It finally all came together... Originally I built a Garmin into the place that my ashtray used to be but was unsatisfied with the fit, finish and location. Ive since revamped that one and its still for sale...

My next project was to build a better garmin into my vent cluster where it is more in direct line of sight while driving and is easier to manipulate up high. Plugs into my cigarette lighter and powers on/off with the car. Speaker is loud enough to hear though the other vent.

Most recently I wanted to integrate my ipod touch into my vehicle so that it plays through my car stereo, charges off the battery, and is removable at night or when necessary. Basically I had to buy a itouch "case" that covers the backside of the itouch and cut away at the ashtray door to fit the case and then bondo it in. Normally the ipod snaps into the case so i had to trim off the top of the case so the ipod could slide up and down to the cord/jack when installed/removed. I had to pretty much gut the bottom of the ashtray to allow for the pivoting of the cord behind the ashtray when its opened.

Video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O1QYqY6I_0

 

wow, good job man!! how hard was all this to do?

 

good job how long did it take you,

 

Not sure if I would like to lose one of the those vents.

 

You get major props from me for doing this.

 

great workmanship for sure everything looks clean. innovative as well. good job!

 

Very nice, I am impressed.

 

That's pretty trick. I especially love the IPhone/Itouch dock.

 

Love it.

 

The garmin was more difficult for many reasons, there was more factory trim to cut out, sand down so it sat right, and then fill in where necessary. Also Once the unit was set in the trim piece, i had to go back and "trim out" the edge of the screen with bondo and flush it to the rest of the trim. The beveled edges and rounded corners were a biznatch to get right. This probably took me at least 40 hours here and there. It was done in stages and was caulked in for a while but that was crappy.

The ipod build was scarier because of moving parts, affixing of the cord, lots of dremel work to get the itouch case to sit in. However it was relatively easy because once the face of the ashtray door was pulled off and cut in two, the itouch case pretty much sits flat against the door so it practically flushed itself into place with a little bit of shimming on one side.
Hacking apart the bottom of the ashtray was easy. The only other difficult part was cutting away at the backside of the trim piece where the ipod cord ends up hitting against the shifter trim when closed. I never enjoyed sanding and painting too, that can be hard when the smallest scratch, bump or spec of dust can ruin lots of work.

Lucky for you, you dont have to! Fortunately the passenger vent can still aim over at me and the loss of one vent increases pressure/flow in the others.



Thank you for all the props guys, im pretty sure that this will be my shining moment on the org, so ill enjoy it while it lasts. Anyone think that an itouch would fit better in the left most vent by the blinker/light stalk?

 

thats some beautiful work right there, good job man

 

Awesome

 

Sick job man. Amazing craftsmanship.

 

oooh im impressed.
good job.
lol what if someone has a nano and wants to put it in?

 

Very nice job. Gave me some insperation as I have been tryin to figure out some way to make my Itouch look good in the car. Dont know if I have the ***** to start cutting away though.

 

very nice touch with the itouch I must say, not a fan of the vent being removed though. Living in Arizona, you want as much a/c as you can get

 

I think the nano is about the only other ipod that it will accept due to its low profile nature; the plug should fit. Building a nano into the ashtray would be much easier because you wouldnt need to cut away any of the surrounding trim of the ashtray.


hahah yeah i hear ya!

 

Definitely not down here in Texas!

 

hey pics are no worky...what happened?

 

veryyy nice

 

Pretty trick setup! I like the originality of it!

 

That looks AWESOME!!!!!!!

 

Love how clean this looks.

 

Wow great craftsmanship! Looks very clean!

 

I like the iPod setup. Very clean.

 

Pretty cool!

 

Great work

 

Very, very clean install. Garmin looks factory. iPod holder A+
Major props.

 

vERY nice!

 

nice work

 

absolutley incredible mod dude. i love the gps in the vent. would you consider being paid to do this for me? not the itouch part but the gps

 

unlike your face setup

 

im totally hating now lol jk jk looks good! i want that itouch snap!! lol

 

SWEET!

 

Very clean job man I just finished installing the Ipad into the dash also in place of the radio and I know how hard it is to make it look factory-like cause now I'm still in the process of sanding and painting. Much props to you man.

 

So are you going to be producing/selling any of these?

 

This is some great stuff. I bet you could easily convince people who don't know better that the iPod setup came that way from the factory with how cleanly done it is. Props for some creative DIY work.

 

Awesome job! What's next?

 

Thank you mista, in the long run the props, praise and awe will be devoted to you, i cant wait to see your ipad install!! Any pics of how its coming along? Im not too familiar with the layout of your gen max, how much stuff did you have to remove/customize?


I am considering it... but im not sure how to price something like this out. Im not exactly sure how long it took me or what it would be worth paying for me to do it.... however i did enjoy doing it. My main concern is maintaining the integrity of your screen. The number of times that i had to tape off, sand, cut away at the edge of the bondo on the screen to get that factory look was kinda insane. You cant tell by the fast video shot of the garmin, but there are light score marks at the very edge of my gps that are hard to see. I am hesitant to "damage" someones garmin by not returning a 100% oem looking product. Also the vent cluster is held together by about eight clips that are easy to bust and many of which have to be removed to fit in the garmin. All in all theres too much risk to be held accountable for. Unfortunately im leaning towards no... however i do have a garmin ashtray build Version 2.0 if you are interested....

I am more open to the idea of producing the itouch docks for several reasons. The fit and finish was easier to achieve because the itouch "case" made for a perfect install to keep the ipod flush w the front of the door and the whole install was more common-sensical. If i happened to dremel away too much of the ashtray door, i can always bondo more back in. My only problem is putting a price on my time, and due to the amount of times that i have to let superglue dry, and bondo set up for sanding, and paint and sanding... your car will be lacking a shifter trim for about a month.

Feel free to PM me for more indepth conversation if you are serious about your own setup.

Hehe, thanks man. However i would have to have a pretty drunk or stupid passenger to convince that my 03 came with an itouch mount to run with aftermarket JVC stereo!

I think my next concept might be to install an itouch to the left of the steering wheel in that vent. The size of the vent is just about right, the only problem is the convex round shape of the vent and the ipod would be slightly recessed ipod--> |) <---vent exterior. The proximity to the steeringwheel and windshield might be an upgrade from the ashtray. Anyone have any thoughts/desires?


Thanks again everyone for the support!!

 

Are you worried about anyone breaking into your car and stealing the garmin?