'04 GLI refurbished interior and CarPC Project

[cazzz]

I bought my charcoal grey GLI last year. It was completely stock with minor dings and dents. The interior however had a few panel recovered and it looks like crap. So, I decided to take out the interior, sound proof the car, and run cables for my new carpc.

Before I get into the tear down here is some back ground pics.

Step 1. New Paint Job.

Paint Prep

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AcOHLRw2bOWj2Y

Painted

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AcOHLRw2bOWj4g

[cazzz]

Keeping with the exterior appearance I replaced the headlights and tails. Dectane.de all around.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AcOHLRw2bOWj6o

Changed the front and rear chrome VW emblems with black emblems.

Added smoke running and turn signal lights all around. Led bulbs throughout.

Step 3. Added a little performance with APR Stage 1.

[cazzz]

This is where I am at now. I have removed the interior from my car. I will be adding sound proofing materials, covering the upper pillars, headliner, sunroof cover, and door inserts.

I plan on using foamed back material for the headliner and sunroof cover and will experiment with 3M vinyl for all the other surfaces.

Interior pulled:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AcOHLRw2bOWj8w

Sound proofing was an important part of this project. I researched most if not all of the products available and did an analysis to determine cost per sq ft. Here is a run down of the materials.

CLD, contrained layer dampner, commonly called sound proofing. Usually butyl rubber covered in a foil. This deadens the sound of the panels and only needs to cover 25% of the surface to be affective.

MLV, mass loaded vinyl. I used the 1 lb per sq foot density and this material is for sound proofing as it blocks noise. Ideally you install this over full panels with no seams. I did find this difficult in some places so I used overlapping pieces. I did not glue the seams and taping the seams is nearly impossible as the tape does not stick very well.

Under carpet cover, I used 1/4" high density foam covered in MLV.

Closed cell foam, used to eliminate vibration and rattles from loose panels.

Extruded Butyl Rope, used around the doors and speakers to eliminate air movement.

If anyone is interested I can provide a cost comparison between these suppliers.

sounddeadnershowdown.com
dynamat.com
fatmat.com
secondskinaudio.com
hushmat.com
desgnengineering.com
tmsoundproofing.com

Pics to follow.

[cazzz]

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...AcOHLRw2bOWj-4

If you need pics of anything while my interior is out let me know.

I have to repair a few wires that I accidently cut when removing the stock undercarpet material.

I am also going to repair a tear in the drivers seat bolster. I will probably remove the material completely from the seat and take it to get sewn. Had anyone taken the material off the Recaro seats?

Next I need to run wires for my carpc install.

[cazzz]

Stock monsoon head will be replaced with a 7" or 8" LCD touchscreen. The 7" fits the double din slot, the 8" however will take some fabrication and the fit will be tight.

Mac Mini installed in the trunk.

DC-DC power supply installed in the trunk.

USB hub installed on or near the dash.

Remote power switch for the Mac Mini installed in the center console

Sewell Digital to Analog 5.1 DTS/AC-3 Decoder installed in the trunk for computer sound integration into the stock monsoon amp and stock speakers. I know they will be upgraded in do time. I am adding a small sub with this install however.

The following wires will need to be run before reinstalling the interior.
Power to the trunk. I am install a marine grade fuse bus under the hood and in the trunk. These will provide grounded power distribution for all future wiring projects.

#8 black ground hood to trunk
#8 red power hood to trunk
Power and ground for LCD panel trunk to dash
HDMI, DVI and VGA cables trunk to dash. Covers all the bases for future upgrades.
USB cable to USB hub trunk to dash


The remaining cables are in the trunk area.

Once these are run I can get my car back on the road and start bench testing the carpc.

[cazzz]

Components:

Basic Mac Mini
Carnetix P-2140 power supply
Carnetix P5USB hub
Griffen remote usb controller for volumn control\
Sewell Digital to Analog 5.1 DTS/AC-3 Decoder for audio integration
Lilliput 7" or Xenarc 8" touchscreen.
Replacement antenna, includes wifi, gps, and cellular. (No FM)

Next I will cover modifications to the Mac mini and list all of the connections.

[cazzz]

5 modiificatons to the Mac Mini

1. replace the 500GB HD with a 450GB SSD
2. replace the 4 GB or ram with 16 GB ram
3. Remove the internal power supply and replace with a cable and connector mounted on the side of the case. The external power supply will be used in the house with a patch cable to the case connector. In the car, the DC power supply will plug into the dc connector on the side of the case.
4. Disconnect the internal wifi antenna and replace with a patch cable to a connector on the side of the case. An small external antenna will be used in the house. In the car, the roof mounted antenna includes wifi.
5. Modify the on/off button wiring. The power supply will control the on/off function of the mac mini based on ignition power. When the car is turned off the power supply will turn off the mac mini. I may use a remote on/off switch mounted in the center console.


