My Custom Car PC and Vinyl interior build thread (56K Go Away)

[rbaksi]

UPDATED 2010 Build Restarted go to last post


Here is a worklog from what I've been doing with my car interior. I've posted it on LS1tech but I thought the local NJ people would like to see it too:

So I've had a car PC in my car for some time now but when I first set it in the dash my fabrication job was half assed. So I decided to redo it this summer while I'm back from college and of course one thing led to another and I'm redoing a good part of my interior.

For anyone who doesn't know what a Car PC is, its basically just what it sounds like. I have a 9.2" screen that's going into the dash and connected to it is a PC with itunes, internet, bluetooth, gps, pretty much anything I would want. On top of that I'm gonna do the vinyl/leatheretteish recovering of the dash and doors and such. When all said and done it will be awesome :pimp:

First I've relocated the HVAC controls to the center console. I have a 95 TA so I got a console out of a 99 since it'll allow me the space to put it up.

Cutting up the controls.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0516090744_01b64.jpg

Sanding down the top part of the console with 80/120/220 grit

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0516090744_0025b.jpg

I used a piece of cardboard behind (just as a mold) and short strand fiberglass bondo for the basic structure of this part. After a lot of work with the dremel I got this

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0517091929_00f0c.jpg
http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0517091930_006a7.jpg

Then came the regular bondo filler and tons of sanding. 220/400 grit to get this

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0518090349_00d14.jpg

Which got shot with 2 coats filler primer and sanded down with 800 afterwards

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0518091842_00ce3.jpg

and this is close to the finished product. Painted with silver. I haven't securely mounted the controls but the spots are there

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0522092308_018f5.jpg

MUCH MORE to Come!

[rbaksi]

Here's the vinyl wrapping. I'm using some stretchy vinyl that I got for $11.50 a yard and 3M 80 adhesive. Just need to spray it on, let it get tacky after 5 min, and stick the pieces together. I thought I'd try the tailgate button panel first since it should be easier. The panel and material look like they're almost the same color in pics, but it is definitely a nice black

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0522092026_00daf.jpg
I did half of it first
http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0522092157_00682.jpg
http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0522092201_00433.jpg

And the final product:

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0523090017_00368.jpg

[rbaksi]

Here's my interior from before. One thing leads to another and when one piece is out its easier to do another mod as well. I've fell victim to the mod addiction.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0527091206_01864.jpg

SILVER GAUGES :)

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0527091206_00d23.jpg

The center console is basically done. Here is a pic of half done, this side was easy

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0523090233_000dc.jpg

The other side is tricky of course because of the cigarette lighter swooping area. I did glued small sections at a time, and the glue actually makes the vinyl stretcher. Then clamped until dry and then the next section. It worked out pretty well and I plan on doing the gauge surround and the dash in a similar way.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0527090912_00859.jpg
http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0527091228_00c6a.jpg

and here's the almost final product, I have to finish the rear cupholder, do some trimming and I'm waiting on redline shift and e-brake boots

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0527091953_003f1.jpg
http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0527091953_014eb.jpg

Comments suggestions always welcome

[rbaksi]

Here's an update, I got a bit more stuff done, a lot of it is sort of in progress

Glovebox

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0527090902_00830.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0602090006_00db6.jpg

Dash Pad. Man I never realized this thing was so big, and it takes a LOT of glue

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0602090104_0070a.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0604092315_0065f.jpg

A Pillar

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0604092314_0003f.jpg

I'm covering the gauge surround in one piece of vinyl. Its going well but has to be glued small parts at a time so that it stretches properly

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0527090827_004c0.jpg

Inside of cluster done

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0603090101_00b72.jpg

Outside/back done. The trickier part to come

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0604092313_0032f.jpg

Some Painted pieces to match the vinyl

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0604092316_001f3.jpg


LCD Screen 9.2 inches!

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0604092318_00e04.jpg

and my Redline boots arrived! They look great and are high quality, but they were kinda expensive.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0604092319_00dd2.jpg

:pimp: I think its coming out well so far

[rbaksi]

Here's some more progress guys, I'm almost done

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0612090700_00100.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0613091743_00703.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0614090324_0053a.jpg

I couldn't really stretch the vinyl far enough so I made into separate pieces as best I could. Gauge cluster is done!

