Some of you may know the mod I made to invert the display of the Becker/BMW Indianapolis 7969 to match the other displays in our cars - Becker/BMW Radio Navigation Indianapolis display mod II (http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/bmw/bmw-8-series-e31/forum.php?postid=8743378&page=2).

The Becker Grand Prix and Indianapolis series are in my opinion the most modern head units that look stock in the E31. The Indianapolis 7969 is a version made by Becker for BMW and features a BMW label (instead of Becker Indianapolis) and BMW orange illumination. The only drawback is that the Becker Grand Prix and Indianapolis series all have a positive display (black text on an illuminated background) where the E31 has negative displays (illuminated text on a black background). That's what my mod was about.

The Indianapolis was succeeded by the Indianapolis Pro, but that one never got a BMW version. The only difference between the Indianapolis and Indianapolis Pro is Bluetooth. It may be of little importance, but can be a great addition for people with cell phones who want to phone hands-free.

I just got my hands on an Indianapolis Pro and decided to put the whole front of my modified Indianpolis on this unit. The result:

http://tweakers.net/ext/f/54WYH7sqXCTm6g78DL9s4riL/full.jpg

A unit that still looks 100% BMW original, but now also features Bluetooth.

Thus it seems the front can be interchanged between all Traffic Pro, Grand Prix, Indianapolis and Indianapolis Pro models. If you now have a BMW Traffic Pro or BMW Indianapolis, you could put its whole front on a modern Indianapolis Pro and still retain the BMW orange illumination. The only drawback is that the genuine BMW units boot with "BMW" on the display, whereas the Becker Indianapolis Pro shows a Becker logo on boot up. Oh well, you can't have everything in life...

That looks real good. I like it a lot!

wow, beautiful.

Would you post instructions with pics.
LouM...

I have a blaupunkt unit that is VERY similar... is this something that can be done to other units with a similar setup?

Would you post instructions with pics.
I already made write-ups of the conversion from a positive display to a negative display on the Becker/BMW Indianapolis 7969:
• Becker/BMW Radio Navigation Indianapolis display mod (http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/bmw/bmw-8-series-e31/forum.php?postid=8680264&page=1) - first attempt. The inversion was performed by replacing the polarizing filter foil on the display. Just after completing it I was euphoric about the result, but it was far from perfect and after a few weeks I got annoyed by it and decided to do it all over again - this time using a completely different approach.
• Becker/BMW Radio Navigation Indianapolis display mod II (http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/bmw/bmw-8-series-e31/forum.php?postid=8743378&page=2): The second and final attempt. The older version of the Indianapolis - the Traffic Pro - did have a correct negative display. I noticed there were a lot of similarities between the Indianapolis and Traffic Pro, so I decided to get one and test the Traffic Pro's front on the Indianapolis. It worked! A quick solution would then be replacing the Indianapolis' front with that of a Traffic Pro, but I don't like the Traffic Pro's design. And thus I fitted the hardware of the Traffic Pro's front in the Indianapolis front. The result exceeded the expectations - I'm very happy with it.

http://tweakers.net/ext/f/cw7ASzQ3NVkfRXA6UsrGS6wY/full.jpg
Original Becker/BMW Radio Navigation Indianapolis 7969 on top. My modified unit below.

http://tweakers.net/ext/f/gCAFy4TvwjlvYpUxJUKAYcBY/full.jpg
Modified unit installed in the car - the MID/OBC is not properly inserted at this picture, I had to take it out again

The last step presented in this thread is actually very simple. Since the fronts are interchangable between the Traffic Pro and Indianapolis series, I did not see any reason why the front would not work on the Indianapolis Pro - after all, there are less changes between the Indianapolis and Indianapolis Pro, than between the Indianapolis and Traffic Pro. I was pretty sure it would work, but I just never tested it. Recently I got my hands on a new Indianapolis Pro and decided to do the test. What you see in this thread's opening post is the result.

I did not make pictures of it, but it's very easy to swap the fronts between two Beckers. Remove the top panel (just clicks in place), remove the two screws that keep the chassis together near the front, push the sides outwards and lift the PCB a bit. The front should now easily come off. It's attached to the PCB with two small flatcables - one on each side. Unplug these at the front side. Do the same with the other unit, swap, and reverse the instructions for installation. 10 Minutes work.

I have a blaupunkt unit that is VERY similar... is this something that can be done to other units with a similar setup?

I really can't say. You'll have to open both units and compare the hardware. If there are a lot of similarities, there's a good chance you can swap parts. Otherwise, don't even think about it.

What Blaupunkt units are you referring to?

Very nice Revtor, as always. Yours will be the definitive writeups I'll use for this mod. Cheers.

Agreed. Very nice. I will also save in my "mods to do" file. Thanks.
LouM...

Hi Revtor, the mod is very nice indeed. I see you are from Belgium. I am from Germany and wondered if you could mod my BMW Indianapolis display like your own, that would be really nice.