I am going to fit a Car PC into my Zed. I will put a small Compaq PC in the space saver tyre area and will run various cables to the dashboard where i will have a 7" monitor where stereo DIN stuff normally goes.

 

Is it fairly straight forward to remove the console thing that goes on top of the propshaft tunnel to do this?

It is, but remember that there is about 3 or 4 inches of just carpet at the rear of it, if you run cables this way you run the risk of them getting damaged. When I installed my CD multi changer, I ran my cables down and under the passenger side door tread plate, as there is sufficient room here to do it, and then it's also protected. It's a bit more work, but far safer in the long run (IMHO)

 

HTH

Run your Power cables down one sill, under the carpet. speaker cables down the other side, and your VGA & USB cables through centre console.

 

Centre console is very easy to remove. Start with the Stereo DIN cover (2 screws at top, clips at bottom), that will reveal 2 more screws for the gearstick surround area. There is also a screw under the ashtray. Then you remove that piece to discover a couple of more screws, plus some under the thin carpet in centre armrest storage space.

 

Let me know if I can be of any help with the Carputer side of things.

Thanks Legrath :) I am going to power the Compaq PC with a 12V->240W inverter

But i am unsure which 12V supply to tap for it..?

Thanks Legrath :) I am going to power the Compaq PC with a 12V->240W inverter

But i am unsure which 12V supply to tap for it..?

Take the 12v Directly from the the Battery. 8 Guage cableing should be fine with an inline fuse no more than 50cm from the Battery. Take the earth from a good chassis point in the boot.

 

Make sure the Invertor is regulated to keep a constant 12v......voltage spikes from the engine especially during engine starts can range from 6v to 18v.

 

p.s Have you checked the Space save tyre space, its not as deep as you would expect and has a big metal mount in the middle of it.

Oh bugger forgot about the mount thing in the middle. I could stick the PC on the shelf in my SWB between the seats and the boot. I am going to have some cushioning so the hard disk is not nailed by the shudders and knocks of my lowered ZX on the road.

my multi changer is behind the drivers seat... being so tall no one ever sits behind me.. i cut a small opening in the carpet and ran it through and under the carpet... because i had to seperate the live and remote wires etc.. and the speaker wires for my install... so oneside was done on drivers door the other on the passangers door... but the multichanger cable is spot in the middle.