The following items will be connected to the mac mini USB ports.
1. USB cable to the USB hub in the dash
2. GPS dongle with external antenna connection
3. AT&T 4G dongle
4. Power supply

USB hub
1. LCD monitor for touch screen function
2. Super Drive
3. Volumn Knob
4. OBD II

Other connections:
Wifi Antenna
Power
On/off function
TSOLink out to Sewell audio converter
- This unit provides RCA out for 5.1 surround or 2.1 stereo


I will keep you posted as the project comes together.

[markmk1]

thanks for all the effort of posting pics. Its always good to see someone bring one back from the dead. Vw you either get or you dont.

[cazzz]

No problem. You can follow the build at

http://www.mp3car.com/showthread.php?t=151480

There will be more details about the computer install.

[cazzz]

LCD panel planning.



I am attempting to fit an 8" Xenarc LCD panel in the dash.



There is enough room by removing the double din radio and a dead panel above the radio.



The radio cage will be modified to fit the panel.



The challenge is to make a bezel that fits the opening and accepts the LCD panel.



I have a buddy who works with carbon fiber and fiberglass. He will make an attempt.



I also contacted Joe Shock to see what he can do. There are 4 local sheet metal fab shops that I will discuss this with as well.



The LCD panel will be the last purchase.

[cazzz]

I will be on vacation for 1 week.



Task list for my return.



Repair wiring bundle under passenger seat.



Purchase wire, cables, connectors, fuse blocks and fuses.



Disassemble the dash.



Run cables and wires.



Install new antenna and maybe a hidden FM antenna just in case.



Take drivers seat for repair.



Reassemble the interior.



Hopefully the car runs and everything works.



Disassemble the trunk.



Wire all power connections and fuses.



Purchase Mac Mini



order connectors for the antenna and on/off switch.



Install software and verify the mac mini is up and running.



Setup an ATX power supply to bench test the entire setup in the house where its nice and cool.



Modify Mac Mini as outlined above verifying operation after each mod.



Attach the PSU to Mac Mini and verify operation.



Purchase GPS and AT&T dongles verify operation.



Purchase audio interface verify operation.



Check the USB hub and volume control



Ready for installation.



By now I should have a bezel and decide on the easy route using a 7" Lilliput or the bezel works and I purchase the 8" Xenarc.



Back in a week.

[cazzz]

Just returned from a cruise to the Bahamas. Much needed rest. It's time to get working on my car.



Play by play starts tomorrow.

[cazzz]

Repaired the wiring, soldered and heat-shrink. Hopefully I didn't miss any.







Removed the sunroof glass panel.



Removed the sunroof headliner panel. Removed the material and foam.







Covered the headliner in black cloth. Need to finish the edges.







Went shopping:



West Marine, 8 ga red and black wires, 16 ga red and black wires, 2 fuse blocks, connectors, heat-shrink.



Sears: torque wrench



Online: 15 ft each, VGA cable, HDMI cable, USB cable, composite video cable, and connector for the wifi antenna FME to SMA.



Plan for tomorrow:



Finish the headliner.



Pull the back off of the drivers seat for seam repair.



Double check for more cut wires.



Run 8 ga red and black wires from the engine compartment to the trunk.



Run 16 ga red and black wire from trunk to radio cage for LCD power.

[cazzz]

11am. Taking my time on the headliner.



Looks like that may be all day to finish it up.



1pm. Headliner is nearing completion. I found the regular contact cement works great along the edges.







1:48 headliner is done.











Thats about it for today. I will probably take the back off of the drivers seat so I can take it tomorrow to get sewn.

[cazzz]

Remaining tasks

Disassemble the trunk.

Disassemble the dash.

Run cables and wires.

Install new antenna and maybe a hidden FM antenna just in case.

Take drivers seat for repair.

Reassemble the interior.

Hopefully the car runs and everything works.

Wire all power connections and fuses.

Purchase Mac Mini

order connectors for the antenna and on/off switch.

Install software and verify the mac mini is up and running.

Setup an ATX power supply to bench test the entire setup in the house where its nice and cool.

Modify Mac Mini as outlined above verifying operation after each mod.

Attach the PSU to Mac Mini and verify operation.

Purchase GPS and AT&T dongles verify operation.

Purchase audio interface verify operation.

Check the USB hub and volume control

Ready for installation.

By now I should have a bezel and decide on the easy route using a 7" Lilliput or the bezel works and I purchase the 8" Xenarc.

