Project Media-Z - 99 Camaro Z28

**mccdeuce** · 07-23-2006, 11:37 PM

nice install. i had a similar problem with hard dying. i think my issue was heat so a simple fan dedicated to taking hot air off the hd is my solution. Really its impossible to isolate all the problems of hard drives but its always worth a shot.

**kiztope** · 07-24-2006, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by aychamo

Hey man, it looks nice. I was going to rip on you about your PC, etc, exposed on the back untli I saw your cover. There's so little room in those camaros, the cover was a great idea! Is there anything more clever you can do with the external FM antenna?

Yea, the exposed PC has bothered me quite a bit... One nice thing about the cover, is that I can now toss stuff on top of it, and not break/scratch anything!

Are you talking about the WiFi antenna? I have actually moved it to a different location... It is now sitting inside the passenger side, rear fender... works pretty well..

**black98z** · 07-30-2006, 03:18 PM

Hi,
If I may ask how'd you make that radio benzel. I am in the process of doing that same thing and have been wondering how I am going to get that to look nice.

Thanks,

Steve

**RedGTiVR6** · 07-31-2006, 03:55 PM

black98z - you need to get a bit more familiar with this forum first: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/fabrication/

second you need to learn how to fabricate on the most basic of levels, which means using bondo.

**WWW.G33K.INFO** · 07-31-2006, 10:45 PM

VERY NICE

I'll be putting a carputer in my 3rd gen camaro as soon as I finish paying for it. well not as soon as I finish paying for for but when its in storage through winter i'll be fixing it up.

as for the hard drive and crap I will be putting a regular hard drive in it because I know that hard drives will work ok in rocky conditions because I work out on ocean and we have computers on there with regular hard drives and they work for a long time in rough conditions.

**kevinlekiller** · 08-01-2006, 10:46 AM

Any heat problems ?

**kiztope** · 08-01-2006, 12:07 PM

VERY NICE

Thanks!

Originally Posted by black98z

Hi,
If I may ask how'd you make that radio benzel. I am in the process of doing that same thing and have been wondering how I am going to get that to look nice.

Steve,
I agree 100% with Red GTI's suggestion... to get tips, and to get ideas!

This was my third or fourth attempt at getting the bezel to look the way it does... basically this was my process:
1. Get a spare Xenarc casing
2. Get a spare Radio bezel
3. Cut the bezel up (to make room for the Xenarc)
4. Sand the Bezel and Xenarc case with medium grit sandpaper (better for adhering everything)
5. Bond the Xenarc to the Radio trim plate using Epoxy
6. Filled in gaps, and major areas with Bondo-glass (body filler that contains fiberglass strands, for strength) to get primary shape
7. Finalized most details/curves with several layers of regular body filler
8. Filled in tiny hole and such with spot filler
9. Several layers of primer & sanding
10. Several light layers of textured paint
---
I think I'm going to take the bezel back out, and lightly sand it again, and paint with a flat, or low gloss black... still undecided...

Originally Posted by kevinlekiller

Any heat problems ?

I haven't seen any issues since putting the cover on. I'm pretty happy to see that my fan setup is working pretty good! I'm still waiting on LSXVoid to support SpeedFan, so I can monitor it more closely... I'll let you know.

**kevinlekiller** · 08-01-2006, 12:30 PM

I forgot to tell you , you have a very nice car. Nice work on the bezel for the lcd, it looks nice.

**kiztope** · 08-03-2006, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by kevinlekiller

I forgot to tell you , you have a very nice car. Nice work on the bezel for the lcd, it looks nice.

Thanks!
---

As for a project update, I am currently evaluating the feasability of installing a second battery, for PC use while the car is off... I hate worrying about whether or not the car will start after use!
Any suggestions?

Does anyone here use the pc with their car off, regularly? If so, for how long?

**bosstone74** · 08-03-2006, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by kiztope

Does anyone here use the pc with their car off, regularly? If so, for how long?

I use mine with the car off and it goes for about 6 hours before the battery is dead, now that was only because I left it on, however I didn't have my radio on either...so if that radio is on, I'd say about 3 hours I've gone before and then started the car and it was ok.

I use a yellow top Optima battery (the bomb).

Looks as if you are using a opus...they are supposed to have a low voltage detector and it's supposed to shut the computer down, so you will have enough juice to start you car, but it's never worked for me, but I do know some people have sent it back and had them adjust theirs so it will shutdown at a voltage of 11 or something like that, instead of 10.