Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics Building a computer in my SVT... LONG POST

I was sitting in the contour waiting for my golf class, and was thinking, could you relocate the AC controls to under where the HU is, since there is just the plastic pocket there, and then youd have enough space to put a screen in.

would your gearbox get in the way if you do that? It'll be sweet to have the lcd at that location.

I have given this alot of thought. Your first power option is the best.

Why even have a headunit? The PC can serve all the functions you'd use the headunit for and with a remote or hotkeys. You could serve all the same functions, add a PC TV/FM card, XM PC reciever, High Quality sound card and use a line level or digital output to an external amp powering the speakers.

The screen could be slide mounted in a Pre 98 Console, along with the DVD drive. Use a USB 2.0 enclosure electronics to run the Drive and make it slot load. Stow the system under the passenger seat or the trunk in a smaller enclosure.

I was planing on taking the HU out and putting a touchscreen there, ahving the computer under the passaenger seat, with the slot loading dvd, but the biggest worry is can the AC be moved?

OK here or some pictures....


with the stick forwards


and how it could turn out with out the white stuff on the edges

Ok, got the monitor today... too bad it has a faint crack in the case... I hope it doesn't void my warranty (I don't really want to ship it back to Hong Kong for a replacement).

Anyway, yes I plan to hook it up to my cd player. I have a Pioneer 7600MP with the IP bus, and Pioneer has an IP bus RCA inputs that I will just use (or make) an RCA-to-3.5mm mini jack and plug that into the onboard sound. Then I can enjoy my MP3s...

The monitor has a fuzzy looking image if you're 5" away from it (like I was when I got it at 10am... hadn't put in my contacts yet ). I think it has to do with the touch screen layer. Farther away it's a clear image, as long as the resolution isn't above 800x600. At 1024x768 text was next to unreadable. 800x600 should do me just fine, I even browsed around a few sites (including CEG) without any left/right browsing, hell, my old 15" monitor was always at 800x600, so I'm no stranger to it.

Watched Supertroopers and I could make out everything, actually I never noticed that the Highway Patrol cars were dark green... I always thought they were black. That tells ya this little LCD has decent color quality.

Using the stylus, it was easy to navigate everything. I even used yahoo IM with the on screen keyboard without a problem.

Anyway, enough blabbing... here's the pics of the monitor... sorry the Supertroopers one sucks, but there is low light in my room, and with the flash on it made the screen unreadable, so my camera wouldn't auto focus correctly. Should have better screen pics when I get it all installed in my car...


7" LCD dwarfed by my 19" CRT

Closer up of the LCD/stylus

Divx Supertroopers

Screenshot... (fuzzyness is from Paint "optimizing" image)

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EDIT: This is what I was talking about earliar about the pre-98 console... I guess you could get rid of the storage pocket and ashtray/lighter and this 7" monitor would fit perfect in that spot...

I duno about taking the pocket out... I have been trying to take it out so I can get to the back of the lighter. but I cant pull it out. Maybe if I pull harder... I duno dont want to break it, id think it'd be easier to relocate the AC controls since the stick would be in the way of the screen. and If i put the screen up top Id try and push it back a little and have a lil slide down plastic block, so when im not in my car it wont be as obvious I have a screen. But i want to put one in my car so bad. keep posting the pics!! good luck!!

well my HU is fine for now, since I only have stock speakers and have my ipod through my itrip so the sound is not that great. I am going to get an amp when mom gets her new car. then im looking into getting an alpine HU with the ipod controler. but to get to you question, it works fine, its not top of the line, nothing fancy, but it works and has RCAs.

But then I dont know if I should just save up and make a carputer... Blaupunkt seems to be good inexvensive HUs as far as I've seen.

Ok, I think I hooked a guy in my dorm... he's all about trying to do the same thing in his Vette... only problem is he doesn't have the room to mount anything like we do.

So he's done some googling/ebaying, and this company shows detailed how-to's on putting your existing Lilliput/Xenarc screen into a single DIN housing so it can be mounted easiar. Follow links on home page for that.

Or, you can buy a DIN housing with Lilliput 7" screen installed already. This is pretty cool if you're not good at custom making stuff.

So this page also let me know who made the actual TFT LCD screen in my monitor... it's a Hitachi TX18D11VM1CAA. Here is an Adobe PDF file with the specs of the Hitachi screen.

Here is a side by side comparison of a Lilliput and Xenarc scrren... I think the Lilliput puts out better picture quality in these tests.

I also played Doom3 for a little bit (800x600, med graphics) and watched an actual DVD on it; both were clear as could be sitting 3 feet away (need to be closer to read text @ 800x600)

EDIT: Here's another. Never heard of Innovatek (but... also never heard of Lilliput before I started, either)

EDIT #2: Reading on this thread off mp3car.com, found out that if you bought a Lilliput before Oct 20th, they used recyled screens out of some popular casino game. A lot of people had a Jurassic Park logo or a woman ghosted onto the screen (had something to do with the cheap electronics). After Oct 20th, they are new LCD's. I certainly didn't notice Jurassic Park or a chick on mine...

EDIT last for the night!: Your Contour is only the 2nd Teal colored one I've seen with a V6... Other one I saw was in a junkyard in Texas (also was a 1995 V6/5spd, cloth seats though), I got the fenders off and fixed my old teal one. I used to try to look at every teal Contour to see if they had the V6 badge, none did until that one in Texas.