Hello everyone. I'm finally making good progress on my GPS installation and thought I'd share some pictures. I don't use my GPS much, but I really dislike having it on the windshield with the power cord running across the center console when it's needed. So I decided to install it permanently and keep it as OEM looking as possible. Special thanks to energetic and all the dash cutters out there for the inspiration!

Here is a record of the work leading to this:


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________

Here it is, wired and ready to go. The speaker output for the GPS is set up to send audio to the driver side tweeter.



I had to go back over to fill a crack and retouch the edge of the bezel...



Still need to build the back cover but haven't decided on fiberglass or molded styrene. I had to modify the stereo mounts to allow me to mount it a few centimeters back, but it clears just fine now. I don't plan on having any wires exposed once the back cover is in place.



No photos of the back cover yet. The fiberglass experiment is a bit of a mess (I've never used fiberglass before) and I haven't bothered with the plastic yet. Here it is installed for a test drive. It works great! My only complaint is regarding the finish. I am so used to looking at the original faux brushed aluminum cover that now the textured black finish looks extremely dull by comparison...

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________
[EDIT: updated photos]

centered/flush mounted screen



prototype backplate (gap corrected in new version)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p3QdMl8VcE

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _________________________________________
[EDIT: Updated radio door finish and upgrade to nuvi 1390t with ecoRouteHD (nice alternative to ScanGauge)]







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC-WfsokGGA

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________
[EDIT: Upgrade from 4.3" to 5" with voice recognition and Android link application]





















__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________
[EDIT: Revised door for 5" display without drooping edges]

 

Snazzy.

 

Excellent work!

Am glad that you got a little bit of inspiration from my previous installation.

 

very clean install. It looks great

 

Crazy piece... blows what I made out of the water.

 

very nice, ? though, is it removable, like if it breaks or needs updating

 

show us some pics of it installed in the car too.

 

very very clean. Cabin pictures at your leisure. How many hours have you put into that? Did you wire to the fuse box?

 

Thanks for the comments guys!!

I tested the satellite reception before starting by laying the GPS on the radio door and driving around. According to the satellite screen on the GPS, the signal was comparable to holding the unit in my hand at steering wheel level.

Nope, it is not removable. The bezel is molded into the radio door permanently. However, I can still pull out all the electronics to replace with a similar model if needed. For updates I plan to just use a laptop plugged into its USB port or pull out the vent assembly and bring it indoors.

I plan to put up pictures of it installed as soon as the back cover is finished. I think I am going to go with plastic for the back cover. It was ordered earlier this week so hopefully I can do something with it when it comes in. In the meantime I may tinker with fiberglass. Planning, sanding, and soldering (I'm terrible at soldering on SMD boards) have taken the most time so far and I really have no idea how long it has all taken since this little project has dragged out for so long. I cheated and tapped into the switched 12v wire for the stereo using a lighter socket to accommodate the GPS car charger. The battery for the GPS was relocated behind the dash as well.

 

wow thats awesome I thought about molding mine into the visor