BMac1203

I sprayed mine with flat black primer as well, and I'm pretty darn happy with the result so far. I'm still searching for a textured charcoal, but I'll keep looking.

That's some serious gauge wire you've got there. Good work though! It's just funny though, because I'm running 18 guage wire, and it's working all the same. Nice install though!

Good deal! Plenty of time for me to finish.

Yeah. Give me until the end of the night, or tomorrow, and I'll post pics of my new FB enclosure. It's coming out REALLY well. Where can I find trunk carpeting (like subwoofer box carpeting), I dont have a local audio shop.

When are you installing? If you give me ~2 days I'll show you what I'm working on, it might work out for you as well.

Laptop harddrives can really take a beating, I personally wouldnt worry about it. I have mine mounted vertical, and no problems yet. Depending on the size of the laptop, you may want to mount it on the tray under the door/flap to the tire compartment. I'll have to show you where I'm mounting my computer.

That's very true. Well, if I'm not powering the computer, it just got SUPER easy heh. I've been working on a custom fiberglass enclosure for the PC today. Should be about halfway done or so tomorrow. Ill let you know how it goes. Now I just need to find carpeting that matches the trunk's OEM carpet. Any ideas? I don't have any custom audio shops around me in NY.

The issue with the connector is the power. The smaller connectors can't hold the amperage or that gauge of wire that we require. So unless the power wires are a seperate connector, I don't think it can be done in a smaller connector.

Hey thanks, appreciated! Make sure that the pins can hold 16-18 gauge wire, with up to ~10 amps max.

12 pinsI think for VGA (I think 3 arent used) I was thinking about possibly using something like the ATX 24 pin Power Connector. Reason being, most of the smaller computer connectors (the Centronics or D-Sub connectors, for example) cannot handle the heavy signals such as power. On most of them, they can't handle a guage wire larger that 20-22 awg, which is very small. But the big issue is, once you put this big connector on each end, it's going to be very difficult to pull the cable through/under the carpeting. But I'm working on this, don't you worry!

I didn't do anything fancy for my personal install, but I'm working on a custom harness (with single connector) for the "kit" that I'm thinking about producing for us all.

First, I took a wire coat hanger and cut it, so that I left one of the hanger's bends in. So you have a stretched out "V" with the hanger. Then, I lifted up as hard as I could where the carpet starts at the back seat, and started to route the wire under the carpet to the handbrake. It is difficult. Getting past the bend at the "hump" inbetween the rear feet wells is most difficult, becaust the wire hits this at a 90" angle, and you just have to push hard to get the wire to bend and continue moving forward. You'll see what I mean once you begin. Then, when the wire pokes out at the handbrake, pull it about 6-8" out, so that you have plenty of place to tape your wires to the hanger. I only left about 2-3" the first time, and I ended up pulling the hanger and leaving the wires mid-way under the carpet. Then, I did it right the second time. Be patient, and you'll get it. And for the second topic, I want to do this for just what you say, to give the people that you speak of the opporunity to do this to their cars (not just a hobby anymore a reality). I spent about $850 total on my system, and it does so much more than an OEM Nav, and looks pretty darn OEM. I am working towards making these idiot-proof kits, so that we can trim the work time down to a quick saturday afternoon where anyone can do it. And lastly, it was you, darkfox, and sebberry that inspired me only weeks ago. Who knew I would be so passionate as to start creating kits for others?

Unfortunately I'll have to dismantle to take some pictures, but not a problem, just most likely won't get around to it until this coming week. My harness consisted of a 10' USB Extension cable, a 10' VGA extension, ~ 20' of 16awg wire for power, 15' of 16awg wire for ground, 15' of 16awg wire for accessory, 15' of RCA cables for Audio (with ground loop terminator from JazzyMod). All of this was electricaltaped and ziptied about every 6 inches.

Alrighty, yeah I just didn't mean to come off as I did. I think that if everyone had the ability to purchase a bezel with the craftsmanship of yours or my own, then almost anyone could do this on their own. I'm attempting to put together a Legacy "Kit" if you will, that will give the user EVERYTHING they need, minus the screen and the computer; so that the hard part is already done for them. Not sure how many people would really be interested in this though.

f1anatic, I really apologize. I honestly didn't mean anything by my previous comment. Especially not pointed at you. I'm just an optimistic person, and want to help everyone do this. I think there's a lot of people that want it, but aren't willing or don't trust themselves to do the work. Again, I didn't mean to offend you or anyone. AND, I think you did a great job.

Well, I got mine almost 100%, just working on getting the correct texture. I'm currently working on a "buy-n-bolt" kit that you speak of, for both the Lilliput and Xenarc Screens. I am also working on creating prefabbed wiring harnesses. I am also tweaking the fiberglass sub box install idea, to put the CarPC into an OEM-looking Carpeted enclosure that will fit into either the driver or passenger side wells in the trunk (user preference). This will keep the trunk tray open for use. I'll keep you guys updated. Now, I just need interest in this project, so that I know how far to go with it. My install only took about 2.5 hours, due to the fact that I had prefabbed all my parts to fit (Clip in bezel, tap 2 wires, run wire harness to trunk, mount pc in cubby, hook everything up, bingo). That install was by myself WHILE IT WAS SNOWING heh.

And....will be offering pre-fabbed bezels for the Xenarc 7" and both Lilliput 619 and 629 7" Models soon.

I think it depends on how much pre-planning you do. I spent about $850, and I'm pretty much 100% content. I fabbed my bezel ahead of time, and instead of leaving the buttons on, I covered them up for a more OEM look, and I mounted the IR Receiver in the left air vent. So I have no buttons, but full function of the screen (point anywhere near the screen/air vent and bingo). My screen is auto-on, so I dont need buttons. I fabbed a wire harness, 15' of all my USB, VGA, Audio (w/Ground loop terminator), Power, Ground, and Accessory. Zip-tied it all together, and ended up with a 15' plug and play wire harness. Then I mounted all my components to a piece of plexi/acrylic using motherboard standoffs (because plexi can be static & conduct elec.). All in all, I spent about $850 on parts. I spent 4-5 hours on fabricating and painting the bezel (was extremely happy with result). And I spent about 2.5 hours installing it in my car, including the JazzyMod Aux-In kit. It looks OEM, all wires are hidden and run under carpeting, etc. To me, I spent about 4 days on it, and I'm done....hah

It's true, dish soap is a cheap DIY version of the special "Oil and Grease Remover" that you can buy.

So true. Hey, I hear they can convert the RX8 to Hydrogen easily....that's cool I guess....haha

Bweaaaahhhhh....shift....Bweaaaahhhhh...POP!! <---- My Hogzaust Stg 2.5'ish

Good luck man!

Hmm....that's really weird. Unless my primer was somehow a SuperPrimer and bonds to all surfaces. I just didn't have these issues.

First, HUGE congrats on your baby girl! Second, oddly I didn't have any problems with wrinkling, and I didn't even pre-sand the parts that I didn't bondo before priming (and I primed it when it was 10 degrees out). My only problem was that my 3rd coat of primer actually FROZE instead of drying. So I had to sand and do it again. And, I haven't matched the texture, but I have pretty much matched the color. Oddly, my color match came from Black sandable primer. I primed it with sandable gray primer, and then "painted" it with black primer (I say "painted", because I used primer). I'll have to take some pics maybe today. I got the install done, and it looks OEM. Also, I wired my IR-Receiver for the remote inside the left vent. You can't see it and now you can still use the remote!

I tend to pack a lot of snow in my exhaust gaps....hah....im serious