I was wondering to anyone who has removed a camaro dash, the older ones like in my 85 camaro, how much space is there on the passenger side of the dash, either behind from the top or from the bottom.

The reason I am asking is im looking for a space that I could hide a computer motherboard, so I can integrate a navigation/stereo system in my car... sounds like a dumb Idea to some but I figure I can do it for the cost of a nice cd deck, maybe a bit more. But yeah, basically I thought behind the dash from either the bottom of the passenger side or the top would be a good place to install a motherboard with all the features I need onboard. Also if anyone has any other suggestions. Im presuming this would be a safe place as it is dry, and I know the heater could create some excess heat, but I have plans for that.


Anyhow... any suggestions on ways to do my "dumb" idea I'm willing to listen.

Anyone who wants to just say how stupid my idea is, I'd rather not hear it. (just thought Id add that cuz I know a few people here like to flame)

 

your not going to find a square inch of free space anywhere in your car, im still looking myself :0
so thats a no
i guess if your setup is really tiny you could find somewhere to squeeze it in there... when i got my car, it had a cellular phone box thingy stuffed under the passenger side dash, but stuffed, and that box was skinny..

i think im gonna build into a storage box type thing and put behind the rear seat.. of course that means killing the space where your ttops are supposed to be, but i always stand them up in the trunk anyways... so i guess thats acceptable :P

 

basically Im looking for a seat as thick as a motherboard, and the power supply and laptop hard drive can all be mounted remotely.. I'm going to build a custom case, and I was going to go on board lan and yeah... so basically I need like few inches of thickness... I was kinda thinkin mini atx board under the passenger or driver seat but the thought of the case where I have my feet makes me scared

 

There is some space behind the rear interior panels around the spare tire and ahead of the storage box.

 

You could make room if you dont mind cutting into the backside of the stock piece, maybe giving up A/C (the ducts take up some space). The most room will be right by the firewall itself. But dr1 is right, there is not much space behind the dash in general. When I took my 89 dash apart I was supprised to see so many plastic pieces and panels, seemed like overkill for what it was.

I also plan to have an on board PC in my 91 Z28, and I had the same idea as you. I'm gonna install the hardware behind a 4th gen T/A dash. Its going to be a tight fit because I plan to retain the A/C, and I want to prevent the PC hardware from being damaged by any possible moisture, or vibration. So I'm gonna have to fabricate up some sort of box to house the hardware and then use padding to keep the unit flush in the box (keep the unit from moving around, and absorb vibration). The rear portion of this "box" will also have a hole for the cooling fans. As for the PC hardware itself, I'm going with an easy solution. Power inverter, Modified X-Box with a internal 100gb HDD and a remote mounted DVD/CD drive in the 4th gen T/A dash glove box. Next to the DVD/CD drive I plan to install a USB hub so I can attach or remove keyboards/mice when I want. Both the drive and the hub will be installed flush with a fitted MDF board in the glove box. I went with the X-Box because the hardware is well engineered (vibration and cooling, good form factor), and the mod chip allows you to dual boot between Linux and Windows, as well as revert back to the X-Box software and play X-Box games. This will also allow the unit to "hang" at a prompt when I start the car up, so I wont run into problems of an OS booting, and then power being cut off for whatever reason (maybe I just wanted to put the windows up), and then damage the OS from turning it off while booting.

 

id seriously consider the behind the seat idea, i seen it somewhere online.. this guy did it with his Nissan, really nice work too.. ill look for the link later
the rear glovebox and some space around it, yeah definately space there...
not half as much space under those seats as you think, heh... the back half of the seat theres more space, of course supposing you had someone back there, they would kick the hell out of it

i got the full interior out now, i was expecting to find a little bit of hidden space behind the rear armrests.... *** something, anything... pfft. heh.. dont bother with that idea

 

U Guys ever thought bout Mini Hardware such as this
Mini-ITX form-factor measuring 17 cm x 17 cm.

http://www.logicsupply.com/product_i...products_id/90

they even got a Compact Flash to IDE Adapter (Cool)

And MINI Cases !!
http://www.logicsupply.com/product_i...roducts_id/283

And Touch screens up the Wazoo !!

