sweet so is the main purpose for that? just to have touch screen capabilaties

 

The purpose of the touchscreen is so that you can control the radio, video, GPS, etc.. without having to pull out the keyboard or mouse. I'll be using the steering wheel buttons first. That's 8 buttons. Then the wireless remote will control more functions as it has more buttons. Then if I absolutely need to, I can use the touchscreen.

I'll use the keyboard and mouse to set everything up, then hopefully I won't need it on a day to day basis. There is an OSK (on screen keyboard) if needed, also.

 

sweet

 

Yea, were getting way off topic, but check out these pics from Firebird:



Makes me forget all about the headlights.

I'm going to start a new thread with all f-body computer related stuff and pics from other owners to show all the different possibilities. My own carpc project is moving slowly forward.

 

The integrated PCs looks really neat.

So how does the PC "turn on" ? Does it power on with the car or does it have it's own dedicated power? How long does it take to boot and what OS is it running? Hard drive? How about some specs! Who/how did you program the GUI interface? Thanks.

 

Those are all newbie questions and are answered at MP3car.com in the FAQ Forum. http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=106
I'll give you some quick answers, though.

The PC turns on with an ignition trigger just like your factory radio. You need a good DC-DC converter made specifically for this application. They will include start-up and shutdown controller circuitry so all of that stuff is automatic.

Boot time depends soley on your computer and software. If you use a mobo that boots fast as well as hibernation with a lot of the unused programs turned off it can boot in 12-15 seconds. Slower components, like mine take about 53 seconds. I'm going to be buying a new mobo, CPU, etc.. to make sure mine boots faster. If you use standby, the whole thing can boot in like 3 seconds, even mine, but standy does consume more power when off.

I and most folks use XP, but you can use 2000 if you want. Even 98, but it's just older and can do less. A few are running Linux, but I'm not into that.

The software that groups everything together and makes it easy to use is called a frontend. There are several and each one has skins to change the look.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=60
You can change the skins or even customize your frontend if you want, but customizing in Photoshop or a similar program is time consuming. There are so many you just need to keep trying them out until you find one you like. I'm using a frontend called Roadrunner and a skin called Alpine - amber. I blacked out the area behind the text. Here's what it looks like below. I shrunk it to make the file size smaller.

The key to a carPC is to keep the power consumption low and to keep the heat low. Downclocking the PC and reducing it's voltage are pretty common with newer AMD CPU's. You don't need a lot of processing power for a carPC. Typical DC-DC power supplies are 90w-150w so that's why you need to keep the power consumption low. Then the really big difference in a home PC and carPC is all about the software. There's so much and it's all specialized.

BTW, Roadrunner uses Winamp to play the actual music, but Winamp stays hidden.

 

I haven't forgotten about the headlights, though. I recently upgraded the bulbs in my car with H7 Silverstars. I had a fairly new Wagner bulb go out on me, so I cut away the rubber to see how the bulb was held in place, then I remembered this website.
http://www.fullthrottlev6.com/forums...6994#post36994
I basically took a cutoff wheel in a dremel and made 8 slices to enlarge the hole and then used a grinding drum to round it out and enlarge it until the H7 drops all the way in. I even tapped the metal around the opening slightly flat, just to fit the bulb in an extra millimeter. The bulb needs to be all the way in for the lens to focus properly. I then used some high temp silicone (copper) to seal it in place. I then cut my stock plug off and butt spliced it back on along with some extra long wires with insulated female spade connectors. Now I can switch back and forth if I need to.

The Silverstars make a big difference. I'm getting a lot more light to the road, plus the dingy yellow is gone. I also tried rotating the gear in my passenger headlight motor 90* and luckely it worked. So now I have them flipping up and down again. I also flipped on my Auto-headlights switch since I'm driving in a lot more night conditions. It's a nice convenience. If it's dark and you release the e-brake, they pop up and turn on. Then turn off and lower when you turn off the engine. Just like the Canadian Trans Ams.

Still, the beam pattern and overall brightness is not as good as the same bulbs in the projector lenses. I'm still working on ideas in my head to make some fixed units, but I don't have to money to do anything right now. Between the CarPC and customizing my new slicer, I'm all tapped out. I need to fabricate a new pocket clip as well as possibly add some scales.

 

Cool projects One question... looks kinda like a USB port in place of the lighter in the first photo, but then the lighter is back in the second photo? Was the second photo actually taken before the first one, or did you turn the lighter into a USB flash drive?

 

Those pictures are from a member named Firebird. Yes, he converted his lighter into a USB port.

