Jeep Wrangler Lilliput 7" Install

jnyrad · 04-24-2009, 10:35 PM

My Wrangler Carputer has been a "work in progress" for the past year. I actually got frustrated last fall & ripped EVERYTHING out. March of this year I bit the bullet & dove in. I worked out all of the kinks between, audio issues to video card problems, to mother board issues. Anyhow, I also got tired of my screen mounted on top of the dash and decided to put it "in the dash". First off, I have zero fab skills. But, I figured I would buy an extra radio bezel and if I screwed it up, oh well. I just put the old one back. So here goes.

Here is what I started with, Kenwood head unit, using input for audio & lilliput sitting on the dash.

I purchased a new double din eb701 from mo-co-so. I didn't want to trash my existing unit (just in case I screwed up royally I want to still have a working lcd)

I also purchased a "new" radio bezel. Again, I have zero fab skills & I didn't want to take any chances. Plus for $26 bucks could I go wrong?

Here is a close-up of what I'm dealing with. It is an oval shaped 1.5 din opening, but the opening is about 8.75 x 3.25 & my lcd is about 7 x 3.75.

I'm missing a few pictures....but, basically. I glued 2 cd-rom blanks (1 on each side) I had to trim them up a bit, but I figured they were abs & would give me a straight edge to work with.

I had to trim a bit more before I started to fill in the gaps.

Here I applied my 1st coat of dynatron 660. Very easy to work with & dries solid in about 30 mins.

This is after sanding with 60 grit sandpaper. You can see where it is shiny, that is the low spots that need another coat of 660.

Here is where I am after 2 coats of 660 & 60 grit followed by 100 grit.

I gave it a rough fit in the car to see how it looked. You'll notice that the lcd needs to come up about .25 of an inch. It is just sitting in the dash it's not secured to anything.

I pulled it out & applied a 3rd coat. I still had some low spots & a few blemishes. More pictures to come as I progress.....

guinea13 · 04-25-2009, 12:21 AM

Not bad man!!! I worked on alot of jeeps and never though of putting in a double din in one.

rdholtz · 04-25-2009, 09:05 AM

For a first-timer, you're making this look pretty easy . . .

Nexson · 04-25-2009, 10:03 AM

Looking pretty good!

How is the LD mounted?

jnyrad · 04-25-2009, 10:31 AM

Thanx!!!! Lots of reading & Turbo's tutorial was essential. Nexson, right now it's just sitting in the dash but I plan on making little brackets & attaching it to them with the existing mount holes on the double-din bracket. I'll post pictures when I get there.

jnyrad · 04-29-2009, 08:46 AM

Here are a few more pictures......

First coat of primer.

I decided that it looked pretty smooth after my initial coat of primer. So I decided to go ahead and paint. It's still nowhere near perfect......

skeet2331 · 04-29-2009, 08:51 AM

Looking great can't wait to see the final product. I love wranglers and can't wait to buy one. I've just been too cheap with the house and son

cla1067 · 05-03-2009, 05:41 PM

How is that LCD in the sun? Nice job by the way looks good. I am planning on adding a computer to my car soon, but as of right now I am in the designing stage.

jnyrad · 05-04-2009, 05:02 PM

Thanks for the compliments. The LCD is okay in the sun. It's set back a bit in the bezel which helps. I'm sure once the top comes off the Jeep will be a whole other matter. I just couldn't see coughing up the additional $200 for the transflective lcd.

cla1067 · 05-04-2009, 05:06 PM

Yeah same here. Thanks for the reply. I will probably go with that lcd. Size wise the height is a little bigger then what i want, so I am thinking about just tilting it up a little bet to get that extra room underneath. I want to put a slim 19mm height external dvd rom underneath it. If i cannot do that then I think i will put it behind and make the lcd flip up for when i want to put a disk in and flip back down after.