I am sorry but it is awful. Great coding work etc but as a control for a car system it is shocking and should be illegal. There is no feedback and with lag you will be wondering if the button is pressed. This is unessesary distraction when driving a 100mph+ car.

Give me tactile switches everyday.

different strokes...

i think it looks cool

yes im not too keen on it either but i appriciate it as a technical achievement...

i still plan to fit a double din in the lower part of the consol but for purly audio/entertainment purposes.

So do I but I would not want anything PC based (especially windows) running anything in my car as it will doubtless crash or you will get "are you sure" and "are you realy sure" when all you want to do is turn a fan off

While performing a 3 point turn Your coupe performed an illegal operation, It will now shut down... a coolant dump has been created...

If this problem persists please contact Fiat who will point you in the direction of the door

Sorry for joining the party late, but I've had recent urges to go down this route. I want the Blaupunkt New Jersey to go in. I'm taking the car to a custom installation place in Chingford to see what they can do. They'll be taking apart the original clarion and the ash tray for inspection.
I've just come back from another car audio shop today and the guy's face went white when he saw the 20vt pull in. He spent days working on similar request and swears he'll never do another 20vt. Aparently the gear box and too many other internals got in the way for a proper installation.
See what happens on Tuesday next week and I'll be sure to keep this thread alive.

Mate iv heard bad stuff about that shop, it opposit the Audi dealership ain't it, near halfords

quick question

I've done some prelim measurements & there is "just" and I mean just enuf room to cut out & move the whole heater assembly to where the radio lives at present & just enough room to fit a double din in its location, HOWEVER, is there enough room / depth to allow for a double din system to fit where the heater controls go ?

I know about the measurements, as I'm carefully cutting up a spare console, if it were to fit, then his could be a medium difficulty project, whilst keeping the console looking OEM...

...think I may have a go at the console 1st & see what it looks like

hmm.....

it may fit on the fascia, just about, but I think it will need some reinforcement & who knows if there is enough space behind the heater controls

cut n shut !

must admit, it does look quite stock, but there are losts of issue, as the heater control fascia is slightly curved, whereas the ashtray was flat

ive had a few go,s now at doing this and the only way its going to be strong enough is were the radio is now, but take out ash tray and rebiuld the bottom part to fit the double din,also set the top part as the single din would be so it faces up at you,move cigy lighter to the consol buy the window switch.

have a look at this:

Clicky

And this was my attempt, although I got loads of stick for rushing it and not doing a good job at all, i think its still the best location.

Failed attempt

I've got a 3 day slot with a custom/bespoke outfit in NE London next Wednesday. I'll be sure to have some pics available by the end of the week. The dd is going replace the old clarion/ashtray slot, with the lighter relocated.
They seem confident about installation and have been helpful in the prelim process for the last 2/3 weeks.

Got a couple of Pioneers which I'm struggling to decide on.

ah like this you mean,as my mate did brianmay.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/5170/dsc04539pt2.jpg
this is what i am on about but on the same angle as the std radio is now so it looks up at you.

that's very nice Cowboy, however that's just a monitor so depth is not an issue.

I am personally going to relocate the heater controls to the bottom, as they aren't that important.

This will allow the Double DIN to be at the right eye level, whether there is enough room is another matter ( depth wise ! ), there is enough room to fit it in & still keep the Ashtray

I guess I am saying "watch this space!!". I'll hopefully post the pictures over the weekend. I dropped my car off at a custom/bespoke Ice specialist yesterday.This morning, I got the call to say the console had been dismantled to find out enough clearance space at the back.
Hopefully, I'll be bringing the car back tomorrow or Sat.
I can't wait!! (Fingers crossed)

I'l be interested what rought has been taken but don't except anything be factory finish look, anything loose and hanging out or fowling is just not worth paying good money for

got my double din cage, & it fits in the hacked up space, maybe this weekend I'll do some fibreglassing

May work, then again if not, so what.....

be interested to see how your double din comes out

Cowboy - what are the details of that? Looks very slick.

Good god don't let barnacle see that!

Brianmay is from Portugal but he comes on here from time to time,he did have a link with all the stuff he can do and how he did that one,clever lad.taz sorry mate never looked at the first page,this would be the best place for fitting i know its a bit low but for cd dvd radio would be spot on.
http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/imagepopup.php?image=http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/downloads/photo.jpg

I will have to drop him a line. The centre console looks very slick. I have seen some good deals on 7" HUs which started my interest, but last week the rumour of a 7" iPad surfaced. That would be awesome in a car!

Barnacle has seen it. Very nice installation. You could run startrek on that.

Or you could get this:

Stupid question Desmond but is that a fixed position?

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx248/Desmond_062/Pioneer1.jpg

http://i760.photobucket.com/albums/xx248/Desmond_062/Pioneer2.jpg

Mixed fortunes with the results; the devil is in the detail. So would really appreciate some honest opinions.
The unit is the Pioneer AVH3200BT.
I'll have some more pictures hopefully tomorrow. I've just been camped in the car for the last two days, playing around with the functions which are impressive for the pioneer unit.

The bespoke fit which i was promised,is slightly underwhelming. May be my expectations were greater than the theirs.

The position is fixed and slightly tilted as the old clarion. The bracket has had to be modified slightly to accomodate the slight variation in width between the ashtray and the stereo spaces.
The dvd is accessable and is fully retrievable in 1st gear. Its been hotwired to display the film at all times (even while driving - I don't do this).
The telephone microphone is actually set into the rear window mirror.

des thats a good go but it dont look stock like this one
http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/imagepopup.php?image=http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/downloads/photo.jpg
but i would say with a little bit of work it could be spot on.

yes I can see where there going with that one, personaly I would find someone to fiberglass the sides and blend the lower bottom of where the pioneer unit sit, then colour code the center pannel to the dash strip

yes audioguy spot on.

not bad Desmond, I did think that they were going to place it where the heater controls were, they have taken the "easier" option.

I do agree with cowboy & AD guy that it needs to be finished off, as the side slats just don't do it for me.

Good attempt & with a bit of finishing off, it will look very stock

What did they charge you to fit it if you dont mind me asking?