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0613091625_002a6.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0613091549_00bf9.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0613091559_00b63.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0615090156_00296.jpg

Now the DASH - the hard part. I put some fiberglass bondo on it first to create a base. Then I put a few small screws into it towards the plastic so it would hold strong to the dash.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0612091033_00a80.jpg

Then I put some regular bondo and went all over it with the dremel. I put on one more layer and finished it with some hand sanding.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0614091742_00111.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0614091742_00111.jpg

Test fit, I know the edges look rough but this isnt the final pic

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0614091820_00cb0.jpg

[rbaksi]

More updates. This is getting close to finished!

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0617091308_00162.jpg

Got the center console and cluster in. A word of advice: pay extremely close attention to the edges when you wrap pieces or they will stick out like a sore thumb, or maybe I just notice it more.
I also shortened the shifter by 3/4 of an inch using this how to: http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/4692757-post1.html
and I put a MBA adapter and MBA knob with a firebird engraved in it

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0617091927_00a13.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0617091943_00cd9.jpg

[sweetbmxrider]

wow. so ****in awesome! nice work man. i really like that center console. can't wait to see it completed. deff pimp ass work!

[Tru2Chevy]

Looks great! Sounded kinda cheesy at first, but from the pics it looks like the finished product will be very nice.

- Justin

[PlanDefeat]

that is one dedicated project, definitely a masterpiece in the making. I've sprayed my door handle covers and as far from what I can tell the spray paint never looks right on any car and begins to fade over time, not including any scratches that may occur and look horrendous so fast. Wish I could redo it like the factory your leather wrap was a great idea, where did you find the 3M glueing?

[btownws6]

yea wow looks amazing good job

[The Fixer]

Looks friggin' sick so far, awesome work!!!!!!!!!

[procamaroz28]

BRILLIANT!!!!

[rbaksi]

that is one dedicated project, definitely a masterpiece in the making. I've sprayed my door handle covers and as far from what I can tell the spray paint never looks right on any car and begins to fade over time, not including any scratches that may occur and look horrendous so fast. Wish I could redo it like the factory your leather wrap was a great idea, where did you find the 3M glueing?

The 3M 80 glue I got from home depot. The one near me is out of stock now (because of me) :lol:

[LTb1ow]

Damn!

Nice work, did you have to extend any of the lines to the relocated control knobs?

[NastyEllEssWon]

haha i see a home depot paint mixer in the dash used :rofl:




nice work

[Mike]

i planned to come in and joke about rice.......but that looks pretty badass, and the fab work is quality.

[rbaksi]

Damn!

Nice work, did you have to extend any of the lines to the relocated control knobs?

Yeah I have to extend all of them and they're a kinda a pain to do, especially the bicycle type wire connected one. I'm gonna do them some other time though since my A/C has a small leak and the car doesnt get driven during the school year so no need for heat either. I do know how to do them though, the writeup is here: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/fabrication/88823-how-relocate-climate-controls-97-02-f-body-cars.html

[Teds89IROC]

looks great! Nice work

[01SS]

Lookin good! keep up the good work.

[mtg6486]

very kool cant wait to see it done

[rbaksi]

Worked on the dash this afternoon Got the center stack mostly finished, just need to cut out the HVAC vents. I first put a vinyl piece on the side of the stack by first making a template out of paper.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0622091737_001dd.jpg

Trimmed a bit, only the top half is glued

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0622091804_00ec6.jpg

I used a lot of masking tape and garbage bags when I applied the glue to prevent overspray

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0622091837_001e7.jpg

I'm gonna cut out the vent holes when I have replacement ones from the junkyard. I broke em when I took em out

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0622091957_00542.jpg

Now I've just got to finish up the A-Pillars and I will be doing the passenger airbag area in similar way with the stitching. These crappy camera phone pictures don't show how black the vinyl is; my digital camera broke

Comments/Suggestions always welcome

[Knipps]

wow, that looks really good. keep it up man

[DevilDougWS6]

ive always wanted to put a car pc in my T/A. but dont really have the know-how to set up the computer to fit in my car.

[sweetbmxrider]

reverse camera?

[rbaksi]

reverse camera?

future project, it'll be a simple retrofit in the keyhole maybe. Next summer.

