2007 Toyota Tacoma "TacoPC"

replicant · 10-28-2007, 03:40 PM

After selling my 2002 Nissan Maxima (MaximaPC), I had originally decided not to install a carpc into my truck, but of course, it is a bug and a hobby that you can't just quit cold turkey. So here I am, ready to get cracking on a new carpc project dubbed "TacoPC".

Anyway, I wanted to go a different route than I did with my Maxima and that is to go with stock audio system, but as always, leave room for upgrades later on. With that in mind, I had to stick with the stock headunit to start with, so I needed a new location for the all important lcd.

In the images below, you can get an idea of the basic idea for location and fitment. I used regular posterboard and foamcore that I purchased from Staples. I also used a method of getting the shape of the opening that I was going to use by putting painters tape over it and following the opening with an xacto blade to give me the exact shape (or near exaact for now).

The result is a basic idea of how the lcd will look, while also mimicking the same aluminum treatment used on the gear shifter trim piece.

The final method of fabrication has yet to be determined, but will most likely be one of the following:
* Fiberglass the lcd faceplate and base housing
* Vacuum/thermo-form the lcd faceplate and fiberglass the base housing

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As far as the guts of the system goes, well I haven't decided if I want to use my existing hardware or purchase new and updated gear. Regardless here is what I have and after that is what I'd like to get.

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Have:
* 7" Gain touchscreen LCD (serial port connection for the touchscreen)
* Asus Pundit-R micro-atx system
* 2.4ghz Celeron processor
* 1gb RAM
* 250gb pata hd
* onboard ati r200 video
* onboard 5.1ch realtek audio
* usb 802.11g/b wifi stick
* usb bluetooth stick (for connection to 3g hspda connection via cellphone)
* teac dvd-rw drive
* carnetix p1900 with mac pac and additional 5v addon, will need to modify the existing power connections for a non-mac motherboard
* GlobalSat BU-353 usb gps

Want:
* apple mac mini (2.0ghz C2D)
* 2gb RAM
* 120gb hd
* 80gb ipod video (rockboxed, used as media storage drive)
* built in dvdrw
* built in intel gma950 video (hopefully it can do widescreen native resolutions)
* built in "digital" audio, not sure of specs exactly
* built in wifi and bluetooth
* use existing carnetix p1900 with mac pac and additional 5v addon
* GlobalSat BU-353 usb gps, or may look at getting the bluetooth version - the least amount of wires the better, sort of.
* the lcd is a tough call... I can either go with an 8" screen and redesign the initially designed faceplate (setup initially for 7" lcd) or get a new transflective 7" lcd, though transflective may not be necessary considering the placement of the lcd.. Currently, just using my naked eye, that area doesn't seem to get much sunlight, so I'm wanting to go under that assumption.

So, I'm taking this project slower than I did last time and not rushing things to have a better looking system (and better working). I want to leave myself several options for upgrades in the audio department depending on the setup I go with.

More updates to come as I have them.

Thanks for reading.

Pictures below:

More pics on my Flickr set

seanz0rz · 10-28-2007, 06:53 PM

looks very nice, good to see more taco guys here!

ygpm.

dmart23 · 10-28-2007, 07:09 PM

not too shabby, hope you get what you want installed on there.

replicant · 10-29-2007, 11:10 AM

Quick update:
So far, I think the location of the lcd enclosure and the lcd itself is going to work out quite well. I cut out a template the size of an 8" lcd to see how that would fit and it would just barely fit, but would cut out any additional features, such as usb ports, and even better a slim slot loading dvdrw drive. I think I'll stick with 7" even though I really wanted a 4:3 screen. Ok, so the next step is to finalize the location of the lcd on the enclosure and to also cut out a place for the slim slot loading dvdrw drive and a couple usb ports.

One additional item that I'd like to add is a physical knob for next/previous track and "ok/select" up/down usage. I have a griffin powermate, but its too big, so I may look into these usb kits that allow you to add controls to your system and program their functions.

I'll be changing the test enclosure over the course of this week with the updated items.