akride

Hi All!

I just recently picked up a 2009 Camry SE and love the ride. I opted not to get the nav unit as I figured I could either buy or make one that will probably be cheaper and that is better and more fun. I've spent quite a few days looking at a bunch of head units and all the ones on the market are nice and plug-and-play but always feel lacking. As a result, I've gone back to the idea of building a car-puter. Anyway, on to the more fun stuff!

- akride -

Quick background: I've built computers but never tried a car-puter
Goal: Have a car-puter that looks good but is useful/fun and easy to fiddle with
Timeline: Depends but not rushing anything
Budget: Fluid

Main Features - Primary Goals

• Clean, OEM-look, in-dash, easy to upgrade parts
• Navigation
• Video/DVD/Audio/Satellite
• Bluetooth Telephone

Main Features - Secondary Goals/Wishlist

• Car Info - OBDII, TPMS
• Internet - Wi-fi, Piggyback 3G from cell phone
• Reverse Camera
• Remote Control

Hardware

• Dash Kit - Metra Kit
• Double DIN Chassis
• Screen - Touchscreen, 7"
• Motherboard
• Power Supply
• Processor
• RAM
• Hard Drive
• DVD Drive
• Antennas - GPS, HD, DTV

Aug 6, 2009 - I'm a n00b to the car-puter area so I've been spending my time running through these forums and the net to get a general gist of what I need. The main problem I'm having right now is trying to find a chassis. I don't have much fabrication experience nor do I know someone who can do it for me. My ideal chassis...

...looks like those aftermarket chassis with a tilting screen. Ideally, I'd also like a chassis with the ability to change out the screen as needed (e.g., for future screens). The best example is the new Kenwood DNX9140, which has a reverse tilt as well.

I went to a few sites (e.g., www.bybyte.com, www.kustompcs.co.uk, JKM InFill) but still haven't found something that fits. I haven't found anything yet. Anyone have an idea?

MP3Car.com

 

rdholtz

It depends on how much fabrication you're willing to do, or how much you're willing to buy. The slickest in-dash units I've seen are from blk02si, whose work was the basis for what I (over)built for my installation. He provides chassis or complete systems. His worklog for his own installation is here, his previous installation is here, and his website is here. He answers questions freely and appears to provide fine support. He does custom CNC machining work, as well.

As for the tilting, I'm just working that out for my screen; I'm using a Lilliput 889GL, case and all. I've come up only with ideas so far -- no sketches, no prototype. Try searching MP3Car for it; I'll be interested in what you find, because I'm about to go and do the same thing, myself. I may end up designing something, but that would be a while down the road.

I'd recommend taking your dash apart and carefully measuring space available not just for the unit, but for the cables that attach to it; although I thought I'd left enough cable space, my system is pretty tight back there -- functional, but tight.

Take pictures from all sorts of angles and make good, clear sketches with dimensions. They'll be very valuable as you go along.

Welcome aboard, and best of luck with your installation. We'll be watching . . .

__________________
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If just enough is really good, then too much ought to be perfect.

2006 Scion xB with in-dash Atom & Lilliput 889GL -- Worklog at http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/work...res-links.html
.

akride

Thanks a bunch for the info rdholtz. Just took a look at blk02si's work and it's very impressive! I'm actually quite interested in learning how to do fabrication myself but the main current limiting factors are experience and equipment.

I've only hit the tip of the iceberg in the fabrication section but I didn't see any chassis that would match what I was looking for.

Here is one promising thread that I saw:
General Hardware Discussion > Interest in a dual din chassis with touch screen
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/gene...ch-screen.html

There was another thread that I ran across that had similar plans but it seems like that one fizzled out:
User Innovations > Production Double-Din VGA Touchscreen in the making!
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/user...en-making.html

That's definitely on my to-do list to poke around the dash but I'm not terribly worried about space as I've looked at other people's disassembly of the dash and it looks like there's plenty of room back there.

MP3Car.com