Kimnach.org
1988
IROC-Z
This page is a re-write and
hopefully a better organized version of my previous carputer page.
Here I will attempt to detail the various projects associated with
my IROC.
Carputer
&
Audio system
- Overview--why I'm installing a
carputer
- The hardware--the following hardware subsection contains a list of the
hardware I used and product page links only.
- Computer hardware
- Computer case--Mo-Co-So
mini-ITX case (2nd gen, summer 2008). No longer needed, since
I decided to mount the carputer hardware on an 1/8 plate.
- Motherboard--(Intel
D945GCLF--died) AT3GC-I with 2GB RAM
- 2GB RAM (I say 1GB in the video, but that's wrong)
- 3 hard drives (20GB IDE system drive, 80GB IDE audio drive,
160GB SATA video drive)
- pico-120 psu
- slot-load Blu-ray recorder
- Touchscreen-- Lilliput
889GL-80NP, 8" WS(I mistakenly refer to it as 889GCLF in
video)
- ALDL, a.k.a. OBD-I interface cable
- Rear view camera & mirror--Pyle
PLCM4235 mirror. I don't plan to use its included camera
and I'm not sure where to mount this (on dash or standard button
mount), but It'll be used....it's just a toy.
- miscellaneous
- mini keyboard
- Pioneer DEH-P7600MP faceplate fabricated into the overhead
console
- Lilliput 889GL-80NP touchscreen monitor
- HD Radio (Visteon HDZ300)
- Dynex mini 4-port USB hub expander & passive USB splitter
- Bench test and
installation videos--just some videos of the installation at
various stages
- Audio hardware
- Pioneer DEH-P7600MP Head unit
- While I had a set of Infinity speakers in the front and rear for
the first 15 years, I swithced to a set of Pioneer speakers all
the way around. (The Infinities dry-rotted.)
- Kenwood ???? (blanked on
model)--my original Crutchfield 100Wrms x 2 channel amp
died after nearly 19 years and I replaced that with used Pioneer
GM-X362 and GM-X552 amps. Now that a new Carputer is going in,
may as well get a new 4-ch amp.
- Visteon HDZ300 receiver
- Wiring--hey, power beaming and rf signal-interconnects are not viable
options, so here's what i did:-)
- The original wiring diagram
- The actual wiring--plans change, especially when installation is
drawn out
- Power--running the 12Vdc
wiring from the battery to the various hardware
- Seperate UPS
for both the carputer in rear of car and for the monitor
- Carputer--signal wiring,
including USB, rear view camera, etc.
- Audio--speakers,
HD
radio, faceplate, and line-level stuff.
- TBD
Some videos, demos, and pictures
of the carputer and overhead console can be found here.
The car, modifications, and fabrication sections
- Audio related
- Sound dampening--I'm not
eighteen and feel it my civic duty to play my music so loud--and with
a subwoofer cranked up--so as to share it with everyone within a 1/4
mile radius of me. (I grew up seeing bands like Led Zeppelin,
AC/DC, Aerosmith, etc. I went to most of the World
Series
of
Rock concerts at Cleveland's old Municipal Statium from 1977
through 1980. I like my music loud--hello tinnitus--but I need
not rock everyone else's world. There's a time and place for
everything. TURN DOWN THE
F$%&ing SUBS!!!)
- Amp mount--the board
used to mount the amp, cap, and the distribution block located in the
spare tire area.
- Computer related
- Carputer & T-top storage--a
replacement for the t-top storage bag and a compartment in which to
safely mount the carputer. i plan to redo this with fiberglass
and have it more rounded--the current one looks too much like a
casket! I also plan to purchase used rear plastic panels and
modify them, along with the fiberglassing effort, to have more stuff
hidden under those....time will tell.
- Bezels fabrication and
installation--including original options for the touch screen and
multi-format card reader
- Overhead console & radar
detector--modifying an S-10 OHC for the IROC
- Halo, reverse-style glow gauges
and 145mph speedometer--just a small mod. What the heck, after
nearly 22 years of owning the car.
- Performance "mods"--although I
nearly had a Paxton supercharger installed in 1990, I've been
satisfied with the car's factory performance. It's more than
sufficient. I've only done little things.
Plans,
Possibilities, and Miscellaneous
While I list the Pyle rear view camera/mirror above, that was an impulse
purchase--knowing I'd like to do it but not quite sure when and how.
I plan to use both monitors on the Pyle PLCM4235 with two cameras
mounted in the black sections of the tail light housing. This would
afford wide coverage to the rear. (I don't plan to mount cameras in
the side view mirror housings.) As for the monitor, my options to
mount it are:
- Clipped onto the original mirror the way it's meant to be. This,
although simple, would hardly be "custom."
- Mount the rear view mirror/monitor in pod on the dash pad just above
the steering wheel: glance down to see what's behind me, and better
maintain eyes on the road in front.. (Wait, "what's behind me is
not important!"--Raul Julia in Gumball
Rally.) If I were
to do this, I would do so by either buying a sacrificial dash pad or by
creating a mold of a portion of my dash, and then build the pod from
that. I don't want to cut my dash pad, since it's pristine.
- I plan to update my security system and driving experience with a
4-channel DVR/cameras and assorted other electronics.
Either way, it's just a
toy......
Exterior
Unless you park your car in a garage year-round, things will happen.
I've unfortunately had a couple of Richard Craniums damage
my car in parking lots. Once at a bar, then at work. (At
work of all places! No note left....yeah, we're truly reflective of
society. Diversity's unintended consequences?)
- looking for truly OEM-reproduction
door
decals.
- I like the low-profile spoiler; however, I'd like to fill the seams to
get a more aerodynamic look.
- REPAINT!!!!
Destroy
America: Drive Asian
Buy American: Keep the USA strong
Comments, broken links, questions, or concerns? e-mail me at my kimnach.org
or at my roadrunner.com address
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