2005 Pontiac GTO - wake's Carputer Attempt

**wake** · 07-12-2005, 11:39 PM

I am using this mostly for own reference, however I would appreciate and I welcome any comments/suggestions from the veterans and other installers.

I have no experience with carputers, however I have installed various sound systems in previous vehicles I have owned and I have a Bachelors in Computer Science. Put the two together, and I'm hoping I can build a carputer for my new ride.

To start off, here is my ride.

My expectations for my carputer, in order of importance:

MP3 Player
DVD Player
GPS System
PS2 Capability

Reasons for a carputer:

My stock unit cannot play MP3 cds. Instead of the same aftermarket, boring install, why not try a more challenging project? I was planning on eventually adding screen capability for PS2/DVD reasons, but when I can do that plus MP3 and many more features, I'm game.

In the mail:

Goldwood 6.5" Free-Air Subs

Owned Parts:

Infinity Kappa Components
Mukti-Amp Install Kit
Infinity Reference Amps (2)
OPUS 150 watt DC-DC power Supply SFX.1215
Maxtor 60GB HDD
Plextor DVD/CD Writer
Athenatech A202BB.L220 Black Computer Case
BIOSTAR M7NCG 400 Socket A (Socket 462) NVIDIA nForce2 IGP Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Mobile Athlon XP-M 2400+ (35W) Barton 266MHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket A Processor
CT6464Z335.8T Crucial Micron 512MB DDR
LinITX 7" Widescreen VGA/Composite Monitor with Touchscreen
USB 2.0 to 40pin IDE Cable (For DVD Drive Relocation)
Mini-Key USB Keyboard DGPN-570
Cable / SVGA-HD15 Male To Female With Ferrites 10ft (For VGA Run from PC -> LCD)
USB Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX

Undecided Parts:

Computer - I have been researching cases, motherboards, processors, etc, but I have not settled on anything just yet.
- Buffalo Technology WLI2USB2G54 54Mbps Wireless Usb 2.0 Adapter With AOSS
Aluminium case 4 port USB 2.0 hubs, double USB powered

Installation Concerns/Issues:

Installation as a whole. I do not want to do any modifying to the car if necessary. By modification, I mean appearance wise, as in the dash. I do not wish to cut up the dash. I would rather attempt making a casing for the LCD that will mount in the stock radio's spot.
I have not decided where I will be putting a DVD-Rom drive. I am thinking of putting it in the center console or glove box, or possibly under a seat. At the present time I am not planning on putting the drive in the dash.
USB Hub. I am not sure if I will be putting this in the rear or somewhere up front. I am assuming up front would probably be best, as I will have at least one empty USB Slot in the rear where the computer physically is.

More Car Background:

The '05 Pontiac GTO has front door speakers, front dash tweeters, rear side panel speakers and rear deck free-air subs. I am only planning on replacing the front door speakers and dash tweeters with the Components listed above. I am then going to replace the stock free-air 6.5" subs, as mentioned above. I am not going to be using/replacing the rear side panel speakers as of now.

Closing:

I will update this as much as I can, with lots of pictures of the install. Hopefully everything goes OK and I have a carputer running in the upcoming weeks.

**wake** · 07-13-2005, 12:35 AM

Power: OPUS 150 watt DC-DC power Supply

**CapitaineFritz** · 07-13-2005, 12:48 AM

Waow, looks nice

Is there anything (like a storage case) in the upper part of the dash ? above the two vents ? Looks like a screen could go there (a screen that could fold and hide)

**wake** · 07-13-2005, 01:20 AM

You know, I was thinking that exact thing after seeing pictures of my dash up close. I do not know exactly what is behind there, but I know that peice is removeable as people are putting extra gauges up there.

I haven't completely checked into legalities of monitors, but would that be an easy reason to be pulled over if a cop were to see it up that high in the vehicle?

**hakhawk** · 07-13-2005, 03:11 AM

nice, an american monaro. cant wait to see your install, id probably remove the whole radio and make up a face that the screen will go into.

**wreef** · 07-13-2005, 04:49 AM

Kool, i was wondering why that car had the Holden stock radio in it. lol.

**wake** · 07-13-2005, 07:32 AM

Yup, it's the American version of the Monaro, like hakhawk said.

**hakhawk** · 07-13-2005, 08:24 AM

oh, and you could go oem style and using a slot load dvd drive, you could mould it to be in same place, and have the screen moulded just under it.

**GTPDan** · 07-13-2005, 12:39 PM

I have an 04 GTO and was also wanting to put in a carputer. I was thinking about removing the headunit and buying another center console piece and fabing a 8" zenarc screen into it and putting the computer in the hole left by the radio.

Mine is blue with the blue interior and a 6 speed.

**wake** · 07-13-2005, 07:07 PM

Cool, M6 here as well, with an LPE Instake as my only mod so far (besides XM Radio and Radar Detector hard-wired).

Do you know where you would get the center console peice, and an estimate of how much that would be? I am planning on not doing any fab work to the dash peices themselves, but if it's not very expensive to replace, I wouldn't mind messing with it knowing I can put a stock one back in for cheap.