Stereo & Electronics - In dash monitor without the sacrifice.

Basically, im thinking about building a carputer, and id like an in dash screen, flush, not a pop out. But, i think moving the hvac to the glove box is ridiculous. So id like to maintain it below the screen. But where would I mount a head unit? I dont want to lose access to an in dash cd player. I'd like to have a touch screen, HU, and hvac all accessible from the drivers seat. Any one have any ideas? Or is a pop out touchscreen the only way thats possible (minus the carputer)?

Ive seen these custom molds. (note i have a t/a so the dash is obviously not the same). But these get the point across.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11562

and

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6050

Just brainstorming, if anyone would like to chime in with work theyve done or ideas theyve had. The only idea ive had is putting the hvac below its current area, where the tcs and cig lighter are. but that might be too much custom work.

u can have a hu, lose the vents, and have a small screen *shrugs*. just move everything to the glovebox or center console and have a huge screen.

Check out: www.mp3car.com

Check this out

http://www.vealink.com/

Check this out

http://www.vealink.com/
For $2800, I can build it myself.

I have an indash monitor and love it w/o any sacrifice
Sony 9900 series indash tft display am/fm/cd/mp3
Bought a clarion TV Tuner and a cheap dvd which fit under the pass seat

Alpine IVA-D900 here. You lose the center A/C vent when it's open and a little bit of the other two vents, but nothing substantial. In dash DVD, you can hook up an external HD to it and TV tuner, Nav, Video game system, etc. And all that is stashed under the driver seat.

The visuals on Sony's CDX-M9905X CD/MP3 receiver will astound you! Its 32,000-color TFT (thin film transistor) display shows off stunning, full-motion, photograph-quality images and animations. And, if you're not satisfied with all the pre-loaded images, the receiver has a video input so you can connect any video source. A video capture function then allows you to store up to 100 additional custom images!

The CDX-M9905X plays your MP3 discs and makes them sound great. BBE MP processing restores some of the sonic excitement that gets lost when music files are compressed, giving your MP3s a rich, lively sound. Read more

Details:

» fixed face with a 32,000-color TFT display
» blue button lighting
» plays CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs (including discs loaded with MP3 files)
» SSIR-EXA tuner
» 18 FM/12 AM presets
» seek tuning
» BBE MP (restores detail and warmth lost to MP3 files during compression)
» Dynamic Soundstage Organizer
» EQ7 (7-band equalizer and 7 preset tone curves)
» XM Satellite Radio controls (XM subscription, optional XM tuner, and antenna required to receive the satellite radio signal) — service is available only in the lower 48 states, not available in Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories
» CD changer controls
» rear auxiliary input (when not using a CD changer or XM tuner)
» 4-volt front, rear and subwoofer preamp outputs
» high-pass and low-pass filter
» CEA-2006 Compliant amplifier
» clock
» wireless remote
» 23.2 watts RMS/52 peak x 4 channels
» CD frequency response: 10-20,000 Hz
» CD signal-to-noise ratio: 120 dB
» FM sensitivity: 9 dBf
» warranty: 1 year

yea what the hell do you need a HU for if you have a COMPUTER IN YOUR CAR!

im under the impression you need a headunit if you have a system to properly equalize the sound and what not

that vealink is way over priced. mp3car.com has some well priced units in comparison. looks like i might just scrap parts and build my own.

the sony hu isnt really what im lookin for, but that alpine is pretty sharp. although id like navigation and touch screen. motorized is beginning to become the most logical option. which kinda sucks ,cuz a nice big screen would be pretty sharp. got a lot of thinkin to do.

anyone else with an indash monitor have any pix, suggestions, etc?

Wow, I think I'll start shopping:)

lmao :) good luck, keep us updated with any finds.

Here are a few more threads on the subject:
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155523&highlight=screen
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258843&highlight=screen
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248405&highlight=screen
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194262&highlight=screen
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154979&highlight=screen

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190766
http://www.thegev.com/carputer.htm

thanks dude ya ive seen almost all of those. but the 5th one made me think about movin the head unit somewhere instead of the hvac.

but it has to be somewhere convenient.

give it up.... you know you really want a motorized one... and if you dont, thats what youre gonna end up with! :p

lol its lookin that way. i found a real nice alpine unit im probably gonna get. but im not sure i may do a carputer or navi and hook it up externally eventually. who the hell knows. if thats even possible.

I don't know how much they cost but you should check out one of those Drive Soft in car computer things. I think they are a head unit/dvd/computer/gps navigation combo. They use them all the time on Pimp My Ride, lol.

I have a friend that sets up carputers and molds the screen to your dash. the very basic systems start at $1500 with a 7" touch screen.

Why dont you just invest in a laptop, and make connections so you can wire it to your sound stage?

im guessing he doesnt want a laptop sitting shotgun in his car like highway patrol

just run your car pc to an equalizer. Then a head unit wont be needed. I am in the process of building a car pc as well...8 inch touch screen in dash. only thing that needs to be moved are my fog light and traction control buttons.

Just put a badass soundcard like an audigy in your computer and eqalize it with windows media.

I actually was going to do this a few years back but never got around to it. I was going to use a touch screen. On major problem that I saw was the vibrations would kill the hard drive (my competition car).


All in all its a good idea but ALOT of fiberglass will be involved since you pretty much have to make the entire dash. Doing that and making it look good is no easy task.