Derek

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

I did rewire a bunch but it still looks like a nest! I'm in the process of designing my custom console which should finalize the rest of the wiring...Yea right! I was at a 350Z and infinity meeting in Gainesville on Saturday (token S30) and they were quite impressed with my creature comforts! Derek

Are you jealous of my insulation? You should be:) That valve ticking is actually a combination of normal valve noise and the injectors firing. The way I have the injector caps and lines they seem to really resonate. I tried the mike in the engine compartment and the ticking noise was overwhelming the sweet sound of the ITBs. Maybe I'll duct tape the mike to my head. cuz it sounds a lot better where my ears are. Derek

Thanks guy's Well as I was shooting the video I was thinking WWBPD (what would big phil do?) and came to the conclusion I can' repeat your "mug in the camera" intro's! Maybe when I do a proper video you can do the intro for me! I'm not really sure if I'll be selling these or not. May be too much of a hassle for the tiny market. Right now I'm running an E88 with dished pistons and a stock cam. I just bought a P90 that I'm going to have milled .080". I'm going with flatops and an ISKY regrind. That should bump it up a bit. Derek

I shot some more video today. It's really hard to get an accurate sound. Also the videos all look like I'm going about 5 miles an hour! I'm actually doing 50 to 70 most of the time. The mike was in the cabin with me. Next time I'll give it a try with it in the engine compartment. Thanks Derek

That's part of the reason I quit tuning it! I knew I'd have to start from scratch. Keep me posted on your new system. Tuning ITB's are a bitch. (at least for me) Derek

Hi Phar Well I have over 3000 miles on them and I'm really happy. They start every time. Idle like a champ. The extra code even raises the idle for me when I turn on the A/C. I've had zero problems with hot start issues or any issue for that matter. The air filters are working fine. I pulled one at 1500 miles and cleaned it in a clear container so I could see how much dirt I was dealing with. The outer filter showed some dirt but the inner was as clean as could be. The biggest problem with them is me. I just don't have any free time to work on the tuning. I know the economy sucks but the pattern business is rocking. I'm gearing up to do a little motor work. I bought a p90 from jeffer949 and plan on doing the mill .080" and shim the cam routine. I'm going to go with an ISKY regrind specs TBD and cast flat top pistons. This should be a nice affordable step up for me in performance. I'm hoping this will help show the real potential on my manifold other than sounding and looking cool. Although that's still good enough for me! Derek

My factory cargo straps are junk and I want to replace them. Has anyone come up with any cool ideas on straps? I've been checking out various tie downs and ratchet straps but unfortunately I can't seem to come up with black ones. Thanks Derek

I hear ya. I bought a new microphone for the video camera but I've just been really slammed with work. On a brighter side though the car runs like a million bucks (That would convert to $1,523,717 for you). I have over 3000 miles on them in all kinds of conditions and they have exceeded all of my expectations. I daily drive the car. Nothing leaks, it always starts and so far no hot start issues. I'll seriously try and get some new videos up. Thanks for the push Derek

205/60/15. Probably a little small for this crowd but I didn't want any rubbing problems. Nissan Comp stage 1 springs, Tokico Illuminas. Derek

Before I got married I had a 23' travel trailer parked in my shop and I lived in that. Well I showered and slept in it, I LIVED in the shop! It worked out great for me for a few years. I eventually built a nice loft with a shower. Chicks thought it was cool until they had to trek down the stairs in the middle of the night to use the can! Derek

Probably has something to do with the yellow band below his title! Derek

I have 15' Konig Rewinds, Toyota calipers with vented rotors and Illuminas. I had to grind some of the vent material off of the caliper castings for the wheels to fit. It wasn't that much though. Derek