[Frosty]

i planned to come in and joke about rice.......but that looks pretty badass, and the fab work is quality.

:werd:

Pretty damn nice work man! It's odd seeing the radio there though, it looks a little to jammed together, is there anywhere else you could put it?

[rbaksi]

yeah I think its too jammed as well but I don't know where else to put it. It could be in the glovebox or center console but thats just too hard to access. Its really the fault of me buying such a big screen.

If anybody has any ideas of where to put it I'd love to hear your thoughts

[SuperSweet]

Just out of curiousity...why do you have a radio if you have a carpc? All the carpc's I've seen just use the pc

[SamhainZ28]

Very nice work!

[rbaksi]

I have it because otherwise I need a FM tuner and some sort of volume controlling device for the PC, which do not integrate that well really. Also I don't know how to connect a computer to the speakers without the head unit since it commands a signal to each individual speaker. I would need a great soundcard, but my setup is a laptop connected to all of this, so it makes it more difficult from the audio switching standpoint. I wish I knew more of how to do it standalone without all the bugs

[sweetbmxrider]

if it sends a signal for each speaker, wouldn't you be able to use an amp and maybe even an equalizer? what kind of connections are coming out of it? there has to be a pretty easy way, just gotta find the right people.

[97Formula]

Just a thought -- What if you use an amp to power your speakers, and then use the PC to control the volume? You can get one of those phono-to-rca wires (connect one end into the laptop, the other ends would go into the amp input).

Looks nice so far...

EDIT -- Thanks sweetbmxrider for beating me to it!

[rbaksi]

Yeah I have one of those phono-rca wires right now connected from the laptop to the aux in for the head unit. I know nothing about amps however. Does the amp connect to the same connector that the head unit plugs into?


EDIT:
Just found this:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/faq-emporium/32430-how-get-sound-pc-car-stereo-amp.html

[rbaksi]

SO im back for the summer again. This time I'm gonna redo the interior one more and final time. I wasn't satisfied with how it came out before and would really like the screen to be higher and to move the radio upwards in the dash. I have also gutted the interior so that I can lay down some fatmat rattletrap soon.

I just changed out the shocks with Bilsteins and did the heater hose mod. I also upgraded to LS1 style brakes.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0528101616_0008c.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0527101715_0052b.jpg

Got the interior out

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0530102005_009be.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0530102006_0065f.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0530102006_01908.jpg


Much more to come!

[T69SS]

Very cool, make sure to update!

[rbaksi]

Got some more stuff done today!

Something nice came in the mail today, my harbor freight multi-tool. This thing is amazing. Its so useful and was really cheap too. Feels like a very solid heavy duty product.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0603101547_00359.jpg



I did some work on the dash. Its so much easier to work on outside of the car on a bench. The multi tool was used for all of this. I added reinforcements to give it better support since I cut out so much of it. I'll be using a lot more wood as a base this time around since I'm pretty experienced working with it. I removed some of the foam as well to mount the wood on to.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0603102125_0080e.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0603102125_019df.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0603102335_0091d.jpg


Eventually I plan for it to have the same general layout as that of some of the new mercedes interiors like this E550. I really like the idea of a hooded screen that will decrease glare and make the whole system look more integrated.

http://www.automotiveaddicts.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/mercedes-benz-e-class-coupe-interior-angle.jpg


Also did some work on the center console. I have a touchpad that I will be integrating into the area where the cupholder was. Its used to control the carputer and I've been using it a lot and it works great especially with the preset buttons. Im trying to decide where to put the engine start and computer start buttons. Either in the TCS plate area or up near the screen.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0602102303_003ff.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0602102327_00ffe.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0602102344_00c09.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0603102335_01466.jpg

[greenformula92]

nice work.....who knew all those wires were under there!!! LOL :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[rbaksi]

I Worked more on the dash recently. I used wood to make some structure for the shape of everything and filled it in with foam. Next I will add some fiberglass bondo and then regular bondo to carve out a shape.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0607101321_00bca.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0607101321_01093.jpg


Also painted the cupholder and the gauge bezel


http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0608102356_006dc.jpg


And I'm mostly done laying the rattletrap on the floor. Still have to do the doors and hatch though.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0610101849_000f0.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0610101849_0169f.jpg

