Thread: 2005 Ford F150 MAGNUS Truckputer - project and pics

Originally Posted by rdholtz

That's a nice spot for the laptop. Since it's staying pretty much intact, it might be interesting to mount a couple of short shelf slides in there with a panel on them, and put the laptop on that. When you need to access the laptop, you could just slide it out and do whatever you want, then slide it back in.

You can find the bottom-mount shelf slides at a local cabinetmakers supply shop, or probably online, like here.

HAHA! I am actually doing exactly that. If you can see the notch that I have cut out in the dash, that is for the left rail slide. I am using 0 space sliders... but the ones that I got are a bit long, so I am searching for some 12" sliders.

The overall concept is a wood stained computer desk that slides out with a small chrome knob. I am still wondering if it is possible for me to fill in the backside of the dash panel, and color it or coat it in leather/pleather for a better look.

last night I tried baking that dvd bezel....
I melted it. aparently 150 degrees on my oven is not accurate. It was in for about 10 minutes and it fried... so keep that in mind.

@cgndhhh, I am actually mounting the HD receiver in the case that BLK02si built for me. Originally it had my MOBO in it, but with that no longer being used, I am mounting all of the other hardware in there, with a flex line binding all the cables for a cleaner setup.

so... since I melted the front bezel of that $70 dvd rom... I have to buy another (unless someone knows where I can get a specific bezel)
I'm looking at this one:
http://www.myeglobal.com/productdeta...per-Burne.html

It looks to do the same thing... but the last one I had a SIDE to IDE adapter to USB adapter... and had to plug in a 4 post 12V power line... so this looks to be more efficient. (SIDE=Slim IDE)

sweet... I just found one on Ebay for 58$ shipped from the UK.

Tonight's project was to finish mounting the dash cover... I got that completed. Hinges were drilled and everything was mounted flush. Last night everything seemed to break on me, so it was welcome relief.

The next thing to complete was a remote on switch for the laptop... many have seen this done as the "phone cord power button" take a look at some of the following photos and you will get the gist. PM me for specific details.


I started by removing the top part of the dock, exposing the circuits...


Then I cut the switch line going from the bottom right to the center area. It was fairly straitforward as it was already a 2 line switch.


Here is a closeup of the plug


Then I sautered the power button from an old dead computer to the existing wires... that is the easiest place for me to get a temporary switch until I go to radio shack.


Then I had to sauter the lines to the phone jack. I used a single twisted pair from a CAT6 cable.That was the hardest part, so just take your time. MAKE SURE that the prongs are not touching.


Then I hook up my test phone line with the temp switch to check the connection. It works. (SWEET!)


Final test to make sure it works. You can see the blue/white pair in the back, that is in the shell. The forward part is the phone line after hacking it up.


Finally I route the wire around anything that will smash or ground it out, or moving parts. Lock the top back down, dock the LT, and start that thing up.

Originally Posted by Kalenth

HAHA! I am actually doing exactly that. If you can see the notch that I have cut out in the dash, that is for the left rail slide. I am using 0 space sliders... but the ones that I got are a bit long, so I am searching for some 12" sliders.

Great to see two minds aligned . . . the link I put in post #22 is for 12" bottom-mount sliders; maybe they'd work.

Originally Posted by Kalenth

The overall concept is a wood stained computer desk that slides out with a small chrome knob.

Another interesting cabinetmaker's trick: instead of a chrome knob, maybe you could use touch-latches. Push on the panel, and the latches give a little and pop open; you swing the panel down and use it. When you're done, you swing the panel up and they latch it in place. There's no visible hardware at all, so it looks even more OEM.

They come magnetic like this one or these, and non-magnetic like these. You might even adapt the one for glass doors here. There are bunches of these latches, in an amazing -- and sometimes ridiculous -- price range, from a few bucks to $25(!?!) each.

Originally Posted by Kalenth

I am still wondering if it is possible for me to fill in the backside of the dash panel, and color it or coat it in leather/pleather for a better look.

I wonder if a 1/4" plywood panel -- finished like the slide-out panel -- wouldn't look nice; it's be pretty easy to fit if you made the sides of the same material, matching the contour of the door. Leather/pleather would look good, too.

Of course, all this is easy for me to think up -- you have to do all the work.

Hey! Thanks! Those are what I have been looking for. So far, I had used a flat magnetic clasp at the top of the dash cover... I think the magnetic clasp will feel much more tactile.

The chrome pull is going to attach to the internal tray. I am thinking about staining the wood shelf like the dash cover, and having a chrome pull just for fun.

The sliders are the correct length, but I am looking for the really thin ones that don't have a 90 degree bend to them.... at least for now. I wanted the slides to no even be visible... but I am having real issues finding something that will work exactly like I want. In reality, I need something that allows the laptop to exit the hatch and flex downward at the same time... with a flat rail, it will come out, but will be angles upwards. Curved railed I haven't found yet...
Maybe I can put the front of the rails on hinges, and the backs of the rails can lift and lower as the laptop comes out/in...

Originally Posted by Kalenth

The sliders are the correct length, but I am looking for the really thin ones that don't have a 90 degree bend to them.... at least for now. I wanted the slides to no even be visible... but I am having real issues finding something that will work exactly like I want. In reality, I need something that allows the laptop to exit the hatch and flex downward at the same time... with a flat rail, it will come out, but will be angles upwards. Curved railed I haven't found yet...
Maybe I can put the front of the rails on hinges, and the backs of the rails can lift and lower as the laptop comes out/in...

If I understand your idea, it's to fasten the front of the rails to hinges, and leave the back of the rails unfastened. That seems workable; maybe you'll want to fasten the backs if them to a crossbar to keep them aligned. If the drop-down face of the dash would support them, maybe you can set it up to be the base against which the front of the rails rest, so it gives the keyboard a workable position.

Or maybe the backs of the rails can rise to meet the tube across the compartment, and that would give you the stability and support you want.

I've never seen curved rails, but I imagine it could be done. That would lots of engineering and machining time.

Maybe there's another approach to give you the same effect. What if the rails were fixed in the dash, and a single pair of wheels -- or guides, or whatever -- that rode in the rails were attached at the back of the deck? As the deck came out, the front wouldn't be attached at all, and it could drop down and rest on the door. That wouldn't be as graceful, admittedly, but it would certainly do the job. I see two issues with it: (1) making sure the door is strong enough to provide support, and (2) finding a way to retain alignment as you bring the tray out. Just a thought . . .

I took a look today (since stores were closed and I couldn't go get my PC remote switch) at the rail systems.... I had the flat rails, and also the walker rails.... the kind that you see on a desk that unfold like a pair of scissors and extend then snap locked...

I think after much deliberation, I may end up using those 12" side rails, and just cut as much from the edge of them as I can. then, like you suggest, keep a vertical brace in the rear to control the rail posisiton, and hinge them at the front to allow some degree of motion.

The door itself is pretty sturdy, I have the hinges epoxied to the plastic, so there is a chemical bonf there now... and the other side of the hinge is bolted through some stamped steel bracers in the dash. I might be able to use it for some weight retention, but I am still working on how to connect everything on the interior correctly in a "one time go" scenario... that, and I eventually will have to sand down that whole section of dash and paint it to make it a bit more 007. I'm not a big fan of a gaping hole in my dash, even if it provides function.

Lookin Good Kalenth!

Just read through your recent updates, sorry to hear about the m10000.

I've been really checking into ITX boards and they are getting very cheap and very powerful!

I do like laptop idea, and the rest of your work on the f150, keep the pics, and the cool drawings, coming!

-Joe