Sorry if this is blasphemy to some, but I have an Autobianchi Giardiniera that I'm adding a CarPlay touchscreen infotainment system to. I thought I'd post my test fitting to see what people think.

It might be hard to see in the second photo, but the touchscreen slides below the glovebox when not in use. The screen is a bit obscured by the steering wheel when driving, but I wanted to preserve the dash and not have a screen there (I was originally planning to put it where the ashtray is).

If you're wonder why (since the engine is almost deafening when you're driving), its part of an overall project to convert my car into an EV. (I'm just adding to the heresy, eh?!) Plus, apps like maps are handy.

I don't dislike the display and it tucks nicely out of the way. I have a LCD multi function dashboard fitted to mine, which can be unplugged and removed in less than 1 min.

Going to electric, well, I see a lot of classic cars being converted and I can understand the reasons why some people choose to do it. But, it's not for me as I don't think you should mess with the past but look towards the future. Retro fitting to a platform that is not designed for will never be as effective / efficient as ground up design. But its your car, so your choice. Please do document the conversion here, as I'm sure it will generate interest and discussion!

Regards
Rob

evmanic said:

I thought I'd post my test fitting to see what people think.

Click to expand...

It's very neat.

I've watched videos of an electric 500 and it's still quite noisy because of the gearbox whine and rattles and knocks underneath which are usually hidden under engine noise. But, with an electric motor, the car seems to have better acceleration and is still great fun to drive.

For the cost of all the parts needed for electric conversion you could afford to do a lot of more conventional work on the engine and running-gear. I wouldn't enjoy a Fiat 500 as much without the heat, the smell and the noise of a variation on the two-cylinder, air-cooled engine.

https://youtu.be/EHnX0fObZmk

I like the display, nothing wrong in my view of a bit of old and a bit of new. What make is the screen you fitted?

That's really clean! It's completely out of the way when you don't need it and you didn't have to cut into the sheet metal or do anything that can't be undone if you find yourself not using it or you want to sell the car.

I appreciate keeping things original, but keeping the car on the road is important, too! Whoever you sell your old engine to isn't likely to complain when you electrify yours.

Hi - sorry for the slow reply - the screen is the standard Raspberry Pi 7" touchscreen that I 3D printed the enclosure/slide drawer for.

Looks like my EV conversion will be delayed to the fall which is great, as I'll get use of the car for the summer if the conversion goes slower then expected (which it will of course). I can't wait to drive with the top open! Side question, is this a good place to post my parts when I pull them out?

Are you using a Pi to connect your iPhone to the screen? If so what software are have you installed to manage the connection? Do you know haw much current your system draws? I assume you have an alternator so there's lots of power for the setup.

I'm using a CarPlay USB dongle and running LineageOS as that was the only Raspberry Pi compatible OS that would play nicely with a CarPlay dongle (maybe there's more now). I've been documenting my system on my blog (evmanic dot com), and I'm trying to get this portion on there this week.

The Raspberry Pi 4 requires a 3A supply and occasionally needs it (I've seen it current limit on a 2A supply). I've measured the current to be about 0.4A while running steady state.

My Autobianchi Giardiniera has a brutal voltage supply (good old dynamo!). I've updated with an electric voltage regulator on the car, and I've put together components to get a cleanish 5V supply for the Raspberry Pi. I've finally got to the point where the system mostly works, but you can still literally see some of the voltage noise on the screen. I'm going to keep working on cleaning this up even though I'm planning to change it over to an EV this fall.