Honda Civic 2005

**samiam05** · 09-05-2006, 07:54 PM

I have been using my Ipaq with a Bluetooth GPS receiver in my car for a long time now and I think it is time for an upgrade, at first I was skeptical of fitting a touch screen LCD into my civic stereo bezel but what the heck I am going to give it a try

. I had past experience with fiberglass so here is what I have done so far using readily available items
1. All purpose Polyester and fiberglass from Home Depot
2. Regular automotive grade paint as pigment
3. Blaster of Paris to fill the unneeded openings
4. Mink oil for release wax LOL
5. Baby powder mixed with polyester for the mold and bezel coat

The idea is to add a screen with a slim front slot load and move the AC control to the lower bezel where is the Aux 12v output currently located
Below pictures outline the progress so far where I created a mold form the original bezel and produced a fiberglass bezel with only the AC opening next I will cut opening for the screen and DVD player

**samiam05** · 09-06-2006, 09:43 AM

Ok so with some trimming and sanding and it looks like it’s a perfect fit (picture below) now I am ready to order my TS screen and I am looking for some advise, I have enough space for whatever size I want 7”, 8” heck maybe 10” I was thinking of recessing the screen to avoid reflection and glare but here is the $250 question what is the best screen out there and what is the second best just in case it is too expensive, I looked through the forum and I am getting mixed opinions. Any help is appreciated

**samiam05** · 09-06-2006, 10:23 PM

Guys where is the love? Any answers for my questions

**Das** · 09-07-2006, 01:31 AM

Maybe I am not understanding what you have done here. You have fiberglassed the hole where your screen should go? And left gaping craters as well.

I think you might need to explain it a little better.

A for effort

**samiam05** · 09-07-2006, 07:21 AM

Originally Posted by Das

Maybe I am not understanding what you have done here. You have fiberglassed the hole where your screen should go? And left gaping craters as well.

I think you might need to explain it a little better.

A for effort

I didn’t want to cut through the original bezel so here is what I did so far
1. I made a mold of the original bezel after covering the double din opening with blaster of Paris to take the shape of the bezel
2. I made a replica of the bezel from the mold but without all the AC control or stereo opening this way I have enough space for a screen and front slot loader DVD player
I would still like to find out what is the best screens choice out there, I have been searching all over the forum with conflicting result regarding the best TS screens also did anyone ever figure out how to get around the reflection/visibility problem with this screens

**sciontC** · 09-07-2006, 09:36 AM

so you have a dash made out of plaster of paris? i really dont see that lasting long. it will crack, why dont you just get a dash for $10 at a junk yard and mold the screen in. it will look nicer, be more durable, and probably even take less time.

As for a screen recomondation, i can only tell you what i have and that i like it. I have the 7" xenarc and have no complaints

**samiam05** · 09-07-2006, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by sciontC

so you have a dash made out of plaster of paris? i really dont see that lasting long. it will crack, why dont you just get a dash for $10 at a junk yard and mold the screen in. it will look nicer, be more durable, and probably even take less time.

As for a screen recomondation, i can only tell you what i have and that i like it. I have the 7" xenarc and have no complaints

The dash is completely made out of fiberglass and the reason I did that is to create an enclosure to recess the screen in without having to cut the orginal or weld it with Bondo, here is also a before and after pictures to show what I am working with here

**samiam05** · 09-15-2006, 07:45 PM

I am halfway there and reaching my goal

As I mentioned before my goal was an OEM look without cutting into any of the original parts so bezel is completely made out of fiber glass using the simplest material for molding and fabrication (everything from Home Depot and Walmart ) and above all is finishing it all under $300 including

1. TVIEW DVD313 FM TV FlipDown Detachable Face DVD Receiver
2. TM-868 8" USB Touch Screen VGA RCA TFT LCD Monitor
3. Fiberglass, Polyester etc..
4 used laptop, dock, wires and harness

now I have a question if anyone care to help, my car is Honda Civic 2005 and I will need power for the power converter, screen, AMP and AUX power for whatever what is the best place to tap into to get power from the car ?

note: I have not painted the bezel yet the last picture is the bezel with black primer

**scott_fx** · 09-15-2006, 07:53 PM

thats great work and impressive that you made that mold.

as far as the best place to get power...it would be the battery. get the proper gauge an a distro block. run the wire close to your amp and then use the distro block to distribute the power to the pc and the amp

**samiam05** · 09-15-2006, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by scott_fx

thats great work and impressive that you made that mold.

as far as the best place to get power...it would be the battery. get the proper gauge an a distro block. run the wire close to your amp and then use the distro block to distribute the power to the pc and the amp

Thank you and I appreciate you help, but does that mean that I will need an on/off switch for the power and I will have to turn it off every time or can work something out with the ignition/Aux sorry for the question but when it come to automotive wiring and power I am ignorant