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Trailblazer Carputer Project - Complete!

36K views 83 replies 44 participants last post by  InfiniteReality 
#1 ·
Well, after many many months of planning, waiting, anticipating, and finally making it all happen... Here it is: My Carputer!

Specs are as follows:
Lilliput 629 7inch LCD Touchscreen
Gigabyte 7VM400M Mobo
AMD Athlon XP 2100+
512mb DDR 2100 Ram
60gb Western Digital 7200rpm HD
NEC DVD-RW Dual Layer 16x Drive
Airlink 802.11G WiFi PCI Card
On-Board Video and Sound (soon to be upgraded)
USB Bluetooth Dongle by Actiontec
RF Wireless USB Keyboard + Mouse In One (Works Really Well, link)
300watt Standard ATX Power Supply
600watt XOVision Power Inverter
400watt VR3 4-Channel Amp

All of this in a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer LS :D

The first real big challange was trying to figure out how to mount the touchscreen in the dash of the Trailblazer. At first I was going to use the GM Mount from www.humount.com, but I decided against it since it was made for a Xenarc, and not a Lilliput. (But they do have Lilliput mounts now, and the guy that runs that site is very very friendly, and helpful. I think anybody looking to mount a screen in a GM vehicle should give them a try first.)

So instead what I did was use a normal everyday clipboard and cut it to fit, and used that to mount my Lilliput screen to it, and put it in the car. It actually ended up working really well... I had alot of issues with using the dremel to cut it down, but all in all it was worth it.
After the screen was all mounted, everything was pretty much down hill from there. I bought a wiring harness for my car, it plugged right into my factory cables, I ran those directly to my amp, and everything worked just fine. Sounds great on the factory GM speakers believe it or not. Ill add some sub's later on... I probally wont mess with the speakers themselves though since I'm happy with the way it all sounds.

All in all, I am very happy with my install... It works really well, except for not having any actual buttons, which is kind of a pain when your in day to day driving conditions. Ill eventually get a Chevrolet steering wheel with the media buttons on it and wire it up to my carputer. But the next big step for me is trying to get a startup/shutdown controller working for my inverter. That has to be done, because getting out every time I want to start up is really annoying. And ofcourse, painting the clipboard mount for the screen, and building a nicer box for it all to fit in.
Below is the completed shot of the screen mounted in the car. Scroll down to the next post for step by step pictures.... And please, let me know what you think. Comments are most certainly welcome! :thumbsup:

 
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#10 ·
Well for my personal project I didnt spend all that much, but I had most of the computer parts already since thats what I do for a living :) I think after everything was said and done I spent around $300. But like I said, I had almost everything I needed already.....except for the screen.


However, If your a complete new beginer, heres how it would average out (in my opinion anyways):

Complete Computer: $300-$400
Touchscreen LCD: $250-$350
Inverter (For Power): $30-$100
Amp: $50-$100
Misc Extras: $100

But ofcourse, those numbers are completely from the top of my head, and dont mean squat in reality. Its just to show that it can cost around $1,000 give or take... But if you really want to get into this hobby, then you ABSOLUTELY need to check this site out: www.mp3car.com

And to close this post, read all of the posts in this following thread, and you'll find your answers I think: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=63940
 
#14 ·
Sweet install....:woot:
Good F'ing idea on the screen...would have saved me $100.00 (or more):mad:

I don't know if you've seen my install Here

This weekend I'm moving the PC to the front of the car...Due to moister, I had to buy a new MoBo
 
#15 ·
Ofcourse I remember your install dude, I asked you about loosing the door chimes ;)

Thanks alot for the warm comments, I apreciate it.

I liked your idea for the "stealth" look in the back....but why did you get moister issues? You shouldnt of had any?
 
#17 ·
Sorry to hear that about your mobo...

You know, I've read alot about TinyXP but I dont think I want to install it.... From what I understand you only shave a few seconds off of your boot time anyway, and you completely loose the whole "plug-and-play" features of Windows. I would hate to have to install drivers everytime I plug something into my computer....you know what I'm saying?
 
#20 ·
With Rev5 alot of the drivers were left in, along with wireless.
I had Rev3 installed and I could not get the network to work...

Here's the part of the Read Me
Support for SATA,Printers, Digital Cameras and MS Office.
As with all TinyXP editions, both of these are intended for gaming
and have had most networking components taken out, no
"Active Directory" is possible with either of these, but
you are still able to use eMule and Torrents no problem.
 
#23 ·
Thanks, I apreciate that :)

At the moment, I'm not using anything for GPS. I havent really looked into it. I know I have a old yellow serial box that says "Tripmate - Hyperformance GPS Navigation" on it, but I dont even know if it will work with any of the newer GPS software out there like iGuidance and such...
 
#24 ·
Dude, that is a great job. What I could do with my computer in my TB would probably mean I only need a bathroom. Driving, sleeping, eating, and now a computer. :crazy: Great job. Paint the clip board around the display, it would look even better.
 
#27 ·
Thanks :D

I am actually painting the clipboard right now. What I was trying to get is the exact same texture as the bezel around the double din radio slot.... But I didnt get the exact texture that I wanted.

So now I am tossed up between doing the clipboard a plain flat black (kinda like what the factory GM radio has) or do the texture I have, which is very rough and griddy... I just havent decided which one looks the best.

As soon as everything dries, I'll post back here.
 
#30 ·
Because I dont want to change anything on the actual car at all... I just want to mod what I put in to look as close as possible. That way, if I ever want/need to go back to factory everything, its not hard to do. For instance, as of right now everything I wired up for the carputer is all with a wiring harness. So if I decide to put my factory headunit back it, its very simple.

Good idea though, just not something I wanna do.

I know Homedepot carries a texture paint that I used it was OK.
Well I ended up using something called "Rust-O-Leom" textured spray paint. Kinda like this: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=brandPageProcessor&brandpage=rstm

I am having trouble with it right now though. I did a coat of the textured spray paint, then a coat of flat black over that. Then I let it sit all day long in direct sunlight to dry. Now its completely dry, but theres like this powder coming off of the board when I touch it.... I have no idea how to get rid of it other than to paint a clear coat over it, but I dont want a glossy look.... So now Im a little confused on what the next step is :confused:
 
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