I started a thread over on MP3car.com with all the f-bodies I could find. There are a few sample pics of each as well as links to get more pics and info on all of them. Check it out to see what can be done.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=63949

 

I bet your car will be bitchin man...in about 5 years or so :;-):

 

It's bitchen now, just getting more so as time goes on. When I got it 3 years ago, it was completely stock so I'm constantaly doing stuff. I've got other interests besides the car, so there's just not enough of me to go around. Now if I could clone myself....

and clone my paychecks.

I did fab up a filler panel to fit on the top of the 3rd brake light which makes it flush. I got the seams extremely fine so it really blends in. Looks damn good. I also just bought an Alpine 5.1 surround sound processor for the car. It will be replacing my Rockford EPX2. This will give me a pure digital signal from the PC to the stereo system.
http://www.abtelectronics.com/product/16615.html
31 band EQ, x-overs and time alignment. I might even add some rear speakers and use the suround sound option. Crazy man. Hells yea!

Anyway, I don't think I'll mess with the fixed lights for at least a couple of months.

 

I have been toying around with the third brake light idea myself i cannot stand it

 

I actually painted the top of the light first, but it didn't look very good as there is usually a big depression and the light catches the angles. So I took what I had laying around, a piece of .093" thick plexiglass which I was experimenting with for my headlight project. The thickness matches perfectly. I laid it out and cut it a bit oversized. This is how I did it.
I backed the car up as close to a bench grinder as I could. The whole process took maybe 30-40 trips back and forth test fitting it on the car.
I then took off small sections at a time, rounding the corners as I went.
I made the factory straight cut on the plexi be the back edge, so it was nice and straight.
I slowly grinded the plexi piece to size and once it was getting close I beveled the lower side of the front and side edges to make sure the plexi would slide up and get as close to the seams as I could.
I used a fine file and a wide diagonal angle to file the 3 sides to make sure they are very straight and not wavy. The bench grinder can cut fairly stright, but it will still have some wavyness to it.
I lined up the back edge to the edge of the spoiler, not the brake light.
You'll notice that the brake light has an edge that sticks out a bit further than the spoiler.
Once I had the plexi all ready to go, I laid it on top of the 3rd brake lens and then carefully filed the red plastic lens until it matched perfectly to the upper plexi piece I made. Tape the edge of the spoiler in case you slip with the file. You don't want to nick the paint like I did. Learn from my mistake. A little black touch up fixed it as it was a very small nick.
I then added a very fine bevel to the top rear of the plexi to match the spoiler and also a tiny, fine rounding of the left and right rear corners just to keep the wash mit and chamois from catching on it.
Painted it black with clear coat from a rattle can (mask the bottom to keep paint from running under there) and used some RTV silicone to bond it in place. I later took some touch up paint and painted the red part of the lens that I had filed. That gave it a finished look.

So that's one more little nagging thing I don't have to think about anymore.
I guess I'll do a thread on this once I get some pics. Has anyone else done this? I haven't seen anyone do it yet.

 

Headlight project is back on!
The plan is going to be very much like this, but on a black car. I may even get the Firehawk hood (got some dough now).



So far it will be,
1. fixed
2. single projector with movable shield
3. HID
4. last thing to decide, should the lens curve down like the stock headlight cover and like the SLP ones or should I NOT curve them and just extend them forward for more of a flush look?

I did some black construction paper covers a while back and the extended look was very cool. I actually like them both. A while back I was going to just stick everything in the headlight loosely and snap some pics, but I never did because I always have to borrow a camera. Well, I'm going to buy my own and I should have some pics in a few days. I'll get couple of small sheets of lexan and make both lens shapes as well, maybe one shape on each side to better compare them.

 

cool keeps us updated. cant wait to see the pics

 

Save your time and buy it now

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1998-...ayphotohosting

 

Yes. Buy them, make a mold, make copies. Then make another mold so they'll fit on my '95 Z28.

 

Wow, I can't believe I'm seeing that!
Talk about rare. I wonder if anyone will buy them for that price?

I'm thinking I'll end up with about $700 into mine with the HID and everything and it should be better that those prototypes, so if my time is worth $24,000 then it's money in the bank!

Besides, who want's a halogen high beam? I'd prefer HID projector for low and high.

Oh yea, someone would probably steal them off my car, anyway. Bastards!

 

Would you happen to have any drawings of your ideas for the headlights?

 

No, but it's similar is design to the prototypes in that the projector will be sealed to the lens with special vents in them. In fact my design is mostly going to hide the whole projector assembly, so it will save me a lot of cosmetic work. I only plan to make the lens about 6-8 inches wide as the painted cover will fill in all the rest.
I could do up a drawing, but I don't have a scanner. I guess I could go buy one, though. I'll see what I can do.