Derek

The "there's got to be a better way" workers have been beat up for so long by the "don't upset the cart" workers in this country that I'm not sure if we'll ever recover. Self employed, (synonymous with broke) and thinking of better ways every day! Derek

I used the relay board on mine and i can't imagine doing it without. It made everything so much easier to hook up. Derek

Before this gets sent to the tool shed for necroposting can't you just delete his (and mine for the matter) post. If it's sent to the tool shed then it closes the post. This never mattered to me before but that mcmaster part number is exactly the vent I was looking for for my fuel system. Just a thought Derek

Here you go http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?p=1061757#post1061757 Derek

I did a count earlier. You had like 8 posts in under an hour! Congrats:-D Derek

Some of the early series 1 cars had two levers. one for the choke and one for the throttle. So If you have one lever it's the choke. Derek

Looks good! The wider opening make life easier. I don't think I could getaway with ne center vent though! What front end are you running? Megasquirt, navigation and the lack of running more than one app at a time on the iphone keeps me using the carputer. But I really wish the iphone did all that! Derek

Hi Greg No plans to make the adapters. I'll certainly release the 3D model if you know anyone that can machine it for you. Derek

Skin http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/rr-skins/117143-digitalfx-4-0-released-07-25-08-a.html Derek

Thank you for hating me. I feel warm all over! It's called "Ride Runner" formally known as "Road Runner" until Warner bros came down on him! Or so the story goes. Here is everything you need to know about carputers. http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/ There is a whole lot of reading on there. Here's a link to the front end forum http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/front-ends/ Derek

I don't know what your planning on doing but Rhino 3d might work out for you. There are quite a few add ons that you can purchase that might do the things you need. Derek

What he said!

Start by downloading this http://sketchup.google.com/ And then send me your email and I'll send you a 3D model of the head and intake flanges from my manifold. By building it in 3D you will have worked out all the details before you ever begin to cut material. Less chance of building yourself in a corner as well. I haven't played with sketchup too much but people are doing some pretty cool stuff with it. Your drawing skills are about the same as mine. Crappy! That's what drove me to CAD 15 years ago! Derek

Right now I have it in one of these cases http://store.mo-co-so.com/4thgenminiitxcaseforcarputercarpc-p-178.html?zenid=apmj31qos98hg7l2mrcnf5e2q6 And it's behind the passengers seat. I had hoped to mount it under the passengers seat but it was too tight a fit. I have no provisions for portable media. I have a wifi connection so I can update my music. I also have it set up with tight VNC so I can manage it from my office. Running itunes through the front end is clunky but it works ok. If I'm on the road I set up an ad hoc connection with my iphone and use the remote app to run itunes. Road Runner works really well with winamp but not with itunes music. I tried conversion programs but could never get the tags right. I'd like to integrate a cradle for the phone but I want something slick I can't remember what alternator I used but it was from Autozone. It had a serpentine pulley on it. I had to make a spacer so that my stock pulley would go on. It may only be a 85 amp unit. It's been a while.

Thanks guys Yes it sucks being me! Life would be a better place if everyone had their own CNC knee mill! Derek

I Think I paid 450.00 for the unit and 150.00 for the switches. I'm not really sure. I really try to forget that kind of stuff! Here's a link to a write up I did. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30411&highlight=vintage+air The unit cools great but I have a lot of insulation. If you don't want to pull the dash the Mini is the way to go but if your pulling the dash anyway the compact is a better bet. The center vent is so basic that I wanted something more adjustable. It works a lot better than stock. plus I can direct one vent on me and on towards the back of the car to cool down the hatch area. The carputer is running roadrunner for a front end. It's a Jetway Atom 330 with a dedicated car PC power supply. The Atom 330 rocks. I can run Roadrunner, iTunes, iguidance and tuner studio all at the same time and it never misses a beat. I'm running a 90 amp maxima alternator. And yes that's the first thing you should do! Derek

Well since i don't have the money to do the motor work I figured I'd start working on my console/center dash setup. I'm running a carputer with a 7" touch screen, and a Vintage Air ac unit. The carputer handles my music, navigation, and engine monitoring through Megasquirt. I've been running a couple different switch and LCD locations and I'm pretty close at this point to a final placement. The first thing I needed to work out was the center vents. The stock vent just wasn't cutting it with the new A/C unit. I've been kicking this around for a few months and finally settled on 5 series BMW center vents. The first thing I needed was an adapter from a single 2.5" hose to the twin intakes on the Bimmer vent. I'm carving the adapter out of type 1 PVC which is really dense. It's the same stuff electrical conduit is made of. 1" blocks laminated together Interior roughed Interior finish cut Fits like a glove Now the tricky part. Machining the exterior Finished adapter Now the switch plate Here is the switch plate with SEM texture paint. I had to raise it up for switch clearance . Here's the BMW vent in place The LCD and the A/c Switch assembly is close. I'll probably pull the bottom of the screen and the switches back towards the console to improve the angle on the screen. When everything is set I'll carve a piece to attach to the console that runs up to the dash and a bezel plate that surrounds the LCD. Tuner Studio Thanks for looking Derek

Can you post what arrangement you came up with. Thanks Derek

Found some vents out of a 5 series Bimmer. Derek

Hi I'm building a custom center dash plate for my 73 240. I'd like to retrofit 2 small independent center vents for the A/C. I'm looking for something a little bit more modern than the 280 vents. I'm not even sure if they would fit or not. My total working area is 6 1/4" x 2 1/2". Obviously the width is the critical part as I don't want to hack up the dash pad. The height is not as important but I'd like to keep it in at least the 2" range. My Vintage Air unit pumps out a good amount of air but it's being restricted by the size of the existing vent. Now for the favor part. If you have a car that has vents in that size range could you let me know what car they are out of? That way I can try and locate them used. I'd go to a bone yard but our selection in ocala is pretty grim! Thanks Derek

There is a rubber inner shift boot that is probably cracked. You can order them from the dealer. If your getting that many fumes at that location you may want to check for exhaust leaks as well. Derek

Thanks for all the suggestions. I did a bit of searching and found that my favorite supplier in the world Mcmaster Carr has a lot of black web tie down options as well as web buckles. I'll post a pic of what I end up with. Derek

When I was in high school we had pong. Needless to say metal shop was a lot more fun! Now I have 4 CNC machines and a 3D laser scanner so I guess I'm a bit of a geek! Derek

The problem is obvious. You're not in a comfortable welding position. I suggest stacking 2 or 3 of those round blue welding supports on top of each other instead of just using one. You also may want to remove the caps so that you don't have any expansion while your welding. Derek

I'm starting to get this you tube thing figured out. Here is a better quality video. Although the sound quality is probably the same.And that's really the important part! I can't edit the original link because my edit period has expired. Derek