[1986IROCZ28]

man this is amazing i cant wait to see the finished product

[rbaksi]

More work on the dash. I used fiberglass short strand bondo and then normal bondo to create more of a shape. I decided to move the screen a bit forward instead of so recessed as originally planned. I also cut the hood a bit shorter so that it doesn't look so out of place and be so forward that it intrudes into the cabin. The foam will be cut to create a nice resting area for the screen. The new hvac vent will be just under the screen in between the two wooden pieces. I have also placed the start button on the left side near the key and under the gauge cluster and a bit recessed.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0612100256_00ece.jpg

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0612100257_0010a.jpg


Radio face painted satin black. I can't decide if I want to make the final bezel to cover the entire thing to be silver or black. I plan on wrapping the dash with vinyl.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0612100237_00d63.jpg


Finished dyeing the carpet. Here is a teaser of the before/after on just the floormats. As you can see, its quite a difference from the stock gray.

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/0611101617_00879.jpg

Comments?

[1986IROCZ28]

looking sweet i cant wait to see this thing finished your gonna have a one of a kind ta

[maroman88]

looks nice! coulda just bought black floormats tho

[rbaksi]

Well the whole carpet is getting dyed and I want it to match properly

[rbaksi]

Got some more stuff finished and did some vinyl wrapping. The carpet is back in after being thoroughly washed and dried so that the color doesn't come out. The carpet is actually much darker than it looks in the pics and is a real nice black like in the floormats picture. It is significantly darker than the door panels and has been holding up evenly.

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/8159/cimg2644.jpg

http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/4584/cimg2645.jpg[/IMG


Here is the dash bondo/fiberglass process completely sanded and blended. There were some small imperfections in the surface but they were covered entirely by the vinyl and glue.

[IMG]http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3209/cimg2649.jpg

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/9890/cimg2651e.jpg

I tried my hand at making double french seams using blackbird24's write-up (http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/appearance-detailing/937596-how-enhance-your-interior-french-seams.html)
They definitely came out better than the stitches I made last year but there are small imperfections that I'll just live with. Here's a close up:

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/7224/cimg2652.jpg


And I've been wrapping the dash in sections now. I finished the left of the airbag area and now will be doing the right side of the dash. This is extremely difficult and it has some small imperfections too but they're small enough for me not to notice. The material feels really great and gives the dash a nice touch already.

http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/1593/cimg2653x.jpg
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/4130/cimg2657.jpg
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/8509/cimg2658.jpg
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/1568/cimg2662w.jpg

I was also thinking about just forgetting about the center HVAC vent and use one of these lighted radio surrounds to make it look cleaner. Does anyone know where I could buy one?

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/368736771.jpg

[MonmouthCtyAntz]

Pretty sick :shock:

[BigAls87Z28]

Some pics are showing up for me, most arent.

[Knipps]

Some pics are showing up for me, most arent.
yeah, idk what's up with that. They used to work

[rbaksi]

Ok guys I changed the image host so it should show up now. I'll change the older pics as well.

[smoke_em94]

:werd:

Pretty damn nice work man! It's odd seeing the radio there though, it looks a little to jammed together, is there anywhere else you could put it?

he could put the radio in the glove box

[rbaksi]

he could put the radio in the glove box

but then it'd be difficult to control the volume on the fly. Its much easier to use the knob on the radio and the radio is a much better quality amplifier than the computer. I thought about moving it but its really more convenient in the dash.

[smoke_em94]

but then it'd be difficult to control the volume on the fly. Its much easier to use the knob on the radio and the radio is a much better quality amplifier than the computer. I thought about moving it but its really more convenient in the dash.

just use a remote to turn it up and down and to change channels that what i do

[BigRocsFirebird]

looking very nice. i wait a couple weeks to look at the thread so theres alot more to see each time hah. can't wait to see this finished

[1986IROCZ28]

any updates???

[HeadlessNorseman]

the computer feeding into a regular headunit is definitely the easiest way to do it. There isnt really way to control the volume on the computer with a knob and like stated before you lose the radio. also playing cds in a computer while driving isnt very safe, since youd have to be clicking the screen. Although you could just do the same job with an ipod. this is a killer idea tho and i cant wait to see it all finished up!! is the screen a touch screen?