Dash/Carputer Mod (BETA version)
I am not a fan of plastic in cars, and I like a more industrial look to things, so I decided to give modifying my dash a go. I would have liked to take pictures of the "process", but honestly, the amount of fabrication and test fitting of pieces took days, and taking photos would have not done much good. If you want more info just ask and I'll try and be as detailed as I can. To give you an idea of what I did...
First I took off the old dash and heavily modified the underlying structure. I then built support beams out of 1/4 inch ply wood reinforced with metal that I attached to the metal support structure behind the old dash (a little bit of fiberglass work as well). I then built the modules that contain each part of the dash (carputer, vents, AC)... these modules attach to the support beams. I wanted to have the ability to take out each section individually without having to take out the entire dash, like the stock setup. The space behind the carputer (samsung galaxy tab 7.0) is recessed into the dash and contains a dual USB charger plugged into the old cig lighter, which I moved up there. I then made the covers or flat pieces that cover everything out of plywood covered in sheet metal and then herculiner painted flat black. The left portion of the dash is the stock one that I painted the same flat black color. I am planning on adding a garmin etrex to the old fuzzy hole area. The galaxy is hooked up to a charger via the cig lighter and the aux input you see in the pic is hooked up to the rear aux input of my stereo (I use the front aux input for my ipod). As it stands I have NAV, music, and a fully functioning computer with 3G on my dash. It has been a blast to use on the road. The mount for the galaxy is bolted onto the same support structure that the cig lighter is. I can grab the galaxy out of the mount when I leave the car and take it inside at night so I don't have to worry about it getting stolen.
I haven't cleaned or added finishing touches since I finished the job, so forgive that, and the only camera I had handy was my cell phone, so that is the reason for the terrible pic. I'll add more in a couple days when I finish things up. I also (this week) took out ALL of the carpet and plastic junk out of the back and herculined the ENTIRE interior... no more carpet anywhere in the car... hence the reason I went with herculiner on the dash. I also took out the headliner and undercoated everything I didn't herculine. The interior is pretty beefy now, compared to the stock one.
http://i55.tinypic.com/2j2hu9t.jpg
