing nearly as intricate your install looks like it will be though. I'd be way too nervous about even attempting something like that (my wife is freaking out as is, without me actually cutting anything).

One thing I did contemplate was just pulling out the factory double-din, and replacing it with a motorized single-din VGA screen + a single din head unit. I think this probably would work fine and if all else fails, I could end up going that route. I've already purchased 95% of everything I think I'll need for doing the double-din install though, so hopefully that will work fine too.

Overhead console:


Factory MyGig REN unit:


Challenger Dash:

Be careful though.... the dash looks big, but it looks like its a two piece setup like mine. There is anotehr panel that isnt pictured. Its all unusable area under the second piece because of duct work. Now your dash is very very flat. What about putting a motorized screen horizontal like normal and then build a fiberglass shell to tie it into the dash. i honestly think you should trash the middle man (the headunit) and go 100% PC.

Well the current plan as of today is to do just that..I'm pulling out the factory head unit and completely replacing it with a 7" Lilliput VGA touch screen, so all the media in the car will be run by the CarPC in the trunk. I think originally I had entertained the idea of somehow keeping the head-unit, but I just wasn't happy with the ideas I had, since I want the car to retain as much of a factory look as possible.

Looking at how large the dash is, I did at one point consider somehow placing a Mimo 720-S folding touch-screen (http://www.mimomonitors.com/products/mimo-720-S) on the dash, but I always kept going back to not wanting to alter the factory appearance.

Well guys, I've completed the hardware portion of the installation today and incredibly, everything is working perfectly. I guess it really pays to do some research and to have a good game plan before taking everything apart.

My set-up really turned out just as well as I had hoped it would. I did end up doing a couple of things that I think are just a little off of the beaten path, so hopefully in the next few days I will get a chance to post some pictures and describe everything that I had to do in order to get this project completed. I also wanted to thank everyone on the forums for such invaluable information, it really turned this mountainous project into a manageable task.

Now that I've got the hardware installed and the OS running, I'll turn my attention to researching software and interface topics, like front-ends, skins, plugins, satellite radio, HD radio, GPS and bluetooth. Whew, that should keep me busy, now that I'm "done".

pics pics pics and more pics, please and thank you

What you should do now is to save an image of your HD, like Ghost...now you're going to install drivers for GPS, Cameras, mics, COM to USB ports, whatever, now the potential for trouble, conflicts resulting in blue screen, increases.

It's always nice to go back to a first stable build. Do that for every major step from now on. Just my .02c.