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Hmm. Does anyone know where to get custom car parts made? What I’m looking for specifically is a replacement center console cover for a 2000 Grand Am. There’s lots of room in the center console, and I want to move the fan controls down a bunch and have room for an 8″ or so touch screen LCD. There would be plenty of room behind the console to add a PC/104-based computer, which would be booted from CompactFlash, and the music could be stored on a FireWire or USB 2.0 hard drive in the trunk. I think the whole thing could be put together for under $500, and it’d be really nice to have a completely custom system like this. It might even be possible to add a radio tuner.
Or, I could just rerip all my music to MP3 and get either an mp3-enabled stereo or an iPod. I think the iPod might be cheaper at this point, as my stereo already has line level ins.
I *highly* reccommend an iPod. I purchased thae 15GB a few weeks ago and it’s fabulous. I’ve barely fill 1GB and already have a bunch of songs on it. And the quality is good as well. (I’m sure none of this is a surprise to you.. I’m probably preaching to a choir member!) I’m contemplating getting a car kit and think I’m going to cave soon (as in if not this weekend probably next). If I wind up with one I’ll let you know how I like it:)
My problem is twofold. First, I have maybe 20GB of music in Ogg Vorbis format. I think it sounds better than MP3. I’d give AAC a try, but I don’t have a Mac. Having no Mac also means that I’d need to use MusicMatch, which I *hate*, as opposed to iTunes. Apple is supposedly developing iTunes for Windows, but it’s yet to be announced. :( At $394, though, an iPod is definately affordable and would work REAL well in my car. Uggh. The choices!
a definite disadvantage to a portable mp3 player is that you’d need a car kit of some sort to hook it up, which means wires/cables hanging everywhere in the car, plus it’s more visible to potential thieves.
when i was looking at potential stereos for my car, the crutchfield catalog had all kinds of console options.
Custom Dash work: any hot rod shop, be prepared to spend a nice chunk of change on it however, (at least a grand) fab work from scratch aint cheap.
I was planning on mounting an ispiron 3000 under the dash of the Caprice, upside-down, then using mode-line hacks or some other trick to make X run upside-down on the display (or just flipping the display in the case) Of course now the caprice does not run, so it’s kind of a moot point for now.
you should definitly ask bren about that.
I wouldn’t think it would be that hard to do the retooling yourself, most automotive plastic yields pretty quickly to a capably handled Dremel. Remove the panel, pop the pots out, throw the panel on the workbench. Draw out where you want to relocate the pots, then Dremel new holes for them. Then, where the gagues were, cut out a big enough hole to mount the LCD, or even just mount it on top of the old holes. If there’s no plastic there to relocate them, you could always make your own panel, Lexan is surprisingly cheap and easy to bend with a hair dryer. It might take some time, but it’s going to be about a grand cheaper than going to a tuning shop.
i got my cd/mp3 stereo from Best Buy for $100. they had a very wide selection of mp3-playing stereos, actually… the more pricey ones were GORGEOUS and still way within the price range you’re talking. you might want to take a look there before you go chopping up your car. all’s you need is that and a kit.
my cheapie one is still nice-looking and came with a detachable face and a little remote. no skip problems, either… and i had BAD shocks at the time. of course, mine will no longer read cds, but i think that’s because it’s directly above the ashtray and all the smoke poured right up in there, filthifying it. :<
Aww. Sucky. :( The problem I have with most car players is that I find them either ugly or the navigation systems are horrible. I really want something that allows me to select albums and stuff. I like the idea of having MP3 albums just so that I don’t have to carry whole CDs…