[cazzz]

IToday I checked the wire repairs and made one more repair. Cleaned up the passenger floor and reset the sound proofing.

Disassembled the trunk and planned the electric install.

Opened the 3M vinyl package from ECS tuning and found a crease right down the middle. Sent an email and will see what they do about it. I was planning on covering the sunroof shade with the vinyl. Now I have to put that aside for now.



Sent off an email to Jason at Xenarc to find out about cables provided with the 8" monitor, are they supplies and how ling are they. About to run cables from the trunk and want to make sure I have considered everything.

Sent an email to Paul at Keffer VW parts to get 2 part numbers for a stripped screw on the sunroof cover and a part for the center console.

Hit the road,

bank

ace hardware for screws to mount the fuse block in the trunk

west marine to return and replace a couple items

Ace auto electric to have terminals attached to my pos and gnd wire





Treadwell Auto Trim, dropped off my Recaro drivers seat to have the seam repaired.

That's it for today.

[cazzz]

I have cables ordered and just found out the Xenarc has 16 ft cables for their monitors.

I guess I will chance it and order the 16' cable for the 8" monitor. If I can't make it fit someone will get a great deal on the monitor and 16' cable.

I can always return a cable or two.

[cazzz]

9pm back at it.

Sunroof cover is done.

[cazzz]

Thanks to the tropical storm pushing through Florida I have nothing better to do than work on my Jetta.

I am running this thread on mp3car.com and vwvortex.com. The first for carpc expertise and the second for VW expertise.

Anyway, it is time to run my # 8 red positive wire from the battery to the trunk.

I pulled the driver's side lower dash out to find the grommet through the firewall. It is located above and to the left of throttle. On the engine side it is located just above the brake booster.



I discovered a hot bus under the driver's panel. Checking the wiring diagram I found a #4 wire from the battery to this bus. Holly crap! VW did the work for me so there is no need to run the pos wire through the firewall.

Battery:

Under dash:

Wiring diagram:

Continuity is good and there are no components between the under-dash connection and the battery.

I am connecting my #8 wire right here.

[cazzz]

11am break for brunch.

Power cable is run to trunk. Rear fog wire run to front.

Need to mount fuse block and modify the left rear trunk cover for the fuse block.

Need to wire the rear fogs to the Euro switch.

Need to install the new wifi/gps/cellular antenna. Good bye FM as we know it.

[cazzz]

New antenna installed.





GPS
Wifi
Cellular

No FM!

[cazzz]

After much consideration I ran the ground wire to the body and did not run it back to the battery. The was a grounding point right next to the mounting location of the fuse block.







Now I am just waiting for cables and a few misc parts before continuing.

[cazzz]

All the cables arrived today along with new guides and screws for my sunroof cover.

Picked up my repaired GLI Recaro seat.

I am ready to run the wire and reassembling the interior.

Spent all day today digging up the yard and installing more drain pipe. It's going to be a wet year in Florida.

Back to the Jetta tomorrow.

[jreedlives]

Nice work. Excited to see the finished outcome! Also would like to buy your cup holder delete when you get to that point of putting in the screen.

[cazzz]

Awesome build! Very thorough!

I had the same recaro seats in my TDI and they ripped in the same place as yours, but not as bad. I just sewed the seam carefully by hand with black thread and you could barely tell.

Looking forward for more updates.

I was planning to do the same. But I had the seat out of the car and decided to just get it done locally.

[cazzz]

I didn't see it mentioned, but will you be running some USB cables from the Mac back up front?
I have one that comes up to a 7 port hub under the dash, where I have the wireless keyboard, OBDII, Andrea USB mic., GPS, touch screen, and two more ports run for charging devices. One to the glove box, and one to the center console area. (Bluetooth is in the trunk, so I can remove/replug it as needed for testing, since it's such a pain to get working.)

I also ran an 5v power cable from the P2140 to the hub, so it had full power available.

On top of the above, I have also run a shielded audio cable to the factory radio, HDMI to the touch-screen, and a cat5e that carries push button and LED signals from the computer.

I've opened up the center pathway though my car 8-10 times already, so wanted to make sure you'd thought of all the above items already.

Nice job on the interior btw-

Thanks for the input!

I am running a USB cable to the front for a USB hub.

I just received a 5 meter cable from Xenarc which will run from the dash to the trunk.

I will run power to the monitor from the P2140.

I will run an HDMI cable for future upgrades. Won't need it for the current LCD but want it there for the future.

4 USB in the trunk for GPS, LCD touch, P2140, USB hub.

4 USB up front for AT&T, Volume knob, OBDII, superdrive.

I might as well run some cat5e since I have plenty around the house.

