Venoms 1996 Cutlass Supreme Carputer

Hey guys Ive been a long time lurker using this site for knowledge and I thought I might show off my current Carputer setup in my 1996 Olds Cutlass Supreme. Its a no frills install but gets a lot
of compliments from friends and co workers. It was originally installed in my buddies car so I cant take all of the credit for the work done on the system. Here are my current specs:

Computer/Screen:
IBM Netvista 8303 Motherboard
P4 2.26ghz Northwood core (533FSB, Socket 478, 512k L2)
512mb PC2100 Ram (Soon to be upgraded)
40GB IDE Hard Drive
Lilliput 8" 889GL-80NP/C 16:9 Touchscreen
M2-ATX Power Supply
SIRF III USB GPS unit
Centrafuse front end
6 Port USB hub in center console

Audio:
Infinity Reference 611A Mono Amp for sub
Infinity Reference 7540A 4 Channel amp for speakers
Infinity Reference 6.5" Front components set
Pioneer 6x9s
Kicker 12" L5
Remote knob for 611A amp
KNU Konceptz 4 gauge power and ground wire

This was basically the second go around with the carputer my buddy originally came up with a few yrs ago which consisted of a 7" lilliput cramed into the dash with an EEPC under the rear seat. This time we went a little more modern looking. The first obstacle to overcome was a cleaner install of the monitor. After some measuring it was determined a 8" widescreen would fit fine. So to make it look like it belonged in the dash, we took the existing radio bezel in the car and cut the cutout larger. I took the monitor apart and took the front piece, cut off where the buttons were (they are on a seperate board so I can relocate them) and molded the front piece into the bezel with ABS paste to secure it and then used some body filler to fill in the gaps and give the contour we wanted.

My buddy did the molding of the touch screen and it came out great. Here the sanding is halfway done on the one side and the other has a black spray paint that I was using as a guide coat to see my high and low spots.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...redline/11.jpg


Both sides almost smoothed out 100%. He did some sanding and shaping, applied a guide coat to check his progress about 3 times so it didnt have tons of waves

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...redline/33.jpg


1 coat of paint applied (Duplicolor textered metallic paint)

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...redline/44.jpg


Since I cant just mount the LCD to the trim panel and get the board and back on there without the factory HVAC control interference, I had to get a bit creative (well sort of) The LCD attatches to

the trim, while the circuit board is velcro'd very securely to the LCD. Since nothing will really be anywhere near behind it, im not worried about the circuit board being bare.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...redline/66.jpg


Its attached and the upper thin board is theree LED and button board. I have a remote to turn it on and off and everything else so this will be hidden.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...redline/77.jpg


Before I realised this was available from the store, we removed the sensor eye and resoldered the connection with longer wires and cut a small hole lower on the bezel for the eye to go thru.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...1101104_01.jpg


And heres the backside of the bezel

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...1101257_01.jpg


And Installed

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...Picture056.jpg




To make the install in the trunk look nice it was off to Home Depot for some 1/2in MDF and Jo Ann Fabrics for some black carpeting. The first piece to make was a panel for all the computer hardware to bolt to. The spare tire was removed and this was all installed in its well.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...arputerpic.jpg


Then two sheets of MDF were cut and covered for the floor panels. The panel covering the spare tire are was cut in the middle and a piece of Plexiglass was cut to show off the Carputer.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_0725.jpg

Here is a very early pic of installed originally in my buddies car (95 Cutlass)
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...e/CIMG0012.jpg

And during the first install into my car
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_0724.jpg

After that I decided I wanted to add a sub to complement the components, so I went with a Kicker L5. But that meant modifying the panels because the box would not fit under my rear strut tower bar.
Quick pic of the tear down to rebuild
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...cture004-1.jpg

So I basically had to cut a notch in the rear panel for the box to sit in so it would fit under the rear bar. Here is a quick pic of the cut:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...cture003-1.jpg

And a quick test fit of the cut:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...cture005-1.jpg

Once I confirmed the fit I recovered the panel using the exsisting fabric
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...cture006-1.jpg

On the front panel I really only had one option with the amps and that was to mount one on each side of the clear Plexiglas panel showing off the carputer setup. Im not in love with the power

wiring from the distribution box to the fuses and then to the amps, but I really liked this KNU Konceptz wire and kinda wanted to show it off.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...cture007-1.jpg

After I ran all of my KNU Konceptz 4 gauge wire, wired up and repositioned my new Optima Red Top battery, and many, many hours of refitting and checking, here is the final result:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...cture009-1.jpg
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_0740.jpg
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_0738.jpg

Well thats all the farther Ive gotten so far with the setup. Unfortunately one of the tabs on the bezel broke off so now Im in need of a 8" lilliput case so I can have my buddy do another molded
job for me. I am very impressed with this system and currently have over 900 songs on the drive. I plan to upgrade the RAM and add an OBD2 interface but Im also currently working on like 3 other
projects on the vehicle right now getting it ready for spring. So enjoy the pics and I welcome any questions/comments.

A trunk setup like that would never work where I live. Too much dust and ****, components wouldn't last too long. I like the idea of showing it off in its raw form behind the plexi though.