OOOOHHH and CAR Specific systems ! OMG !
http://www.logicsupply.com/default.php/cPath/50

you might look here as well !
http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=2

 

Roc vert thanks for the site. I did a fair bit of looking around and couldn't find anything as nice as that.

I Love those touchscreens.

Also to anyone whos planning on building a system, they have DC to DC power supplies now for automotive use, basically, you plug in your ignition lead and positive and negative and when you shut off your car it will even do a soft off for your computer

 

NP

maybe you could tell me what possiblities there are for PC to car applications besides a navigation/stereo system, you got me kinda curious now ! or maybe explain a little about your "project" ?

I thought the touch screens were COOL too !

and the case options they had make the installation much more profesional, eaiser to locate I would think

Larry

 

well basically I was thinking you could have a nice gps system, the stereo possibilties are cool, as you could have tons of mp3s. Also with say a basic webcam, you could record passes down the dragstip, or record officer bobs dealings with you (hope he dont see it though) with wireless eithernet cards you can get wireless internet in several cities. Also you have the option of playing dvds, having a few lower end games would be great for those times you are waiting for someone when you are sitting in a parking lot.

Also, the big one is for aftermarket fuel inject and ignition systems you could do all of your diagnostics and tuning without ever leaving the car.

You could even have scans of your service manual or any basic repair info that you just might not remember.

Not to mention if you are that forgettful, appointments and everything you need to do can be recorded. ( i need this one some days)

Plus ultimate nerd bragging rights.

Oh oh and the last one, but you better hope you dont blow your stereo up... if you got a ncie big stereo and a mic, A NICE LOUD MEGAPHONE!!!



Oh and as for what I was hoping to do, using a spliced connector go from computer audio directly into an amp with a crossover for the stereo. I was thinking of filling the origional stereo location with a mini LCD screen, then having a larger LCD screen that I can turn off for when Im doing more than listening to the stereo. Then I was thinking Wireless internet and keyboard and getting a remote control setup since they seem not too uncommon for ocmputers now. Another thing is I really want to get one of the programmable ignitions and my dream is to one day be able to have the holley stealth ram setup... although.. im only 19 and by the time I have the cash there is probably going to be something better out. But yeah.. Also I did think of putting this setup in the rear locked storage area, but I hate the thought of running that many cords and not being able to have the CD/DVD drive up front....

Also My origional plan was to use an automotive dc->dc power mounted seperately to a homemade case with a motherboard... althought now that ive seen the mini ITX stuff I liek the thought of using it, even if I have to customize or just build it myself. Then I wanted to have a laptop hard drive (wtih an IDE adapter) in a drawer, so that I can bring it in the house and plug it into the system Im on now and get whatever I want off it. Then I wasn't sure what I was going to do as far as a cd dvd drive. But I dunno with the mini ITX I might just put that in the stock stereo location if I can find some way of getting it the right dimensions, so basically would have a dvd drive and a hard drive drawer there, and then just gettin a touch screen

Soo many possibilities, but it seems like a worthwhile project... until the computer crashes. Also I know if I could pull it off, I have friends who have money but not smarts so they would pay me to do the same for them...

 

Just a heads up, Via is coming out with a nano-ATX form factor that is supposed to be 4" by 4". Would include a 1GHz cpu (but its a Via design, so it isn't good for anything but playing MP3s). Uses one notebook SODIMM slot. Pretty cool stuff, I'm waiting for them to come out and I was going to put one of these under the passenger seat, but I kinda like behind the dash. There was a bit of room back there when I took my dashpad off, so it may work out.

I'll probably buy that little 7" touch screen LCD monitor when the nano-ATX stuff comes out. That'd be a TINY bad-*** computer. I'd use a laptop hard drive, as you mentioned, and some sort of wireless setup.