2006 Z06 Install: Part 1

Ok now on to the PC. This was a complex endeavor and involved quite a bit of research before deciding on a system. I needed something compact but also needed/wanted a TosLink optical out to go to the Zapco DAII DAC. The first PC I ordered met these requirements but the case it came it just wouldn’t fit where I needed. So I have a buddy build a fiberglass case that fit into the cubby hole in the back and installed a metal plate to act as a shelf for mounting. I took all the components out of the case and installed into this box.

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Seemed like this would be a great idea…and it would have been. However, something with the motherboard on this PC just did not like the power supply or the environment or something because it kept having power on and power off issues. Just would not boot right in the car with the Opus power supply but would boot just fine with a regular ATX desktop supply. After screwing with this for a week, I finally canned it and decided to use it in another project. I bought a new PC…this time in a case that would actually fit in the cubby hole in the back. I mounted the power supply inside the case so the unit was a nice contained unit. This did the trick and is the PC in the car today. I added a second hard drive to hold all the music, videos and pictures. The primary HD is for the OS and software.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...C/PC184915.jpg

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I back up this PC using Windows Home Server and the connector software and that keeps a nice backup to restore in the event of a catastrophic failure. I’ve had to use that a couple of times and damn glad I had it as it made life quite nice for me.

Jay

WHS for backing up your CarPC..., priceless.

Hey, I also use it to back up all the PCs in the house...figured the CarPC was just one more I could add.

Jay

Ok, now that all the major hardware is installed and wired in, now it’s time for the accessory electronics. We’ll start with the screen, then proceed to the OBDII appliances, the Laser and Radar devices, XM and audio switcher, video security and finally the steering wheel controls.

After looking at a number of screens and trying one and not liking it much I finally decided to spend the money and buy the high dollar Transreflective Lilliput screen. Glad I did because it is night and day better than the other screens out there (or at least the ones available at the time). I wanted it to also blend and look stock. This required a melding of screens case along with a double DIN installation frame. I could do the marriage, but I didn’t have the skills to do the fill and blend work to make it look stock, so that was sent off to someone else that could.

First thing I did was to take the screen apart from the its bezel and trimmed off excess material to get a flush fit inside the DDIN frame:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...n/P8193245.jpg

I then tool the DDIN bezel and sanded down the texture using progressively finer paper and finished with a wet 600 then wet 800 grit. This gives a similar texture as the OEM plastic housing for the ash try and A/C controls.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...n/P8193239.jpg

I also wanted to move the IR sensor into the bezel so I could control the screen with the remote. So I drilled a hole, desoldered the sensor and use a silicon adhesive to mount in place:

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I then epoxied the two pieces together:

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I then sent bezel to a guy who I found that did really nice fill work and bezel work. Here are some of those pics:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...en/bezel10.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...en/bezel11.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...en/bezel13.jpg

Jay

Some more and finished bezel pics:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...en/bezel17.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...en/bezel19.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...een/bezel4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...een/bezel5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...een/bezel6.jpg

Jay

Nexson FTW!!

The guy is truly a magician in the plastic arts :)

This is looking outstanding so far, although I think you doubled the kerb weight with the sound deadener!! hehehe

Any idea on total cost for all of the sound deadener material that you used?

Now I needed a place to put a DVD player for the PC, a USB hub and the Zapco DRC controller. The only spot to put any of this was in the glove box. So I needed a custom fiberglass job for this. For this I called on Nexson and his talents. We exchanged a few emails, I told him what I wanted and what the parameters needed to be and we agreed on a design and placement of the parts. I sent the glove box, DVD, USB hub and Zapco DRC to him for fitting and testing and he went to work. Here are the picture of the progression:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/PC163715.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/PB133639.jpg

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../glovebox7.jpg

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...glovebox17.jpg

Jay

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chester

Nexson FTW!!

The guy is truly a magician in the plastic arts :)

This is looking outstanding so far, although I think you doubled the kerb weight with the sound deadener!! hehehe

Any idea on total cost for all of the sound deadener material that you used?

---

He is a wonder, does really great work and probably too cheap a price.

I definitely added a couple hundred pounds of weight to the car. Alot of the Z06 guys just cringe but my thinking is if I want a race tract car I'll build one. I want something fast, I can enjoy day to day and if I want I can take it to the track, but the track is not this cars home.

I stopped counting a while back, plus a have bit left over. I would say close to a grand all in all.

Jay

More pictures of the glove box:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...glovebox30.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...glovebox27.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...glovebox25.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...glovebox21.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...glovebox23.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/IMG_2545.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/IMG_2544.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/IMG_2549.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/PC114901.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...x/PC114903.jpg

Jay

Bing does great work! Your project is coming along nicely as well!