I will probably be a couple USB connection short but will deal with that later.

[cazzz]

Finally back to my car.

Installed a DVR and 8 cameras around the exterior of the house yesterday.

Installed mass loaded vinyl (MLV) on the backside of the sunroof cover and on the ceiling.



Installed the headliner and it looks good.

Ran the power and ground cables to the LCD location and ran the antenna cables to the trunk.

Installed the sunroof and sunroof cover.

Ran the following cables from the trunk to the radio cage:

Xenarc 5M monitor cable
- USB
- 2x composite audio/video
- VGA
HDMI
USB
Power
Gnd
Cat5e





Carpet is installed!

[cazzz]

Nice writeup, lots of progress in little time. Are you purchasing a new mac mini or the older ones? The new mac mini's only output digitally (HDMI, and mini display port), there is no conversion to vga without an adapter that actually converts digital to analog.

Unless your monitor has HDMI/DVI, I didn't see which specific one it was. I am looking forward to the mac mini work, post lots of pics!

I am using the Xenarc 8" LCD and it is VGA. I did run an HDMI cable for the future.

I could have used the 7" HDMI but size does matter.

New Mac Mini.

[cazzz]

Nice new center console.







That was last nights work. Now on to today's tasks.

[cazzz]

The interior is back together and the Jetta is drivable again.



All the fabrics were steam cleaned and all the trim was cleaned.



The center console and shifter are new.



The "A" pillars are new.



The upper "B" & upper "C" pillars have not been installed. The material covering came off. The problem is the felt backing that was left behind. I plan on covering one with the same fabric I used for the headliner and see what it looks like. Unfortunately, foam backed material just doesn't look good on the pillars. More than likely I will buy new pillars.



The rear seats are still out and the trunk is disassembled.



I can now start working in the Mac Mini install in the trunk.



It sure is nice to have a like new interior.

[cazzz]

Finished with the security cameras this morning.

Then I pulled the stock radio head out if the car to see if it would throw any codes.

No codes, so I officially have no radio.

Taking a break for the 4th. Happy 4th of July to all.

[cazzz]

Back from the 4th and back to work on the car.

The mac mini and all of the accessories are ordered.

Made a few tweaks with the interior trim.

I decided to use fabric paint to paint the pillars that have felt on them after the material came off.



The felt had some glue left behind with a reddish tint.

So I used fabric paint to make them all black. This will do for now.





I also set up an ATX power supply in my house to power the P2140.

Now I am off to order the Xenarc 8" LCD.

[cazzz]

Xenarc 8" LCD ordered

Xenarc windshield mount ordered. This is a temp solution until I build the bezel.

I plan on bench testing everything in the house.

Test it all in the car.

Then build the bezel as the last step.

Oh, I installed my new shifter today.



Only interior pieces left to order are the "B" and "C" pillars and a new steering wheel. That will just about make the interior new again.

It is time to setup my bench in the house to test all the components for the PC install.

[cazzz]

Waiting Waiting Waiting

On order

Xenarc 8" LCD
Mac Mini

Thinking through the install I forgot to add a 100amp fuse to the power line to the trunk. I have not had the wire terminated so there is still time. I will pickup the fuse holder and fuse at West Marine this weekend.

With the Mac Mini on the way I need to start thinking about the steps I will take to bench test. I will need to order the OWC 480 6G SSD kit and 16GB of Ram. I'm not sure I am ready to lay out the cash right away. So, I will probably get the mini up and running and take it to the point that I am ready for the car install before I make the upgrades.

- Install fusion 4 and windows 7
- attach the Xenarc 8" LCD for testing purposes
- attach all USB devices for testing
-- USB Hub
-- LCD touchscreen
-- Inventek GPS dongle, not sure how I will test without an antenna, might have to park the car in the driveway and test the antenna and the dongle
-- Volume knob
-- P2140
-- OBDII, need to purchase Ross-Tech VAGCOM device and see if I can get this to work with Windows 7 under Fusion 4
-- AT&T 4G Dongle
-- DVD superdrive
- Mod the Mac Mini
-- Power supply replacement, this is the most critical and most dangerous. Can I pull it off without shorting out the motherboard? We shall see.
-- Wifi Antenna Mod
-- Power Button Mod for P2140 control

- Software
-- I will test front ends until I find one that I like
-- Get all my shortcuts setup for sirius, nav, web based radio, etc.

- Sound
-- This will be the fun part, finding the right sound solution to integrate into my car audio system


This weekend will be the start of the Mac Mini setup.

[cazzz]

I decided to order new "B" and "C" pillars along with a new small tray in the center console.

I just couldn't live with messed up parts after refurbishing the rest of the interior.