Thread: 2004 Ford Ranger

Heres a shot of the inverter, and where I mounted it. Whats nice is that theres a gap between the storage part and the very bottom of the console, which is where the fan of the inverter blows out. Yestarday I took the screws off the top, and soldered 2 wires onto the exsiting switch, so I can put a power switch in the overhead console (eventually). that's what the grey wire coming out of the back is (if you can even see it)






And finally, the completed aluminum computer enclosure. Next is to just lightly sand it, and paint it. (If you can't tell what's diffrent from before - I added on pieces to the front of the enclosure)






^ if you look closely, you can see my GPS mouse mounted on the lower part of the window

An update (with pics too..kind of)

- I re-mounted the computer. Before, the bottom was bolted down, but the top was held with industrial velcro..which was still pretty ****ty. I ended up bending a small lip in the metal of the case, and screwing it in. You can't really tell in pictures, but in person it looks better.

- I finished the bezel for the H/U and DVD drive in the dash. I was going to send it out to be machined, but decided to just grab a drill, a hacksaw blade, and a file and just go at it. It took awhile, but I think it came out great.

- I'm currently working on the OHC, which can be seen here:
Custom Aluminum Overhead Console (Pics inside)
(That's where the most recent pics are)

Soon, I'll try and post back with pics of the H/U bezel

Originally Posted by RawsonDR

When I first envsioned this idea I figured I'd be able to utilize the space behind the monitor for storage (keyboard, mouse, usb hub, etc). I see you haven't done that. Does it seem feasible, though?

Here's the pics (of behind the monitor) that I mentioned I would take earlier..

You can see how much space there is behind there, and the 2 pieces of steel sticking up, in which the monitor enclosure screws into.

Heres the pics of the Headunit/DVD Bezel I made:

I think I'm due for an update...

- All the aluminum pieces have been painted, except for the overhead console and keyboard tray, which I plan on covering with vinyl.
- I fabricated a nice little switch plate out of aluminum diamond plate for the OHC, that turns the inverter on, power for the computer, the monitor, a reset switch, an eject button for the DVD, and power LEDs

What's left:
- cover OHC and keyboard tray with vinyl
- add the neccessary software and microphone for handsfree bluetooth cellphone use through the carputer
- some pinstriping on the aluminum enclosure for the computer...a little design would look nice, i think
- add a neon inside the case, with a switch...to show it off occasionally

...and that pretty much wraps the whole project up.


I'm not done though...with the recent difficulties I'm having with the computer (So close..yet so far, I think in the future I'll be upgrading to a laptop based system.

Also, way down the road, I may throw in a 10" sub to replace one of the rear jumper seats.


...stay tuned for pics

Here's the pic update

..I still have yet too:
- get the OHC and keyboard covered in vinyl
- buy and install the light that goes inside the comp case (the wiring and switch is all done for it though)
- make any progress with bluetooth and my cell phone.


The first 3 pics show the computer and the enclosure with the design i painted on. Also, a little LED light that I was given for christmas...i figured I mine as well put it to use. It looks pretty cool at night.

The last 2 show the headunit and dvd player.

The next 3 are of the screen. And the last 2 are of the OHC.

The switches on the diamond plate control the power for the inverter, computer, monitor, dvd eject, and reset. The LED's are power for the computer, monitor, and a HDD status LED.

The whole OHC will be covered in black vinyl, and the diamond plate will sit on top of that. I think the combination of black with chrome diamond plate will look really nice and clean the whole thing up.

latest update:

the computer crashed once more, so i decided to take it out. I set it up in a normal tower, and am using it inside, and it runs perfectly.

Instead of a desktop computer, i bought a laptop (an Acer turion 64, 1gb ddr, 100gb drive), which I am actually using now..runs great. I hope this install works out much better.

I already took the laptop apart and wired in an external port for powering on the laptop without opening the screen, so i can still use the power momentary switch in my OHC to turn the laptop on.

Next is to weld up a mount for the laptop, to keep it in my truck secure.

Also, I'm going to order the Carnetix P1900 Ver. 2.2 powersupply, along with the CNX-P5V 15 Watt +5V Regulator add-on. That way I can use the secondary power on the P1900 and set it to 12 volts, and use the CNX-P5V for 5volts, to provice power to: My dvd player, hardwired cellphone charger, powered USB hub, and a light or 2....depending on how much accessories I can add. I probably listed too many already, but the chances of all of them being used at once are slim to none..

Any suggestions or comments on the new upgrade?

I have a few pictures of the laptop with the external power modifcation that I'll post in alittle bit.