Thread: 2007 Mustang Install

The screen I'm using is an 8" Lilliput. This will just barely fit into the area where the head unit was. I was not going to be able to use a kit to mount the screen so I needed to fabricate the faceplate to accommodate it. I picked up another faceplate from my local Ford dealer for about $60 so I could work on it without having my stock one out.

My idea was to integrate the screen bezel from the Lilliput into the faceplate. To do this I had to get the Dremel out and do some cutting on both parts.

The faceplate needed the area where the head unit went to be slightly taller and wider to accommodate the screen bezel. I used the bezel to mark the areas where I needed to cut.

The screen bezel needed to be cut shorter so I removed the area where the buttons are. I can relocate this elsewhere in the car.

I also cut the back bezel of the screen to match height of the front. This way I could just screw the parts back together when the screen is inside the faceplate. You will need to shave some of the sides of the back bezel so it will fit between the metal supports when it is installed. I went right up to where the screws were.



The screen bezel now can fit inside the area I expanded in the faceplate. I then did the following steps:

Using some glue I fixed the two pieces together
Filled the gaps with some Epoxy plastic
Sanded the gaps with 200 grit
Added some filler bondo to finish up some of the rough spots
Tape off the sides where the faceplate is not seen when installed
Sanded everything with 400 grit
Paint with grey filler primer
wet sand with 400, prime again and wet sand with 800
Final coat was SEM interior satin black

Make sure the areas where the top buttons for info/reset/etc do not get too much paint build up so they stick. Sand these areas between coats.







If I was to do this again I would have made the following changes:
Roll the Epoxy plastic into long strips to fill in the gaps.
The bondo is not as flexible as the plastic and it came up a bit.
I would have used the Epoxy again to finish or found something else than the bondo.

Part 4 (Computer Build)



You will want to build the system outside the car and get everything working before you install the pc in the car. I used a power supply and power on switch from an old computer.



I chose TinyXP Beast for the OS. It was light and gave me a good base to start with. Here is how the install went:

Burn the TinyXP iso to CD
Connect the power supply and power on switch to the motherboard
Connect the screen to the motherboard
Attach the hard drive to IDE1 (You will need a 2.5” to 3.5” IDE converter)
Attach a CD drive to IDE2
Put in the bootable TinyXP install disk you created
Boot the computer and install TinyXP
Reboot and make sure the install worked
Install the RAID drivers for SATA
Power down and switch the hard drive to use the SATA on the Vantec EZ SWAP



In my case I also had to install Windows Media Player 11, .NET 2.0 Framework, and the Phidget driver.

I developed the front end using Visual Studio 2005. I designed the interface to look like the stock head unit to retain the same “look” for the interior. The Phidget encoder knob worked great and I will use it to change the volume and select media. This way I do not have to touch the screen all the time.

thanks for the great write up. and the front end looks amazing too. i also might order one of those phidget encoders myself. i'm working on my mustang as well and have a similar setup, but my progress is a little bit behind yours right now. if you can be as detailed as you have been when you're writing up how to wire the power supply to the battery, you'll save me from many headaches. are you powering the monitor from the power supply too? i don't really know what i'm doing with any of the power stuff yet. good luck with everything!

Wiring is the part that I will have trouble with. I'm hoping someone on here can help out. I think the screen will be powered by the motherboard. I read somewhere on here where the 2005 Mustangs have a 12v in the wiring harness that I can hook the power to.

Found out last night my TVFM card needs a line in for audio. I was planning on using the 3 connections for 5.1 sound. I might have to get an external sound card. SB Live! or something like that. Hate to spend cash on something already on the motherboard.

The front end is moving along well. Trying to figure out how to get the FM and TV stations into the interface. DirectShow looks to be a good direction to go in.

Tested the Engenius Wireless Adapter and it worked awsome.

Spent the weekend checking fitment and cutting out mounts for the motherboard, power supply and harddrive.

To account for the bigger 8" screen I had to cut into the climate controls. No problems with breaking anything. The brains are towards the back. I covered the cutout with tape for added insurance.



Power supply mounting:



I needed to paint the EZ-Swap enclosure, so I went ahead and painted the mounts as well.



The EZ-Swap is mounted in the glovebox. This way I could easily remove the harddrive. I doubled over some aluminum so the drive would also have a little shock protection.



Screen installed:



Motherboard Installed:



Now I just need to run the wires and hook things up.

Great install Hessian! Being a noob, I want to purchase a G4 but don't want to cut into the dash. your advice, would I have to to accomodate it in the factory radio location? The last thing I want to do is cut into my 'Stang.

Thanks for the great write up on running the power from the battery.

Is it possible to just use the yellow wire 12v constant/black wire ground from the harness for the power supply?

I plan to power the screen from 12v/ground on power supply.
I will power the amp from a battery connection for sure.

Using the harness to wire speakers would I just conect the amp to the correct speaker wire in the harness?

I'm using a SCOSCHE FDK11B harness.